Bike Fitting?

supermike

Member
I'm having some issues with my C'dale Rush with back soreness and the fact that I feel too stretched out and hunched over. I already put a shorter stem on the bike (90mm). Anyway, I went to a couple shops today with the hopes of picking up a 2" riser bar, which I think will make the situation better and both shops suggested getting a bike fitting.

Anyway, this is something that I never considered before. At any rate, one shop quoted me well over $100 for a fitting. The other said it would be significantly cheaper- as low as $20, depending on what I was looking for.

For what it's worth, I'm not really open to spending a c-note to have someone tell me that I need $$$ in parts that I already suspect that I might need anyway, but on the other hand if I'm more than willing to spend a little cash to learn a little bit and make the bike more comfortable.

I guess my questions is, does anyone have any experience with a bike fitting, was it worth it, and what's a reasonable price? Maybe a shop reccomendation would be good too.
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
I'm having some issues with my C'dale Rush with back soreness and the fact that I feel too stretched out and hunched over. I already put a shorter stem on the bike (90mm). Anyway, I went to a couple shops today with the hopes of picking up a 2" riser bar, which I think will make the situation better and both shops suggested getting a bike fitting.

Anyway, this is something that I never considered before. At any rate, one shop quoted me well over $100 for a fitting. The other said it would be significantly cheaper- as low as $20, depending on what I was looking for.

For what it's worth, I'm not really open to spending a c-note to have someone tell me that I need $$$ in parts that I already suspect that I might need anyway, but on the other hand if I'm more than willing to spend a little cash to learn a little bit and make the bike more comfortable.

I guess my questions is, does anyone have any experience with a bike fitting, was it worth it, and what's a reasonable price? Maybe a shop reccomendation would be good too.

Contact Jdog on this forum, he owns Halters cycles in Monmouth Junction. His experience with cannondale is huge and he has the scary ability to look at you and tell you how long your legs are.:hmmm: He'll set you up nice.
 
M

mtbjeff

Guest
I have been satisfied with my mtb fit however I felt that my road bike might need some tweeking. Local shop put me on my bike in their fitting room and after it was all done charged me $25.00. My ride was already very close.
Out in Paramus at campmor, Ken does custom fitting and has had good results.To my way of thinking if you can get your bike set up to be pain free and pedal more efficiantly it's worth every bit of $100.00 or more. Compare that investment to the rest of the costs of the sport and it makes sense to me.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
You get what you pay for in $20.

I went to J and I highly recommend it. Aside from the fitting, I bought road shoes and pedals, a new stem, new bars, and bar tape of course. The next time I got on the bike (and it wasn't raining or snowing) I rode the fastest ever average ride in my life.

I spent a little less than $300 with everything, all told. And it was worth every penny. I ride my bikes all the time. Being comfortable, especially on a road bike, is really key to getting the most out of it. If you already have the shoes/pedals and don't need new bars and all that, it will of course be much less.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Go see Jason. You're not likely to meet someone who is more stoked about helping you get greater enjoyment out of riding.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
jason recently set me up with road shoes and pedals and adjusted a few other things and everything feels great. It is hard to set it up yourself unless you really know when you are doing.
 

KenS

JORBA: Director
JORBA.ORG
I cant say enough about how happy I was with a fitting from J at Halter's. This is coming from the cheapest person on the planet. Prior to the fitting I also believed solidly that they were for crap. Changed my mind hugely.
 

J-Dro

Well-Known Member
I think a proper bike fitting is necessary on a road bike, but most folks are OK on the MTB without one since you are usually moving around so much. But, if you are experiencing back pain, then its a no-brainer. It would be well worth the $100 to keep enjoying the sport you love. If the fitting is done right, the shop will be spending over an hour with you 1-on-1... making minor adjustments and swapping parts to find the root of your problem.

One more vote for Jason at Halter's. I got my road bike fitted this winter and I couldn't be happier. Well OK I'd be happier if all the trails weren't under water right now, but thats another story.
 

sj_john

Well-Known Member
Bike Fit

I agree that a fitting is worth the time and money.
I had my road and mountain bikes fitted at Action Wheels.
 

supermike

Member
Ok, Ok. I guess I'm just a tight wad. How much adjustment is there though? All you can really change is the seat height and setback and the bars/stem, right?

Thanks for all the input.
 

sj_john

Well-Known Member
Adjustments

Mike,
My adjustments were minor. I spec'ed out my bikes close to what I knew worked for me. Seat height, fore and aft adjustment were all that was necessary on the 3 bikes.

John
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I'm going to visit Timmy Dougherty at High Gear today to get a pro fit. I've had enough with this guessing crap. I wanna make sure my stuff is getting set up right. He's doing my MTB and my road bike. Maybe this will help my knee issues...I hope...
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Well I got my fit done last night. Wow was it inclusive. It was 3 basic parts. An interview session, a flexibility measuring session and a fit session. The interview is very in depth. Covers goals, injuries, different aspects of your riding, and a lot more. The flexibility shows your range of motions to see if your positioning is effective and then the fit just gets you in the spot where you should be on the bike.

For me there was a lot to change. I was way to far back and my positioning needed to be changed a lot. I've been having knee issues and from what Tim said, the position I was in was putting too much stress on my knees and that would all be changed moments later. After messing with a bunch of different measurements and changing my riding position, mere spinning felt much smoother and more effortless.

I'm excited to see what this new fit is going to do. My road bike was pretty out of whack and my mtb was a little too. So things changed a lot and I'm gonna have to see how this helps me in the future. Tim did say one thing that I liked hearing. He said that in the position I was in I wasn't able to get all my power to the ground, so with this new positioning and a little retraining there's more power to come and I'll definitely be faster :D SWEET!
 
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