Quote Originally Posted by KnottedYet
Dang, there's a whole new field for me to get into: fitting commuter bikes! It's true, we do need to be fitted differently. (touring bikes, too.)
I really think that if someone developed expertise in proper fitting of upright/commuter bikes, they would be opening up an area with huge potential. Gas prices are never going to go down again, and will most likely keep increasing. People are struggling with obesity and other health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle. A good chunk of humanity is not interested in athletics or exercise for its own sake with no other purpose (including me). In this light, utilitarian cycling becomes highly appealing. I've tried road & mountain bikes in my life, and detested them for such purposes and I'm not the only one. Still, we need bikes that won't hurt our bodies as much as other cyclists do. I think this is what "comfort bikes" are trying to do, but I personally don't find them particularly comfortable.


The specifics for the waist down should be pretty much the same, but the waist up is going to be different.
Well, not precisely - remember that being upright, my pelvis will be placed differently. That changes things quite a bit. Then there is my 7 inch sit bone distance measurement...

My boss does athlete fits, but I don't think she does commuter fits. Oooh, now I gotta do some research....
Exactly, and while I am sure she is very good at what she does, she may not even be able to fit an upright rider correctly. The guy I bought my Breezer from is an excellent road bike fitter, but couldn't spot my fitting problems. I'm going to guess that American fitters who knew about this have grown old and died. I wonder if any exist in Denmark & The Netherlands.

A local, bike fringey LBS in my neighborhood asked for help from the community in moving to a new place. I went over there today after work to help out, and we got into just this discussion afterwards when the beer came out. These guys put together upright commuters out of old bikes pulled out of the trash, and they totally understood what I meant. Their "bike fitting" expertise in this area has been a matter of trial, error, wild guesses, and visits to the chiropractor. The owner has a 1948 West German military bike he uses as his primary means of transportation. He has this dream of someday being able to sell new, upright commuter & utility bikes in the European style. Meantime, they do a pretty good job with society's discards.

Then people I know and meet are always telling me about their road/mountain bike they used 3 times and is sitting in their garage. They liked riding a bike when they were a kid but have never been athletes and have no interest in that. It doesn't surprise me that they didn't get along with their "athletic" bike. There has to be another way, gotta find it... anyway, this moves along out of the fitting realm and into the philosophical, so I'll stop now..

Meanwhile I can recommend one of my favorite bike books:

The Essential Bicycle Commuter by Trudy E. Bell
I want this book but it's out of print. I've got Alibris searching for a copy that is cheaper than the $50 one it found me about a month ago.