Saddle Fit

[ny biker]

Yeah, I really am not impressed with H. Don't worry about making him look bad -- he is making the shop look bad and that's not doing any favors for the people who run it.

If it helps, here is more about my experience. If this is overload, just ignore it.

I bought my first road bike at a shop that is ~15 miles from my house. I bought the second one from another location of the same LBS, which is ~20 miles away. Other shops are closer to me, but this LBS is worth the trip because they make sure you're comfortable on the bike, regardless of the kind of adjustments that are needed. They took various measurements before I bought the first bike, more than just leg length. When I had knee problems, they adjusted the cleats for free. As I mentioned earlier, they made sure the stem was right before I bought the second bike, and they adjusted new cleats for free on that bike. When I mentioned that I had elbow pain a few months later (not caused by the bike but aggravated by it), the fitter grabbed a tape measure, checked my shoulder width vs handlebar width and told me it would probably be helped by a narrower bar if the pain continued. The pain went away, but if it hadn't he would have ordered a different bar, installed it and made sure it was positioned correctly for me without charging for a fitting.

Now, if I walked in with a handlebar, cleats, saddle, etc. that I bought somewhere else and asked them to fit me with the new components, they would charge me for that. But they take responsibility for making sure the things they sell me are the right size and position. And when they check on one thing, like saddle height, they watch you pedal on the trainer and make sure everything looks right, and will makes changes to other parts of the bike (like changing the handlebar tilt when I'm there for a saddle fitting). They'll also suggest other changes for you to consider if they involve new components. At first I thought they were making the suggestions just to sell me more stuff, but every change they suggested has made me more comfortable.

They recently stripped everything off the frame so that a crack could be repaired, and then they built it back up again. Since then I've only ridden the bike indoors, but I'm planning to make an appointment in the next month or so to have them check the position of the saddle and handlebars to make sure everything is where it should be after the rebuild. I also bought a(nother) new saddle from them, and I'll have that positioned at the same time. I do not expect them to charge me.

They do offer special advanced fitting services that I think I would have to pay for if I wanted them. And if I need fit help with my mountain bike, which I bought elsewhere, I would have to pay for that. But they don't charge for basic "this is hurting/uncomfortable so can you help me" problems as long as the bike and components come from them.

[ny biker]

I would also consider going somewhere else entirely. (Sure, call and explain the whole thing, don't worry about "H"). They size, but they don't fit, and this is the first you've heard about this?

Dishonest much?

A lot of places seem to do this to newbies routinely.

Well, my LBS does things like Retul fittings, and he could be talking about something like that. It could be that H is just not very good at "sizing" or whatever you want to call it. I've had a bad experience with a guy who put a new saddle on my bike, used various protractors and rulers to figure out the correct position, and wound up setting it about an inch too high. When I told my fitter about that, he said that by watching me pedal on the trainer he knew I needed a lower seat. He's just had better training, and as a result has a better eye for what's right.

[CyborgQueen]

Usually if you buy a bike from them, the fitting will be included in the price.

I wouldn't worry about "H". However, if you feel comfortable with the other shop that did the fitting, I would mention to your fitter or the supervisor that you were confused with what shop does what, and tell them that H got you confused. And leave it like that. That's how supervisors/shop owners know if there's problems with the employees. If they don't hear stuff like this, they think everything is okie dokie.

IF you are uncomfortable about the fitting and they seem to brush you off...find another shop. What matters to you is YOU. Ignore the personal part of it, it's business.

[Gypsy]

Thanks, I will.

I actually had to go to the LBS yesterday to help out a friend and again I dealt with H and I just think we don't have chemistry. The other one (from my story, let's call him JC) was there too and he even remembers my name (he's the main fitter in this location).

I'm going to go to the store when H is off and JC is in and talk to him about the fit.

I'm going on a ride this morning so I'll know if the changes we've made are right or not.

[Gypsy]

Small update:

The change in the stem brought the handlebars closer to me, which made me feel "safer" and closer to my handlebars than before. That was great.

The saddle tilt that I made was also great, I wasn't slipping off.

I'm also taking into consider what ladyicon said about how I'm positioned on the saddle. I think by having been "off" for the last three months on the fit of this bike, I learned some bad habits about stretching over and leaning on the handlebars too much. I caught myself today at various points falling into the old position when it wasn't necessary anymore (I can play the piano on the bike now and I can pick up my water bottle without fearing for my life).

I'll know more after tomorrow's ride in terms of the pain on the shoulders. (And today, I rode with another friend who told me that was normal because it happens to her too -- she never thought about questioning it! I'm sure it's her fit too but her bike is easily 15+ years and her stem and headset are one piece (she can't change the angle or make it shorter).

[OakLeaf]

The one advantage of a quill stem setup over a threadless headset is that she can raise the bars just by loosening the stem head bolt, pulling the bars up and re-tightening it (she might need new cables and housings if she moves it a lot, but she likely has *some* room to work with). With the new style that clamps onto the steerer tube, once the tube has been cut, you're stuck at that height unless you replace the whole fork.

Swapping the stem out is much more of a hassle, of course, since you have to take the tape and shifter off at least one side of the bars. But she might try raising it and see if that helps.

[ladyicon]

Gypsy, sounds like you have learned a lot about bikes lately I hope your ride goes well. BTW what part of the country do you hail from??

[Gypsy]

Oh, the can of worms that have been opened by this thread alone!

Oakleaf - I told my friend about your suggestion on how to raise her handlebars and another friend (we're 5 in total that ride together) admitted that she wanted to flip her stem too because she was feeling pain on her shoulders but hadn't mentioned it because no one else had complained about it before! She has a new bike, so going back to the LBS to flip it won't be a problem. We're going to life the other handlebars up and adjust to see if it helps the friend with the quill stem. We didn't do it together, we didn't have the tools and she was tired.

Another small update: We were going to do a longer ride today, but weather didn't cooperate, so while we road, we only got 30 miles under our belt. But what a difference. I was turning on my back light by just reaching back (rather than stopping because I couldn't let go of the handlebars), when we were going over rough road top, I could loosen my grip and let the handlebars move up and down as the roughness shook the bar (loose arms to absorb the impact), I could eat on my bike... heaven.

Even the titling of the saddle doesn't seem like it's too severe, despite doing it on my own with a level, and the chafing that I was getting on the saddle is now gone.



We'll see what next week's long ride truly says this time.

ladyicon -- I'm in flat, flat Florida. Well, there are some hills... but not that many.