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When to refit your road bike?
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This is more road specific... but after an initial *basic* fitting that I am sure most people get (usually more about finding frame size, standover height, saddle height, saddle seatback), 1 year has passed, and i feel i am ready for a second session. I think i now know enough about myself to be able to better work with someone around what i need/want. like to optimize my climbing. You get more flexible over time. Etc. I would be less overwhelmed.

I am thinking I am at a point where i am happy with my riding, and my setup seems to be in the ballpark of typical setups... except that i am experimenting with the pro/cons of more or less saddle offset.

Thoughts? How often do the new folks get a pro to re-eval their position?



Thoughts.
Last edited by: Rocket_racing: Apr 26, 19 22:23
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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Bumping this as I'm surprised no one has a recommendation

Swim. Overbike. Walk.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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Rocket_racing wrote:
This is more road specific... but after an initial *basic* fitting that I am sure most people get (usually more about finding frame size, standover height, saddle height, saddle seatback), 1 year has passed, and i feel i am ready for a second session. I think i now know enough about myself to be able to better work with someone around what i need/want. like to optimize my climbing. You get more flexible over time. Etc. I would be less overwhelmed.

I am thinking I am at a point where i am happy with my riding, and my setup seems to be in the ballpark of typical setups... except that i am experimenting with the pro/cons of more or less saddle offset.

Thoughts? How often do the new folks get a pro to re-eval their position?



Thoughts.

Sounds like you've answered your own question. Your ability, knowledge and fitness have developed, and you're questioning your current position. Seems like the perfect time to get it reassessed, assuming you were happy with the original fitting process for your abilities at that time.

You can of course experiment yourself, you should have developed some level of feel for what is better or worse.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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Try moving it yourself, people orten mess with position over the season, sometimes on the side of the road
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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Rocket_racing wrote:
This is more road specific... but after an initial *basic* fitting that I am sure most people get (usually more about finding frame size, standover height, saddle height, saddle seatback), 1 year has passed, and i feel i am ready for a second session. I think i now know enough about myself to be able to better work with someone around what i need/want. like to optimize my climbing. You get more flexible over time. Etc. I would be less overwhelmed.

I am thinking I am at a point where i am happy with my riding, and my setup seems to be in the ballpark of typical setups... except that i am experimenting with the pro/cons of more or less saddle offset.

Thoughts? How often do the new folks get a pro to re-eval their position?



Thoughts.

A second fitting after only a year seems soon to me. Beside that, if you are happy with the initial fitting, you can try minor adjustments yourself. It's easy to do small things and change them back if you don't like the change. Also you state you are mainly doing climbs on your bike, then it is not that important how aero your position is.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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I've tried moving my saddle forward and back for a few rides to see if i can produce more power and feel more comfortable.

I've done the same thing with bar height and length.

(I have a lot of stems in my tool closet to do that)
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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I have been fit a half dozen times over the past 50 years by some of the top names in the biz and have pretty much hit the same numbers on my road bike. As of late my bars are about a cm and a half higher from the ground progressed over the years.
Before threadless headsets I called that my" Colorado" position. Coming out of a pancake flat Louisiana we noticed that most of the riders from the mountain states had their stems adjusted a tad higher than the slammed Louisiana position. Now I think it is a bigger gut and less flexible back issue to account for the change.
I have long femur to lower leg ratios and one year we were put on Ciocc frames with 74.5 degree seat angles. I never liked that bike or the way it fit me. Eddie B was doing a quick fit on all our riders and shook his head and said "No good" you need a shallow angle seat tube. Only buy bikes with a 72 angle. What I had been doing was slamming the seat back on the rails as far as it would go. Now with 30mm offset posts and long rail saddles you can get away with a lot bigger range of seat angles than you could in the Brooks Saddle days.
Bottom line is that if you get your contact points in the proper places on a road bike your position should be fairly static over the years. It has always been fun for me to look at pictures of people or watch riders riding. Some just look like their bike fits them so well and others meh.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Rocket_racing] [ In reply to ]
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I just did a retul fit to get redialed on my road bikes. It was enlightening. I've been riding and racing for a long time. Short version. My build is long legs and short reach. My fitter recommended different bikes and sizes that were not even close to what I have been using for years. Also, being a former D1 runner and still being a competitive runner logging long miles added a twist as well. My fitter...."dude....wow....you need to loosen up your hip flexors and hamstrings big time. he measured my flexibility through various stretches before we even started the bike fit." He's also a PT and certified retul fitter. Working on flexibility has become a priority. Injury free but tight as a drum.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [G-man] [ In reply to ]
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My femurs are just the opposite (short because I'm small overall) and i like zero offset posts and riding steep.

