Custom bike??

[Rubylvr]

Hi All-
I have wanted a custom bike for awhile, but I was wondering if you gals could answer some questions for me, particularly if you
have a custom bike, whether you were happy with the purchase or not.

1. I have back pain, ITB strain, leg strength discrepancy and medial knee pain. This is after three fittings, and I do ALL the work
I can do with strength, stretching, and massage to help. Can/Will a custom fit help?
2. I have a Jamis Bosa Nova for rainy, and a carbon Ruby. Will a custom make THAT MUCH of a difference in my riding? Mostly cost.
FYI, I prefer steel for a bunch of reasons.

OK, that's it. Truly appreciate any thoughts.
M

[Crankin]

I'd say, for me, no. I had the in store custom Guru sizer fitting and while I love the feel of my custom titanium bike, I still have all of the back, neck, and other issues I had before. Like you, I stretch, gone to PT on and off for 5 years, blah, blah. The only time this stuff stops is when I don't do any exercise, so since that is not happening, I continue. I wouldn't necessarily discourage you, but if I was going to do it again, I'd go to a PT fitter, like Wahine.

[Wahine]

I have all kinds of opinions and comments to share. But I'm supposed to be working. I'll get back to you.

[Catrin]

I've a host of physical issues AND I've a full custom steel bike (Gunnar). It was a very positive experience, but the fitter you work with REALLY matters a great deal. You need a fitter with a well of experience who isn't tied to a "system" but can think outside of the box. My fitter was able to make my custom bike fit me like a glove and I was able to ride all day.

That being said, a mountain bike crash led to further injuries to my neck that means I can't ride like I was once able to. He actually has thoughts on changes to my bike that might help, but the problem isn't the fitting he did. It was spot-on perfect until I had further injuries. All of that being said, from what I can tell, there aren't many fitters like him, indeed he is the only one in the state of Indiana with his reputation and it is well earned. That deep experience/knowledge base needs to go hand in hand with whatever "system" the fitter uses and they also need to be good listeners and be able to really listen/understand what you want out of the bike. In the end, once we factored in my wants AND needs, I wound up with a rather different bike than the one I had in mind - and I've never regretted that as it was built for ME. He listened, and he pushed back when he needed to in order to provide me with the best possible design that would allow me to ride the way I wanted to. Who knew it would wind up looking like a very aggressive rigid-mountain bike frame - but it was perfect!

If Wahine is close to you call her

[Wahine]

Hi All-
I have wanted a custom bike for awhile, but I was wondering if you gals could answer some questions for me, particularly if you
have a custom bike, whether you were happy with the purchase or not.

1. I have back pain, ITB strain, leg strength discrepancy and medial knee pain. This is after three fittings, and I do ALL the work
I can do with strength, stretching, and massage to help. Can/Will a custom fit help?

Potentially. If I were the fitter involved I would want to see you on your current best bike and make sure that there isn't something else that could be done with that bike. I know you've had a bunch of fittings already, and with all due respect to the many good fitters out there, you can't top a fit done by someone with extensive training in biomechanics and ergonomics, like a PT.

If after a fit session on your other bike, it seems like you would benefit from a custom bike I would strongly recommend a sizer cycle fitting. I don't have one right now but I'm hoping to have one in the next 6 months. There is a fitter in Seattle (Erik Moen at Bike PT) who does an amazing job and could set you up.

2. I have a Jamis Bosa Nova for rainy, and a carbon Ruby. Will a custom make THAT MUCH of a difference in my riding? Mostly cost.

That depends on how well your ongoing issues can be addressed with fitting. Can't tell that until you've been looked at. If it can be helped, steel is a great way to go. Finding a good fitter that works in steel can be a challenge. Lots of the fitters are sticking to Carbon nowadays, it costs less to build with and they can charge more for the end product due to market drive. Having said that, Sweatpea does steel and they are focused on women. It would be very worthwhile to contact them and ask about cost ranges. I spent a day with a mathematician and materials engineer turned bike frame builder in SEA who does nothing but steel, really knows his stuff and works together with Erik Moen at bike PT frequently. His quoted average price was $3000 to $4000.

So I guess my answer is, maybe. I am in Hood River and I'd be happy to at least look at you on your current set up to give you my opinion on if a custom bike would help. You can PM me if you would like more information.