[Closed] This (new?) trend of people paying for bike fitting services

It depends... for me it was helpful.

The side photos and video camera showed that how I imagine I looked and how I actually looked were two different things.

I've been more comfortable since I had a fitting.

😆

Are you not capable of [s]adjusting your bike yourself based on how it feels?[/s] understanding that plenty of people, especially those new to cycling, aren't sure how it should feel and are happy to pay for an expert to set it up for them?

FTFY 😉

Horses for courses and all that...

I wouldn't think that there's many on here who are new to cycling though. Although reading that last sentence back - i'm now not so certain of it.

I went to BikeScience last year with a mate of mine who was getting himself sorted on a new TT bike. Found the process fascinating and the results worth the cash. Really struggled with neck ache on the road bike but a few tweaks made a massive difference.

MTBs I kind of know what works but Road Bikes were a mystery to me. Wouldn't have any idea where to start nor did I have loads of spare stems/seatposts/saddles/etc I seem to have collected for MTBs.

I wouldn't think that there's many on here who are new to cycling though

Its as bad as paying someone to show you how to ride your bike.

And Alex + 1 - It was a great opportunity to try a whole load of stem / bar combinations that would have cost me a fortune to collect otherwise.

I guess back in the day bikes were made to measure, now the rider has to fit the bike.

Mountain biking appears to attract people who want to spend money, this is just another good area to do it.

Its as bad as paying someone to show you how to ride your bike.

PMSL 😆

It's only experienced cyclists that have this attitude! In just about any other sport, it's fully expected to have lessons to learn how to do something and get the most out of it, before then going off to push yourself on your own.

Pro Golfers have lessons all the time! It's part of maintaining their position at the top...

I don't think it's anything new (especially in Road Cycling) as there are a lot of small gains to be made from getting the optimum bike set-up. Having something which feels right and something which is most efficient and puts least pressure on joints etc are two very different things. A friend who is doing his first Ironman soon went for a bike fitting and said it felt really weird to start with, but now he's got used to it he's much more comfortable for longer and has less aches after a long ride. If I were doing a high number of miles or trying to be competitive I'd certainly consider it, however as I'm not so I won't!

It's as bad as paying people to fix your bike.

Some one will be along in a minute to report that they have paid to breath ! Hooked up to a CV power inclinometer thingymabobgrudgeagainstmoney !

I bet there's no one from Yorkshire paid for this !!!!!

I blame that programme Rob Penn did, all of a sudden bike fitting was exposed to the general public and instead of fitting the person to the bike as they did when they made his bike all they have done is fit the bike to the person and charged for it !
It's ridiculous ! People should be made to stand in public wearing an idiot sign round their neck !
Incapable of riding a bike properly until some one tells you that you look good on a video !

What next,

STATO, I've been riding for years & still post 'What tyre' threads.
Why not?

I wouldn't pay for a bike fitting, but I'd love a free one.

I posted a what tyre thread last night and have been riding since Uncle Johns Farmer tyres with elastic side walls were the only ones a available !

I wouldn't pay for fitting either ! Not when there's cake to be throwing money at !

There were a couple of diagrams that taught you all about fitting in Richards Bicycle Book.

That book was £1.50 or something, so I don't really see the need to pay twice.....

Isn't this just another way of kidding yourself you are a "pro"? I can mibbe see the advantage for folk that are actually racing at a high enough level that incremental gains in performance will make a difference. For everyone else it's surely no different from donning full team kit and throwing gel wrappers around.

Roadbike - definitely.

Mountain bike - wtf. Its feel/preference and you need to be be able to move around the bike. A test ride shows this.

Roadbike is:
Sat/static.
Stood.

New

Scotroutes: definately that !

But don't forget STRAVA ! Every man an emperor ! I mean pro 🙄

It's related to the influx of people with lots of disposable income of late, who want to be super without putting any effort in. Fitting a bike is dead easy, there are loads of guides on the net, there are loads of books in the library (remember those, kiddies?) all of which will allow you to fit a bicycle perfectly well.

Fitting a bike to yourself teaches you about a few basic principles and allows an insight into why things fit they way they do. It also allows you to change your position in a sensible way and to see what those changes offer in terms of comfort and performance.

It's not rocket science, it's not a dark art, it does require you to engage your brain rather than throw money at someone.

It's not that new, I had a bike fitting when I bought my Principia about 10 years ago.

More than worth the £30 - I rode LOTS of miles on the bike with zero injuries or strains, as opposed to the Giant I bought off the shelf before that which instantly gifted me a trapped nerve in my neck.

It's not so much about incremental performance gains, although with Sky and co dribbling on about that I can see why the marketeers go for that angle. For me it was about getting the right position, crank size, bar drop and width etc etc for a small person, and (very successfully) avoiding injury.

