i made a fit app't!!

[elk]

I FINALLY have a fit app't...a week from Friday.... with a fitter trained by Michael Sylvester...I realized I didn't really care if it was with a guy or a girl...so I went with the guy in the shop close by.

It's a "standard bike fit" and takes about 1.5 hours...

I have this vision of coming away with a fit that allows me to float on my bike like i can when I'm coasting.... Is that reasonable?

[TxDoc]

CONGRATS!!!
It's the best investment for a cyclist - and it will be fun, you can learn a lot from a pro fitting!

[pardes]

I keep hearing about getting a fitting but have no idea what it involves. Please share the details for the uninformed like me.

Are you getting a custom bike or do that do this involved a fitting for buying a bike off the showroom floor?

[TxDoc]

Well, I don't really know much about it but I've had (and witnessed) many fitting sessions over the last 30 years of riding bikes, so here's the little I can tell you...

A basic fitting involves: 1-making sure that bike frame and components match your body measurements, posture, and any particular condition, 2-finding the optimal position for all components to literally 'fit' your body and riding style.
So first of all they take some measurements of your body, and then place the bike on a stationary trainer so you can test-pedal while they make all the necessary adjustments.

The first time you buy a bicycle the shop should take your measurements and give you a bike that is the correct size for you - i.e. the frame size must be correctly fitted to your body. Likewise, at the time of purchase, the shop makes sure that you have the right base components:
-saddle (sitbone measurements, padding/no padding, materials, etc)
-crankset (i.e. the crankarm length is right for you)
-handlebar (width, reach, drop are correc for your body and posture)
-stem (length, angle)

Once you have the correct equipment, a short fitting session (that should be done anyway at the time of purchase if you buy from a reputable shop) takes care of the following:
1-finding the correct saddle height
2-finding the correct fore/aft position of the saddle
3-figuring out whether you may need some tilt or you can ride a leveled saddle (most people can, some strange people like me cannot...)
4-finding out if you need any stem adjustments
5-finding the optimal position of your handlebar

A more lengthy (but much more useful) fitting process takes care of all of the above plus:
6-finding the optimal tension on your pedals
7-fitting the cleats in the correct position on your shoes. This is done with a powermeter on a stationary trainer, to find the position where there is no strain on the ankle and knee, and at the same time you can exert maximum power while pedaling.
8-finding the optimal position of the brake levers/shifters on the handlebars.
9-moving and readjusting cables depending on your riding style (% of time on the hoods, tops, drops) so that the equipment does not get 'in your way'.
10-finding the optimal (most aero, less disturbing for your posture) position for accessories like waterbotle cages or cyclocomputer.
11-making you pedal for a while going through all your gears and reading the powermeter and finding out if there is any glitch that needs to be taken care of.

A fitting session usually does cost some money, unless you are buying a new bike or the pro fitter works for your team - but it is definitely worth every penny.

[elk]

i think that for those of us over what? 40? 50? it makes sense given that we don't bounce like we used to....

[pardes]

Wow, that's impressive.

When I successfully and happily continue to bike commute through December, I am rewarding myself with a custom fitted bike for my Christmas present and will definitely get it fitted to me.

Thanks for the info.

[LainiePants]

Good for you! I've been wanting to do this for so long.

Michael is supposed to be amazing! I read about him on BikePortland a while back and was impressed. A friend went to him and had a great experience. And my BF had a fitting with someone he trained (a woman) and it went so well, got rid of some back pain, and has probably helped with his racing too!

I'd love to hear how it goes.

[TxDoc]

i think that for those of us over what? 40? 50? it makes sense given that we don't bounce like we used to....

hee-hee...
that makes me a bit of a whiner I guess - I started getting fitting sessions when I was 12 I think...
Now at 37 I look at everything, including where to place the bottle cage so I can grab my bottle without messing up my 'aero' position and keep the same cadence & power... Unbelievable the things you notice when you get older!!!

[KnottedYet]

Good for you! I've been wanting to do this for so long.

Michael is supposed to be amazing! I read about him on BikePortland a while back and was impressed. A friend went to him and had a great experience. And my BF had a fitting with someone he trained (a woman) and it went so well, got rid of some back pain, and has probably helped with his racing too!

I'd love to hear how it goes.

Michael trained me, too. The guy is just amazing! I learned so much from him. I use things I learned from him even when I'm *not* doing a bike fit. He truly understands fitting the bike to the real person who will ride it, and watching him work is like watching a dance. Just beautiful! He is an excellent teacher, too. (I'd be happy to be fit by anyone he has trained.)