Since my arms are long for my height I've tried moving my seat back to get the length I needed but couldn't put out as much power cuz my hips were too far back. I've found making the bike longer with a stem (or longer frame) is the better route for me.

This just shows how different people fit different ways on bikes.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Nerd] [ In reply to ]
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Nerd wrote:
dude....wow....you need to loosen up your hip flexors and hamstrings big time
Did he offer an explanation why? I hear stuff like this all the time from athletes and professionals alike, but there's not much in the way of evidence that it matters at all for cycling. My experience tells me that asymmetries in flexibility for an athlete is much more important than actual degree of flexibility.

I'm beginning to suspect that flexibility is a largely a red herring for cyclists and triathletes. You simply need to be flexible enough.

Any pictures of your fit you are willing to share? I'd love to see the position you ended up in.

Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)
Last edited by: trentnix: Apr 28, 19 8:01
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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jaretj wrote:
My femurs are just the opposite (short because I'm small overall) and i like zero offset posts and riding steep.

Since my arms are long for my height I've tried moving my seat back to get the length I needed but couldn't put out as much power cuz my hips were too far back. I've found making the bike longer with a stem (or longer frame) is the better route for me.

This just shows how different people fit different ways on bikes.
Why? You can pretty much view the entire pro cycling peloton to see that the solution to lengthening reach is a longer stem, not an aft saddle.

Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [jroden] [ In reply to ]
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jroden wrote:
Try moving it yourself, people orten mess with position over the season, sometimes on the side of the road


For sure. Now that the winter is over i am trying a lot (test driving on the winter trainer first). As last season went on, moved my saddle forward (zero offset saddle), raised the saddle a touch, i put on a -17 degree stem, then near slammed my stem. It started to feel a fit cramped using the drops with brakes, so i am backing my bar height up again 5-10mm, and will soon add 20cm to my stem.

In an attempt to become informed (and to help guide me to a good fitter) i have recently been reading Dan’s road bike fit articles. Of interest i came in his range of averages for bar drop (actually i was lower there... this the decision to trial a bit higher), saddle to trough.

Saddle setback i think is low, but i also use a pretty long lupina saddle, so i think it throws off my numbers.

I was also reviewing S. Hoggs approach on the topic, and i wonder if i am one of those freaks of nature with saddle offset. Too far back and i struggled. But the more forward the better. I found a good spot on my trainer, but of my race bike with the lupina, i can balance with ease all day long with near zero saddle offset.

I can naturally get pretty low too. And my limb proportions are pretty normal (mirror test).

I think what i need to focus most on now if a position that it functionally more ideal (power output, and R knee pain).
Last edited by: Rocket_racing: Apr 28, 19 8:07
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [trentnix] [ In reply to ]
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It was an experiment to see if it was any better. Even on my road bike my saddle is even with the bottom bracket so I'm forward of many people.

I was trying to think out of the box, this is one of the many times it's better to stay in the box.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, i think it is good to experiment. One thing at a time, give it time.

I have never much thought about cleat position, except i have moved it back ever so slightly.

I am just doing it all by feel. I think I am ripe for a refit. I just need to find a fit session that becomes about functionality and performance (watts, as to this point i have been erring to a highly aerodynamic position), as i seem to have the mobility to accommodate some extreme positions.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [trentnix] [ In reply to ]
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He put me through series of stretching tests and noted how far I was able to stretch. Hip flexors are a big issue for me, but have gotten much better. Hamstrings as well. I have to stretch and use a roller for about 10 mins a day.
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [Nerd] [ In reply to ]
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Nerd wrote:
He put me through series of stretching tests and noted how far I was able to stretch. Hip flexors are a big issue for me, but have gotten much better. Hamstrings as well. I have to stretch and use a roller for about 10 mins a day.
But why? I've no doubt he's correct - you probably aren't extremely flexible. But why does that matter in cycling?

Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)
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Re: When to refit your road bike? [trentnix] [ In reply to ]
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Good question. Fitter/PT wants a baseline of flexibility to see what kind of position I can be comfortable with on long rides (anything over 75 miles) based on feedback I provided to him prior to the fitting. Tight hamstrings and hip flexors definitely will be an issue after x number of minutes on the bike from a comfort standpoint in the drops. This goes to the question of the OP's post, when should you get refitted for a road bike. I know my metrics based on inseam, arm-length, shoulder-width, etc, but I want to be dialed in on my bike. If I can get in a better position because my hamstrings are not tight af from running, I will work on flexibility and have him adjust the bike accordingly. It went for my initial fit shortly after finishing a marathon and was incredibly tight from the last 12 weeks leading to race. Hope this helps.
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