DC Area Bike Fit recommendations?
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Topic
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The Context…with an attempt to be succinct.
My partner currently has two bikes she rides, her steel commuter, a Fuji road bike (not sure what model/year, but steel so probably late 1990s/early 2000s) and her longer-distance ride, a Jamis Xenith Endura carbon fiber women’s road bike.
She rides the Fuji about 90 commuter miles a week year round, plus around town errand/social extra miles. Though heavy, the Fuji feels good. It may be a frame size too small at 48 or 49cm. Maybe. 650b wheels (running 23mm/28mm front/rear tires), rack mounts…but sadly no clearance for fenders. It came with 340mm (no really, we measured) handlebars which feel right to her, plus the width matches her shoulder width.
The Jamis, for group/distance rides, is probably a size too big at 54cm and it came with WIDE 420mm handlebars which she’s in the midst of swapping out for a much narrower set (360 or 380mm, I believe). The Jamis also came with 172.5 cranks, which are probably too long.
We have discussed professional bike fit among ourselves and she’s spoken to staff at a shop or two. There are some things they can offer: knowledge, adjustments (seats, cleats), low-cost part swaps (seatposts of different offsets, stems of different length/angle), medium-cost part swaps (handlebars), high-cost part swaps (crankset…new bike…). Some of that she can do herself, but not with the level of confidence that she’s spending money wisely that she’d get with a trusted professional (esp. with a good return policy).
She has a two bike maximum rule, and she wants to be able to move between bikes with her body not having to start from scratch on strength/endurance/comfort due to significant different geometries and positions, which is currently an issue.
The Solution?
She’d like to go through a bike fitting. Whether that’s to make the Jamis work with modifications or as part of her decision making process on whether she replaces the Jamis…isn’t clear at the moment. But she also rides the Fuji most of the time. We’ve been told bike fittings are specific to the bike you are fitted to, esp. considering manufacturers bike frame sizing numbers are no longer linked to a standard double diamond geometry.
What’s the best strategy on getting a professional bike fit? It seems like bringing in the Jamis makes sense, and hopefully if it’s clearly the wrong size they’ll stop the process and say it would be better to find a different bike before wasting time.
What shop/professional/friend do you all trust to do this right?
Will this be fun or a nightmare?
Brendan
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