Elk, we want a full report! (and pictures...)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Elk that is great news. I'm so happy for you! Keep us posted.

[elk]

you KNOW I will!!!!every detail.....

I couldn't get an app't with MS until October and figure I ought to make the most of the summer we have still to go. The guy is the fit manager at Bike Gallery where MS started out...

I just hope my expectations aren't too high...

[smurfalicious]

Oh good for you! You're going to love it! I just had one done last week and it's made a world of difference. I had dialed a lot in just right on my own in tweaking things until they felt right, so I was proud.

The way he explained things and asked questions I was able to convey my issues and discomfort and get a resolution. He asked what percentage of my weight was where, bars/seat. I told him 60 seat 40 bar, in reality, but in practice it felt like more. Turns out Candace is a little too big for me, my fear, but we were able to get closer with a shorter stem and perhaps different bars.

I got a shorter stem Monday and while it is a little twitchy, I feel sooo much better! Oh and my saddle being where it belongs sure helps me pedal. Plus it's now a good bit higher than my bars so I feel like a cool kid!

Mine was just a 30-60 minute basic fitting for $60 but it was totally worth it. Maybe when I get ready to look at a new bike I'll do something more detailed but my bike and I are much better friends.

[beccaB]

So how do you find out where to get fitted? Do I call the bike shops and find out who does that? When I bought my bike it seems like all they did was watch me ride it around the parking lot. My legs are long, and my knee got too close to the handlebar when I turned a corner, but that's the only technical thing they looked at. I had no idea that a professional bike fit involved a lot more than that. I didn't get a very expensive bike, but I do have some aches and pains, and would like to keep doing this forever. Does anyone have a recommendation for getting properly fitted in somewhere near Lansing or Ann Arbor, Michigan?

[elk]

exactly....

i might start a new thread called fitter in Lansing? or something and the MI gals will respond.

[aicabsolut]

So how do you find out where to get fitted? Do I call the bike shops and find out who does that? When I bought my bike it seems like all they did was watch me ride it around the parking lot. My legs are long, and my knee got too close to the handlebar when I turned a corner, but that's the only technical thing they looked at. I had no idea that a professional bike fit involved a lot more than that. I didn't get a very expensive bike, but I do have some aches and pains, and would like to keep doing this forever. Does anyone have a recommendation for getting properly fitted in somewhere near Lansing or Ann Arbor, Michigan?

I pretty much just went around to every LBS I could think of when I couldn't resolve pain in the backs of my knees. I'd had a preliminary fit done when I bought my bike, and then after a few weeks, that shop gave me a full fit, once I had ridden for a while and gotten a better idea about the changes I wanted to make to the bars and saddle. After I started riding more and my knees were hurting, I went back to that shop and tried a (free) refit. Nothing helped. Luckily, I told my sob story to the other (2) shops and no one else charged me for a fit service either. The next LBS I tried after the place of purchase did a lot for me. My shoulders had started hurting after the refit, because my reach was now too short. They worked on saddle position some more but gave me a more aggressive position that improved handling a lot. The pain behind my knees (especially the right, because I'm crooked) returned after hilly rides, though it was better. So I next went to my new team's sponsor shop (hoping they'd give me a fit for free--which they did). The guy noticed that I was kind of crooked and recommended a place that is more medically based with PTs and physicians on staff, where they do extensive bike fits based on an analysis of your biomechanics, and they also do fitness testing there. I never made it to that 4th place, though, because my sponsor shop noticed that my bike had been built with the wrong size crank arms for the spec of that bike (they sold the same brand). I took that information back to the place of purchase and got the crank arms swapped out for free. Then I played around a tiny bit with my saddle position based on the information I'd gotten at the last shop about proper KOPS position. From then on, I have gotten no pain that I can link to my bike fit.

It can be one helluva process, but I think if my bike had been built up right from the start, I would've had an easier time of it.

One thing I can recommend to new riders is to get a bike fit when you buy a bike but then go back months later and get re-fit after you've started adapting to the new position. I started out in a very relaxed setup, and I wound up changing my stem angle and seat position a lot. I also have been slowly getting rid of spacers on the head tube. While some things should stay the same, probably, (like bar width and saddle--if you get the right one the first time ) your comfortable posture and position for maximum (pain-free) power output may change over time. There's not much use in spending the $$ for some of the really in-depth fittings right off the bat for newbies.