https://clairecycles.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/why-my-bike-fit-was-money-well-spent
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
"Why my bike fit was money well spent"
(22 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Oooh, thanks for the plug! :)
Posted 9 years ago # -
From the bike shop linked to in the blog post (given the thread title is about the money!).
Fitting Prices:
- Hybrid bike fit (approx 1 hour), from: £25.
- Mountain bike fit (approx 2 hours), from £50.
- Road bike fit (approx 3 hours), from £80.Posted 9 years ago # -
http://www.edinburghbikefitting.com/
Dust has now settled and Retül fitting is now in a room at back of Laid Back shop.
is bike fitting going to be a growth area? I hope so as it helps pay the rates and rent in a businesses dominated by web deals!Posted 9 years ago # -
I've always toyed with the idea of getting a proper bike fitting but ended up doing the "basics" by watching Youtube videos as I always thought of it as a bit expensive. And on that note, @Laidback, I had a poke around edinburghbikefitting.com but couldn't find a pricelist. Is this missing or am I looking in the wrong place?
Posted 9 years ago # -
http://www.edinburghbikefitting.com/bike-fitting
PRices are about 1/2 way down that page. Retul fitting is more expensive but very intensive and being done by a trained sports scientist who knows bikes inside out (races and rides etc). Might be overkill for the commuter - or it might be just the solution to numb hand woes.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
'I was dining with [the writer and broadcaster] Robert Elms in 2008 and he told me he had just been for a three-hour fitting,’ Kemp explains. 'I thought, “This must be the best suit on Earth.” But the fitting was for a bike.
"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/10328345/Gary-Kemp-why-Im-obsessed-with-cycling.html
Posted 9 years ago # -
Just spent a couple of hours at Bike Craft on Ferry Road figuring out the best set-up for the Longitude for off-road touring purposes. This is absolutely a plug because they're 100% lovely, and this evening has been both useful and entertaining (to borrow a phrase). They did the Surly for me a ccouple of years ago and that was similarly good times and made a big difference.
They have also offered me a rare opportunity to be really good at something: my back flexion, hamstring flexibility and hip flexion are all A++. That is pleasing!
Posted 6 years ago # -
How does a bike fitting tell you if a position is good or bad for you? I was wondering how it determines if a saddle is 'comfortable' - subjective or objective? - or for example if handlebars are too low or too far away.
Posted 6 years ago # -
figuring out the best set-up for the Longitude for off-road touring purposes
Fresh as a daisy at Ruigh-aiteachain then?
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Arellcat - mix of subjective and objective. Edinburgh bike fitting have a pressure mat they stick on your saddle, the background image at their website shows it in use: http://www.edinburghbikefitting.com/
Posted 6 years ago # -
Not so fancy at Bike Craft but they eg make sure your knee is in the right place in relation to the pedal axel, and that you're not hunched or overstretched on the bike. Helped me get sorted so I'm more over the front of the bike in this case but balancing this with plans to ride it all day on trails in NF come August. Also how confirmed that my legs are indeed the same length!
Posted 6 years ago # -
@iwrats as a perspiration drenched, muddy and midge bitten daisy.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Arellcat: I'd say the main thing is that they are an outside observer with (you would hope) the experience to know what 'good' looks like. If you're doing a DIY fit, you are working with what you can feel and have, but you can't actually see how it looks from the outside without a lot of faffing with video cameras. So for my road bike, for example, the cranks are too long. This causes my knee to over-bend at the top of the pedal stroke. This means that I had the saddle high to minimise this bend, but that means that it's really a bit high at the bottom of the pedal stroke so my heel is too high for efficient pedalling (and my cleats are in the wrong place). I would never have worked this out by myself, but can confirm that it all felt much better on Edinburgh Bike Fitting's Retul bike with shorter cranks and stuff. The saddle pressure sensor also showed I was much more balanced afterwards, and one-legged pedalling also worked smoothly, which it didn't before the fit.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Can anyone advise a good place to go for a bike fit that is slight more in depth than sitting you on you bike and saying "that looks fine" (which about the level of fit I received when I bought my bike) but not as detailed as scans of pedaling technique and cleat position and hunting efficiency gains.
I have a road / adventure bike but just really want some advice on tweaking fit and saddle to get more comfortable rather than something too detailed...?
Thanks,
Posted 6 years ago # -
I've not tried it myself, but if I was going to get a fitting I would give this a shot first:
Needs access to a turbo trainer but if you don't have one I'm sure someone could give you a loan.
Posted 6 years ago # -
That link is missing a colon at the start, should be: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/automated-measurement-review.html
Interesting stuff!
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Juanito the folks at Bike Craft do a no fancy tech but lots of measuring fit in their workshop - suited me perfectly. Friendly & low key but made a big difference to my comfort and sorted out some aches and pains.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I can fix your golf swing by looking at it. Long story I won't go into. Sadly I can't fix my own golf swing and indeed avoid golf. So if there is a common fix fit across various disciplines I would get a fit. If you are in discomfort (though after long rides you will a,ways have some aches and pains).
I can tell you without looking at your golf swing that you are slicing the ball to the right. (80 per cent of swing errors result in a slice). With bike fit sounds like your saddle is too high?
Posted 6 years ago # -
I hope to get the fit of my bike right before the frame breaks. Been eighteen years of fiddling and fettling now. I'm getting close.
I started aiming miles left so bad was my slice but the slice compensated by becoming even wilder. It was almost like I subconsciously wished to fail in the task.
Posted 6 years ago # -
scaffolding bike will never break
i can fix that slice. aiming left is a false economy
Posted 6 years ago # -
Hi all. Thanks for all the bike fit advice. I ended up going with a bike fit at Bike Craft in the end.
I had the fit on Thursday night and it was a pretty positive experience. Thinking on it, I think it was more educational that fitting itself. We did make some adjustments (@gembo yes my saddle was too high). But it was more of a 2 way conversation than I was expecting, and many of the fit issues were ones that I suppose could have been self diagnosed. Other things came from out of the blue (I never knew 2 saddles that seemed so alike in who they were aimed at could be so different).
I haven't had a chance to get back on the bike yet, so don't know how many issues have been resolved, but feel oddly empowered to be able to plan a course of action if they aren't.
One negative I would say was monetary, I was happy with the price of the fit, but hadn't budgeted for the changes needed (saddle and stem). And as they don't stock very affordable ones I had to source from elsewhere. But my own thrift and budgeting issues are to blame perhaps.
As I said though, overall very possitive, very happy with how it went. And if anyone had issues with fit I'd definately advice them to give it a go.
Posted 6 years ago #
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