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Recently bought a road bike, which I have been out on a few times with no issues. A good friend who is a road rider looked at the bike today and said that it was all wrong, bar position, stem length was too short (100mm) and he suggested I should get a bike fitting at my LBS.
What is the average cost of a fitting service? Is it worth the cost, anyone had one?
Cheers , Steve
No IMO. seat height you can set yourself simply - the rest is personal preference
Cheers TJ. Always been comfy on the MTB but he was clearly distressed by the position of my bars 😀
Many folk will disagree with me. IIRC correctly there are online guides to the basics anyway.
"It depends" would be my answer. I had one as I didn't feel my bike was quite right and, as is my personality, I like to know all is "right".
So, if you're happy with the fit already and are prepared to ignore your mates then fine. If not, get booked.
Price varies from place to place. An LBS one might be £50, right up to £200+ for a detailed job by a pro fitter. Mine was done by Mike Veal in Leamington for £100 ish, I thought it was good though I have no point of comparison for that comment.
If you are anywhere near Exeter I know someone who is good. Ex pro cyclist, but specialises in bike fit for people with injuries. Bad backs bad knees etc.
Mine was a total waste of time and money, my mate really benefited from his. I think it very much depends on who you go to.
I'm very much torn between the two camps.
I can see the point of it but equally I think a lot of it is sold as a cure-all and a way of continually extracting money out of the customer.
"Sir has had an injury? Let me re-fit you..."
"Sir is fitter and stronger now? Let me re-fit you (and sell you some more aero bars and a lower stem...")
To a complete novice buying a road bike for the first time, I'd say no. Any decent shop should be able to advise on correct size, fit up a bike and then check it and the position again at the first service. On the other hand, novices don't know what a road bike is suppsoed to feel or fit like so if left to their own devices they can often end up in some really weird positions.
And then there's the inevitable few who have been to a duff shop and bought something completely wrong but then a bike fit can end up being a case of trying to get fix a multitude of issues where you simply need to buy a new bike!
For people who have had injuries, who are limited in mobility or who have weirdly proportioned limbs/body then yes, I'd say they can be useful.
For elite athletes trying to squeeze every last watt of power out then yes, it would be useful in conjuction with a physio - no point putting someone in a supposedly "ideal" position only to find that they can't hold that!
I am in Cumbria. The bike does feel fine but I do get some pain in my palms ( no s****ing). 🙂
It was very much worth it for me. I thought my position was good, the occasional numbness in my feet was probably just over tight shoes, the achy back and beck on long rides was just one of the perils of being on the drops for long periods of time. Was happy with saddle height, didn't think it was worth doing anything.
Wife had a fit done to try and maximise comfort & efficiency as one of her knees is pretty much buggered. Watching the process and seeing the positive benefits of the changes suggested/made I decided to have a fit session myself.
3 hours spent with the guys at Vankru in Hants getting the full Retul fit done was absolutely the best £180 I've ever spent on the bike.
Quite a few small tweaks made to saddle, bar, stem and cleats has transformed my road riding. Al the little niggles in my back and neck are gone even on 5-6 hour rides. Saddle height and cleat adjustment/shimming has increased the efficiency of my pedalling and I've increase my average speed on my local 40mile loop by 2mph for the same sort of effort, hr & cadence. Climbing is easier too.
Got a 1hr follow up session (included in price) to tweak any issues after 6 weeks & all measurements given to me so I can match other bikes.
Basically I'm a bikefit evangelist after 25 years of setting my own bike up, even after reading books, using plumb lines & spirit levels...
Definitely worth it imo.
If all feels well then I wouldn't be in a hurry to get a fitting done for just a regular road bike. I also doubt that it's possible to say someone's bike is 'all wrong' at a glance, unless you're talking about outright noobishness like slammed seatposts, frame clearly too small, stuff like that.
A fit will be a series of small, interactive and holistic adjustments - not 'your stem's too short, mate'.
Happy with the basics, seat post length, saddle position and bike size ( medium). The bike was bought on-line but I tried a few before hand and I was/ am happy it fits ok.
Did your friend observe you riding the bike, or does he just think the bike 'looks' wrong? It's entirely possible that you might not have the ideal sized frame, but you've actually set it up ok for you.
Ask me in 9.5 weeks - got fitted at the weekend for a new road bike, now waiting impatiently.....
First time I've been fitted properly, on a jig and everything. It all sounded fine, and was included in the cost of the bike, obviously. But I've ridden for 15 years without doing too much damage to myself. I'm going to set my current bike up to the same measurements to see if it feels any better in the meantime.
I know a mate who spent £200 on a fitting and thinks it was worth it, another mate recently paid £50 and also feels it was worth it - was actually his bar and shifters that got moved the most for him.