Fitting is a bit like drilling for water. Some call out the whacks with the divining rods and others call out guys with radar. In the end all you care about is if you have a well that produces water, and both methods have worked and failed int he past.

There is no pure science to fit. Sorry. 25 years of seeing fitting systems and services, techniques, schools of thought, gurus, etc come and go has taught me that there is never and never will be a science to it. There will never be enough different saddles to make everyone comfortable, just like there will never be enough frame geometries to make standards. ....just like there will never be a perfect fit.

Fit's change too. Over time you gain or lose weight and flexibility. You ride differently, you injure yourself.

What I personally have found over the years - study enough about fitting systems to know the basics. Fit yourself and don't be afraid to try something new. Take good notes so that you can go backwards if you find something new that doesn't work.

After years of doing this I was just frustrated and knew it was time to have someone else take a look. I had a shop owner and Specialized fitter on my team. She offered up a fit (having been in their system for something like 15 years). She tweaked my fit. Move the saddle a tad and moved the cleats a tad. Small movements but suddenly I was immensely more comfortable.

Now - I don't get a lot of time to ride and being comfortable is key to me being able to train instead of worrying about stuff....so to me that fitting was priceless. I have since brought in 3 other bikes for the same treatment. Every time there are small changes that make a big difference.

Moral of the story? It's not an exact science. Can you do a good fitting on your own with a little bit of reading and education and willingness to try new things? Yes. Can you get more comfortable more quickly by going to a fitter? Probably. I find though that self ftting will provide you enough background, knowledge and experience to speak the correct language to a fitter when the time comes.