Who Needs A Bike Fit?

Who Needs A Bike Fit?

 Well, if you own a bicycle, or are shopping for new bicycle, and you’re reading this post, probably you! There are a lot of different reasons why someone should consider getting fitted to their bicycle. Usually though, the basic reason most people look into getting a bike fit is comfort and pain relief or increased performance, or all three. If you find yourself in one of those scenarios, read on!

Let’s start with some basics on bike fit. Regardless of what type of bike you’re riding, whether it’s a road racing bike, a triathlon bike, a mountain bike, or really any category, the essential mechanics of riding a traditional bike are the same. You sit on a seat, put your feet on the pedals, rest your hands on the handle bars, and then use your legs to push down on the pedals. Your muscles and connective tissues provide either driving force or stability and your skeleton is the structure holds it all in place. The mechanics of using levers (your legs) to turn a circle (the crankset) are inherently inefficient but those are the tools we have to work with and our goal is to make it as efficient as possible so we get the most amount of forward movement for the least amount of energy.

For each of us, we have our unique set of factors that determine how efficient we can be. There is muscle strength and endurance to be considered. How much cardio vascular fitness is available to supply oxygen to the muscles?  Flexibility and joint quality have a large impact. Each of us has some level of technique that we can call upon to maximize our efficiency as well. The only part of that set of factors that is not directly impacted by bike fit is cardio vascular fitness. Whether you are comfortable and efficient or not, your fitness improves if you keep riding. But again, having cardio fitness is much more satisfying when we are efficient and comfortable! It is also likely that you will quit riding if you are uncomfortable.

The basics of a bike fit are pretty straight forward. We want to put the seat in a position that gets your sit bones, your legs, and your feet in a position that allows you to pedal smoothly and apply the maximum force to the pedals. For each of us that position for the saddle is dependent on the physical dimensions of the skeleton taking into consideration the flexibility and strength of the driving muscles and the support muscles. The second step is to place the handlebar  in a position that is comfortable for your arms and back and creates a stable platform for your legs to work against while providing good control over the bike. These principles are the same whether you are riding a road bike, a mountain bike, or a time trial (triathlon bike).

So, hopefully, you are seeing that getting a proper setup on your bike is important. Now you may be asking why you should get your bike fit at Cycle Craft. Consider our process.

Your bike fit starts with an exploration of your goals and objectives. Once we know the destination, its much easier to find a way there. Next, we evaluate your physical attributes and capabilities. Our evaluation identifies strengths and weaknesses, potential physical limiters, and analysis of movement patterns that will impact your bike riding. Once we have a complete picture of you,  we use a very precise sizing machine to move your body into the position that best balances all of the above mentioned considerations. Our process is driven by the objective data provided by our 3d motion capture system that is able to see much finer detail of motion than the human eye possibly can.

If you are retrofitting to a bike you already own, we can transfer the position data from the fit machine to your bicycle (assuming the frame size and geometry are appropriate). If you are looking for a new bike, we can use the fit data to help you select a good match and then make sure it is set up to match your desired position.

If you’re ready to take the plunge and get your bike fit done by professionals, you can book a session right on our website here. Your time and money invested in your bike fit will be well worth it. Guaranteed.