Of the many occupations I’ve held in my life, I did not anticipate that bicycle fitting would be one that I would return to, nor that in doing so I would realize how much I missed the fulfillment I’d derived from it. I mean, the math on this is pretty simple: Helping people always feels good, and helping someone increase their enjoyment of cycling … duh.
For those of you who have sought out help with your fit, like ever, I’m curious to know what caused you to seek help. Was it your saddle? Your knees? Shoulders?
But let’s not stop there. What was the solution? I’m especially curious to know when the solution proved to be something other than what you thought the problem was, such as saddle pain being related to a saddle height issue.
One other question: Did the fitter solve your problem?
I went to a fitter because of knee pain. I have to say he didn’t help cause the answer was a new bike. My Ti bike dampens road vibrations much better than my old carbon bike. Both bikes geo is similar so that wasnt it. After riding the Ti bike for about 6 weeks I took the carbon bike for a spin. My knees were killing me. I listed the carbon bike on Craig’s List the next day.
That is remarkable. I’m so glad to hear you found a solution, but how surprising?
From 1986 to 1999 I rode anything any setup because my young body allowed it. But in 2000 I just bought a Lemond Zurich and it came with a free fit at the LBS. I have taken that set of measurements and angles and only slightly modified it over the years with tiny increases in stem height, decreasing my saddle drop over the years. Not as deep drops as well so not Cinelli 66’s for me!
That’s the thing about a great fit: Get a good fitting and those numbers will only change slightly over the years, unless there’s an injury or other issue.
I’m actually considering getting a fit done. when I was mostly mountain biking I spent less time on the saddle, and as I’ve gotten more into road there have been issues numbness, and I’m not sure that all can be solved with just a saddle swap after just trying a few.
Getting a proper fit will help you determine the correct fore-aft position for your chosen saddle, and that can have an effect on your weight distribution, and by turn, potential numbness.