First ride, everywhere hurts, bike fit needed.

[Paulq]

I used to ride road bikes every day of the week when I was younger and then stopped riding altogether after getting an ACL injury plus a crushed disc in my neck from playing rugby which will never get better. I didn't ride at all for about 20 yrs but since then have been an on and off rider of mainly hybrid bikes with a pretty upright position. I still have a hybrid bike which I really like and also ride.

I've been very much an occasional cyclist.

2 weeks ago however I thought sod it and, after taking much advice on here, I decided to go for a Giant Defy roadie which I went for a first proper spin on this evening - 11 miles. I loved every minute of it but immediately felt my old problems of sore neck and wrists with numb feet. I persevered on the basis that it's new and will take some getting used to but I really think I'd benefit from a decent bike fit so plan to invest a few quid on doing so.

I have spoken to a few in Paul Hewitt, Cyclehouse in Warrington, the Specialized Concept store and Pedal Precision in Manchester. All of them seem to offer the same thing but in a slightly different way. I am swayed to Pedal Precision given their proximity to the Velodrome and the fact that they appear to be very accommodating to 'non serious' cyclists like me but has anyone used them or any of the others to offer an opinion.

I know I am gonna hurt tomorrow but it was worth it. Effortless compared to a hybrid

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I think I have spent less working out what is right for me than a bike fit would have cost, it really is mostly down to fitness, because what you are now will be different in 6 months and what then another bike fit. listen to your body and what feels right, there is plenty of advise re , saddles peddles stems, the main thing is to ride as your fitness increases a lot of problems go away. But what do I know I am not a professional trying to take your accommodating money, But I do ride 700 miles plus a month, with only £20 a week spare, thats for everything after living costs.
I suffered a compression injury to my right leg back in about 2007 and when I started cycling in June last year it was a consistent problem that reoccurred in the form of a sharp pain in my right knee area, know I now this is different from your situation, but as I have got fitter and muscle development has occurred in my legs this has stopped, I can still feel where it would be, but it never is a problem these days.

 

[themosquitoking]

The defy is a lovely bike, good choice. What i will say is you can find bike fit videos on youtube and almost any bike fit you pay for will come with the proviso that minor adjustments may still need to be made, either by yourself or at another fit session. Maybe try out some solutions for yourself first.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I too rode regularly for about 12 years or so (MTB's) up until 2003 when I had a climbing accident - this put paid to my cycling for the best part of a decade.

I returned Nov' last year although more in earnest in Feb' this year due to very bad weather last Dec' & Jan' up here (snow).

As already said fitness by getting in some miles will improve things no end plus the position that you feel comfiest in on your bike will change as time goes by eg you will almost certainly feel better more upright on your bike to start with but will naturally want to be more stretched out as you ride more and more - maybe be prepared for a stem change at some stage.

If you work hard to get your saddle height, saddle fore/aft and bar reach right then you will pretty much be there or thereabouts in terms of fit - if you need a pro' bike fit after that then I'd suggest that you are becoming a v.good cyclist and the costs involved will make more sense - I'm not sure the average cyclist needs such a fit though.

Two things: small changes make lots of difference and some changes are counter intuitive eg I was suffering from a dull neck ache for weeks and thought that I needed to sit upright more to alleviate the torso down head up and bent neck effect and was contemplating a shorter stem. However, following advice on here I lengthened the stem and voila! the problem disappeared. I won't explain why in this post but there is lots of bike fit info' available that will.

Good luck!

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

How much on average is a bike fit?

 

[Spinney]

Bought my tourer from Paul Hewitt, so a fitting came with that (so I've no idea how much the 'fitting' cost, but the bike came to £1200 overall). It was my first drop handlebar bike, and i would never have bought a bike that put me in that riding position, but after a few (and I mean only 20 or so) miles to get used to it, it is very comfy! It does take a little while for neck muscles etc to get used to different positions, so some of your initial pain might wear off.

But I can give a for the fit from Hewitt.

Not sure how others do it, but Hewitt had a 'frame' in the workshop - sat me on it and contemplated me a bit, then got me off, fiddled with the set-up, put me back on it, contemplated.... (repeat about 6 or 7 times...)

 

[smokeysmoo]

FWIW I've never had a bike fit, (at least not beyond what Ribble do when you order one of their bikes in store), and I've never had any issues either. Perhaps I've just been lucky?

