Where to go to be professionally measured for a bicycle?

[kd.1990@outlook.com]

I am planning my third and longest bike tour so far. however i am experiencing knee problems and after 20 or so miles my knees click with every pedal and i get sored upper back and shoulders. ive tried adjusting things back and forth also higher and lower but nothing seems to work!

just wondered if there is somewhere i can go to get my measurements taken and then be advised what distances i need from where to where. maybe even bring my bike with me so it can be done at the time?!

any help would be much appreciated.

[mattsccm]

Bike fitting is fairly common now. Ask your local bike shop, ideally one that deals in reasonable quality road bikes. They will either have some one trained or know who is. Any good fitter will be able to set you up to suit your style and bike. They tend to work with those with a sporty inclination but a decent fit is the same for all riding and will take into account your needs.
Of course they may well tell you something you don't want to hear (bike wrong size maybe) but at least you'll know. Check for an established and trained fitter.
Some people will suggest asking an experienced mate and this may work but experienced may not always mean correct for you.

[Cyril Haearn]

Not sure whether I would want to pay to be measured

I would get someone to take photos and films of me cycling, if you watch those and compare them with how others ride you might get some ideas

[Bonefishblues]

Whereabouts are you in the country - people may have personal recommendations.

Also search on here for Colin's bike fitting guide as a home starter for 10 that might be sufficient.

EDIT : Graham : Colin's Guide

https://wheel-easy.org.uk/wp-content/up ... -2017a.pdf


Thanks Graham

[eileithyia]

Best if you let us know what area of the country you live, lots fitters around the NW but no point recommending if you live in Kent or Cornwall,

[Cyril Haearn]

Best if you let us know what area of the country you live, lots fitters around the NW but no point recommending if you live in Kent or Cornwall,

There must be a reason for that
We love Lancashire?

[TrevA]

Some shops will charge for a bike fit, but then refund the charge if you buy a bike from them.

[mercalia]

of course you may have some kind of physical problem

[fastpedaller]

I wonder how 'successful' bike fits can be. What discipline you are aiming for has an influence - generally short distance c/f long distance riding is a big factor. But even then there are huge 'comfort' or just 'preference' factors - you only have to look at the TDF to see the vast range of saddle height to come to the conclusion that maybe there isn't a 'right' way. ie some riders appear to have the saddle 'too low' whilst others appear to have it 'too high' - given that they (surely?) all have bikes handbuild (or at least selected) to be the best fit to them, this is more than just science!

[Bowedw]

Maybe shorter cranks for your knee problem and possibly some modest core routine for you. I have also found that tri bars put your upper body in a good position, generally thought of for racing but work well at touring speeds plus the bonus of less effort needed to maintain a given speed.
I tend to agree with fastpedller, I seem to remember a test somewhere, where several bike fit specialists where employed and the different setups they came up with where astonishing

[bikepacker]

Regarding my touring bike I have to treat bike fitting with some scepticism. Many years ago George Longstaff set my Super Galaxy to what he said was my best position and it worked well. During a conversation with a LBS owner he stated my saddle and position was all wrong and offered a professional bike fitting at a low cost. Taking him up on the offer he proceeded to totally change my position of the bike. Saddle further back, handlebars lower and a longer stem length.

I gave the new position a chance and did well over a 1000 painful and uncomfortable before I reverted back to the GL position. Since then no problems.

[Cyril Haearn]

How much do bike fitters charge, what do they do?

[simonhill]

I tend to agree with fastpedller, I seem to remember a test somewhere, where several bike fit specialists where employed and the different setups they came up with where astonishing

This may have been in Cycle mag a couple of years ago. They got different 'professionals' to do the set ups and got very different answers.

Bike fits seem to cost around £100 from memory.

[keyboardmonkey]

I know there are shops in my part of East Yorkshire that offer a bike fitting service, but if I were to have a punt I think I’d use someone independent. For anyone near South Cave in East Yorkshire this bloke gets good word of mouth:

http://www.sports-lab.co.uk/bike-fit-service-hull/

£75 for 2 hours.

[JohnW]

One of our members just couldn't get his bike absolutely right for him. He went for a bike fit at Sowerby Brothers in Mirfield, West Yorkshire. I don't think that it was cheap - it was done using guidelines from 'Specialized'. As I say, I don't think it was cheap, but it certainly transformed him.

On the first floor, over the bike shop, is a 'Soft Tissue Tharapist', who came to give a talk and presentation at our (Calderdale CTC) section Clubroom and she's magic.