For a good fit, how important is the bike? And is it just about frame size?
I’m in this endless process of buying my next bike. My first triathlon bike.
Where I live, visiting a tri shop / bikeshop to buy the best bike for me and getting it fitted properly is no option.
So I have to order a frame I think will fit, as a result of web search, information from friends and help from people like Gerard and others.
I’m currently considering: Argon18, Cervelo p2k (ordered but no-where in sight) and Guru trilite and Guru Cron-Alu. I have been told that a p2k in size 54 would fit me. All these bikes look rather simillar when it comes to geometry to me, but I might be totaly wrong.
But how important is the bike (brand and type)? If the size is correct, is it not possible to do adjustments with stem lengths and so on?
The bike is very important. In fact without a bike, the fit is useless!
Why, Thank you, kind Sir. Seriously, I would say that the fit is very important and it is important that it is done by someone who is tri-literate. I am selling two of my bikes which I had built based on two bio-racer fitting sessions (from different fitters) which brought up the same figures. Now that I have been correctly fitted by a Tri-specialist, it has really highlighted how badly the fit can go wrong! In my case the top tubes are about too long and I am too stretched out to be effective or comfortable.
Good luck on your hunt, the most useful thing I could ask you is how much is a flight from Oslo to Detroit?
You are welcome. When I read your first answer I laughed my a** off. Your second did not get the same reaction though.
Oslo-Detroit-Oslo? 800 £ . So the travel cost would be almost the same as the price of the frame.
If you can take your own measurements, and those of the bike, and get someone to take pics of you on the bike, I can help get you started - get you positioned very close to optimal.
email info@timetrial.org
Ouch! Mind you the savings on bikes at the current exchange rate make considerable financial sense from England, how about the krone to the dollar? I seem to recall my friend in Stavanger saying that once import the cost of bikes is horrendous.
Yeah. Ouch. The exhange rate krone-dollar are in favor of importing from USA now, but customs, freight and VAT almost doubles the prize. If not, I would have gone for Yaqui. If only my job could send me to USA for a week or so.
I’m not looking for the perfect fit, I am far from the perfect fit my self. But I want something that is OK++
The process shouldn’t be endless. Find someone to fit you whom you trust and take their recommendation.
Done.
In more trivilized parts of the world that would have been the obvious thing to do. Not in Norway I’m afraid.
Eskilstuna in Sweden ain’t that far from Oslo. There you find Lars at “Racer Direct” (www.racerdirect.com). He sells Cervélo and sold me a P2k last year with perfect fit (he’s worked with Lena Wahlquist, Clas Bjorling etc, so he knows what he’s doing).
Don’t be put off with the un-updated homepage though, he wasn’t very quick with that last year either.
Good luck / Anders
