bike fit--art vs. science (long)

[Kalidurga]

The dude you saw stopped before he got to the most important part!

Well, now you tell me! Maybe this is why: he had to install the Poco handlebars and the shop was busy when I picked up the bike, so the actual on-bike fitting just didn't happen. Or maybe he never does on-bike fittings, I don't know.

OK, I feel like I need to defend the Serotta dude. I'm the friend who had the fitting and recommended him. In my fit session, there was a lot of "How does that feel?" He took a lot of measurements while I was on the fit cycle, but he also spent time just standing back, watching me pedal, and asking me how it felt. Plus, I made a point of paying a lot of attention to the specific issues that I was concerned with, and kept asking him to make adjustments so that I could feel what sort of difference there might be. And when I picked up my bike after he had made alterations to it, he had me go out and ride it for a while, then come back and let him know how it felt. He very clearly told me that I might need to ride several times to get used to some of the changes, and to let him know if there was anything I just couldn't adjust to. And I got everything from him that GLC1968 got from her Serotta fitter. The result of my session was that I've had none of the neck and shoulder pain that I did before the Serotta fitting with this dude.

I think that a caveat has to be added to this conversation. Yes, there are a lot of elements that go into making someone a good fitter. There are also a lot of elements that can make one fitting process better than another. But I also think that rapport and communication with your fitter are very important. It's probably safe to say that no one fitter/fit process is going to be perfect for every cyclist, just like no one bike is perfect for every cyclist.

Janice, I'm glad you were able to get your issues worked out. I've heard a lot of great things about Jill, and it seems she was the perfect person for you to go to.