Anyhoo, I do appreciate your medical 'issues', but if I was in your position I'd first of all go through the basics to make sure it's not something simple before spending £££££'s on a bike fit.

THIS is a great site for bike set up and I know loads of guys who've used this and then ridden happy ever after.

Of course, if you really want a bike fit then ignore all the above and fill your boots

 

[Paulq]

Thanks for all the replies folks. I have a week off work now and will have a look at the YT stuff and the site mentioned here later in the week. From what's been said it's pretty basic stuff so I'll spend the cash I was gonna spend on a fit on a turbo instead so I can set myself up properly

 

[Paulq]

How much on average is a bike fit?

From the research I've done you can expect to pay a minimum of £100 rising to around £250 dependent on the level you want.

 

[zizou]

I wouldnt go for a bike fit straight away you want, when starting up any new sort of exercise after a break it can take few weeks for your body to adapt and niggly aches and pains are a part of this.

If you have any friends that are experienced cyclists ask them how you look on the bike while cycling - if there is anything obviously off like saddle height or reach they will likely be able to spot it and give you a few tips on adjustment. If you dont have friends that into cycling then you take a photo sitting on your bike and post it on here.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Read here:
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

Good simple article.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I think I have spent less working out what is right for me than a bike fit would have cost, it really is mostly down to fitness, because what you are now will be different in 6 months and what then another bike fit. listen to your body and what feels right, there is plenty of advise re , saddles peddles stems, the main thing is to ride as your fitness increases a lot of problems go away. But what do I know I am not a professional trying to take your accommodating money, But I do ride 700 miles plus a month, with only £20 a week spare, thats for everything after living costs.
I suffered a compression injury to my right leg back in about 2007 and when I started cycling in June last year it was a consistent problem that reoccurred in the form of a sharp pain in my right knee area, know I now this is different from your situation, but as I have got fitter and muscle development has occurred in my legs this has stopped, I can still feel where it would be, but it never is a problem these days.

I'd agree with that, given that I was never going to become a ''serious'' cyclist. I got a fitting with Paul Hewitt when I bought a tourer and, while it was valuable, it was largely a process of making the jig feel more like the bike I was used to - because I'd made nearly all the same adjustments over a longer period of time. (The only real adjustment I've made since getting the bike has been saddle height - his advised height was too low for me.)

Unless there's a specific neck or spinal reason for otherwise, there's a good chance that the neck stiffness will disappear with riding. Your body is probably simply not used to looking horizontally while your torso is pointed down. At first, it's like walking around always looking at the third floor of the buildings around you. So if the stiffness doesn't become chronic, persevere.

The same goes for the sore wrists - they're not used to supporting your weight under vibrations for extended periods of time. I find that I use 4 different positions on the hoods to alleviate the soreness - on the tops, on the drops, on the hoods and on the corners of the tops - different positions have different pressure points. Even then I find I sometimes have to ride one handed and give the other a bit of time to hang loose.

Numbness in toes could be down to a lot of things and I don't know how your feet are attached to the pedals. I get numbness from bad circulation but I do know that it's made worse by the cold, so I'd first make sure that your legs and feet are never cold. If you're clipped in it might be down to the angle of your cleats. Or the tightness of your shoes. Or....

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Thanks for all the replies folks. I have a week off work now and will have a look at the YT stuff and the site mentioned here later in the week. From what's been said it's pretty basic stuff so I'll spend the cash I was gonna spend on a fit on a turbo instead so I can set myself up properly

Just ride the roads, turbos are no replacement for riding and seeing how things are, on the road things change all the time, even the same route is never the same, as @deptfordmarmoset says there are many positions to hold the bars and this changes through every ride, I also need to relive pressure to the hands by riding a short while with only one hand on the bars but this also has become less overtime, I also need to relive a slight pressure to my left legs from time to time this is cured by getting out of the saddle for a while (maybe a bike fit could cure this) or maybe just turn the saddle 1 mm either way, but to be honest its just easier to ride out of the saddle for 50 meters. I have also found ridding on the drops a far better way of riding, but it has taken me a very long time to be comfortable with it ( I used to ride on the drops all the time in my teens), but having said that it was a change of stem (because a thread stripped on my old one, and because the stem was different size for the bars I needed new bars) it think these two purchases has changed how I ride, even though it's taken a couple of months to improve, again a different riding position so it has taken time for my body to adapt ( I am 49 after all) total cost for bars a stem about £45, but then the bike is a Viking. More than 10% of the cost of the bike.