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…!
Hello there!
Read your thread last week, only just now getting to offer my opinions. Your friend is absolutely right, there is no barrier to entry to hanging a shingle out your front door that says “Bike Fitter”.
So very much of Bike Fitting is ‘doing’ and gathering experience, but above all it’s in connecting with other fitters near and far after the certifications are hung on the wall.
In regards taking classes, take as many as possible. In the UK a great place to start is Torke Cycling.
For ‘tools’, you can certainly spend $50,000 on a system and not know very much about fitting. You can spend a couple hundred bucks at a hardware store and have all the tools you need to setup a person on a bike.
I have gone to all the schools…over the past 15 years, each have their own pluses and minuses. The ongoing mentorship with other fitters is key, continuing education via webinar or trade show also essential.
Bike Fit Unplugged or Retul? FIST, of course, travel bans notwithstanding. But where to start?
You should reach out to the International Bike Fitting Institute, send an email to Andy Brooke andy@ibfi-certification.com
Happy to share more thoughts offline if you like? feel free to send me an email directly: ABbikefit@gmail.com
First off I did a degree in Sport Science and then started my specific fit education with BG fit, then Retul in North America , then Torke in the UK.
Torke was by far the best courses I’ve been on in terms of actual bike fitting knowledge. BG / Retul was a lot more about the process and the marketing of bike fitting in order to satisfy a client even if you can’t solve there problem. Torke teaches you how to solve a lot more problems but is less about the business of fitting.
Thanks for the reply – I ended up booking a course at BikeScience with Andy Sexton in Bristol. The Torke courses also look great (I’ll probably book one at a later date) but Andy was super friendly when I got in touch, and has some courses coming up soon. That being said, I’m still keep to hear from anyone who has a minute to share their journey into bikefitting, so keep them coming.
This is fascinating! Thanks for the good read. You clearly know your stuff, but for someone like me without a masters in exercise physiology, what kind of courses could I do to improve my knowledge of things like airway function and the musculoskeletal system? I don’t for a second believe I can fast track the years of education that you have gone through (!) but I’d love to learn more.
Classes are a good starting point. unfortunately they are very limited in scope most oriented around Product. Many classes have a manufacturing as a sponsor or with very strong Relationship. They Are yl a good to get you started . you need more I am recommending you try to find some fellow fitters you can shadow. you’ll see a large alot issues that have to be dealt with working with other fitter s then you will route see you in a weekend class let’s not say that you don’t take that classThere are things to be learned everywhere make a massage class take anatomy class set up for the mentorship program in the IBFI*. Pick up the phone and call If you snuck some of us are very friendly . All you need is an introduction. Try to find someone to shadow. We all have in our techniques will have exposure to different problems . I am write article periodically and you attend Medicine of Cycling is anim the US .with and practitioners have an assortment medical arts will be taking place online so you can cook don’t have to come to the states to take classes are usually a network of people That you can call on the rest of your Professional life… Who is the start with your network will keep your current and exposure to much more than the commercial magazines will. Good luck you’re off to a good start feel free to call if you get stuck.
All the best
Happy
Hi
I’m UK based and successfully fitted for several years before recently stopping. I don’t have a sport science background so starting was a little daunting. I was able to attend SICI and FIST classes which I think give you the basics. happy to chat about my experiences.
Mark
Just came across your post so this is a delayed reply. Earlier this year I put together a short presentation on this topic. You can find it here: https://fit-kit-systems.thinkific.com/courses/learning-bike-fitting
Sounds like you are under way, but this might add some extra thoughts.
Funnily enough I found that presentation by myself and enjoyed working my way through it over the summer! As it happens, I have just come home from a course on bikefitting I did over the last two days which was fascinating and has really given me the bug to get going with it all.
That’s great on both fronts. Bike fitting is fascinating for those of us who do it. It’s a long learning journey, and you will learn a bunch from fumbling around with your first few “customers”.