I'm a 5 foot 9 inch woman returning to bicyling after some years and injuries. I'm shopping for a bike for a mix of paved and gravel backroads and aim to slowly build up to multi-hour rides. I may be in between sizes with long legs and torso, but shorter arms.

Is it worth spending $1-200 on fitting? Any thoughts on which bike best fit for me... and what to adjusto to get there?

Here's my notes from several times riding Trek DS and Neko (womens), Specialized CrossTrail Sport, Sport (womens), Sport ST (StepThrough) and what I'm thinking I could adjust.

Trek DS size charts show I'm inbetween men's 19 or 17.5 inch, and should fit Neko 18" frame.

Trek DS 19" 791mm SOH not sure if it was OK bar clearance as I gravitated to the 17.5 after riding it. It had a good seat height relative to handlebars, but 605mm TTL too long with handlebars 1/2-1" too far in front.

Trek DS 17.5" 761 SOH fine, but seat too high, well above handlebars. 590 TTL good with handlebar reach fine.

Neko (Women's) 18" 745mm SOH comfortable clearance, but seat too high. 575mm TTH too short one day and OK another so maybe my body position while riding changed.

>>Confirm DS 19" SOH OK and shorten handlebar stem. Compare to 17.5" again.

Specialized had too tall a SOH or too high a seat with too short a top tube. >> Lengthen stem on Ariel Sport or shorten on ST.

Specialized CrossTrail Sport men's large 813mm SOH way too tall with no clearance, and 604 TTL too long. Rule out!

CrossTrail Sport medium 776mm SOH less than 1/2 inch clearance and had to set seat too high. 587mm TTL short so seat poked me in the butt when I stood on the ground and no room to move forward so I can't do smaller frame for better SOH. We'd lengthed the handlebar stem; the reach felt fine (or at least I didn't notice anymore).

Ariel Sport (women's) large 790mm SOH was OK, but 587mm TTL seemed too short. I noticed narrower handlebars, but don't recall if I preferred them.

Airel Sport ST (StepThrough) large SOH 665mm is short due to slanting bar so clearance fine. 604mm TTL and the seat wasn't touching my butt when I stood on the ground, but the handlebars were too forward and/or wide. Not wild about pastel turquoise.

Buy from a shop that gives a Free Fitting when you purchase a new bike from them.

I got the Free Fitting and rode the bike 39,000 miles.

I would say it all depends on how much you will spend on a bike, how many miles (hours) you will be seated on your longest ride and level of fitness also enters into it. If you will be spending what you consider to be a good sum on money and hope to ride longer distances, it is likely a fitting will be worth while but the initial fitting need not be too elaborate. I say this because after some miles under your belt as as cycling fitness improves, the initial fitting will probably no longer be valid. After an initial fitting, as a newby you would new the fit modified. I would try to negotiate an arrangement where you could go back after, say, 6 months for mods.

If free were an option I'd definitely do it, but it appears to be a good chunk of change beyond the cost of the bike and accessories I think I'll need like different hand grips. I have been more than half a dozen different stores within a 1 hour drive and this seems to be an upsell service for them so they won't get much info fit without it. And the few that didn't have the service didn't seem willing to change things out for me to try.

This is helpful. The bike will likely cost $1000 by the time I'm done with handgrips etc. so yes that is a significant investment and I do hope to get many (and an increasing number) hours of riding it. Different shops seem to have varying levels of complexity in their fitting (though I can't judge what's useful vs. sell the service b.s.) and some provide a 6 month or 1 year return and re-do at no charge.

I'm an old man (79 y.o.) but I've worked up to 50-60 mile rides. This is a mere warmup for those who ride 100 miles or much more. In my rides around town I can live with most any arrangement of the bike but after several hours, minor discomforts become major pains. At present, my bike is very comfortable even after 4 hours in the saddle but this was not always so. After the initial fitting from the bike shop, I did much tweaking over several years. I found, for me anyway, that seemingly minor adjustments caused major fit issues as I did the longer rides. So don't get discouraged if the rides get uncomfortable as your rides get longer. You will adjust the bike but also your body will adjust to riding.
Bern

Wondering why you want a flat-bar bike, when your aim is to build up to multi-hour rides.

Sure you could ride one for a long time, but why not a drop-bar bike?

My perspective is from someone who paid for a fitting. I would say ride the bike a bit and see how it feels. If you feel your body is not happy or you are not getting adequate power after you have ridden the bike a while, then pay for the fit. You don't need to do it right away. You can get your position pretty good using some online sources and/or the shop you purchase at. Only by riding will you get able to determine if you need some professional help to dial the fit in perfectly. If you do pay for a fit, make sure you get at least one fit adjustment free within three months after. I can pretty much guarantee you will need a minor adjustment after the first fitting. In my case, the fit session was worth every penny as it removed barriers to my extended riding and resolved some pain. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it - you might get lucky and be fine right away. Wait until you have fit issues you can't resolve yourself (by minor seat adjustments, etc.).

