Bike fitting

wrenchscience.comdefault.aspOpen ↗

Bike fitting link is in the right hand margin.

velo fellow said:

wrenchscience.comdefault.aspOpen ↗

Bike fitting link is in the right hand margin.

Looks good for a std road but does not address the TT or TRI fit ..

Thks

if any one is interested by the subject .. pls find attached a list of links.. some of them are quite interesting and free ..

http://www.cyclemetrics.com/Pages/FitLinks/bike_fit_links.htm

I just learned the hard way. Decided to get back into cycling this summer. So I did my research and used one of the on-line fit calculators (can't remember which). Just to double check, I went to a LBS and paid them for a fitting. Well, the numbers were pretty comparable, so I ordered a 53 cm Pegoretti Palosanto with the recommended stem length,etc from the fitting.

I thought at first is was a good fit. Then my shoulders started hurting and I felt that I really had to stretch to get my hands on the hoods. Tinkering with saddle position and seat post height didn't help, and in some cases, made things worse. A couple of days in a trainer - before ever hitting the road - and I began to think something was amiss. So I put the bike away until I could get things worked out.

Made an appointment at Grand Fondo in Nashville - a Pegoretti dealer who uses the Pro system from Bikefitting.com. Lynn measured me on the "rack", plugged it into the computer and set up the Frankencycle (see website). Did a bunch more measurement while on the cycle and made a few adjustments. Bam! My shoulders relaxed, my arms weren't stiff anymore and it all fell into place. (BTW, all this was done with my shoes, pedals and saddle.)

Turns out I need a custom frame, which surprised me because I had always assumed I was equally proportioned for my height. I have always worn "regular" suits and jackets, and since I began having my suits custom made twenty yearda go, my tailors have never mentioned anything about a longer torso than average. I knew I had shorter arms than the statistical average for a man my height . Turns out my shoulders are broader than average, my torso longer than average and legs slightly shorter than average (but they still reach the ground 😉 ).

So instead of a 53 cm ctc seat tube, I'm at 51 cm. And instead of a 54cm top tube, I stretch out to 55cm. In other areas, the recommended stem turns out 20 mm too long (but GF will swap it out for me at no charge). By some stroke of luck, I landed on the correct crankarm length (170mm) and the correct handlebar width (44cm).

Unfortunately for the Brothers Pegoretti, I fell in love with a Tommasini Techno while there, and I'll take delivery of a custom Techno in early November in orange with black and white trim. And someone out there who can fit a 53 cm stock geometry Palosanto will be getting a deal on a new frame that's never seen the road when I post the ad in a few weeks.

I'll lose a little money in the end, but not as much as I had first thought. It could have been a lot worse. I am now a believer in getting fitted by a pro (particularly if you're 56 years old and already have arthritis), and have learned that all bike shop fittings are not created equal. I would use the on-line calcualtors only as a rough starting point, unless I was absolutely sure from previous experience of the correct size.