Monday, June 26, 2006

If the shoe fits

I got a bike fitting.

I was one of the skeptics. I knew that it made sense for Lance Armstrong to get a bike fitting, but what difference would it make for us mortals? Paying someone over $100 to raise your bike seat seemed a bit extreme.

All I can say is that it's like I have a brand new bike. Turns out, my lower back didn't need to be hurting all the time. And there was no reason for my thumbs to lose circulation from all the pressure on the handlebar. I wish I had some objective data to share, but the bike just seems to roll better (which may be because of my better aero position.)

To be fair, the fitting is a little more than raising the seat. 5 things were adjusted: seat height, seat tilt, handlebar height, handlebar tilt, shoe clip position. Certainly anyone with a screwdriver could make the same changes, but you're paying for the experience of having someone know what will work best.

I can't make a blanket statement and say everybody should go out and get a bike-fitting. It is expensive, and your bike might not need as much adjusting as mine did. All I know is that it made a huge improvement for me.

I went to Brandon Heflin in Pasadena. TriCentric Training

4 Comments:

Blogger Herself, the GeekGirl said...

No, you're right - it's amazing the difference between an ill-fitting bike (torture, hate the bike) and a proper bike fit (love the bike, want to marry the bike). The right seat helps, too.

6:21 AM  
Blogger Iron Pol said...

What seems odd is that the bike wasn't fitted when you purchased it.

What I figured would be 30 minutes or so getting the bike set when I picked it up very quickly turned into nearly an hour and a half between fitting, adjusting, rechecking, and finalizing everything.

And you're right, it's huge.

9:59 AM  
Blogger Paul said...

A proper bike fit makes all the difference. Glad to see you got yours taken care of. After I had mine adjusted it made the biggest difference for me. Now you can put the smack down.

10:59 AM  
Blogger Lance Notstrong said...

I'll make that blanket statement.....EVERYONE should be fit!!! It makes all the difference in the world. I'm like Iron Pol, why didn't they fit you when you bought the bike. My bike shop did a complete fit with the purchase of a new bike. There are some things like proper cleat adjustment and fore/aft position on the saddle that you just can't do alone.

3:12 PM  

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