In the past week there have been a couple of threads (notably "New Tri bike" and "Seven Cycles ...") that have interesting comments (Tom, Dan and Paul's come to mind) about choosing a bike, the importance of fit and the responsibilities of the purchaser, fitter and builder.

There are, of course, lots of posts asking for comments about specific bikes. This suggests that potential purchasers have already narrowed their list based on some criteria (colour? styling? popularity? test rides? reviews? fit?). This is my current situation in that rightly or wrongly I already have a short list.

I think there is a question that begs asking but hasn't been phrased as directly as it could. As such, it hasn't been answered directly or completely (or maybe I just missed it). For me the question arises because there are a number of good LBS's that I would trust but whose stock does not overall (i.e. Shop A has Cervelo, Softride, Kestrel, QR; Shop B has Griffen, Specialized, Aegis; Shop C has Aquila, Colnago). And then there are custom builders. All claim to have a suitable bike for me.

The question is: Is there a way for a potential purchaser to independently narrow the selection of suitable frames/bikes based on one's own measurements?

The implication of this is that the list of potential bikes and bikes shops is narrowed and the advise of the bike shop is double checked. Obviously a good fitter would fine tune the configuration, but purchaser would have additional comfort that the gross fit of the frame/bike is appropriate and is not just based on what was available within the LBS's list of brands/models.

Rob

p.s. for the curious: perhaps because I'm being wishy-washy about fit and trying, correctly or not, to leave lots of fit option open, TitanFlex is at the top of my short list. And if the weather cooperates next weekend, I'll drive 5 hours each way to try one.