I like more upright. Much easier on my neck and easier to look ahead and around as I go. I'm also a busty overweight woman who does not enjoy folding over my torso.

Thnk you for sharing your experience. I'm leaning towards getting the fitting up front as none of the bikes are currently right for me which I described in my original post and they'll give me a discount on part changes at that time. Unfortunately no one has responded with tips about how to adjust the fit! I'm thinking about whether to pay for fitting on the Specialized; that shop provides extensive fitting service. The Trek shop not as much fitting, but I think the bike starts out closer to fitting me.

when I had my fit, we swapped the bars out. I have "t rex arms" lol so my reach is short in relation to my legs. The fitter went to slightly more swept back bars. It was definitely an improvement. Just recently, I swapped those bars out for Nitto All Rounders...instead of the 40 degree sweep of the existing bars, these are 70 degree swept back like North Roads Bars, but more importantly they are much narrower. this has made a huge difference in that my shoulders are not pushed together at all anymore as I reach for wider bars, i'm narrow across and now my bars are not wider than I am. Big difference, no more shoulder shrugging towards my neck. My point is you will probably continue to adjust your fit the entire time you own your bike. Even after a professional fit, because your body will change. The advantage of the pro-fit is you will have a recorded starting point and a better idea on what and how to adjust if your fitter educates you as well as making changes. Start out with the bike you are most comfortable on and just accept that you will end up with a pile of parts some day =)

[MENTION=106798]10 Wheels[/MENTION], this may be the first time I'm seeing a picture of you. You're looking great.

Enjoy:


South Super Racer Girls Slideshow by 10wheels | Photobucket


https://www.bikeforums.net/hosted-tra...e-ends-la.html

2009 When I passed 15,000 miles on my 2nd year of riding. Got 11,200 the first year.

Not sure if a similar service is available in your area but UF sports medicine department offers a fit service that insurance will cover if prescribed by a doctor.

Amazing. How did your group gather and organize? Or will I find that in your thread? Fantastic.

Here on BF

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/54...t-paid-do.html

Thanks. I missed this back then though I was on BF by then. I love this stuff. I toured long distance when I was very young, though not that long. I'm hoping to find a way to do it again. My wife is kinda-sorta interested, so either I have to increase her interest (and I'm working on that) or I'll have to do it without her.

I want to first point out that bike fitting is neither "science" nor difficult, although it does take an attention to detail, nuance, and a methodical approach.

My second thought is the typical, "if you have to ask, then yes, get a fitting," but that's me assuming you don't have interest in doing some adjustments yourself. However, in your OP you demonstrate attention both to detail and methodology, so I'd bet you could do this if you wanted to! That's really a rehash of [MENTION=375764]linberl[/MENTION]'s point, but if you haven't seriously considered it, do.

The reason to consider doing it yourself, as Linerl rightly pointed out, is that things change as you get into riding. I'd add to that there are no guarantees that a fitting will really be successful in any way at this point. You really need riding experience to know what you need. Riding around on even a really ill-fitting bike is not going to mess you up; just look around at how most people ride! Even a properly fitted bike will need to be tweaked for comfort, because there's a difference between fitting and fitted. For example, you can have a well-sized frame, the right stem length and right saddle height, but the wrong bar shape, wrong saddle, wrong brake lever position, etc. Fit is not a right/wrong or yes/no thing, and the permutations of correct possibilities are many.

That said, if you don't want to tackle it and want it done by a shop, get a good one. Make sure the shop takes measurements, does observations, and has someone who really knows what they're doing. If I recall, the Specialized fit system-- is it BodyGeometry?-- is pretty comprehensive and authorized service providers have training in providing it. Whatever the case, ask questions about it, and be comfortable with their answers; if they're vague or otherwise unconvincing, look elsewhere. There may even be independent bike fitters in your town, and since that's their only business, they're usually proficient in the work. Bike shop fittings, especially if they don't have a specialist, are unreliable, though they can certainly be just fine and well provided, too.

My advice, though, would be to wait until you get some miles in and can see what might be better.

Good luck!

39K miles!!!

Nice! No, I don't think this is something blue cross covers.

Really? They covered mine

Your advice makes sense. I had the bike shop put it on a trainer and had their fitter specialist confirm it looks like it fits fairly well so if I go do a full fitting later I don't hear well, you started out with the wrong frame size, geometry etc. that isn't so easy to adjust. Went for a 6 mile ride.