Jynx

I am looking to get a professional fit and have a question.

Did they do anything as far as raising or lowering your stem? I have been riding with zero spacers (like a 5" drop) for over a year and just recently switched forks and have 12mm of spacers. I had some shoulder pain mostly from too wide of bars and possibly from the low position. I have done a couple of rides since I put new bars and the new fork on and it seems good now.

I am only concerned about dropping like $250 on a pro fit and they tell me there is nothing they can do since the steerer is cut. I don't have any complaints with the drop but am wondering how they determine proper amount of drop. I am really looking for final touches on mostly reach, but also cleat positioning, saddle for aft, ect...

Think it is still worth it to get a fit?

JoelS

There is always stuff that can be done, even with the steerer cut.

Yes, the fit is well worth it. On mine, we moved and changed the saddle, rebuilt the stem/bars/brifters configuration, moved the cleats to the right place. And then revisited a few hundred miles later to tweak a little more. I have no pain, and more power. And the steerer was cut.

What's not to like?

garysol1 

Amount of drop is directly related to your flexibility. No fitter should push any position on you that you do not want. Just tell them to take a look at your reach but not to mess with your drop. Shouldn't be an issue. The customer should be the boss.

lukewall

Why don't you just hire a photographer and shoot the photos for him.

Just go to a fitter, tell them you're having neck and shoulder pain...then tell them not to mess with the drop. Brilliant.

garysol1 

The best way to piss off a fit customer is to force a change on them. You can recommend a change maybe even talk them into trying the change but a fitter should never force the rider to accept the change.

garysol1 

And Smarty Boy....read Jynx first post....to quote him
"I have done a couple of rides since I put new bars and the new fork on and it seems good now"
He is pleased with his drop at this point. He is not having neck and shoulder pain anymore. As a fitter I would look at his position and recommend but again....I would not force it.

nitropowered

My best advice is to do what the fitter says, try it out for 30days then reevaluate. It takes about a month for your body to adapt to your new position.

If you don't like it, just go back to your old position.

Jynx

Thanks for all the replies.

This is what I was figuring. That they will do as much as possible with the options they have available.

lukewall, I am not having anymore pain now since I raised the bars to their current position. I was only concerned because this is as high as they can go (even though I am still at like a 4.5" drop) and if the fitter felt I should go higher it would not be possible. I was wondering if that would negate the benefits of the fit. I do not have any complaints with the drop now and obviously I would let the fitter know and they would probably choose to keep it the same. I also understand what gary is saying. If someone doesn't want the drop changed and the fitter changes it the customer would be unhappy regardless if the change was better for them. They have to balance the fit with keeping the customer happy.

mbhakti

When I was fit they did seat height and fore/aft, cleat position on shoe, set up my leg angle and knee position through the pedal stoke, etc... Handlebar height they kind of left up to me. Seemed like it was my preference, but I went high and they said I could drop it if I felt I wanted to. I have droped it a few cm since then and it feels pretty good.

JoelS

You can always switch to a stem with a higher angle. That will get the bars up.

Jakedatc

At mine they lowered my seat, moved it forward a bit, took out a few spacers but flipped the stem the non-pro way *gasp* and told me i should get narrower bars. They checked my cleat position which was fine.

I didn't have the all out power meter.. foot angle super high end fitting but it still worked great for me and i feel way better on the bike. I was pretty open minded but i'd say if the drop is good then they shouldn't mess with it anyway

deadly downtube

there's a good shop in santa cruz that people come far and wide for fittings and they only charge 100 bucks.. 250 sounds steep. my problem is I have 2 cannondales, one is 60cm and the other is 63cm. can't decide which to get fit on??

blewgo

What shop in Santa Cruz? I'm close enough to check it out.

Flatballer

$250 is definitely high. Mine was $125 IIRC. And that included getting small things tweaked for a long time afterward (until the shop went under...).

The drop is the last thing they do, and the easiest for you to know yourself. Cleat position, saddle height, fore-aft, reach, and then they'll finally do your drop. The drop is just based on your core strength and flexibility, and is really easy to change.

MONGO!

$250 for a fit?

thirdin77

It seems to me that if you're kinda burying your head in the sand.

Just accept that you might have to get a new fork/longer steerer and then go from there.

haimtoeg

I was fitted over two years ago. The fitter gave me a range for each of the adjustments and explained why he was setting the bike the way he did, and what to do when I feel my flexibility improved, etc.

I have been using the measurements he gave me since as far as saddle height and saddle to handlebar distance, and have lowered the handlebars gradually as I gained flexibility and core strength.

My conclusion is that fitting is not a prescription, it is a consultative and teaching process. Over time you may need to be fitted more than once as your requirements and body change.

DannoXYZ 

Also remember that there's on one "right" fit. How you'll be fitted will vary greatly depending upon your overall fitness and your target goals. Not everyone should have a pro-peloton TT position. Comfort should be high on the list and any changes to your position needs to be done incrementally; no more than 5-8mm at a time every 30-days.

f4rrest

I got a fitting this week. He didn't raise the stem, but he found my seat was really too low, which he fixed. That alone increased my seat-bar drop. I didn't have to pay for the full $250 session. Instead, he did a medical consultation ($75, mostly covered by my health insurance), and then we went ahead with a pedal stroke optimization ($125). More details in post #27 of the thread here.

garysol1 

See Wade at The Spokesman Bicycles. He is one of the best respected fitters in the industry.

Longfemur

For $250?

If you're not a pro racer who needs to squeeze every ounce of power out of your bike setup, a would say a resounding NO.

If it's for comfort, an even more resounding NO.

Handlebar height is a personal preference, not really one that obeys any fixed rule.

All you get from an expensive "pro fit" is some reassurance that your handlebar reach and your saddle height wouldn't look out of place at the pro races.

Now, if it cost $60, I would say that might be worth it. All you have to do to get the best fit for your own body proportions is to use the easily available rules of thumb, find both extremes (such as low saddle, high saddle), and experiment anywhere in between to find what works best for you. Frankly, even after the $250 super expert pro fit, you would still have to do that, and even then, it would probably change as time goes by, as you get fitter, as you get older, as you have to compensate for various bodily aliments, etc.

Nachoman

I got a fitting in San Diego for one hundred dollars also.

Jynx

Only reason I say that is if I were to get a fit I would go to Signature Cycles in Manhattan. The fitter there is Paul Levine. Info on it here...

https://signaturecycles.com/document/111627

I do not know of any other reputable fitters in my area (granted I am sure there are a lot but I have not heard about any of them). If you have any suggestions for people in my area or somewhat close I am open for suggestions. If I can get a good fit for $100 that would be great too.

Campag4life

Also, keep in mind...if you have a pro fit and your fitter doesn't have your body and you end up experiencing pain after changing your setup, you've wasted your money....lol.

Jynx

Agreed. That is why I would like to go somewhere with a reputation so the risk of it not working is lower.

And by the way it appears the fit I was looking at is not $250 it is $375.