[Closed] Real world stories after a bike fit.

Interested in real world experiences too, more to avoid aches and pains than to improve my measly performance.

I've had two. The first was one of those computers with multiple cameras and white dots on me at various points. They moved my saddle down 5mm and suggested I got cranks 2.5mm shorter. The second,a couple of years later, was based on a different approach with joint angles and lasers for measurement. They added 5mm to my stack height and told me to straighten my back, which was probably the best advice I've been given. I should say I didn't pay for either as I used to work in the industry and they were favours. I guess I'm medium sized and medium bikes fit well, just as well the fits were free!

I had a fit about 3 years ago when I started doing more road riding... Lower saddle, cleats back, shorter stem, saddle back all moved me rearward and helped me keep applying effort through the top part of the crank. Definite improvement in comfort and speed, almost overnight.

Had one last October when I bought a new road bike. Advice was saddle up a lot and bars down a bit. It felt very weird for a while, with lower back pain and stiffness in the back of the calves. Lots of bending and stretching helped with that and I persisted with the fit. Six months or so on, I feel much more efficient on the bike and am a bit faster

made a difference to my comfort and ability to ride longer without suffering so much..

Was the best money I've spent on cycling as I'd messed for a couple of years and thought I'd got it perfect but my left knee still aches and my right outside tendon felt stretched if I raised the saddle , went to Chester concept store for a Mtb fit and it was on leg slightly longer so they moved a cleat 5mm back and saddle up 5mm and never had a single issue again

I've had a couple over the years, including the fancy Retul system. Personally I found the fitter to be the key rather than the system. My best experience was with a certain chap who was a previous TDF rider with plenty of experience riding & understanding how the person & bike interact.

Any recommendations in Cardiff area?

I had it done as a last ditch attempt at drop bars- total disaster tbh, I couldn't ride more than about 10 miles on it after. I think the bottom line was he'd set it up right for most people my size and stance etc but that's really not what I need. We had a second attempt but it still didn't get me anything usable so I put everything back how I liked it.

I guess the point I'm making here is, bike fit can get you the perfect shape bike but that's not what everyone needs. For drops, [i]I[/i] need a retarded looking gimpbike. I know I'm not alone, I've spoken to a few people suffering away long after a fit because "this is better" or they hoped to adapt to it and go faster...

Course, lots of people do benefit greatly.

My fit included a flexibility assessment. Prior to that the bike had been set up after putting me on a "jig" to measure inside leg etc. The more in depth video and flexibility assessment moved me to a much less traditional, and faster for me, position

Had one a few years back as was doing quite a bit more mileage and just wanted the peace of mind (I didn't have any specific niggles). In the end the only chance was the saddle on one bike to move forward 1mm and on the other back 2mm (I'd set them up by eye and never thought to actually measure the various dimensions...).

So whilst I would have been fine without spending the money on the fit I don't think it was a waste of money as it gave me the confidence that any aches were mostly likely just me getting used to spending more time in the saddle rather than the set-up being an issue. Had it done at BW Cycling in Bristol and can recommend them (they'll ask you about the type of cycling you're doing etc. and set you up for that rather than trying to force you into an aggressive/aero race position)

ctk - cyclopaedia were doing bike fit years ago, I assume they still are.

Had a Retul fit in Stirling last year with a very experienced fitter who also has some physio experience. Made some fairly minor adjustments that resulted in a far more efficient position. Found my legs feeling happier after longer rides and the lower position has helped me descend and corner faster.

Make sure whoever you go with they are thorough in terms of checking your flexibility, type of riding etc and not just a guy with a computer and some stems to sell you.

Thumbie - was that Adrian Timmis at Barton? He would be my local choice probably

I was given one for Christmas. Ace pressie. Moved my saddle down a lot which has been interesting and has made my glutes work harder (or at least ache more). I guess that's a good thing to get everything firing off.

They also measured how flexible I am (remarkably flexible for a cyclist, apparently) and encouraged me to get into a lower position on a road bike. This is interesting because when I put myself into the position they recommended I see the garmin speed tick up for no extra perceived effort. I'm trying to learn to do this as a matter of course.

My road bars were also wide for me based on my shoulder measurements - I have now got narrower ones on the winter bike and I'm going to swap the summer ones at some point.

They did say that if I hadn't been so flexible then I would risk injury but that they had no hesitation in recommending a lower position. All working well so far.

I really enjoyed it - nice to spend some time thinking about how you ride, not just smashing or slogging.

Had one done last year. Moved my seat a lot more forward and slightly down. Big improvement as my shoulder pain decreased enough for me to do a couple of 100km rides.

