A Lesson on Bike Fit

I went into The Bike Lane on Tuesday and had Tony take a look at my fit on the road bike. It turns out that I had a pretty jacked setup. My handlebars were off center, my saddle was angled up, and I had the saddle set a little too high. I brought in some Smutty's to show my appreciation!

The lesson here: let a professional take a look at your road bike fit. I'm still a novice when it comes to fitting road bikes. I can handle a floor fit, which involves getting someone on the correct frame size and swapping a stem if necessary but that's really just the allegro in what becomes a fantastic symphony of "bike fit".

After determining the correct frame size, any good shop will throw the bike in the trainer and do a quick fit session with you. They'll look at you on the bike and determine your ideal stem length, ideal saddle height, and the fore/aft positioning of the saddle. The tools of the trade include levels, lasers, and a few other gadgets. The Bike Lane will do this for free when you buy the bike. Seriously, any good shop should, get to another shop immediately if they don't offer it with the purchase of a bike.

Why is fit so important on a road bike? On a road bike you often remain in the same position for several hours at a time, if your not in the right position, meaning your bike doesn't fit, then you will experience pain in any number of places on your body. People riding hybrid bikes are in a less aggressive position yes, but they often don't ride them for nearly as long. On a mountain bike you spend more time changing positions and standing because of the terrain changes. That's not so say being on the right size bike is not important, because it is. However the minute details are in most cases, less critical in these cycling disciplines.

Sorry, the fit lesson got a little long, now you know though, and knowing is half the battle. Update on training: I spent an hour and a half on the trainer tonight and Sunday night. Both workouts were steady state, but I kept the intensity pretty high. Went for a night ride on Monday with Luke, mountain bikes on the W&OD. It was 31 degrees F. Only my toes were cold though.

I should probably disclose that I work part time at The Bike Lane during the spring/summer/fall, so I'll be plugging them every chance I get.

BS