Bike fit - how could I have got it so wrong

[rugby bloke]

I admit that what I know about setting up a bike correctly can be written on the back of a postage stamp. But even allowing for this level of incompetence and ignorance I'm amazed at how many adjustments were required when I took my bike for a bike fit today.
Cleats - Tick
Saddle height - Tick
Stem - Tick
Handlebars - Tick
Felt much better on the turbo, looking forward to going out for a spin tomorrow to test it all out. Hopefully many miles of pain free peddling ahead.

 

[Tommy2]

I think as long as they didn’t tell you that your frame was completely the wrong size then there is always going to be fine tuning that either takes time and tinkering or a professional eye and gadgetry.

 

[Dave 123]

But had you had a growth spurt


Or shrinkage?

 

[rugby bloke]

He was happy with the frame size ... thankfully, as that would have been an expensive mistake. In some ways he was actually with the adjustments he made. Everything was so out of wack it was not a matter of fine tuning.

 

[rugby bloke]

But had you had a growth spurt


Or shrinkage?

Not grown for years, at my age more likely shrinkage

 

[Drago]

...at my age more likely shrinkage

So Mrs Bloke has been saying

 

[Globalti]

What about seat position on the rails and angle?

I was measured today and I've lost 15mm in the last few years.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

There is actually quite a wide range if setups that will work for given bike. So it is not necessarily that you had it so wrong, but perhaps did not have it setup for maximal power or comfort. Unless it is really bad, bad bike position does not manifest till quite a few miles of riding.

 

[kingrollo]

There is actually quite a wide range if setups that will work for given bike. So it is not necessarily that you had it so wrong, but perhaps did not have it setup for maximal power or comfort. Unless it is really bad, bad bike position does not manifest till quite a few miles of riding.

Agree - It often makes me wonder why the 30 minute test ride before purchase is touted as such a vital step in buying a bike....

 

[Drago]

Agree - It often makes me wonder why the 30 minute test ride before purchase is touted as such a vital step in buying a bike....

Because all the bike set up in the world wont affect the bikes geometry, and hence how it behaves and feels in your hands and under your butt. You won't know how that feels, and thus whether you will like it, until you've had a spin.

 

[Ian H]

Yer barely trained bike-fitters have to justify their fees somehow. They can't just leave it all the same.

I'd want a bod who'd been riding as long as me – in fact I do know such a bod, our club coach. He looked at me and said I was fine as I was.

 

[Sunny Portrush]

Agree with the above. I`ve never had a bike fit but I would be extremely miffed if I shelled out a load of cash just for the bloke to say "you`re fine as your are"!

 

[Globalti]

An experienced eye can tell a lot about a rider's position, same with many other sports.

 

[Drago]

Agree with the above. I`ve never had a bike fit but I would be extremely miffed if I shelled out a load of cash just for the bloke to say "you`re fine as your are"!

When I had a fit they made very little adjustment. It wasn't long before I changed it back as it was making my Mecanno arm uncomfortable. Had I not bought it cheap from a mate who had booked it and then injured himself so badly he couldn't attend, then I would have been considering the possibility of thinking about becoming slightly miffed.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I always wonder about bike fits, as I tend to stretch out more as I ride along. I fit a bike a bit more differently after 15 miles then I do at the start. We have a couple of bike fit machines, but no one I would trust to do the job right. So I just follow the step by step instructions, and I enjoy cycling with that fit as provided. In the States, we had little concept of fitting bikes until Eddie Borsciewicz brought European cycling standards for Olympic Competition over here in 1978. That, and the rise of sports medicine, finally brought about the idea of fitting the bike to the purchaser.