skydive69

Where do I begin. Typical LBS fitting makes some body measurements - makes it look more impressive by inputing them into a computer. They set your seat height by looking at your leg extension, and take a shot at what they think your fore and aft seat position should be. This was at a Specialized dealer with an alleged Specialized fitting system. The whole thing was over in a few minutes, and I was on my way totally misfitted.

Now to the real fitting. People fly in from all over to be fitted at this shop. They worked in the wind tunnel that did work with Lance, etc. They have extensive body measuring devices that are very thourough. For example, the LBS mentioned nothing about my leg length discrepancy or a slight difference in shoulder height from right to left. After the extensive measuremts, the bike is mounted on a Cateye trainer, and the rest is captured on video tape so you can watch the difference in body position as you change. I, for example was pedaling in an awkward position with one leg closer to the top tube than the other. Seat height is measured with a device that precisely measures the angle of your leg at full extension, leading to a very accurate seat height. Mine came up substantially from the LBS setting. My seat fore/aft position was changed substantially from almost full back to much further foward. There was a substantial change in my stem going to a shorter stem by 20 mm, but removing almost all of the rise. Due to my leg length discrepancy (which a good percentage of the population has), while one fitter was working with me on the bike, another was preparing a shim to be put under my right cleat. When that was accomplished, a few things were tweaked. The difference in the way I looked on video at the start of the fitting, and the incredible difference at the end was amazing. I looked like a real rider. Interestingly, I thought that going to a much more aggressive stance (handlebars were also lowered through change in spacers), I thought I would initially experience discomfort as I got used to the new position. Quite to the contrary, I was even more comfortable.

The next day on the club ride, the difference in my ability to put power to the pedals had changed substantially, and I won the sprint at the end of the ride. This particular shop continues to work with you as your flexibility or whatever changes, and tweaks are accomplished at no charge if needed. My fitting was about three months ago, and I have needed no tweaks.

The whole procedure took the better part of two hours. Now that was a fitting. The girl who lives across the street from me and done the full Hawaiian Ironman. She was riding with various pains until she went to them for a fitting, and the pains were alleviated. She was suffering the results of the typical ineffective, inaccurate LBS fitting. In my case, prior to the fitting, I was getting knee pain towards the end of my rides, and that would be exacerbated by sprinting. From the day after the fitting, I no longer suffered knee pain.

I was particularly excited about the way the Canadian company Guru deals with fittings. They have the dealer make numerous measurement, fill out a form, send it to Guru, and Guru decides which size bike you should have (they started out making custom bikes exclusively apparently). In my case, my upper body lent it self well to one size, and my lower body to another. The upshot is that Guru is in the process of building me a custom bike to fit my unique sizing needs. When it arrives in a couple of weeks, I will be going through the two-hour fitting process with that bike.

I have probably left out much of the story of the difference between a BS LBS fitting and a real professional fitting, but I hope you get the drift.

skydive69

Slider, having just read your note, I just wanted to comment that I apologize if my language was too strong in referring to "typical LBS BS fittings." What you describe works great for the typical rider - probably anything more would be a bit of overkill. In my case, I ride almost every day, ride quite aggressively with a fast group, and I race. Most of the people that come to be fitted at the place that I describe are serious competitors looking for a slight edge with precise fitting. One of the things that I like about this place, is the extensive fitting is free with a bike purchase at this shop, which is owned by a couple of national class competitors. I got mine as an xmas present.

squeegy200

Exactly my same thought. Find another opinion and test drive a 60cm bike. Remember, if they sell you a bike that doesn't fit, YOU are the only one who is going to suffer.

Penzoil

I ride a 59 and im 6'2 so that seems a little small for your height

jazzy_cyclist

That was excellent, SD. Thanks for the description. I'm not sure my style has developed at this point, but the more one understands fitting mechanics, the better off one is. I had a "rough fitting" when I bought my bike last year, but I am going to get a [free] fine tuned fitting today, so it will be interesting. The LBS does do Serotta fittings, but I expect mine to be closer to the "garden variety" than what you described. I'm really trying to get a better handle on reach/saddle mechanics as I really want to feel good about my saddle this season.

skydive69

Let us know how it goes, and the difference you feel after the tweaking.

roadwarrior

About $150 worth of detailed information and about 3 hours of time...like most everyone, people want to pay $200 for a $2,000 suit. Mostly because they do not understand WHY it's a $2,000 suit.
A bike's a bike....

No it's not...

It's the Performance Bike mentality and when it does not work, it's the bike shop's fault.

Funny stuff...

To the FLA guy....when you leave our operation, you leave with a total computer readout on your pedal stroke before and after the bike is adjusted. How you look is not important. How efficent your pedal stroke becomes is vital. We can not only measure your power throughout each revolution, but tell you if you are favoring one leg over another (percentage of your total power, say 50-50, 48-52 etc...) and how much you actually use your total stroke, push and pull on the upward side. How much of that circle is being used and tweak your fit to maximize that total stroke. All computerized. And you can watch it on the monitor.
Tyler Hamilton has the ugliest pedaling stroke I have ever seen. Looks horrible on tape.
It's not important.

skydive69

Sounds like you guys do a great fitting warrior. I hear that taking too much juice makes your pedal stroke look ugly.

2manybikes

I've got a 53 bike and a 64 bike adjusted to the exact same pedal, seat, bar position. I can ride them for 14 hours easily. Same for 13 other different size bikes.

The small one has a too short top tube, the big one has a too high top tube. They are both fine for me. I have then adjusted to the same dimensions as the bikes that are the exact correct frame size.
Once I'm in the seat it hardly matters. I can not really stand over the big one.

What the best frame size does, is it puts the seat and the bars (stem options) in the middle of the adjustment range for you. This allows you to change the adjustments when you need to. It gives the most range of adjustment. This is best, but not always needed. If you change shoes, shorts, and need to move the bars for comfort, it is most convenient to have the adjustments in the middle of the range. You don't HAVE to have it.

You can be fit perfectly on more than one size frame.

ALSO !!

Bike manufacturers measure frames differently....some measure from the center of the bottom bracket to the middle of the top tube for seat tube height. Some measure to the top of the top tube. Some measure to the top of the seat tube sticking out over the top of the top tube.


BOTTOM LINE ....You can't always take a number from one bike maker to another brand and have it mean the same thing !! You can fit perfectly on different size frames !!

Go with what's comfortable.