Bike fit

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biggs682

Itching to get back on my bike's
Location
Northamptonshire
Comfort, I was not after anything else at my age.
Fair enough i was just intrigued
 

Gunk

Guru
Location
Oxford
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 agree, your experience ends up taking you in a certain direction after a bit of trial and error, personally I have found over the years that I prefer a smaller frame, I like a more compact riding position. Plenty of seat tube on show!
 

Milzy

Guru
Why are you after a jig type fit ? When I had one 15 years ago it led me my only proper injury (ITB). I had my first 'on bike' type of 7 years ago, which lowered my saddle and touch wood I've not had a problem since. It might be unrelated but the saddle height suggested by the jig springs out to me as the issue :-/
Jig type fit is the best. Many of us have frames that are wrong so the fitter will do their best to fit you to that wrong frame.
You should get the fit on the jig and then buy the bike afterwards to be fit again to do things properly.
 

Big John

Guru
For some spending money is worse than extracting their own teeth, whilst others are happy to do so. After 50+ years of cycling I feel the £185 I spent with Adrian Timmis was well worth it.
As an aside, and some of you may know this already, Adrian Timmis was in the ANC Halfords TdF team in 1987. What a star! If anyone fancies a cracking read, and a few good laughs, get your hands on a copy of 'Wide-Eyed And Legless' by Jeff Connor. By the way, I'm not on commission or related before anyone asks :laugh:
P.S. I've no real opinion on a bike fit. If someone earns the money then who are we to judge where it's spent, eh? We're all different and if anyone looked at where I've spent my money over the years I'm sure it's gone on worse things than a bike fit :whistle:
 

OldShep

Veteran
For some spending money is worse than extracting their own teeth, whilst others are happy to do so. After 50+ years of cycling I feel the £185 I spent with Adrian Timmis was well worth it.
It’s not my money you spent so I’ve no problem with that.
What does intrigue me though is how can Adrian Timmis, in a few hours, know more about your body and position on a bike than you do. After 50+ years of cycling you say suggesting you’ve been wrongly positioned on a bike for all those years Are you saying after 50 years of cycling you still can’t recognise which muscles are talking to you and how to please them. 50 years of riding and I would hope fiddling with position hasn’t given you the insight needed to be comfortable on a bike.
What will be interesting to know if five years on after a paid for position you still hold it or revert to where you were.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
It’s not my money you spent so I’ve no problem with that.
What does intrigue me though is how can Adrian Timmis, in a few hours, know more about your body and position on a bike than you do. After 50+ years of cycling you say suggesting you’ve been wrongly positioned on a bike for all those years Are you saying after 50 years of cycling you still can’t recognise which muscles are talking to you and how to please them. 50 years of riding and I would hope fiddling with position hasn’t given you the insight needed to be comfortable on a bike.
What will be interesting to know if five years on after a paid for position you still hold it or revert to where you were.

5 years in now and it is like falling into a comfy chair each time I get on the bike, I hastened to my body, been coached on my fitness by too coaches but misstatement 3 hours looking at what I could not see. Looking at it in reverse, how do you know there is not room for improvement in your position? Or that as you get older you are not doing some harm. I speak from personal experience, you speak from where I was before investing a few bob in myself.
 

OldShep

Veteran
@screenman It’s good to know you’ve stayed with the changes and are happy with the experience.
Looking in reverse I’d need to know or realise what improvement I was looking for in my position. I’ve a position which sees me finish rides without any aches and pains just healthy tiredness. A position I rode a LEJOG aged 66 but interestingly not the same position I had in my forties and fifties riding Audax. I’ve a position where on a couple of occasions in recent years I’ve rushed a rebuild or tried to measure without wearing glasses. In every instance my body parts alerted me.
I can’t imagine what long term harm my set up might be causing but I’ll take that gamble. If nothing’s grumbling now that’s fine by me. So if you were, before bike fit, where I am now then I’m still struggling to see why you did it. Surely you must have had some grain of doubt in your own ability? You’ve already, I think, stated it wasn't for performance but purely comfort.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
@screenman It’s good to know you’ve stayed with the changes and are happy with the experience.
Looking in reverse I’d need to know or realise what improvement I was looking for in my position. I’ve a position which sees me finish rides without any aches and pains just healthy tiredness. A position I rode a LEJOG aged 66 but interestingly not the same position I had in my forties and fifties riding Audax. I’ve a position where on a couple of occasions in recent years I’ve rushed a rebuild or tried to measure without wearing glasses. In every instance my body parts alerted me.
I can’t imagine what long term harm my set up might be causing but I’ll take that gamble. If nothing’s grumbling now that’s fine by me. So if you were, before bike fit, where I am now then I’m still struggling to see why you did it. Surely you must have had some grain of doubt in your own ability? You’ve already, I think, stated it wasn't for performance but purely comfort.


You could say I happily paid for an experience.
 
Location
London
You could say I happily paid for an experience.
can we ask what these suggested changes acted upon were?

I have maybe about the same number of active bikes as you - more if you count others.

I know sod all about the "science" of bike fitting and everything I read about it brought back fevered memories of O level maths and physics.
Gradually I found that all my bikes, of various frame sizes and geometries, had gravitated towards the same key measurements.

Essentially by listening to my body - well that and two catholic priests I fell in with one moonlit dunwich dynamo many years ago - they told me my saddle was too low.

I did more recently have a bike fitting on a jig refundable as part of a bike purchase - I bought the bike.

Nice as the guy was - and careful and methodical, and sincere, with no bullshit, his guidance didn't feel quite right. I went with it. Rode the bike for a bit - feared I'd made an expensive mistake - went back and gave him my practically arrived at measurements - he flipped a stem and pretty much conformed the new bike to them. And since all has been well.

In tune with my body.

So I'd need some convincing that a bike fitting is needed for anyone who has a small number of bikes to tinker with.

Some folks of course search for supposedly optimum power output or whatever but that isn't my world, and nor is it yours as you say. Those folks it seems to me are prepared to put up with all sorts of contortions in search of their goal - and emulating their drug-fuelled champions.
 
Location
London
@David L
apart from saying that you'd like some measurements you can transfer across bikes, you haven't really said what you hope this fit will do for your ride - speed, trophies, comfort?
How many bikes do you have?
Your current bike/s - comfortable?
As for getting the right size of bike - mine are all "sizes".
If you need convincing of the fact that folks can perfectly easily ride different sized bikes, as long as they are set up properly, consider that some folks ride MTBs, tourers, hybrids and even Bromptons. (I do). What size is a Brompton?
 
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