Bike fit recommendations

[John Gilmore]

I'm considering a professional bike fitting. But there are a lot of boutiques, studios and physical therapists offering this service to choose from.

Anyone have a recommendation based on personal experience? Any to avoid?

Thanks, 

JG

[Darell (EVnut)]

The only thing I can offer – after having at least four professional, recommended fittings done – is that this is by no means a science. Far more of an art, and you’re likely to get a different result from each fitter you see. I’ve never been able to determine which is “best” – but what I do know is that I learned something valuable from each of the fitters, and am now quite confident in being able to get my OWN fit dialed in to where I like it – vs how some chart or somebody with experience with *other* riders think I should like it.

 

Armed with my new knowledge, it is much easier for me to make bike purchase choices as well – which all tend to be custom now, so I’m assured of a proper fit.  :sigh:

 

-= Darell =-
http://EVnut.com

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[SUSAN R BUMP]

Hi,

I recommend Ari at Bespokes in San Fran.

Susie

[Keith Cardoza]

I would recommend Grady Lynch with Mike's Bikes. 

I had knee and hip pain for a couple years, following a SR series in 2007.  After 2 Orthopedics, 1 physical therapist and 1 other professional fitter, I finally worked with Grady to dial in my fit.  After an extensive interview and body assessment, he got me riding my bike on a trainer with special fit software/cameras and lasers to evaluate/dial-in in my position.  He made some seemingly insignificant tweaks, and recommended some new equipment.  I tried it, and my knee/hip has been happy ever since.

I was fit by Grady when he worked for Landry's Bikes in Boston.  He now works for Mikes Bikes, out of the Palo Alto and Willow Glen shops primarily.

Cheers,
Keith C

[Joan Deitchman]

I highly recommend the folks at Revolutions In Fitness in Menlo Park if you're down the Peninsula.  They come at it with a physical therapist's viewpoint and are able to adjust the fit based on your physical limitations/imbalances.  Like someone else mentioned, bike fitting is very much an art as much as it is a science.

Good luck!

Joan

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[Gino Zahnd]

I accidentally replied only to John. For everyone else, I recommended Starla Teddergreen in Mill Valley. http://teddergreen.com

Disclosure: I live with Starla.

[Sean Chon]

I've done the Retul fit at Bespoke and have been fit by Tony Tom at Bicycle Odyssey. I would recommend both.

The Retul fit is really comprehensive with a flexibility analysis, cleat positioning, and lots of data driven adjustments. I believe it was about a two and a half hour fitting. It is also on the high end of the spectrum in terms of price. I think it's just under $300.

Tony Tom charges by the fraction of the hour and my fit with him was probably closer to 45 minutes to an hour. He has been fitting for decades and has a more classic approach to fitting. He will pull out the plumb bob and look at the angles your body creates while in different riding positions. I believe I paid around $50.

To be honest, I probably got just as much out of Tony's fit as I did out of the Retul fit. But the Retul fit made me feel a little bit like Ivan Drago.

On Monday, February 25, 2013 5:47:08 AM UTC-8, John Gilmore wrote:

[Gintautas Budvytis]

+1.

 

Professional adjustment is a BUSINESS. Which might solve your problem (so can Google doctor) or might not.

So will your professional adjuster give your money back, if it did not work? In a month? 3 month?

 

Google it, ask on the group and save your hard earned money.

 

GB

 

Been there, done that.

[Peter Curley]

I recommend 3D Bike Fit (http://www.3dbikefit.com) in San Francisco. Check out an article about them in last week's Velonews.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/02/training-center/bay-area-fitter-utilizes-exclusive-3d-technology-for-in-depth-bike-fits_275284

Peter

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[David Zabowski]

I also had a good experience with 3d Bike Fit. 

David

[Denise Primrose]

I some what agree with Darrell, it is by no means a science but a combination of science, art and experience. I was fortunate enough to get a great fit many years ago so I know what feels right for me. The fit was done by someone with many years of experience. When I bought a new bike 2 years ago my fitter measured me, took the measurements from my old bike and he made a few adjustments due to the slightly different geometry on the new bike. We only had to move the saddle a hair then I knew it felt right so he got it pretty dang close to perfect. This fitter also has many years of experience. He also told me a funny story about a guy who paid big bucks for one of the new fancy laser/electronic video analysis fits. He wanted a second opinion so Jonathan gave him a fit; manually measuring, observation, experience, etc. The measurements/fit came out exactly the same as the fancy-schmancy laser system and the cost was about half!! I don't think the guy getting the fit thought it was too funny...
 
