I try to study bike fitting every winter. While I definitely have enough fitting appointments to keep me busy (and some of you keep me busier than others…just kidding), I think it’s important to keep up with new developments in physiology, bike geometry, and theory in general.
It’s this time of year that I get especially frustrated though, by being reminded of all the bad advice that is swimming around out there on the “Bike Club Circuit”. Now, that’s not a knock on bike clubs – they’re vital to the existence and continued growth of our sport – but it seems that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about how bikes ought to fit and about what you can and can’t get away with when it comes to choosing a bike and making it fit. Worst of all, some of those rumors are propigated by bike shops!
Poorly trained (or not trained at all) professionals some times give out the worst advice of all! Ultimately, this leads to an amazing amount of people running around on bikes which don’t fit and therefore aren’t comfortable to ride. (One fitting school puts the figure at almost 80% of cyclists. Now, what they don’t disclose is whether that number is just enthusiasts or whether it also includes the 11 year old who just got a bike for his birthday from Toys-R-Us which is 5 sizes too big, but no one knew better – he just thought it looked cool). Continue reading “2/16/06 – Bike Fit”