Learning more about fitting bikes?

[melissam]

I took the 2 day class taught by Michael Sylvester (he set up the Serrotta fitting program, too.) www.bicyclefittingservices.com

Also love love love Andy Pruitt's Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists.

I do the bike fit assessments for my physical therapy clinic, and I'm finding women who've been "fitted" for their bikes (and PAID for it!) whose bikes are set up for a man of their general measurements, rather than for the way their own body is on the bike. (women's bodies really are very different on a bike than a man's of the same height, and male fitters don't seem to get that) I'd be ecstatic to have a woman fitter in a bike shop to send my female patients to for bike adjustments!

Hi Knot,

I'm confused about what you mean by fitting women's bodies vs. fitting men's bodies on a bike.

I realize that women's bodies are different than men's. (Yes, I had health ed in elementary school. ) Seriously, women tend to have longer legs vs. torso compared to men, women's femurs tend to be proportionally longer than men's. Generally, if you were fitting a woman and man of the same height, the woman would need a bike with a shorter top tube. Because a woman's femurs are longer, they would generally need a bike with the seat tube angled back further or some other accommodation for this in the frame geometry.

But aren't most fitting techniques the same for women as for men? Or are there differences that make the typical methods to calculate handlebar reach and saddle placement invalid when fitting women?

-- Melissa (who should be riding on the indoor trainer right now)