I found this blog and it has a lot of good info about how fitters have different methods as well as a lot of other good info.
 
http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/blog/2011/09/perspectives-on-fitting/
 
A couple of very important aspects to keep in mind; the fit should be for YOU, not what you're "supposed" to be. Also, it's a process! You have to actually ride your bike, under climbing load etc to really know what the adjustments feel like. It's not always a one shot deal, it might take a couple of visits to get it all dialed in.  So it involves lots of conversation about what you want, need, riding style, etc.
 
Which, by the way, you don't say if you're looking to get a fit to a current bike because you're having problems, if you've had an injury so now have problems and need adjustments or if you're going to buy a new bike and want to be sure it's a good fit. Just another factor in choosing the right person. If it's injury related you may want to consider a physical therapist that does bike fit.

Good luck to you!

Denise Primrose

 

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From: dar...@evnut.com
To: john_g...@me.com; sfra...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [SFRandon] Bike fit recommendations
Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 07:44:44 -0800

[Alice Stribling]

+1 on Ari at Bespoke Cycles in SF. 

http://www.bespokecyclessf.com

John, I would be happy to tell you about my experience if you want more info. I've been working with him since last June and we solved a lot of issues. Just send me an email.

:) Alice

Alice Stribling
www.alicestribling.com

Artist, obsessed bike fiend, burlesque enthusiast and
Director of the SF branch of Dr Sketchy's Anti-Art School.
www.drsketchyssf.com

[Jesse]

Ari did a great job getting me into better posture on the bike.

I went into the session thinking it would be a one-time thing.  But his approach seems to favor periodic return visits to continue working toward better fit.

I haven't been back, mostly because of the expense.

The adjustments made in the session helped immensely with upper-body comfort and some saddle issues I was having (short version: it wasn't the saddle's fault). 

He also armed me with the idea that my feet were vital to getting a good fit and reducing my knee pain.

So I now can target my fit at finding the right shoes, insoles, and cleat position.

I took copious notes, and glancing at them over the last six months helped me to build up my new bike and make it fit at least as well as the old one.

[Kurt Wallace Martin]

Over the past few years, I've done a few different fits and found a few things that I think are truisms:

* fit varies by bike, so I've spend some time and energy on my road bike and cross bike - there are subtle variations

* the foot|shoe|cleat|pedal interface is important, so things really got good when I got Cyclesoles and started using one pair across all of my shoes

* it helps to revisit the fit over time - I started with my bars much higher than they are now - as the fit got better, I was able to get more aero

* the fitter is more important than the system - I've done Retul, Specialized, etc. The really experienced people get a lot of it right using their eyes, quickly, then tune

Kurt

[Gintautas Budvytis]

+1. And ALL that you can do yourself.

From my expierence, even if you mark your seatpost height, it will need adjustment later (legs geeting shorter/longer :). The sweet spot will be different after winter's hybernation and during your peak season. Even if a bike was built for you, custom etc. it will need some tweaking later.

Everytime you change some part on your bike - you probably will need readjustment. It may not be obvious from the 20-30 mile ride, but 200k ride is a good test. So, can you simulate 200k ride at a fitting session? I don't think so.

And then, you have different bikes... Every body is different and can adopt to some degree. If the bike is right (or almost), you can relatively easy do the fitting itself.

With that said, even if you done "super" professional "custom" "just for you" "one of a kind" fitting session(s...), you will need to do adjustment all the time... on your own. Why not to start doing it yourself in the first place?

 

GB

[Denise Primrose]

BTW... I had the most terrible hot foot problem and Ari at Bespoke cured it with insoles with a metatarsal pad. Haven't had an episode since!

Denise Primrose

 

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Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:48:22 -0800
From: jesse....@gmail.com
To: sfra...@googlegroups.com
CC: denisep...@hotmail.com; dar...@evnut.com; john_g...@me.com
Subject: Re: [SFRandon] Bike fit recommendations

[Kurt Wallace Martin]

Given the ways I see people on bikes out in the world, I think it's safe to say that most folks need at least a bit of professional help to get close to the right fit. Thankfully, I think shops are doing a better job of putting people on the street with a decent setup.

I think you're completely right that experienced folks need less help, but there are always little gotchas with changing tech and equipment, and massive miles with little faults don't agree with the body.

[jack holmgren]

Ari corrected patellar and Achilles tendon problems and taught me to get more power out of my puny legs.  He also blessed my Rivet saddle.

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From: Denise Primrose <denisep...@hotmail.com>
To: sfra...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tue, February 26, 2013 9:17:51 AM

Subject: RE: [SFRandon] Bike fit recommendations