I'm surprised you found no gains from using your tri bars. Regardless of your body position, just tucking your arms in with tri bars will have a significant effect. Were the conditions the same? Just comparing speed on your circuit might not tell the whole story if the wind conditions were very different. The first time I ever used tri bars, just clipped to a road bike, I took a minute off my time on the local 10, on very similar nights.

I'm a wee bit sceptical about some of the claims for bike fits. I think a good fit can probably get you in the right ball park, but I don't think there is a formula that can determine the optimum position for everyone. I think most people will also need to spend some time riding and tweaking until they find what is best for them. I know someone who developed a knee problem after a fit, and had to reverse some of the changes. The fitter was a very experienced cyclist, and I have no reason to think he got it wrong, but for whatever reason, the formula didn't work out that time.

simply clipping triathlon extension bars onto a standard road bike creates a very compromised riding position and won't allow the true benefits to be explored, and can actually cause upper body pain/injury in the long term

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when we fit triathletes to aero road bikes (as opposed to a triathlon specific bike) we offer either:-

a bike fit permanently set in the forward position to make the extension bars usable, and with a forward position saddle. we use a specific fitting protocol for the forward position.

or what is becoming more popular, we offer 2 bike fits on the same bike, with 2 seat post/saddle combos:-

-1 for "road position" without the tri bars, and with a road specific saddle. we use the road protocol to set this fit.

-1 for "forward position" with the extension bars and a forward position saddle (i.e. Pro Aeroful, Fizik Tritone, Specialized Power, ISM Adamo, etc.) we use the forward protocol to set this fit.

both setups are established during the fit, and carefully marked, its then just a case of removing saddle/post, replacing with the other setup, and setting to the post marking.

the benefits of a good bike fit depend on the rider?

for recreational riders the priority is enjoying the bike without pain; for serious racers and professional riders its often the production of power vs. aerodynamics combined with injury prevention.

its not a case of just having a bit fit and expecting results, the body/mind goes through an adaption phase which can take weeks, and work often needs to be done if there are underlying issues with flexibility, strength and technique

[b]MoreCashThanDash[/b] indeed it was Mr Timmis. Super happy with the results & experience of the fit & footbeds. I'd had a previous fit elsewhere & despite perseverance things just didn't feel right. Straight away Adrian informed me that things were a few mm out in various directions, mainly saddle height & setback. Shifter position was adjusted, stem lowered & he gave lots of advice & helpful info as part of the fitting. Super happy with my experience & he comes highly recommended, as does the coffee!

Steveious... who did you get the fit from in Stirling?

Thanks for all the input; some food for thought there.

Yeah I was surprised it wasn't quicker but on reflection it was slightly windier on the second ride, and I wondering if I really didn't make best use of my gears as I was slightly nervous about reaching out to change gears. I might persevere for a few more rides to see if I get more used to them.

I had a bike fit last week for my road bike as I was getting some mild pain in my right knee.

I live in Switzerland and with shit German I struggled to find somewhere that spoke enough English to do the fitting. In the end a Specialized shop agreed to do the fitting with all their video type analysis stuff.

It took about 2.5 hours and involved measuring flexibility in all joints, recording my stance, checking cleat position, then using the camera to analyse my position on bike, make changes, re-analyse and repeat.

It turns out my cleats were twisting my heals about 5 degrees inwards, my seat was too high and too far forward, my hoods were twisted slightly inwards.

Once position was set he then checked from the front what my legs were doing while riding. Again this brought out that my knees were coming in mid power stroke, a small shim (1.5mm on the outside) under the footbed make a huge difference and straightened my pedal action out amazingly.

It was quite expensive at 300 CHF (200ish Pounds) but after a couple of rides of 50km and 100km I am really pleased as i got no knee pain at all from it.

**Sorry for the long post. But just to say that I consider it money very well spent and also shows that I really know **** all about setting up a bike 😀

A tri/tt position should rotate you 5-10 degrees or so forwards about the bottom bracket. Saddle will be raised and moved forward to accommodate this rotation and the bars will be lower. Your relative position over the BB shouldn't really change, although some TT-specific fitters like to get your saddle back a long way and back as flat as possible (not a good one for bike handling). As ES says, clip on bars will provide a rest but not lower your front end in the way that a rotation does- hence you won't see much speed difference. For a Tri, where bike leg is the recovery, this may not be important. For smashing a 20 minute 10 it will be everything!

Go to someone who asks you about your riding, and what you want to achieve from a fit.