It has been impressed upon me both here and at a couple of bike shops I've been talking to that getting the right fit on whatever bike I buy is critically important.

I want to make sure I know what should be included in an initial fit; there seems to be a bit of variance between what shops include as part of the delivery of a new bike. I don't mind paying a bit extra for a good fitting, and suspect that a shop might be more inclined to take more care when the customer is paying extra for the fitting, than when it's simply part of the delivery.

On the other hand, I think that for the non-competitive rider one can quickly reach a point of diminishing returns in the cost/benefit equation.

At a guess, it would seem that the fitting might include:

• Seat height
• Seat angle
• Seat fore-and-aft position
• Handlebar position (would this be both height and for-and-aft position? Not sure I know how the fore-and-aft would be adjusted)
• Handlebar width (do you have a choice when purchasing, or are you stuck with what you get?)
• Pedal cleat position

Have I covered the important items?

From some of the reading I've done, and talking to a co-worker who is a marathoner and triathlete, the fitting methodology can get extremely sophisticated (and correspondingly expensive) but my sense is that this is for those that have money to burn or are looking for a competitive edge (I just want to feel good and go fast! ).