Most importantly – you have a certified fitter who has been racing bikes for over 33 years performing the fit. Bike fitting is kind of a mix of science and art. The art part comes from just being able to sense when the fit has come together and when it needs more work – experience is where that comes from.

 

Foot position on the pedal. Much of this depends on what type of riding you are doing. Foot placement for a triathlete is very different from foot position for a competitive cyclist. Depending on what type of rider you are, I will adjust your cleat, using a self-leveling laser, so your foot is in the most efficient position.

 

Kneed Alignment. To avoid hip and knee pain, it is important to make sure you knees are tracking straight up and down. Every rider is built a little different and frequently pedal spacers are required to ensure good knee tracking. I use a self-leveling laser to see how your knees are tracking and adjust them so they track straight.

 

Wedging. Just about everyone gets cleat wedges. What we are doing here is filling a gap that occurs due to the natural curve of the foot. The outside of the foot drops more than the inside of the foot – this is called a varus condition. With the wedge, we attempt to even that gap and even the pressure on the foot when you are pushing down.

 

Adjust float. This is an adjustment where I make sure you have enough side to side (wiggle) movement in the shoe.

 

Check leg length. I check to see if one leg is longer than the other. Although fairly rare, I will use shims under the cleat to adjust for any discrepancy.

 

 

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Now we are done with the foot.

 

The next part is where I take my experience and set you up the way I think you need to be set up.

 

Seat height. Leg angle is the primary measurement here. I have a specific leg angle range I want to achieve. Once in that range we will determine which one works best for you.Seat forward/back. If you are on the correct size bike, getting your center of gravity (CG) toward the middle of the bike will impact how the bike handles. I achieve this by using the lasers and my eye.

 

Stem length and stem height. This will impact a number of body angles – torso angle, hip angle and shoulder angle. Again, I will set you up the way I think you need to be and we will work together to achieve the right combination of power, aero and comfort.

 

Seat tilt / handlebar tilt. We want to achieve the best comfort and support for both of these contact points.

 

And finally – I will measure your bike out before I make changes and after the fit. I will provide you with a bike fit report and a before and after photo. The fit doesn’t necessary end there – if you are having any issues, we can meet up again and make adjustments until we have things sorted out.

 

What to bring:

 

Some of this may seem very obvious, but you would be surprised by some the assumptions people have had coming into a bike fit.

 

Shoes. If you’re cleats are worn, this would be a good time to replace them.

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Cycling shorts and jersey (tight fitting tee-shirt will work as well). The reason being, it helps me see lines and angles.

 

A fully functional bike. I had one person show up with a bike that didn’t have a chain or cassette.

 

Note: If you are thinking about a new seat or have ordered a new seat, we should postpone the fit until the new one shows up. Doing a complete fit on a saddle you plan on replacing would not be wise. The same applies to shoes.