My bike fits!

Am so glad the fitting has helped you. After a month or so you go back for a follow-up (if necessary).

Yes, I know there are some good LBSs out there but most seem to be staffed by people who don’t know anything about fit and let/persuade people to buy bikes that are too big for them. Me, eminva, acc and now you have fallen victim to the ruse….

Hopefully the new stem and adjustments will make the bike fit you to a T. And if the saddle hurts (I think most of the stock saddles on new bikes are crap) check around online with saddle manufacturers. Most, if not all of them, let you try a saddle out and return it if it doesn’t work out. I recommend Selle Italia and Specialized but my experience is limited in this department.

@Certifried 22463 wrote:

Oh man, I just can’t say enough about how amazing Clovis at Freshbikes was today. My bike feels 500000% better. I knew it was off, but not nearly as much as it was. 5cm too low on the seat! Needed a shorter stem, actually he suggested I need a 54cm bike instead of the 56 I’m on (the bike shop I bought it from actually had me try a 58 too!). I had even gone back to the particular bike shop I bought my bike from, and told them my saddle was hurting me. They said “looks fine, maybe you need a new one.” It’s really a disservice to people that some LBS don’t even try to fit people. But that’s for another thread.

He is great but not cheap unless you’re buying a bike them. He was the sell point for me to buy a bike from Freshbikes. He would change out the right stem or handle bar for free. Otherwise, I would buy my bike online. He is always very busy on the weekend during summer. To get the most out of it, you should make an appointment in mid day during the week. His fitting could take hours. The best time to buy a bike is January because last year model is on sale and he has more time for you.

Truth and honesty first. I finally had my bike fitted by Clovis and it made a world of difference.

BUT—

I don’t want people reading this thread to think their bike must fit perfectly or forget about riding. That’s not true at all. Certainly if you commute to work, get your bike fitted, that’s just commonsense. If you’re spending an hour or more going back and forth to work, you deserve a ride that doesn’t hurt.

There’s a difference between a ridable bike and a custom fit. You’ll know when you need your bike tweaked just so because you’ll have an appreciation for an excellent ride. That appreciation develops over hours and hours spent in the saddle. And it is just fine to have a bike that’s safe and in good working order that is not a perfect fit, but rides without major problems.

I had an epiphany today on the ride in – my seat is too low!

Explains why I can’t figure out where to sit on it, because at its current height I need to practically be behind it to get full extension.

Soon to be falling over at a stoplight near you…

Now I just need to figure out why my left foot goes numb when I ride :p

Ballpark amount for the fitting session? (Assuming just fitting, no bike purchase) Are we talking a hundred bucks expensive or two or three hundred?

Clovis is awesome, I cannot believe how many people here have been through his operation.
Good service is really hard to find, and IMO worth spending a little extra on.

@rcannon100 22492 wrote:

There is a lot of information online about bike size, bike fit, and adjustments. Its good to research and it is good to learn how to adjust your bike. Seats, for example, adjust up/down, forward/back, and tilt. I am almost constantly making adjustments to my bike.

I am dubious of LBS experts. I have gone in and received great information; I have gone in and received information that was just crap. I have had LBS repair shops do so real um stupid things to my bikes. I always prefer to go in having done my homework. A lot of the information someone in a store will tell you is geared towards (surprise) getting you to spend more money and isnt based on anything scientific. A lot of equipment looks “cool” and “fast” but other more boring stuff is actually better.

And it is always good to know how to make these adjustments when you are 30 miles out on the C&O canal, or even 3 miles into a 7 mile commute. If you are pounding miles, you will be swapping worn out equipment on your bike on a regular basis, and making repairs and adjustments regularly.

The information on all this is pretty easy to find online.

I watched all of the Cobb cycling videos and read the Park Tool shop manual before asking for any help from the pros (this is after buying our first road bikes). I would love to be able to trust the people at my LBS but we all have to be educated consumers. There are guys who have been doing this forever and are awesome (Ron @ Wheel Nuts) because they are passionate about it. Then there’s the guy who sold my wife her first road bike….fit her to a 56cm when Freshbikes put her on a 48….there was another that all but showed us the door if were not looking to drop $2k, which was a bit much when unsure if this hobby would stick.

@Certifried 23849 wrote:

Clovis felt the 2D fit would suffice, which simply left me more money to purchase parts I spent what I had budgeted, the 2D fit just gave me an extra $100 for parts. I was impressed that I wasn’t pressured with an up-sell.

I bought a new saddle, I think that’s probably inevitable unless you already bought one you know fits or got very lucky. I never knew that saddles had sizes! Clovis measured my ass and put me on a saddle that is amazingly comfortable, simply because my ischial tuberosity was in the right place on the saddle That was roughly $120ish

I also needed a shorter stem because my bike is too large I’ve always bought 56cm bikes, and was surprised to learn I should really be on a 54cm. I also needed some spacers for my pedals to move them in to the correct position to align my knees.

I’ve done a number or rides since, and can not stress how strongly I feel that people need to have properly fitting bikes. The total cost was about $360, including parts I needed either way to make it fit, worth every penny.

That is one thing many people don’t consider when budgeting for a fitting. The FB prices on mid level components is just about on par with online averages (including shipping)and they toss in labor.Things like Specialized BG saddles and stems are harder to find online and seem to be price fixed, most of the shoes are about the same too. The mrs. fitting was about a hundred more than yours but she needed pedals and shoes too, but the saddle and stem made a complete difference in her fit too.

Stems and saddles have so many variables having the ability to swap parts during a fitting (or finding a store with a good return policy)it makes dialing in the saddle width or stem angle much easier.

I find it odd that we are the exact same height, same inseam and everything and I’m riding a 58!.
I was test fit at the same shop as the mrs. but bought on my own online so it is on me….wonder what Clovis would say about that. Ha

@Certifried 23850 wrote:

The aggravating thing to me was that I had complained about butt pain to my LBS where I purchased my bike. They looked it over and said it looked fine. The seat was not only at a horrible angle, putting excessive pressure on my pudendal nerve, but 5cm low (even after I’d already moved it up 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.)

That is really odd, the nose being tilted is something you would think would be easy for them to pick up on…I bet we went to the same store.
When you were “fit” originally did they put you in a trainer with a block under the front tire? If the rear wheel was raised and they were trying to level the saddle, I can see getting it wrong if the actual angle is off..still not acceptable.