I spent a lot more cash on getting that trapped nerve sorted !

Of course, this could just be co-incidence, or the placebo effect.

And to paraphrase Marx - why have a dog and bark yourself ? Just because PCs made PAs obsolete doesn't mean you have to do everything yourself.

Some of the reply's are quite funny !
I was once very sceptical about these so called bike fits but after moving more to the road and getting some issues with back pain, neck pain etc I plumped for one at bike science in Bristol, After more than 20 years being in the bike trade I thought I had a pretty good understanding about fit and the set up of bikes done many a fit for people buying new bikes. Anyway having someone else fit my bike to me has made a massive difference to my road riding no aches and pains and after my shoes were shimmed and cleats wedged I have more power so in my book was worth having it.

#dontknockittillyoutriedit !!!!

I think there are good guys who are into the degree of movement of joints etc, they actually understand how your body works and what sorts different limb ratios (not arms to legs before you lot start 🙂 ) but I think it's the new thing that every shop offers and bob in his shed does, charge folks a few quid or closer to £50 and move stuff around, have seen some horrendous things done in the name of bike fit, aheadset extenders on road bikes when the bike is the right size, it's just they aren't used to be bent over a little for riding. But it's a bit like if you want to see top of the range road bikes look at a sportive if you want to see kit that works and is worth the money look at the road races.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Are you not capable of adjusting your bike yourself based on how it feels?

MTB not really needed.
Road, yes if you have any issues that cause discomfort or keep you off the bike. I wouldn't be able to ride for very long if it wasn't for cleat shims/insoles/proper bike fit.

But it's a bit like if you want to see top of the range road bikes look at a sportive if you want to see kit that works and is worth the money look at the road races.

And if you want to see that folk can ride stupid long distances on any old bike look at audaxes.

You pays your money, you takes your choice

It's more like 'You pays your money, you become an advocate of bike fit because to be otherwise would suggest that you are in the habit of paying money for something you don't believe in'.

...and in 6 months, when you've done many miles, and you are more flexible and fitter and faster, do you go back for another fit?

...and in 6 years?

...and in 25 years?

Whereas if you take the time to learn about this stuff, you can alter your position to your hearts content and understand why it changes how the bike and you feel, and you can apply the principles learned to the next bike purchase, and the next.

Or simply pay for one persons set of prejudices regarding fit over another; if it where as scientific as is claimed, every fit from every fitter would be the same for an individual, but I somehow doubt that is the case.

I've had one. I've ridden for 17 years now and got offered one for free. I'd not pay what they actually cost, if they were half that they'd be OK.

Think of it like going on a skills course (the MTB equivalent really)- you may have done it for a long time, but what feels good to you may not be best and having someone look at it differently may make you more comfortable/faster by changing something you thought was fine.

Instead of spending on several different stems and maybe a couple of different seatposts, and still not getting it right,or heaven forbid getting the wrong size frame, you can have someone knowledgeable given you advice.

But no, the STW way is to insist that experts or services must be a waste of money...

The next thing you'll be telling me is that people pay other people to cook food for them. Madness.

I'm kind of torn between the two sides of it to be honest. I've worked in bike shops, fitted hundreds of people out for bikes - it was always just "part of the service" but it was never measured using video or lasers, it was just one saleperson going "yep, that looks about right, how does that feel?"

I don't doubt that there's a lot of snake oil involved now - you're selling an image that the new breed of MAMIL buys into. Sir has bought the carbon frame, the deep section wheels, the scientific energy gels but Sir is not any faster - there's nothing left to buy therefore it must be that Sir simply hasn't got the bike fitted correctly (it couldn't possibly be that Sir hasn't ridden more than 15 miles without the need to shove another pie down...)

But equally, cycling is one of those strange sports/hobbies that seems to exist on handed-down "knowledge" and I STILL hear phrases like "Campag wears in, Shimano wears out" and "steel is real" and all the other associated bollocks and no-one has ever thought to challenge that way of doing things. So people end up in a position that they've seen handed down through generations or some old fart in the cycle club has nodded knowingly and told them that "it's the way of things" and it's totally wrong for them.

I'm all for bikefit for the road bike. Got one thrown in when i bought my road bike. As i ride between 70 and 100 miles regularly it was great at sorting out all the niggles. Ended up with shimmed shoes and shorter stem. Comfortt has been much better and an increase in speed.

But never considers it for mountain bike, as you are always moving about, not static for miles on end i don't suffer the same aches

If you do long rides and can afford it, you'll not regret it.

IMO bike fit is basically pointless. There is no right answer, as a result no one can actually tell you that you are fitted correctly to a bike.

First bike i bought i was sort of fitted, basically does that feel comfortable, it looks about right. That to me is about the limit of what is worth doing.

