Has anyone had any tangible performance gains in terms of a noticeable increase in power at ftp or VO2 following a bike fit? Or were the gains mainly comfort/aero related?
I’m looking at getting one, but it’s going to cost me $450 x 2 bikes (road and TT) so am trying to figure out if it would be valuable. Yes I get that comfort & aero are huge, I was also wanting to know if changes following a bike fit had a noticable improvement in power you could put out.
I got about 7 watts out of mine but it was mainly comfort and engaging different muscles as a result of the fit. For instance, feeling it in middle quad rather than at the head nearest the knee. So, that also impacted muscular comfort/fatigue and how long I can go. I feel like I gained a little stamina as a result.
Haven’t done any testing to see what aero/time benefits I might have gotten.
I got 15w on FTP AND more comfort in aero position. So for me the bike fit was a real winner. Why don’t you start with a bike fit on just one of your bikes and see what it gives you? There is always the chance that you already have a decent position and the bike fit won’t change that much. Good luck!
I’ve actually done research on this.
Per individual it was between 5 and 20 watts at threshold.
Average, as far as I remember, was about ~15 watts at threshold. No one was worse.
Caveats:
This was road BG Fit
Subjects were habituated racers, Cat 3 and above.
We compared whatever fit they came in with (e.g. they could have either had a fit from someone else the day prior OR never been fit ever).
The magnitude of threshold change was directly related to the change in fit parameters.
Couldn’t a tri fit make you lose 10 watts, but do a bunch better on the run?
Road bike seems more black and white, but I could reasonably understand a tri fit making you a better triathlete at the cost of a few watts, which I think is an OK trade.
Power at FTP is over-rated in TT’s. I have lost 25-30w over the last several years but my CdA has greatly improved. Went from MOP local racer to podium National racer. FYI- never had a fit, but ever year I go lower and more narrow. A fitter would never put me in my position, they are not taught to make people fast but to make them biomedical correct and comfortable.
Has anyone had any tangible performance gains in terms of a noticeable increase in power at ftp or VO2 following a bike fit? Or were the gains mainly comfort/aero related?
Of course. This is what a good bike fit is supposed to do. And by the way, discomfort is just another way of saying that biomechanical efficiency is compromised in some way.
The biggest gain that I see often is being able to stay in aero at all during 70.3s or IMs. Or to be able to avoid coasting every so often because of discomfort.
But yes, customers usually go back to a higher FTP.
Anecdote: Geoff Farnsworth fit me on my road bike and made it easy to pedal throughout a 2.5 hr ride. I was having a lot of trouble after 1.5 hrs and would usually end up soft-pedalling the rest of the ride.