Bike fitting DC/MD/VA?

[sbarron01]

Bike commute on my beat-up Marin Larkspur, trail runner; love both...but hate my Cannondale road bike! I would love to go out on wknds and ride distance but I have a mental block and fear the bike. I'm hunched over, it's uncomfortable to shift, hard to stretch and reach the brakes, etc. Yep, bought it on a whim 2 yrs. ago, didn't know what I know now thanks to reading the forums, want to have a bike fitting. Went to the DC bike shop where I bought the bike and was yelled at for asking for something to be done to make it a more "stable" ride. I want someone to listen to me, understand what I want to do with the bike, etc. Sorry to be so long-winded but, damn, it's frustrating when you feel dismissed by the bike shop techs.
So...can anyone recommend a shop that will do a bike fit on an existing bike? If I have to, I will buy a new bike just so I can do long rides, especially since my husband is getting frustrated too that I won't ride anymore when he goes out but I want to know what's currently wrong and what I need to look for in a road bike. I live in Washington, DC so any shop in a 100mi. radius will suit me just fine.
Thanks! Suzanne

[Possegal]

I'm sure others will say the same, since I went here due to the advice of this board - but Proteus Bikes in College Park. I took my Trek there and she made a ton of adjustments. And the owner is wonderful as are all the other folks that work there.

[sbarron01]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I'm going to call tomorrow to set up something for this Sat. The sooner I'm back out on the road, the better my mental state. : )
Suzanne

[Possegal]

You are very welcome. My niece and sister are both planning to take their bikes to her as well, they were so impressed with how happy I was with everything. I'm sure you'll be pleased. Keep us all updated. :)

[madscot13]

those who got a fitting on my team for TNT said that Jill was the best. I wish I needed a fitting/ could afford a fitting.

[divingbiker]

Yup, Jill is great.

[tulip]

Nothing to add. Jill is the one. Proteus is the place.

[7rider]

I'll just add: Mike Butchko at the Bicycle Place (http://www.thebicycleplace.com/) in Silver Spring. He has a ton of experience fitting custom bikes, racers, commuters, and oodles of folks who just ride Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park, near which the shop is located.

[Kelly728]

I guess I'm 4th-ing Proteus! :o

[aicabsolut]

If you have a lot of $$ to spend, get a Retul fit by Josh Frick at CycleLife in Georgetown. There are some other people who come into the area to do Retul fits, but generally those come up with special club deals.

Other less expensive fits to be had at Revolutions (Clarendon location might be best for this), Spokes etc. on Quaker Lane in Alexandria.

You can also go to Quest or Capital Bicycle in Annapolis.

[Cataboo]

Blech. Revolution cycles in Clarendon sold me a bike that was too small for me once.

Or rather, I should never be sold a WSD because I don't have a WSD body and bike sales people should know that.

[madscot13]

I've never been to CycleLife. too bad I was walking down there last sunday too!

[ny biker]

I highly recommend the The Bike Lane - Todd at the store in Burke, VA or Adam at the Reston store. www.thebikelane.com. I know folks who have brought in bikes that they bought elsewhere for fittings, and they were very happy with the results. Good luck!

[7rider]

I've never been to CycleLife. too bad I was walking down there last sunday too!

Most folks can't afford to look sideways at CycleLife. :rolleyes:

[madscot13]

Most folks can't afford to look sideways at CycleLife. :rolleyes:

maybe I shouldn't walk by it...

[aicabsolut]

Most folks can't afford to look sideways at CycleLife. :rolleyes:

LOL

So true. But I hear Josh is good.

As for Revolutions, I already bought the bike elsewhere. I was having a ton of fit problems, and so I tried every shop.

My sponsor shop (Bicycle Pro Shop) doesn't really do a lot of bike fitting, but they were able to figure out that the bike came with the wrong size crankarms for the frame size. The most they ever did as far as fit was take out the plum bob to measure my KOPS. They helped me do the fit on my new bike (which they built), but the geometry is very similar to my old bike, so I wound up using them mostly for their torque wrenches and did most of the measurements myself.

If you're looking to buy a bike, I'd recommend BPS and City Bikes.

I wouldn't recommend Revolutions for purchase unless you like Trek or Orbea. But I will say that when I was testing bikes, I tried a WSD bike there, hated it, and after that, they didn't push any WSD bikes on me. I really disliked Treks until I got on a Madone that was way out of my price range, so I didn't buy from them.

I bought my first bike from City Bikes. They did a fit, but I wouldn't really recommend their methods. It was probably fine for when I was a beginner, but I did a major overhaul of the fit within a few months.

One plus to Rev and CB is that they both throw in free maintenance for a year, which is nice. A lot of parts are also covered for routine stuff. The biggest benefit is free labor. I personally prefer the shop in Chevy Chase over Adams Morgan.

On my second frame, I sort of got fitted at Capital Bicycle after they did the build. I had the same geometry, so I used my previous measurements. They had to do a few tweaks. I liked the methods they used for checking body angles and all of that. The guys there are pretty nice. If you want to buy there, you'd better like Specialized, because they are a Specialized concept store.

[madscot13]

I have a love/ hate relationship with the Bike Pro Shop. If they are not busy, they are awesome. If they are busy with bike sales, I'm non-existent. I like the mechanic there a lot though. And I will go to them to get a headset replaced.

I'm still a bit upset that my bike build from Revolution Cycles last year came back so half arsed: A lot of bolts were not tightened down, my seat post was left with a foot sticking out of it, and my front wheel was backwards. I suppose I can't complain because the drivetrain is still in perfect tune. But still, everything else was hazardous/ annoying on my bike ride home. I get really good customer service when I am there, especially from the GM's wife.

Sorry I can't say much about fit just about service.

[madscot13]

I just looked at my volunteer shirt for the Capital Criterium. On the back, it has a huge Cycle Life image. I wonder how I missed this place?