How flexible are you, what do you intend to do, what is your core strength like, etc. Now throw into the mix getting fitter and the position you can hold changes.

Look at the slammed stem position of many pros, could i use it, maybe, would i be comfortable for 100-150miles i doubt it. So does that mean the position is wrong? does it mean i am wrong for not being able to use a position?

I took to the sport of road cycling last year after being inspired by Sir Bradleys achievements in the tour of France, and after seeing the GB boys ride past my house in Surrey during the London games.

I was stood at the side of the road cheering them on and clapping with all the other fans, the atmosphere was electric and I thought that cycling would be a great sport to be involved with.

Fast forward a year and I'm a new man! I've lost a few pounds around the middle (and a few more from my bank account!) But I'm a totally different character. A few years ago, I didn't know who I was, my head was a mess, I was lost somewhere between an IT Project Manager with a taste for expensive watches, and a German car enthusiast.

But now, I'm a cyclist! I wear cycling related t shirts and I know the difference between a GC contender and a sprinter (even though I thought Cav had won the tour of France in Paris!)

I love telling my non-cycling friends about the distances I can travel and the speeds I can go. I'm now viewed as a bit of an athlete, a real human being, rather than being known as that chubby fella from down the road with a five grand watch and an Audi.

This all brings me on to the point I was trying to make. I bought a new Pinarello since I wanted to support British cycling (it also made me feel warm inside knowing my bike was capable of winning a tour). But upon riding the thing, I was in immense pain after an hour.

So I went to see a BG fitter to get myself fitted to my racing bike. He immediately spotted what was wrong with me - I had a weak wrist (and shoulder) due to years of wearing a heavy five grand watch, and I had a muscle imbalance in my right leg from stretching to reach the "go" pedal on my fifty grand German car that's too big for me.

The fitter then spent four hours methodically moving my saddle so my knee was in the "KOPS" position and my knee angle was at 30 degrees at the bottom of my pedal stroke. He adjusted my bar height so I could see where I was going (rather than having to peer over the frame of my Oakleys like before). I can now ride in absolute comfort.

I was going to pay him in my usual currency of bourbon biscuits, but it was such a long and technical process, I decided to pay the full £150 (which is value for money since I typical earn this in an hour and it would have taken me far more than four hours to adjust the bike in the way the fitter did)

All in all, I'm chuffed to bits and I've signed up for my first sportive this fall.

It's more like 'You pays your money, you become an advocate of bike fit because to be otherwise would suggest that you are in the habit of paying money for something you don't believe in'.

Mine was free. I would have gladly paid for the custom footbeds, cleat shims and bikefit though.

dt is back on form! 😆

I've been wondering about having one as I am not straight on my bike, owing to my hips being a bit out of kilter and a slight leg length discrepancy. As a result I get a saddle sore on one side only, after long road rides.

Sometimes being put in a position that's quite different from the norm and needs some adjusting to is a good thing that brings positive results as we adapt. We may not get there by just adjusting a few things on feel.

Genius DTF!

DT you are a God!

The cost of a bike set up is a hell of a lot cheaper than the physio sessions needed to straighten you back out if you get it wrong.

Surely it's up to people to pay for this stuff if they want?

Yes, but as I have said a couple of times now, not that anyone is listening, if you do it yourself, and [b]learn[/b] about the [b]principles[/b] involved, you can [b]understand[/b] what is going on and [b]use the knowledge you have gained[/b].

Or just chuck some money at someone in true STW fashion.

Do any LBS's still make nice custom road frames any more. I remember being in my early teens and dreaming of owning my own custom sized frame ( just about every local frame builder did them in the 70's 80's.) Now all the local builders round my way are straight off the peg frames, so to some degree that bike has to be fitted around you.

You would hope that when parting with vast sums of money, the bike industry would want to make sure that there £2k lump of metal/plastic would fit you correctly, and therefore you would be happy with your purchase, but no we will charge you £2k for the bike, and then charge you some more to make sure it fits you, and then charge you some more to put the right stem/seat post etc on it.

The cost of a bike set up is a hell of a lot cheaper than the physio sessions needed to straighten you back out if you get it wrong.

This.

A few millimeters out with stem or saddle position, and you risk turning your new racing bike into a deathtrap.

I'm one of the more experienced cyclists at work, and it's almost become my duty to pull the newer guys (and gals) aside and offer them some advice.

If you don't know your arse from your elbow, don't even think about adjusting your setup. Go and get fitted. These aren't toys, they're serious bits of kit. And if you can get yourself on a skills course, then all the better.

Does any still make nice custom road frames any more. I remember being in my early teens and dreaming of owning my own custom sized frame ( just about every local frame builder did them in the 70's 80's. Now all the local builders round my way are straight off the peg frames, so to some degree that bike has to be fitted around you.

yes, just don't expect the "niche" brands to be of any help.