Road Cycling - Just had a professional fitting..

And I have to say- if you havent had this done yet.. find a good place, and go for it!! The LBS did it for me for $30 (it is usually $40-$60, but since I was buying a saddle, he docked 10 bucks off the fitting price). Ended up changing just about everything- saddle came down a bit, leaned back.. flipped my stem, to lower my handle bars.. bars were tilted up a little.. a few other odds and ends..

In the end- the 3 mile ride home was MUCH more comfortable than the ride to the shop.. And I thought my ride was pretty comfortable before! Going out on a nice, hilly 15 mile ride in a little bit, and looking forward to the new feel! :)

-BlueDevil

I agree that it is money well spent. Even better is when they write all of the measurements down for you and you take them home after the fitting :)

Zack

What's the reason of having a professional fitting? Is it to achieve the maximum comfort level or maximum performance level?

firebolt: BOTH!!

you can't perform your best if you're not comfortable!

Originally posted by deliriou5
firebolt: BOTH!!

you can't perform your best if you're not comfortable!

I can directly attest to this one!! Just got back from a 15 mile ride- on my typical route, my avg mph has gone up 1.7mph.. I found that after 10 miles, my comfort level was much higher than it used to be, and I barely even noticed I was sitting on a saddle (before I was having some serious problems with "The Boys" down there getting sore.. new saddle and setup was VERY helpful).

-BlueDevil

my problem is that the local shop with the extensive fitting equipment (the serrotta machine) doesn't sell a bike i want to buy. i suppose if i'm paying for the fit, then i don't feel too bad about taking my shiny new bike from another shop in there...

also glad to see a price. this shop charges $50 for the basic service, but can get as high as a couple of hundred for watt analysis, cleat shimming, etc. i'd have to be much more serious before i could care about all that though.

Originally posted by BlueDevil
I can directly attest to this one!! Just got back from a 15 mile ride- on my typical route, my avg mph has gone up 1.7mph.. I found that after 10 miles, my comfort level was much higher than it used to be, and I barely even noticed I was sitting on a saddle (before I was having some serious problems with "The Boys" down there getting sore.. new saddle and setup was VERY helpful).

-BlueDevil

BlueDevil,

Do you know which changes contribute the most to the higher comfort level? Or every little bit-and-piece adds up to the overall comfort level?

Dont feel bad at all about taking your new shiny bike in there!

I had gone to this bike shop, about 3 months ago, in search of a road bike. They have all kinds of bikes (mostly Bianchi and Litespeed frames) from the ~$800, all the way on up to a 15.4 Lb litespeed (Ti frame, decked out with all the light weight stuff) for around $5500 (if I am recalling the price correctly). However, none of the bikes there fit me well. I went off, found a bike I loved, that was very comfortable, a quality bike, and on sale.. bought it.. When I brought it in today, he said to me: "You did real well.. this frame fits your body type great!" There was no grievance.. he was happy I had found a good fit. Then, with just some minor tweaking, he made the bike even MORE comfortable.

Its funny- on the LeMond website- they show all of the bikes with the stem angle down (in a lower, more agressive position). The place that built my bike, did it with the stem angled up.. do most shops do this? After adjusting the saddle, the next thing done in the fitting was to flip that stem around. I found that, and angling my bars up a bit (making the hoods a bit more level) did the most for my comfort on the bike.

-BlueDevil

i think professional fittings are bunk. might be useful for people who don't know how to tweak their bikes, but no one knows you like you do. especially some guy who you met for the first time at the shop. might be a good place to start tho...

my $0.02 rant.

Originally posted by firebolt
BlueDevil,

Do you know which changes contribute the most to the higher comfort level? Or every little bit-and-piece adds up to the overall comfort level?

Firbolt-

Was just posting while you posted this.. I would say- over all, every bit contributed. First off, the Tourmalet comes with a NASTY sadle.. I swapped that out for a Terry Fly saddle, which seemed to be a great fit for my butt. Next, he lowered my saddle just a bit.. I have one leg a little longer than the other, and had set my saddle height good for the long one, but too long for the short one. So the saddle came down a good 1/4-1/2 inch. The combination of these two things, along with angling the saddle back just a little, made everything down there (rear end, and the more sensitive region) much more happy.

I also found that I was riding most of the time (I'd say 85%) in the drops, for two reasons- I didnt find the hoods all that comfortable, and I liked being a bit more streamlined.. it actually felt a little easier on my back, being down farther. So, to remedy this problem, he flipped over my stem (lowered my handle bars a bit) and then angled the bars up, so that the part of the hoods, where they connect to the bars, was level. This put my hands in a MUCH more comfortable position in the hoods (my wrist is now nice and straight, before it was bent at a funny angle). He said if I want it lower, I definately could go a bit lower, and take out one of the spacers under the bars.

There was also a little tweaking to my cleats, but I dont know how much of an effect it really had- I didnt have sore knees or anything before, and dont now.

-BlueDevil

Originally posted by BlueDevil
he was happy I had found a good fit. Then, with just some minor tweaking, he made the bike even MORE comfortable.
-BlueDevil

He was a little happy to see the bike that fit you, but he was even happier when he saw that you needed some "minor tweakings." hehe. Anything if you spend some money there.

-Dan the Man-

I think I might go to my LBS when I finished building my bike and have them check everything and maybe adjustments for whatever I need. That would jbe cool if I could get a "professinoal fitting" myself.

-Dan the Man-

Originally posted by shrimpx
i think professional fittings are bunk. might be useful for people who don't know how to tweak their bikes, but no one knows you like you do. especially some guy who you met for the first time at the shop. might be a good place to start tho...

my $0.02 rant.

Well, not everyone has the time to adjust seatpost 1mm at a time, adjust the handlebar rise 1deg at a time, reposition the shifter/brake levers 1mm at a time, have the money to buy different sizes of stems at different angles -- not to mention saddles, adjust the saddle position 1mm at a time and so on.... (don't mind me, I'm exagerating :D )

I guess fitting is fine as long as you're satisfied with the results..

Personally, I havent been fitted since by anyone other than myself..

Enjoy!:D