The context for this post is that I saw a photo of myself riding during Wisconsin 70.3, and even I could tell that the position looked awful. I’ve never been professionally (or otherwise) fit. I’ve read articles under the Bike Fit tab, understood some of it, but I wonder how you know if a fit is correct. The subject line is not an attempt to start a flame war!
Some people are unhappy with their fit, some are pleased. Why? What is the criterion for determining good fit?If you went to multiple fitters, should you expect to get the same X/Y or is there style, for lack of a better term?Short of having some machine make the measurements, I have to think there is a fair amount of measurement error? Maybe not.If one does not live near a fitter, can a reasonably good fit be attained at a distance, say via video or app?
- Because fitter skill varies. And the ability of people being fit to communicate what they want varies. The criterion depends on the person, but is generally some combination of comfort, ability to effectively apply power, and aerodynamic efficiency.
- You’d hope they’d be ballpark close. But fitters vary.
- There’s measurement error but also process error. E.g. even if you were able to measure perfectly, you’d still get different results.
- Yes, you can get a decent fit by learning about fitting yourself, or asking advice from experts remotely given video/pictures.
My mantra is that fitting isn’t something where you spend the two hours, check the box and consider it done. It’s a lifelong craft, constantly tweaked and honed. One brilliant fit might get you 90% to perfection. But there’s plenty of room to experiment in that final 10%. Being comfortable for 6 hours instead of just 4. Getting a bit more power. Getting a little more aerodynamically efficient.
I wonder how you know if a fit is correct
Post a pic and we’ll tell you. 
I wonder how you know if a fit is correct
Post a pic and we’ll tell you.
…that its wrong.
…that your seat is too high.
pink? not likely.
In general, bike fit DNA is a real thing, meaning there is some ideal position your body would prefer to ride in. Like actual DNA, it doesn’t change much over time. As someone mentioned and I agree, you can get 90+% of the w ay there in a coupe hours IF you know what you are doing. Most fitters don’t. Since most humans a re mostly the same, there is not a whole lot of variation in bike fit DNA. Hence the FIST idea of orthodoxy in bike fits. Because people a re mostly the same, and we know what a good bike fit looks like, we (competent fitters) can make pretty accurate assessments of any fit with minimal visual information. And then you have the “everyone is different” crowd, who will probably chime in shortly to tell me why every fit client needs an 87 step physical assessment and MRI before we can develop a completely unique position that evolves constantly over a decade.
I found a good fitter in my area through ST. Found him first on ST and then verified it with local cyclists who had gone to him. That worked well for me. Maybe do a thread or search for a thread for a good bike fitter near you.
Besides a good fit, adjusting the bike, coaching me in what I could work on physically, he’s also answered emails since then.
There are youtube videos to give you ideas: GCN, Bike Fit Adviser. And the ever popular post a video of yourself or pics.
The OPs questions are questions I’ve had in my mind as well. If I can try to summarize your answer, is this correct? A perfect/ideal fit exists for every person, based on biomechanical and physics principles. A mediocre fitter may not be able to achieve that, but if there were two fitters that were “perfect” (whatever that means), they would arrive at the same fit for the same person.
Do I have that right?
Yeah pretty much. I’ve fit quite a few athletes who have been to what I consider excellent fitters and the similarities between the fits are pretty telling.
Maybe on a fit machine. In the real world, I seriously doubt there is a “perfect” fit. I’ve certainly never seen one. Basically for everyone, eventually you have to land at “good enough” and ride it (unless you have no race season I guess) If it was as easy as strapping somebody to a machine and saying “that’s it” then world tour riders with lots of funds would not change positions and they’d all look about the same.
In general my thoughts are
- a fair share of folks that have passing interest can go from a “standover” bike fit to a relatively competent one.
- a number of folks can take you from competent to “good/very good” - I think this, or somewhere between here and the above is where most online fits and the majority of in person fits land.
- a small number of people (actual experts) can guess you from good/very good to close to optimal (the pointy end) without formal testing (IE, you’re still in a studio)
- a handful of people have the knowledge + equipment to take you beyond the pointy end
*as you get closer to that pointy end, it becomes less likely the box keeps fitting you.
YMMV