I’m looking for bike fitter recommendations in the Philadelphia area for a road bike (not tri or TT) fit in order to buy a new frame. I’ve checked the Slowtwitch listings and the few that I recognized were Befitting (in Wayne), Cadence (in Manayunk and Center City), and the Energy Lab in Doylestown. Does anybody have any direct experience with these, or other, fitters?
Thanks.
I have had an average experience with Cadence Manayunk for a Tribike fit it wasn’t terrible but for the price I would not recommend them. I have heard good things about Bicycle Therapy and plan to get my road bike fitted there but have not been yet. The Trek store in Wayne also has a good reputation.
The Energy Lab is great. Marc is my go-to for all my fits (road, gravel, tri). Perfect in that it is NOT a bike shop (per se, Marc does work with some brands but will not steer you to anything except what will fit). There is one up in the Lehigh Valley called ERO sports (again, not affiliated with a brand).
I’ve worked with Marc before. He is very good at making the fit but apparently he picks and chooses who he responds to. When I already owned my bike and was getting fit for it. he told me the parts I needed and said he would install them if/when I got them. When I got the parts and contacted him, he never answered ANY of the follow up emails, texts, phone calls, social media messages. I eventually had the Trek store in Manayunk put the pieces on and what not for me. After talking to some people, it sounds like this is just “typical Marc”.
That being said… I used his numbers until recently (almost 2 full years) when I went to ERO Sports in Southern California with Jim Manton (was in town for Spring Break visiting family) and made some minor tweaks. I also upgraded to a different speed concept (went from a medium to a large) and wanted to make sure the numbers should stay the same.
I’ve worked with Marc before. He is very good at making the fit but apparently he picks and chooses who he responds to. When I already owned my bike and was getting fit for it. he told me the parts I needed and said he would install them if/when I got them. When I got the parts and contacted him, he never answered ANY of the follow up emails, texts, phone calls, social media messages. I eventually had the Trek store in Manayunk put the pieces on and what not for me. After talking to some people, it sounds like this is just “typical Marc”.
That being said… I used his numbers until recently (almost 2 full years) when I went to ERO Sports in Southern California with Jim Manton (was in town for Spring Break visiting family) and made some minor tweaks. I also upgraded to a different speed concept (went from a medium to a large) and wanted to make sure the numbers should stay the same.
Agree with this completely.
There is a decent consensus that he is the best, but it is absolutely brutal to try and communicate with him…and it soured me on even bothering anymore…
But I do believe he finally created some kind of online appointment system, but again, I’m over it with him to be honest.
And having driven there for someone else, if you’re coming from the city or somewhere like that, it is a poke to get out to him.
I’ve used Philadelphia Bikesmith for a long time, but there are struggles with them and communication as well and I’ve gone to Cadence in Manayunk…mainly because you can just reserve a time online
They were…fine.
Manayunk was underwhelming
My knee issue was really gnawing at me then (Summer 2018 to Summer 2019). I could ride, but nowhere as far as I would like. I also wasn’t able to ride on my TT bike.
The first fit (Oct. 2018) was fine, and I was told that I should schedule a follow up. To show good faith, I paid upfront for my follow-up session.
Things didn’t get worse, but they also didn’t get that much better for the next six months. So when I showed up in May, I was surprised by just how little attention I was given. The worst part was the fitter telling me: just go ahead and raise the saddle by at least another 2 cm. To have acted on that would have been ludicrous, because an overly high saddle position was what led to the knee issue in the first place. Not only was the fitter nonchalant, he also managed to suggest something that would have likely worsened my condition.
We moved out of state a few months later, and I found a new fitter. The new fit moved the saddle upwards a tad (~0.7 cm iirc), and there were other adjustments made for cleat angles, etc. With the new fit, I could actually ride more.
Missy Erickson at Ero Sports PA is probably the best IMO. It’s not in Philly (she’s in Phoenixville PA), but within an hour. Fwiw my wife has been going to her, and we live in South Jersey - worth the long drive.
I’ve been out of Philly for a while now, so everything I know is likely to be outdated. I would check out Keswick, though.
I’ve used Philadelphia Bikesmith for a long time, but there are struggles with them and communication as well and I’ve gone to Cadence in Manayunk…mainly because you can just reserve a time online
They were…fine.
Bikesmith: Ask for Max
Cadence: Ask for Nick, and request a Retul fit (I think he also does fits optimized through VO2/gas analysis)
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I am experiencing this EXACT same thing right now with Marc. I am considering a chargeback on my cc in the coming days. He’s totally ghosted me. He never even got me a copy of my numbers, just instructions on what parts I needed with lots of empty promises about follow up.
(Edit) Chargeback completed in my favor by credit card company. Will be rolling that money over to, hopefully, a better experience with ERO.
I’ve worked with Marc before. He is very good at making the fit but apparently he picks and chooses who he responds to. When I already owned my bike and was getting fit for it. he told me the parts I needed and said he would install them if/when I got them. When I got the parts and contacted him, he never answered ANY of the follow up emails, texts, phone calls, social media messages. I eventually had the Trek store in Manayunk put the pieces on and what not for me. After talking to some people, it sounds like this is just “typical Marc”.
That being said… I used his numbers until recently (almost 2 full years) when I went to ERO Sports in Southern California with Jim Manton (was in town for Spring Break visiting family) and made some minor tweaks. I also upgraded to a different speed concept (went from a medium to a large) and wanted to make sure the numbers should stay the same.
Go see Bob at Guys bicycles in Trevose/Feasterville area. He is the best.
Missy Erickson at Ero Sports PA is probably the best IMO. It’s not in Philly (she’s in Phoenixville PA), but within an hour. Fwiw my wife has been going to her, and we live in South Jersey - worth the long drive.
Can confirm that she is probably the best in that area including even if you include the Tri-state area. A bunch of the Canadian National road/ track cycling squad located over in Montreal actually fly out just to get fit by her.