A professional bike fit is the cheapest and easiest way to get the most out of your bike and your body. PERIOD.
Cycling is a great way to stay fit, and see the world in one of the best ways possible. It’s a great form of exercise that you can continue to enjoy at any age. That being said, your body won’t hold up, and your performance may suffer if your bike isn’t properly fit to your body and cycling style.
Even a seasoned cyclist who has spent thousands of dollars on equipment is at risk of injury if their bike isn’t set up for their body. There’s nothing worse than investing so much money on a bike, and hours in training, only to be too sore and injured to ride.
OPTIMIZE THE BIKE FIT TO OPTIMIZE YOU
I honestly didn’t start my career envisioning working with allen keys, torque wrenches, and self-leveling lasers. I did realize pretty quickly that although using manual therapy, technique coaching, therapeutic exercises, and training advice helped my patients immensely, I was missing a very important piece of the puzzle. Without the benefits of individualized fit, ensuring that your bike is finely tuned to YOU, common mechanical issues tend to return time after time.
So I got certified to perform professional bike fits. My knowledge and skill as a healthcare provider sets me apart from other bike fit providers, and I am blown away by the results my patients are reporting after I see them for a bike fit.
WHY GET A PROFESSIONAL BIKE FIT
Getting a professional bike fit is the most commonly skipped step when becoming a cyclist, even though it may also be one of the most important.
Unlike other sports where you are free to develop your own characteristic movement patterns, cycling limits you to a relatively fixed environment. However, with a few adjustments to the bike, powerful functional and performance changes occur. Even the smallest changes can amount to a lot when you spend enough time on a machine that you are essentially locked into.
WHAT IS INVOLVED IN A BIKE FIT
A professional bike fit is a process. It includes the evaluation of the cyclist’s physical and performance requirements, as well as their abilities (we assess this in the interview and the physical exam). This information is then applied to the dynamic assessment on the bike, where I gather even more data. After that, I systematically make adjustments to the bike in order to meet the goals and needs of the cyclist.
In simple language, I make adjustments to the bike to suit your body and your needs.
Depending on your cycling style, goals, and ailments, a number of changes can be made to your bike. Here is a summary of the type of adjustments that are often made during a professional bike fit:
- Full cockpit setup:
- Pedal changes
- Pedal fore/aft position and float
- Pedal width positioning
- Saddle changes:
- Saddle tilt
- Saddle fore/aft position
- Saddle height
- New saddle recommendations (based on pelvic width measurement and geometry)
- Stem changes:
- Stem length
- Stem height
- Stem angulation
- Bar changes:
- Bar width
- Bar angulation
- Lever angulation and placement changes
- Foot/pedal interface setup:
- Shoe width or insole changes
- Cleat angulation change to alter foot alignment and direction of float
- Cleat alignment changes with the use of wedges (this has a powerful influence on how your whole leg moves)
- Addressing leg length discrepancies with cleat shims
WHEN SHOULD YOU GET A BIKE FIT?
While I recommend that all serious cyclists get their bike professionally fitted, here is a list of the most common reasons to consider:
- You just bought a new bike and want to get the most out of it
- You are experiencing pain while cycling
- Discomfort is limiting the time you can spend on a bike
- You want to adopt a new, more aggressive position on the bike
- You want to improve performance
- You want to improve how your bike handles
ARE YOU READY FOR A FIT?
If you are a cyclist limited by injury, or you simply want to get the most out of your bike and your body, we should talk.
