Proffesional fitting
 

I was wondering how much a professional fitting would cost. I went to one of my LBS shops and they wanted to charge 60 dollars. does this seem right or is it low?

That's about right. They can go from $80 and up

that's a good deal

Here's some info from a CT newspaper, The New Haven Register:

Bike fitting sessions at College Street Cycles last 60-90 minutes. The cost is $75, plus an optional $25 for cleat adjustment.

Matthew Feiner, owner of Devil’s Gear Bike Shop in New Haven, charges $50-$100 for a bike fitting that takes 45-90 minutes.

At Zane’s, the bike-fitting process usually takes three to four hours and costs $350. One of the shop’s employees, Greg Ciocci of New Haven, recently learned how to do bike fittings with specialized computer software.

The full article can be found at http://zanes.com/articles/new-haven-...fits-pg227.htm

Note, I don't have any real affiliation with any of these shops, just providing some info. I did get my Roubaix from Zanes, but that was through the Delta Skymiles program.

Charles

It varies.. But I'd honestly suggest going with someone who has years of experience as a fitter. A good fit may be expensive, but as someone who paid close to $200 to have one done (after years of having half-assed ones done), I'll say it's worth every penny.

Some things to look for.. retul fitting? computrainer spin-scan analysis to check for leg imbalances? video analysis?

That actually seems too low for a "professional fit", and I'd be more wary of a cheap fit than an expensive one. A good fitting takes time, and a good fitter charges accordingly (and is usually worth it).

If it's a true professional fit, that's a really good deal. Most professional fits are pretty extensive and can take up to three hours.

I would check to see what kind of fit it is. If it just involves someone watching you while tweaking your fore-aft, saddle height, and stems it may not be worth it. That's something you can do on your own.

You should also ask around or look for reviews on particular fitters. You will want to get someone experienced that knows what they're doing. I haven't been trained, but give me an hour and I can tweak a person's position on the bike. The position would work, but probably not be the best since I don't have that much experience with fitting.

Only if it's done right.

I think an eyeball fit from an experienced fitter can be quite helpful. If the guy's got a good rep, it might help alot, at least to get you out there.

So many things can change a good fit, including time in the saddle.

Kinda depends on where you are in your riding, and what your needs and goals are. Dealing with pain or serious comfort issues, or wanting to maximize performance for an experienced cyclist would really require the more extensive fitting. An approximate fit might be just fine for dialing in a new bike, or fitting a new saddle or bars, or the like.

Not to shill, but just adding to the thread. I charge $250.00 for a Retul fit. That seems to be the standard for a fitter utilizing the Retul system tool whether they are Certified by Retul or not. I have seen upwards of $500.00 for a fit.

A fit from me takes anywhere from 90min to 3+hours. This includes a full biomechanical/physical assessment, cleat adjustments/basic shims if needed (usually not needed ;)), bike adjustments, full Zin http://www.retul.com/the-zin.asp of bike, bicycle setup and physical assessment reports, and follow up if needed.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. :)

I'll do it for $55.00.

worth. every. penny.

I think that's a little low, most places around here charge 150-250$ for an all out pro fit. Some places will do a "quick fit" for 50$, which involves taking a bunch of measurements and plugging it into a computer. Either way, something is better than nothing.

LBS closest to me charges $240 for what they call a "biodynamic fitting". Minimum two hours, often up to three. Include cleat fitting/shims. The two fellas who do it have been developing their methods for a couple of decades now, and they're known for being one of only about a dozen shops in the country who use their approach. Cool thing is, you can come in with an off-the-rack China-frame sub-$1000 Raleigh (like I did), and they'll spend as much time put as much personal energy into it as if you'd come in and gotten a fitting to buy a custom-cut Cervelo or Seven at their shop. They knew I wasn't gonna spend (otherwise) more than a few bucks on accessories or the occasional "I'm too lazy" service, but that didn't change how they treated me. The fellow who did my fitting last week actually did some research on the frame I was getting before I showed up; we spent an hour before I even got it, just talking about how to set it up, and my conformation, etc. All included in the price.

