Quote Originally Posted by kathybiker View Post
Hi MartianDestiny ,

I'm going to buy a road bike in the near future.

When you say some bike shops have fit bikes available, I'm guessing you mean a special bike that's capable of being adjusted to a rider's body, for the purpose of fitting.

I was just reading about the Serotta Size Cycle online for the first time this morning. What a terrific concept!

After thinking more about fitting, I've changed my mind; it seems a comprehensive fitting in the $300 range will be worth it.

I went to the Serotta web site and talked to a dealer near me -- call him Kevin -- who has Serotta's bike fit certifications and the Serotta Size Cycle. Kevin can size me and then tweak a bike to fit me.

I also looked at the FitStik, which seems to be most useful if you've already gone through a fitting and know the bike dimensions that match you best. You use the FitStik to measure bikes and adjust them to your ideal dimensions.

Yep, all of this is more involved than "eh, standover looks ok". The advanced tools should give me a fantastic fit that I can use for any bike.
Yes, I'm talking about a special stationary bike that they can adjust to get your measurements. I know the Serotta school of fit uses them, as you have read about.

I personally have never had a fit done outside of buying a bike. I've always just been fit to the individual bike I've decided I want (and like I say, a good shop will spend some time doing this. My shop goes so far as to throw rulers, plumb bobs, and protractors all over you even for this ). I have heard many success stories from fittings independent of bike purchases though.

Keep in mind that your fit will change over time especially if you are new to cycling or are planning to significantly increase your riding time. You could become more flexible and want (or be able to achieve) a more aggressive position over time. Or injuries or life changes can take things the other way (one of the ladies that rides with my shop just had to have a "pregnancy fit" done to get her out of her aggressive position since she can no longer stretch down that far).

So long as you understand that that $300 fit is not an end all and be all of what bike will fit you for the rest of eternity and you are comfortable with what you are getting out of it for the $$$ then go for it! (fit is not likely to change so drastically that your frame is no longer the right size, but one of the benefits of these all out fitting sessions is getting your numbers down to a T, and that will change).

If you can find a shop that does good fittings just with a bike purchase you might find you get more for your $$$ if you get a bike that you know has the right frame size and then get a professional fit to your bike after a few months of riding. Of course this isn't the case if you are hard to fit and want info on what bikes will be suitable for you in the first place.

Just another option. People do it either way and are happy with the results.

$300 still sounds steep to me unless they are hooking up cameras and such, which may be a bit much for a first fitting for someone that's not having issues.