Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - The Perfect Long Distance Fit

Hypothetically lets say, money is of little concern when answering this question.

Where would you find the "Fit Guru" for long distance cycling.. A place or person where you could get everything you ever wanted in a perfect fit? Someone that really knows how to get a comfortable position for long distance cycling.

FitWerx in Waitsfield, VT.
They focus on road and tri, but have fit many folks who have done BMB and PBP.
I had my fit done there back in 06.
Adjusted what the local guy got close. Tweaked the stem. Inserts for shoes. Lowered saddle. Adjusted angle on bars.

Not sure of there is any certified long distance fit pro. I'd bet doing a PAC tour would get you dialed in. I've heard stories of them drilling out shoes to better position cleats, moving bars up. Etc.

The guy who fitted me was one of the best but he only does them for friends and people who buy his frames. I know there is a really good one in the Seattle Washington area and one in the Chicago area but I can't remember their specifics without doing some research. I would look for someone who is going to put you on a fit bike and spend some time with you and make sure they guarantee their work. That means if something isn't working right after your fit you can go back and they will make it right. My fitter had me on a fit bike for about 6hrs when I got fitted. Be aware that long distance riders "fit" changes a little after you're fatigued. That means you sit on the bike a little differently when you are tired. A good long distance fitter always has that in the back of his mind. He/she should also provide you with all your measurements afterwards so that you can use them from bike to bike.

If money was no concern, this is where I would go. Having someone who is both an athlete and has a great understanding of the human body is a really good idea. http://www.bouldersportsmedicine.org/3dnon-3dbikefitting.html

I asked around about this in the Dallas area. Several of the most high-mileage randos fit themselves, don't think much of fitters, etc., so it's not as obvious as you might imagine.

I've never been professional fitted to a bicycle ... and yet I've managed four 1200K randonnees and lots of shorter long distances in reasonable comfort.

if money was no object, I would get a pro 'T' tool so that I could easily revert to previous positions, and play with it myself.

One of the things I have done is to record all the measurements on my bicycles when I get them set up comfortably. After having my Marinoni stolen, that information was very helpful in the process of selecting and setting up my titanium bicycle, and subsequent bicycles.

While I'm sure I would benefit from a professional fitter, I tend to adjust my fit based on what hurts during the ride. My 6mm wrench is always ready to raise the bars or adjust the saddle tilt as needed.

Let me give you some rundown on this issue. If you got to the RUSA Results, and search by Award, 5000k in 2012, you get the higher-mileage RUSA riders. Running down that list for Texas riders, I find:
Jennie Banta- don't know her.
Debbie Breaud- last I heard, got a Retul(?) fit, liked that, but nothing specific about long distance.
Dan Driscoll- does his own fitting, I think
Charlie Fenske- don't know about him
Gary Gottlieb- does his own fitting
Me- clueless about fit, never professionally fitted
Craig Matthews- don't know about him
Mark Metcalfe- does his own fitting
Dana Pacino- fitting by a relative
Robert Riggs- don't know about him
Daniel Schaaf- mainly rides a recumbent, don't know about upright fitting
Catherine Shenk- don't know about her
Sharon Stevens- think she has been fitted at Richardson Bike Mark & other places, nothing specific for long distance
Vickie Tyer- just switched to a recumbent
Pam Wright- has a fitter somewhere in East Texas, but not long-distance specific

From this, I conclude that if there's anyone in Texas that has any skill at fitting people for long-distance riding (that does it professionally), nobody knows who it is. Maybe there's somebody in California or elsewhere.
I also find amonst the local rando group, a considerably variation in how they think people ought to be fit, so there's not a lot of consistency even among knowledgable people.
I find that some of the people using professional fitters are also the ones having the most fit issues, as to which is cause, and which is effect, I don't know.
Anyway, I asked around among the local group a couple of years ago, and didn't get much of an answer, and that's why.

I found an outfit called Tiger Frog (http://www.tigerfrog.co.uk/bike_fitting.htm)out of the U.K. that seems to have a pretty nice system to perform fitting online. My closest certified fitting center is a 5-hour drive and not sure about its reputation. I wrote the outfit in the U.K. this morning as their website focuses on triathlon. They responded they can indeed do an in-depth fitting w/ focus on long-distance riding (Rando-Audax/Touring.) So for USD $85 bucks, I'm seriously thinking of giving them a try. I'm now locating a bike trainer to be able to shoot some short clips of myself on the bike. My issues are minor and I suspect they may come down to flexibility/conditioning (which they told me they can also pinpoint and recommend an exercise plan), but I'd like to get some of the guessing work on fitting out of the way... Do I have the right stem size? Does my saddle have the right tilt/setback/height? Did I make a mistake in choosing 175mm cranks for my latest build (I'm 5'10" w/ long legs)? That kind of stuff. I feel I'm operating blindly sometimes in these micro adjustments.

Here is a video on how it works. The video only shows a side shot, but they require frontal and rear video shots for the full-assessment. What do you guys think?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kYYYFVsvjQ