Hi all,
Would love to hear peoples' views and opinions on starting out as a bike fitter. If I lived in the US I'd be keen to go along to a F.I.S.T workshop, but I live in the UK and so thanks to a worldwide pandemic that isn't really possible. With a wealth of experienced fitters here, I was hoping I can find something closer to home.
Other than a keen interest in fitting I really am a newbie, so please excuse me if I get some of this wrong. Retul appears to be the most common system with the most obvious training course, but are there any drawbacks in terms of big initial investment or monthly cost? What exactly do I *need* to start out as a Retul fitter?
I had a great conversation with an experienced fitter who suggested that nobody would stop you just starting a bikefitting business and calling yourself a bikefitter; although this makes the profession sound more accessible, it did also leave me thinking that I really would not be confident taking someone's health into my own hands! So what is the general accreditation making sure bikefitters (be they Retul, Guru, self-taught, whatever) are doing a good job?
I've found courses by Guru, Specialized, Trek, Bikefit, Serotta and Retul (as mentioned above). What are the merits of each one – if any? Am I missing any I should consider? I feel like my biggest learning curve will be in human anatomy/biomechanics etc. Would each of these courses teach me enough to be a competent bikefitter of would it be preferable to top them up with a standalone course in kinesiology for example?
Sorry for the many questions. If any of this has been mentioned in a previous thread, apologies (please just send me to it) – although I did have a scroll through all 17 pages of the Forum before writing this just to be sure..!
Would love to hear peoples' views and opinions on starting out as a bike fitter. If I lived in the US I'd be keen to go along to a F.I.S.T workshop, but I live in the UK and so thanks to a worldwide pandemic that isn't really possible. With a wealth of experienced fitters here, I was hoping I can find something closer to home.
Other than a keen interest in fitting I really am a newbie, so please excuse me if I get some of this wrong. Retul appears to be the most common system with the most obvious training course, but are there any drawbacks in terms of big initial investment or monthly cost? What exactly do I *need* to start out as a Retul fitter?
I had a great conversation with an experienced fitter who suggested that nobody would stop you just starting a bikefitting business and calling yourself a bikefitter; although this makes the profession sound more accessible, it did also leave me thinking that I really would not be confident taking someone's health into my own hands! So what is the general accreditation making sure bikefitters (be they Retul, Guru, self-taught, whatever) are doing a good job?
I've found courses by Guru, Specialized, Trek, Bikefit, Serotta and Retul (as mentioned above). What are the merits of each one – if any? Am I missing any I should consider? I feel like my biggest learning curve will be in human anatomy/biomechanics etc. Would each of these courses teach me enough to be a competent bikefitter of would it be preferable to top them up with a standalone course in kinesiology for example?
Sorry for the many questions. If any of this has been mentioned in a previous thread, apologies (please just send me to it) – although I did have a scroll through all 17 pages of the Forum before writing this just to be sure..!