PatrickGSR94

I commute a fairly long distance (31 miles round trip) on a road bike, 2-3 times a week, have been having some comfort issues, mainly with the right side edge of my shorts chamois getting in between my sit bone and the saddle, causing lots of discomfort and sometimes pain on longer recreational rides.

Only fairly recently I've discovered what's actually happening. It seems that my whole body is cranked at an angle to the right, as compared to the centerline of the bike. So my sit bones are situated off-center to the left (when sitting in what feels to be the natural position), which makes the left edge of the chamois hang farther off the left side of the saddle, and on the right side there's almost nothing hanging off. Then my right knee seems to point away from the top tube slightly, while my left knee is closer to the top tube and sometimes rubs.

I already changed my previous saddle to a slightly narrower saddle. This helped some, as the chamois' right edge is less likely to get up under the right sit bone. But the underlying issue is still there.

I don't really have any joint or muscle pain. It's just this discomfort from the friction and chafing, although I fear that my position could lead to further troubles. My LBS offers motion-capture video analysis as part of their $250 fit service at one of their locations. I'm just wondering if something like this could help me out or would be worth the time and money. I guess you can't really put a price on comfort on a long bike ride, right?

RubeRad

$250 seems like a lot, I guess that's because it's motion-capture fitting rather than the regular, which I would expect to be like $100-$150?

I've never been fitted by a professional, I'm too cheap. But I've read probably dozens of BF people saying it was worth it despite thinking it was too expensive going in. I don't think I've ever read somebody say "yeah, I went and paid for a bike fit, it wasn't worth it".

PatrickGSR94

Thanks. I did buy this bike new from a LBS (not mine, it was up near Nashville), and the shop owner did what seemed to be a pretty comprehensive fit initially. He put the bike on a trainer in the "fitting" room, used plumb bobs and took various angle measurements, changed out the stem, etc. Overall we spent about an hour on the process.

Since then (September 2012) I've made a few other adjustments like saddle position (also am on the 3rd saddle), and stem angle/height. Also cleat position which fixed some Achilles tendon pain I was having at one point. But I haven't had anyone look at my fit since that first time, at all.

RubeRad

Sounds like he (like everyone else) buys into the "myth" of KOPS. (If KOPS is so important, how can anybody ride a recumbent?)

PatrickGSR94

Well, as I said, some time after that initial fit I was having some Achilles tendon pain on one side, and slight knee pain to a lesser extent on the other side. I slammed my cleats all the way back and adjusted the saddle position a hair, and the problem pretty much disappeared. The guy I was talking to at the LBS agreed that he likes to have cleats behind the center line of the ball of the foot, instead of aligned right on it, which places the ball of the fit ahead of the pedal spindle.

treadtread

You could try some things at home too, I guess. Get your wife to drive behind you down the block and record your ride. If you are really sitting a bit to the right, maybe your legs are slightly different lengths (you could measure this yourself). If so, try a shim?

... I wonder if the fitting cost could be interpreted as physical therapy and eligible for insurance.

I-Like-To-Bike

Sure, right after the OP shells out at least $500 to medical professionals for examinations and tests in order to make a diagnosis of a specific medical problem that requires bicycle fitting physical therapy.

PatrickGSR94

haha yeah, riding a bike isn't required for me to live my life, so I don't see any way for insurance to cover it.

Double0757

A year ago in October I had a car/bike accident that took me to several health proffecionals. Nothing serious to keep me off the bike for longer than a week. However, many month after the accident I still had ankles "weird feeling " post riding week.

After several inquiries, I went to a motion capture bike fitter. What I consider now, the best in the South Florida region, "John" at Racers Edge in Boca Raton. The weird ankle feeling went away in a week of riding. What a foot doctor couldn't do in three month of trying different things. However, the benefits didn't stop there. Immediately I felt more powerful, became a bit quicker on my route and the overall comfort I felt riding (specially on longer weekend distance) to the new adjusted bike was palpable.

i went back and bought a new bike from him that he help me choose for my needs and fit, that it's an absolute delight. I would pay to have every specific bike fit by him to get the benefits I got from the first fit. Every bike is different from the other (unless they have similar angles and size). So every fit is going to vary from one bike to the other. To me, if you ride as much as we do, it's worth every penny to have each bike motion fit!

