This might either be really stupid, or really helpful… I don’t own a tri bike yet but I am looking into buying one. I see all these posts on here saying you should get fitted by a F.I.S.T. expert and stuff, but I don’t exactly understand what that is all about. Like does it cost money? Is it a necessity, or better yet, how beneficial is it? And anything else you can throw in would be great?!? Thanks.
Nobody can help me with this at all?
yes it costs money.
its not necessary but might be helpful depending on how well you understand this stuff.
it might save you a lot of time with personal experimentation. I thought I could figure it out on my own but had my seat height way too low when i had someone actually measure my knee angle =)
A FIST (or any bike fit) will help you find a position that is more comfortable/powerful that what you can probably do on your own (or using the Lemond formula, or rules like “knee over pedal spindle”). You have someone who is trained in fitting bikes observing your position and who can measure angles, look at knee tracking, etc. that are very hard to do on your own. One plus of a FIST fit is that you usually do them on a “fit bike,” a special stationary bike that is very easy to adjust, and has adjustments like crankarm length and stem length that whould require a lot of equipment swapping on a regular bike. Since you don’t own a tri bike yet, you can get fit and then get a bike with a geometry that suits you (i.e. your weight is well balanced for good handling, you don’t need a ton of spacers under the stem, etc.). I just had a FIST fit, it was $200.