$60 will probably be more of a "static" fitting; the right seatpost, stem, bar, etc, positioned right based on a few body measurements. Maybe a five-minute spin on the trainer to make sure nothing's way out of whack. About $60 worth, but you get what you pay for.

Why do no fitters offer a money back guarantee?

because it would be to easy to get a fitting and then claim that you were not happy and wanted your money back. THe fitter I used made sure that I understood that I was more than welcome to come in after a riding the new "fit" for a little while to have any tweaking I may have needed dealt with.

Definitely not a pro fit for $60. Most pro fits cost $200+. Look for a BG Fit or Retul Fit.

I know he could be an experience bike fitter but that sounds exactly like the person I wouldn't want a bike fit from.

I would imagine that in most cases if you came back a week later and said you had lower back pain or whatever, a good fitter would try to help you out. Mostly what Joemess said though.

There are quite a few reasons.

Number one being, how do I truely know the fit I did is incorrect? They could be perfectly fine with the work I did that took me upwards of 3 hours but may still complain of pain and I would have to give their money back. Unfortunately it is not a tangible item that is returnable like a pair of cycling shoes that fell apart. I do however have what I believe to be some of the best follow up around. I will always do whatever possible to alleviate any fit issues my clients may have.

I deal with all types of riders; fat, thin, fit, not so fit, old, young. Some but not many come to me thinking a fit is magically going to bring them to the podium at their next race or jump their watts up 15%. There may be some complaints about comfort but are way overweight or have had 6 knee surgeries and a hip replacement. There are just some people that will never be comfortable no matter how well I tweak their bike to fit there biomechanics. Weight tends to contribute to many fit issues. Folks that carry extra weight put more pressure on contact points (e.g. saddle, bars, pedals/shoes). Heavy weight, previous surgeries, and injuries can limit flexibility and make it hard for a good fitter to get the bike to compliment the riders build and physical abilities.

+1

Thats great info as I live 5 min outside new haven and have perused all of the above. looking into bike fitting, since I bought my bike and had original fitting and being new to cycling the set up was more relaxed. due for a new fitting as I plan to do a couple crits next spring and feel like i need some adjustments.

Crono did mine about 3 weeks ago as well, worth every single penny I paid. They made some wholesale changes on my bike, and it fits beautifully now. I will without doubt drive back down to Crono to get my next ride when the time comes. As a bonus, they showed me what the numbers mean on a spinscan, which I have my own computrainer here at home, so I can make my own adjustments and see how they affect my power balance and such.

Jeff

+1

I suppose it depends on what type of riding OP does/wants to do and what budget realities he has. Around here I found my bike fit options were actual pro fits with pricetags north of $200 or eyeball fittings in the $50 - $75 range. For my particular situation the lower cost service made more sense. So I asked around and found someone in a LBS with a good rep whi had been doing it for a while and for $110 I spent 3 hours on and off the trainer; got saddle fore/aft and height tweaked, stem reach and angle adjustments, cleats repositioned, shims for one shoe, handlebar angle tweaked, bars untaped so reposition shifters, spacers added to make the hoods comfy and the shifters easily accessible while in the drops, bars retaped. After the first ride the saddle (which was new) position and reach still didn't feel quite right so I spent another hour at the shop while they made some more tweaks. The second adjustments were at no charge and the $110 original charge does include the cost of supplies, notably new bar tape and a Ritchey stem plus whatever spacers, shims etc. they used.

It was worth every penny and a bike expense I have not regretted in the least. It's like riding a whole new bike and I can spend hours in the saddle without discomfort. I'm sure the pro fitting would have been even more extensive and led to more amazing results but that is not a good option for me right now. That said, if I do keep this bike and want to use it for racing then I'll definitely spend the $250++ on an actual pro fitting. So what is your motivation for getting fit? That might help you choose your price-point.

Over the years I've have paid for a number of fit sessions. Maybe I just had bad luck but none of them helped improve my setup. If you you really want to spend money on a "professional" fit session you will probably want to educated yourself about basic fit concepts prior to meeting with him/her so you can properly assess whatever they recommend.