| This is the second question I usually get, the first one | | | | know is, she needs glasses and the others don't. Molly |
| being, "I don't need a bike fit or a new bike, because I | | | | thinks that some other reason exists for her difficulty |
| fit my bike just fine." The question of whether a bike | | | | because she has never considered the possibility that |
| fits or not has been asked for decades and at the end | | | | she can't see as well as others. In other words, Molly |
| of the day, the answer does not lie completely in the | | | | thinks she sees just fine! |
| field of "art" or "science." For me, I feel that there is | | | | I had written recently about the relative difficulty in |
| both a science to determining what is right for a | | | | professionally and properly fitting someone for a |
| person and an art to working with the person to get | | | | bicycle and still am amazed that after all these years, it |
| the desired results. So the answer to the question is, | | | | is not an easy task to get things perfect. This explains |
| "You don't know if a bike fit is right unless you find a | | | | why so many people who get "fitted" by their local |
| better way to determine what "right" is." | | | | bike shops think that they are getting the best there is, |
| Most bicycle fit programs and protocols revolve | | | | because that is all they know. It's not just recreational |
| around an optimal set of dimensions and angles | | | | athletes that struggle with bike fit, either. Many of the |
| derived from a large test pool of individuals. The bike | | | | professional athletes I run into have horrible setups on |
| fitter then attempts to find the crucial measurements | | | | their bike. They are so incredibly talented that they get |
| from the rider and then attempts to use the | | | | by in spite of it and of course, they are trained not to |
| dimensions or angles provided in his or her fitting | | | | complain about discomfort. |
| system to apply those complimentary dimensions to a | | | | So while the answer to the question of whether a bike |
| bicycle. The term "fit me to a bike" is most appropriate | | | | fit is right or not is not easy, here are some things you |
| because for most of the people in the world, they are | | | | should think about the next time you ride to help you |
| trying to find the best compromise in comfort and | | | | determine what is right and what is not. |
| efficiency to make a particular bicycle usable. | | | | 1) Do you have saddle pain, particularly in the front of |
| In the case of a single speed commuter bike in | | | | the saddle? |
| Copenhagen Denmark, the difference of an inch or | | | | 2) Do you get low back, shoulder or neck pain? |
| two in saddle height may make no appreciable | | | | 3) Do your hands go numb? How about your feet? |
| difference. The bike will still get you to work. In the | | | | 4) When you take your hands off the handlebars while |
| case of a 21 year old professional criterium specialist, | | | | riding, do you tend to want to slide forward? |
| the requirements for accuracy in fitting go up but the | | | | 5) Is it hard to see when you ride with your hands in |
| ability of a young body to adapt is quite high as well, so | | | | the drops? |
| many different setups are going to be ok. | | | | 6) Do you get pain in your knees, particularly in the |
| When a 40 year old woman who is switching from | | | | front? |
| running to cycling and wants to do a triathlon, the fit | | | | 7) Do you find yourself constantly pushing back in the |
| requirement is just as important for the bike racer, with | | | | saddle to find a comfortable place but keep sliding |
| two caveats. | | | | forward? |
| 1) A 40 year old woman is not going to ride in the | | | | 8) Is your bike unstable in the corners or on descents? |
| same position that a 21 year old full time bike racer | | | | All of these things are indicators of a less than optimal |
| would. The range of acceptability shrinks each year. | | | | bike setup. I encourage you to question whether your |
| Not only that, injuries and conditions such as scoliosis | | | | bike is right for you, rather than if you are right for the |
| make the range even narrower. | | | | bike. I think you are the important part of the equation |
| 2) Many people who get serious about cycling as an | | | | and if you ride, the time you spend is worth more than |
| adult have no idea what a good bike fit feels like | | | | even the most expensive bicycle in the world. You can |
| because they have never experienced it. | | | | have a comfortable, safe and exciting time on a |
| My example for this situation is as follows: Molly is 6 | | | | bicycle, every time. |
| years old and in the first grade. She has trouble | | | | I hope you have questions after reading this and I will |
| reading the letters and words on the blackboard and | | | | be thrilled to help you find good, sustainable answers. |
| the other people in class don't. What Molly doesn't | | | | |