Originally Posted by
Lauraspark
Thanks so much for your informative replies. I fully intend to purchase this bike if it fits, and I will be tickled if it does! I just didn't know what options should be reasonably be explored during the fine-tuning process. I'm easy to get along with and tend to trust the judgment of professionals but want this to be a thorough and accurate fit. Thanks again.
Generally fit consists of getting 5 things right:
1) The saddle width and shape, too wide a saddle can cause chaffing, too narrow can cause pain and numbness down there, this almost always means a different saddle from the one supplied. One thing to remember, the saddle width is determined from the sit bones, some riders can have width rear ends, but need a narrow saddle, and some people with a small rear end can need a wider saddle. Women tend to need wider saddles then men do.
2) The height of the saddle, a saddle that is too high or too low can cause injury, there is probably a general range of +/- ¾ cm or so that is close enough to not cause injury. A proper fitting will get this within a mm or so.
3) The position of the saddle front to back, depending on your build this can require changing the seat post for a different model that has a different setback. This is common for riders who are built to different proportions then the bicycle manufacturer uses for that model. For example men tend to have longer torso's and shorter legs, women tend to be the opposite, but I have also see the opposite.
4) The height of the bars, some riders need the bars higher then others, hybrid (which would I think include the Coda) tend to have them fairly high.
5) The position of the bars, front to back, again this can require a different stem, from the one supplied.
If the shop is doing the fitting, if they need to exchange components they usually will take the existing one as trade, unfortunately not always an even trade. Factory saddles though, tend to be lower end, so needing a different one nearly always involves a more expensive model. A good well fitting saddle though is a good investment that can be moved to a different bike.
Different saddles can be taller or shorter, so saddle model should be picked first, then saddle height, because the seat tube is on an angle, the position can be affected by the height. Saddle height and position can affect bar height, saddle position and bar height can affect bar position. For some adjustments a mm can make a difference.