How long does a bike fitting taki?

"Mel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I ordered a new cyclocross bike fro a shop and was
wondering, how long I should set aside for the fitting
when I pick it up next week? It will be my first road
geometry so I will have no basis for him to compare
against.

A cut and paste "fit kit" for a road bike, applied to a
cyclocross bike, is likely to cause a misfit. CX bikes
typically will have less standover height for a given rider
than a road bike, since dismounting and remountin often is
the norm. The bottom bracket on the CX bike will be higher
off the ground than a road bike, which can affect seatpost
length and crankarm length. There are probably a lot of
other variables to take into consideration as well. Just
make sure that whomever is administering your fit is advised
of the fact that you have a CX bike, not a road bike.

Personally I've never had a "fit kit" done, so I can't
really say much for or against them, but for a CX bike
where you're not in the saddle for more than an hour at a
time (and for half of that you're dismounted), it's
probably not critical to get a perfect fit. If you're using
this as a simmuter or your main road bike, though, it
becomes more of an issue.

James

Quoted message said:

I ordered a new cyclocross bike fro a shop and was
wondering, how long I should set aside for the fitting
when I pick it up next week? It will be my first road
geometry so I will have no basis for him to compare
against.

It depends upon how the shop does their fittings, as well as
the quality of the person doing them. It's not always the
case that a longer fit session yields better results. Best
bet might be to call the shop and ask them what's involved
an dhow long it takes.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Mel Roberts said:

I ordered a new cyclocross bike from a shop and was
wondering, how long I should set aside for the fitting
when I pick it up next week? It will be my first road
geometry so I will have no basis for him to compare
against.

That depends on the shop and whether they are doing it
blindly with a mechanism or by understanding what counts. I
assume you have ridden bicycles for some time so you have
facility with riding in various positions. My fitting was
done by a man who had me ride by on the tops, on the drops,
and standing in a big gear in his parking lot. From that he
decided what stem length I needed and how high the saddle
should be. That's all there is to it.

One good check is to have someone ride behind you and
notice whether your hips swivel as you pedal. This is an
almost fool proof sign that the saddle is too high. The
only way that can be wrong is if you have some physical
impediment, something that should be visible when you walk
by an unusual gait.

Crank length is either 170 or 175 depending on how tall you
are and whether you have disproportionately long legs. A
good bicycle shop should know statistically what riders of
your height use.

Saddle position fore and aft for a properly built frame is
generally with the saddle center, centered over the
intersection with the centerline of the seat tube. I don't
know what sort of bicycle fame you are getting but it could
be a wacky shape. Then the fitter needs to know how you
should look riding... or derive it from a measurement
system, which usually isn't as easy or good as a bicycling
coach just watching you ride by.

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Then the fitter needs to know how you should look
riding... or derive it from a measurement system, which
usually isn't as easy or good as a bicycling coach just
watching you ride by.

Second that. There's a lot of "take up" involved in daily
riding, some of it is minor adjustment in how one positions
knees, elbows, wrists, etc.

And equipment adjustments.

And how one manages energy. I've found that riding a bicycle
is not necessarily easy but it is rewarding in the context
of the "Hey" factor.

"Hey", I managed to ride 100 miles in a day. "Hey", I can
ride in urban traffic.

"Hey", whatever.

The bottom line is that having fun on a bicycle isn't
illegal, yet, and we should get some.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY
MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------ __________306.350.357.38-

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Quoted message said:

I ordered a new cyclocross bike fro a shop and was
wondering, how long I should set aside for the fitting when
I pick it up next week? It will be my first road geometry
so I will have no basis for him to compare against.

Hmmm. I would have guessed you would have gotten fit before
you ordered the bike. That way you ordered the right size.
---------------
Alex