In-Person Fitting Services With Padraig
Despite the number of cyclists and of bike shops in Sonoma County, the number of qualified bike fitters in my home has dwindled to the point that friends have complained about the lack of qualified professionals. That, coupled with the fact that the media world suffers from a lack of advertising dollars, has led me to begin offering fitting services once again, here in Sonoma County, as well as by house-call in the broader Bay Area.
Of the many roles I’ve held in the bike industry, working as a fitter has been second only to writing about cycling. It is immensely rewarding work, in part because it is a service offered on a one-on-one basis and as a fitter my job couldn’t offer a more focused service: Make the bike fit the rider, not the other way ’round. That satisfaction can be summed up in a single statement I heard over and over during my years as a freelance fitter in Massachusetts:
“Oh yeah, that feels much better.”
As I’ve offered fits on a sporadic basis over the last few years, it’s reasonable to offer up my qualifications beyond the simple fact that I’ve been writing about fit for more than 25 years.
Here’s a bullet-point overview of my background:
- Certified in the Fit Kit
- Certified in the Rotational Adjustment Device (R.A.D.) cleat-adjustment system
- Certified in the Serotta Size Cycle
- Graduate from Specialized Bicycle Components University (SBCU)
I began offering fits on a freelance basis in 1992, working through word-of-mouth and referrals with four different bike shops in Western Massachusetts. Just as business was picking up and I was being sought out by elite amateurs (and a couple of pros), I joined the staff of Bicycle Guide and moved to Los Angeles. Indeed, part of what got me the job at BG was my background as a bike mechanic and fitter.
It was while I was at Bicycle Guide that I went through the Serotta fitter’s course, albeit on a somewhat correspondence basis; the magazine had been sent a Serotta Size Cycle, which lived in my garage for more than a year, and which I’d have bought if I could have afforded it.
I was also at Bicycle Guide when the elite track sprinter Paul Swift introduced the Big Meat Wedge to address overpronation; he was the first to address the issue with a product that has been copied repeatedly. Swift also the first to introduce a fitting system that used a goniometer to analyze body angles; today, a goniometer is a standard tool of the trade.
SBCU was still relatively new when they began their instruction in fit, but the course surprised me for both how thorough it was as well as how it moved the science of fit forward, shifting the basis for fit from limb and torso length to flexibility and body angles.
When Retül first came to the U.S. and began marketing their motion-capture fitting system (prior to Specialized’s purchase) one of the companies helping to manage their introduction sought me out to take a barely literate German-English translation of their materials into a form of English that people familiar with the basics of bike fit could comprehend. It was an immensely fun project that resulted in a longing to return to fitting that surprised me.
Tools of the trade
I’ve amassed a collection fitting tools over the years, some at considerable expense. The tape measure is still the most basic of fitter’s tools, though these days a goniometer, which allows the fitter to measure the various angles that describe a rider’s fit on their bike has become every bit as important. I still own my old Fit Kit and it gives me something few fitters today offer: the ability to establish cleat position with precision.
Thanks to my friend, framebuilder Jeremy SyCip, I have access to a Serotta Size Cycle for people looking to order a new frame—from any builder, not just Jeremy.
My arsenal of tools also includes an adjustable stem that allows me to test different bar positions for the rider I’m fitting. And for riders who own multiple bikes and want to standardize their fit across them, I’m equipped with Purely Custom’s X/Y Tool, which takes the guesswork out of replicating a rider’s fit from one bike to another.
For Wine Country peeps, I encourage you to contact my friends at Breakaway Bikes. For people in the greater Bay Area (or Seattle!), I do house calls as well and you can email me at padraig [at] cyclingindependent.com.