Originally Posted by
daoswald
On a bike that you ride around the block once a month a fit is irrelevant. On a bike that you ride 15-25 miles a day, and 50+ on weekends, it's critical for avoiding unnecessary pain, strain, and even injury.
Factors that contribute to the need for a new fitting: Age, fitness level, bike geometry, your level of demand for efficiency and/or comfort, distance ridden, frequency of rides, riding style. When I ride a lot, the difference of a half centimeter of cleat placement or saddle position can make a difference in how my knees tolerate the repetitive stress. And my fit changes a little as my fitness ebbs and flows. But I could jump on my kids' bikes and tool up and down the street for five minutes and fit wouldn't matter at all.
For some, yes. For me, I've ridden a lot of miles on many bikes and have never had a fit. I'd often buy bikes because I knew I could flip them if I didn't like them, but I've never had a fit before and have ridden quite a few centuries.... As far as setting up a bike, I do the rudimentary adjustments like saddle height and stems if necessary, but I learned all I need to know about that off of YouTube. Sometimes if something doesn't feel right, I'd tinker with it until it stopped bothering me. But a paid fit? Never. I'm a cheapo.