Bike fitting in Cheshire/Merseyside?

[sabian92]

Evening,

I've decided I want a professional fitting doing - my bike is really not comfortable over 8 miles or so. Does anybody know any well regarded bike fitters in the North West?

I understand it's expensive but I would like to save a few quid if I can.

Thanks a lot.

 

[I like Skol]

I don't get it with these bike fittings and the slightly sceptical side of me thinks it might be a load of old tosh. My reason for this is that I either have a very adaptable body or have been very lucky with setting up my bikes. Of the 3 bikes I own, the oldest, an MTB I bought 18 years ago has always fitted me well from day one. Once I got the saddle up to the right height it has stayed exactly the same for all that time. Then I bought a Hybrid about 18 months ago and after the initial tweaks to saddle height and position (just a case of 'that looks about right' then a quick lap of the neighbourhood before a further 'ooh, could just do with that a bit further in this direction') it too has been spot on. Last autumn I bought my third ride, a road bike, and after the first saddle set-up it also felt pretty good and I could ride it all day quite happily. The road bike has recently had a further fettle to the position as I never felt completely at home on it and was beginning to wonder if drop handlebars just weren't for me. I wasn't uncomfortable or experiencing any pain, it just felt as if I wasn't really in full control of the bike. After clocking up around 500 miles on the bike I had a think about the position I was riding in and decided I was just too hunched up over the bike so I was squashing my stomach/abdomen and couldn't get my head back enough to watch were I was going properly. The solution to this was ridiculously simple, I just flipped the stem which raised the bars enough to rectify the two 'issues' I had with the bike. I can now breath more easily (hadn't even realised this was difficult until this point) and can see where I am going properly without having to strain my neck or ride on the bar tops all the time.

What have you done to get yourself comfortable on your bike? Have a think about your current position and what it is that is making you uncomfortable then consider how that can be changed. It may simply be a case of moving the saddle back or forward a little or altering the height of the bars or saddle a touch. I'm not convinced it is as scientific as many would have us believe and you can do a great deal of adjusting with[out] even having to swap any of your current components.

 

[junglegusset]

I'm not sure how long you have been cycling but no bike is 'comfortable' over longer distances. There is an amount of inherent discomfort in the sport, whatever the bike.The more used you get to cycling the less this bothers you. Saying that though you may have something not quite right. Is there a particular part or parts of your body which are becoming sore. Back? Feet? Wrists? Arse? If its your back you might need to move your seat back/forward, or get a longer or shorter stem. Do you feel like you are over-reached or cramped up? If its your backside or feet you might have your saddle too low, very common mistake .Put your saddle up until its too high (you will know when it's too high) then lover it half an inch, then try it, then maybe another half inch. If the bike is upright and you are sat in the saddle you should only just be able to touch the floor with your toes. If your backside gets sore then change you seating position slightly at regular intervals, move either forward a bit or back a bit. If your wrists/arms/shoulders are hurting move your seat back a bit. You only come into contact with the bike in three places bars, pedals and seat. You have to shift your weight around to strike the right balance between these three points. Your hands should bear the smallest amount of weight, most should be shared out pretty much equally between your feet and backside. You have to play around a bit as Skol says. If you are really lost go and see the fellows at Sixty-Nine Cycles in Hoole in Chester. Nice chaps and really helpful.

Or read this: http://sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

 

[sabian92]

I've been getting quite a lot of wrist pain due to the reach (I think) I'm having to make to the hoods, and the saddle is really not comfy either - I know that my weight being on my wrists is causing the problem but I don't know if it's the saddle position, the stem being too long or what.

I know the saddle is the right height - it's the forwards/backwards and up/down tilt that's the problem. It's a cheap saddle which doesn't help either.

I've been riding about a year (well, I've had my road bike a year, I put 70 miles on my old hybrid before it fell apart) and done about 200 miles, partly because i'm lazy and partly because it's not very comfy. I commute but that's only 4 miles each way and I don't really like the idea of getting out at any other time because I know i'll get sore wrists. I don't get back pain or knee pain, it's just my wrists that hurt. My arms are fully stretched out which I'm sure is not helping the fact a lot of my 16st bulk is resting on my wrists.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Could be that your bars are to wide for you, when this is the case you put pressure on your wrists.. You can see this by simply doing a pushup, keep your arms near you body and you push up using your entire hand, widen your reach and push up you place more pressure on your wrists.
I'm a massive fan of bike fitting and would personally say its money well spent towards getting more enjoyment from the activity.

 

[defy-one]

Flip the stem,and raise the drops a little up towards you. This should give you a more upright riding position,resulting in more weight on your saddle than your wrists.
If the saddle is cheap - invest in a better one from the money you will not have wasted with a bike fitting

 

[I like Skol]

Flip the stem,and raise the drops a little up towards you. This should give you a more upright riding position,resulting in more weight on your saddle than your wrists.
If the saddle is cheap - invest in a better one from the money you will not have wasted with a bike fitting

This is my thinking, you can do a lot of tweaking and experimenting without spending a penny on new parts before finally resorting to a bike fit (which some may find a pointless exercise?). We don't know what the OP's bike is, so talk of 'flipping the stem' might not be possible but even a quill stem will normally allow a similar degree of height movement.

I suggest trying one adjustment at a time (Don't jump in gung-ho and alter bars, saddle height, saddle tilt and saddle fore/aft position all in one hit!). Take note of the starting positions so if the tweak doesn't help or makes things worse you can return to the start or even go a touch in the opposite direction. It isn't rocket science and if you are getting things right it should feel fairly obvious quite quickly.

 

[Globalti]

Paul Hewitt in Leyland does bike fitting: http://www.hewittbikefitting.co.uk/

 

[Powely]

I am in the same area and was just about to ask the same thing... I saw this
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHdnu1IRDz4&feature=related
and thought it all looked very professional and scientific. Am I wrong?

 

[DaveL]

Vita cycles do a bike fitting on the Wirral, I think it's £45 and takes just over an hour. My mate has just had it done, and he says it's made a big difference. It's worth going just to see the shop.

A few of our club members have used Paul Hewitt and have been happy with the service.

Dave

 

[sabian92]

Having a look now. 45 quid doesn't seem so bad compared to some who charge north of 100 quid....

I don't have cleats either so one less thing for them to sort out

 

[cyberknight]

This website is good ...
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefitchart.html
I have used this site for a while and i have never had problems that could not be fixed, i had knee pain recently due to changing shoes and using that and some help on here i worked out that my cleats were to far forward on the shoe which meant that my effective seat height was lower , all i had to do was alter the cleats and voila ! all good again.
£45 is good for a fit , my local guy is Adrian Timmis and i hear good things but he charges £150 .

 

[stephen.rooke]

there's a specialized concept store in chester

 

[Scoosh]

Paul Hewitt is well recommended here too - and by a few other CC folk (search for it)

 

[fossyant]

Bernard Hinaults Racing and Training Techniques had a full bike setup guidelines. The bible. All my bikes are set up like this.

You can do it yourself if you take your time.