I'm also interested in this thread, and appreciate learning about other people's fit journeys through their cycling career. Like many, I have never had a professional fit, but I have thought a LOT about fit, perhaps to the point of over-obsessing about it. I don't recommend that, but I also agree that the surest way to be comfortable on the bicycle is through trial and error, critical thinking about your body and bike, and keeping an open mind. I also agree that what we're doing with our body off the bike has a major influence with how we feel on the bike. I've done yoga off and on for a number of years, and whenever I am consistently practicing yoga, being comfortable on the bike (or identifying what adjustments I need to make to do so) becomes easier.
I've been thinking about fit in one way or another since I started building up my own bikes, which was almost 20 years ago now. I would say that my attention to fit ramped up around 12-13 years ago, when I had built up a couple of bikes that were supposed to fit me properly, but I wasn't really satisfied with the comfort I had achieved on them. My early experiments at that time had two major influences, namely Keith Bontrager's "The Myth of K.O.P.S <https://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html>" on Sheldon Brown's site and Grant's general approach to bike fitting at the time, which encouraged larger-than-average frames and higher handlebars. This coincided with me buying my first Rivendell, a 64cm Quickbeam <https://flic.kr/s/aHsjCb7qtE> (I had originally intended to buy a 62cm SimpleOne, but after measuring my PBH Vince thought it would be too small for me). Of course, I took both to an extreme probably not intended by either author, focusing on super high/upright handlebars and lots of seatpost setback (I bought multiple Nitto S84's during this period). This coincided with me buying my first Rivendell, a 64cm Quickbeam (I had originally intended to buy a 62cm SimpleOne, but after measuring my PBH, Vince thought it would be too small for me). Building up the Quickbeam and then a 64cm Surly Long Haul Trucker <https://flic.kr/s/aHsjG8XDnr>, both with upright bars, I ended up eschewing drop bars completely for a few years. I was basically happy with the LHT with both Albatross and Bosco bars, but was never really satisfied with how the QB felt, and I ended up selling it, a decision I sometimes regret. My upright-only period came to an end in 2016, when I rebuilt a Medici Pro Strada <https://flic.kr/s/aHskrQW4Gs> racing bike from the early 1980's to ride in Eroica California, a cycling event that required riders to be on vintage road or touring bikes. I stuck with drop bars on the bike to match the ethos of the event, and ended up being surprised with how comfortable and efficient I felt on the bike, which helped me in completing the ~120 mile route. Drop bars began to return to the rest of my stable, first on the Long Haul Trucker. That fit was successful enough that I used it as a guide to set up drop bars on my Rambouillet <https://flic.kr/s/aHsmqiuhka>, which I bought a couple of years later. The Rambouillet is now my bench mark, definitely the best-fitting and most comfortable road bike I have ever owned. Along with the return to drop bars, my saddle position moved forward again, away from the large setbacks I had sought during my upright era, and I moved towards somewhat narrower foam/gel saddles from WTB, away from the B.17's championed by Rivendell. These days, I would say that my bike fits are converging, meaning that in general I am seeking to replicate the basic body position achieved on my Rambouillet and LHT, with minor adjustments for handlebar type and intended use. I'm pretty confident setting up drop bar bikes for myself and find that I can achieve a satisfactory fit on them pretty consistently. Upright bar bikes, which I still prefer for commuting and errands, are a bit more of a challenge for me, ironically. While some might say that the short distances they are ridden would make fit less of an issue, I find that the short distances makes it harder to get a clear impression of what are issues caused by my bike setup rather than the inconsistent vagaries of living in a ~40 year old body. The convergence of my fits is guided by my realization that saddle position is one of the most important fit dimensions for me. I try to be consistent in saddle height, setback, and angle between my bikes, and find that once I have the saddle in the right place figuring out the handlebar position becomes a lot easier. Achieving consistency in saddle position has been facilitated by investing in an Abbey Bike Tools Fit Kit <https://www.abbeybiketools.com/collections/tools/products/saddle-fit>, which makes measuring all three saddle parameters easier. A related discovery is that if my hands, arms, and upper back are uncomfortable, I can usually improve things by *lowering* my handlebars, which helps me engage my core muscles better to relieve my hands and arms. This was a bit surprising since it went against Rivendell's basic philosophy that raising the handlebars increases comfort. I'm not saying that's wrong, more that we need to approach such ideas with nuance and critical thinking. I appreciate the chance to share some of my own fit journey, and look forward to discussing it more. This is has been an area I've wanted to discuss for a while. Jeremy Till Sacramento, CA On Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 10:54:59 PM UTC-8 [email protected] wrote: > I'm curious about the collective opinion regarding professional bike > fitting, and pose these questions as one who has been riding for 50+ years > on mostly drop bar road bikes, without ever having been "fitted"... I'm > not particularly interested in increased performance, although I'd be happy > to ride faster/stronger in some situations - mostly, I'm concerned with > comfort. I'm used to, and have generally learned to live with certain aches > and pains after a good long ride, a sore back or neck for instance... sore > butt is not uncommon either. I follow the conventional rules for set-up > (ie, choose frame and saddle height based on PBH) and I tinker/ > swap/exchange parts for the fun of it, but haven't ever really experienced > an "aha" moment when it comes to comfort/fit! > > I enjoy following threads regarding saddle choice and positioning, woolen > underwear vs. padded shorts, handlebar options, PBH and frame size, drop > vs. reach, etc etc... and I've experimented with a bunch...which leads me > to be skeptical about putting my faith in a service that seems to boil down > to trial and error, plus common sense. So here are the questions: > > 1. Have you been professionally fitted, and did that result in a > noticeable improvement in comfort? Enough that you would advocate for > others? > > 2. I have three or four bikes, set up different ways (Homer with drop bars > as my "road bike", All Rounder with Albatross bars for "adventure", > etc)....if one is "fitted" to a certain bike, does the "fit" apply to > different set-ups? > > Thanks in advance, sd > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f598d6d1-320e-425b-aac0-037ab41ed3a5n%40googlegroups.com.