The rate in the aerea is between $250- $180. John was the cheapest with the best reputation.

PatrickGSR94

Excellent, thanks for your comments.

I've been toying with the idea of the Retul fit service for over a year now, of which there is a sports-med facility in my area that offers this. I think it's about the same price of $250-$300. It's usually racers that go there, though. I'm definitely no racer, just looking for more comfort on my bike.

RubeRad

Double0757, since you paid for the comprehensive fit once, does he keep the results on file (or make them available to you to bring to other retailers), to aid purchase/setup of future bikes?

randallr

Motion capture fit assessment with Dr. Andy Pruitt has kept me on the road by targeted the source of my knee pain, giving me a way to stop it. I am 59.

Double0757

Yes he does! You don't have to buy from him either. He recommended a custom steel bike for me ?I ended going with a Titanium lite speed that he help me put together, some things I bought from him others on my own. But John help me choose the best fitting bike out of their choices (lightspeed), for my kind of ridding and size. However with the purchase of the bike you get another motion fit, which is more like a small adjustment, since he picked the right size frame/angle, seat tube, handlebar/head tube and crank arm. Almost felt like a custom made bike. I had a tandem custom build for my wife size and me in 1991 by Belinsky.

He also recommended components based on what works and doesn't. I never felt he was pushing an agenda or anything, very standup guy!

wolfchild

I think bike fitting services are a scam.

kickstart

I don't know about that, I suppose it depends on what level one is riding at. If it isn't racing or advanced club rides it probably is. Perhaps there's time to admit when we're not as young as we used to be, and go for a more relaxed fit.

wolfchild

Minor adjustments to handlebars and saddle, seatpost can be very easily done at home. I have done recreational rides of up to 104 miles and none of my bikes ever had any professional fitting done at an LBS. The best way to dial in a fit is to go riding and experiment with different set ups until everything feels perfect...Then again I don't ride a racing bike, it seems that majority of fitting problems happen to people who commute on new road racing bikes. I never want to purchase a bike which requires for a person to be hooked up to a computer to make the bike fit properly and which requires complex mathematical calculations to make it rideable.

PatrickGSR94

Yeah but if I have some kind of deformity causing me to sit wonky on the bike, causing discomfort, what alternative is there other than some sort of bike fit check and assessment?

I-Like-To-Bike

This is the commuting list isn't it?

tjspiel

If I started to feel discomfort doing something I really enjoyed and could spend $250 to solve the problem, it would be well worth it.

If I spent $250 and it didn't solve the problem, I'd feel like a sucker.

Did that help ?

Honestly, if you've tried some things on your own to no avail then it's time to bring in the professionals. My guess is that if you added up all the bike related expenses you've incurred over the last few years, $250 wouldn't seem like that much compared to everything else.

I don't know about the stop motion stuff, but I don't think I've ever met anyone whose had a bike fitting that regretted it.

If you do get one, let us know how it works out.

kickstart

We all have some deformity, nobody's entirely symmetrical. I've noticed my bikes all lean slightly to the left as I ride. Try different shorts?

PatrickGSR94

I have 3 different shorts and 2 different bibs, and all have the same issue to some degree or another. Some more than others, depending on the size and shape of the chamois.

RidingMatthew

@PatrickGSR94 let us know if you decide to go with it... what the difference between this and a bike fit?

Walter S

Try twisting the seatpost a little off center.

Walter S

I bet it takes years of intensive training to finally call yourself a "bicycle fitter".

PatrickGSR94

My LBS is a Trek dealer, so this is the system they offer:


Retül is another one I've been considering. Both are oriented towards performance and racing, but I think they could help with other fit issues even for non-racers.