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steven1988
Veteran
- Location
- Sheffield
How far into Yorkshire are you? My lad has just been to get his CX bikes fitted, with Andy Bishop in Worksop. Amazing bloke and an amazing job done by him. He took nearly 4 hours getting them right whilst we chatted
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I've always regarded the concept of bike fits to be frankly ludicrous for 99.9% of riders. When most of us had bikes as kids, we simply kept tweaking things until we optimised them, and had to keep doing it as we got taller. You soon cottoned on to the fact that a low saddle killed your legs in half the miles that a well set one did, and it explained why you were knackered after ten miles but your mate was still up for riding a bit further!
If you cared enough about your cycling to want to get the most out of it then you empirically achieved a good set up through repeated small tweaks. We didn't need to go to a professional bike fitter for this, it was done by trial and error.
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
@SkipdiverJohn me and you will never understand things like this.
But others swear by it , all my bikes start of with the saddle at 39" and bars at 36" then fine tune same goes for reach .
My body tells me what feels right not some bloke I am paying.
But others swear by it , all my bikes start of with the saddle at 39" and bars at 36" then fine tune same goes for reach .
My body tells me what feels right not some bloke I am paying.
taximan
senex crepitu iuvenis cordi esse
- Location
- Whitby North Yorkshire.
Like a lot of cyclists I have never had a bike fit in my life. my belief is that if a bike feels right, it probably is. I reckon anyone with a modicum of common sense will know if a bike they are considering buying is too large or too small for them, the rest as has already been stated can be sorted by tweaking over the first few rides.
Kajjal
Guru
- Location
- Wheely World
It is a good idea to learn about setting up a bike correctly and experimenting yourself to learn how things work. That way if you do decide on a professional bike fit you understand more and will get more from it.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
My standard rough and ready set up is pedal spindle to saddle top distance at 37" and I get the bars as close in height as possible to the saddle, ideally level if there's enough stem adjustment. I like to have the seat post coming up in a line through the centre of the saddle, as regards fore-aft. If I start out with that ball park, I never have to move anything more than a quarter of an inch, if that, after some test rides.
I don't buy the argument that bike fit changes with age either. I haven't got any taller, or my legs any longer, since I was about 18, which means a bike that fitted me as a 18 year old will still fit me now. I've never been interested in masochistic discomfort-inducing aggressive riding positions, so I have not had to change anything because of bad backs etc. Discomfort in return for going faster is not a price I have been willing to pay, then or now.
I'm quite happy spending money so long as I'm getting good value, enjoyment, or a tangible benefit in return. What I'm not prepared to do, is hand over money to "experts" to do something I am perfectly capable of doing for myself, at little or no cost. There's a lot of truth in the old saying about fools and their money being soon parted. I manage to enjoy my cycling, and a lot of other things, without shelling out large wads of cash on them.
- Location
- London
Can I ask how many bikes you have?
(no - it's not a money related question)
6 and before you ask all the road bikes set up with the same measurements, as are the mtb's which are slightly different from the road bikes.
- Location
- London
you mean you changed them all to fit the advice of the bike fitter?
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
And what difference did those tweeks make ?
Comfort, I was not after anything else at my age.
