Rolling out the door on a fair-weathered weekend morning means I’m quickly riding amongst countless others with a similar plan for the day. Many cyclists look joyful on a two-wheeled machine that whirs along. By contrast, you also see young and old with pained faces, often shifting around on the saddle in agony or dipping their head in and out of comfort.
This article will hopefully be useful for everyone who chooses to ride a bike, but most importantly, it’s designed to spread the word that riding a bike shouldn’t be a chore for your body. This isn’t a guide or how-to on the basics of bike fit; rather, it's a look at a handful of commonly overlooked or poorly understood elements of bike fit.
Related reading: Things mechanics wish all cyclists knew about their bikes
Comfort before all else
Cycling is a beautiful sport that has long celebrated the joy of misery. No doubt there is a sense of euphoria in completing a difficult physical challenge, and doing so won’t always be comfortable.
That said, riding your bike shouldn’t cause pain or numbness in your joints, tendons, or extremities. Likewise, consistent foot, hand, neck, knee, or back pain often indicate that your interaction with the bike is problematic. The good news is that, in most cases, such cycling-induced discomfort can be overcome.
This is the wheelhouse of skilled bike fitters who specialise in how the body and machine interact. An experienced eye can go a long way to resolve issues quickly and, perhaps, prevent them, too. In my opinion, bike fitting is a somewhat under-appreciated profession. Much of this is due to confusion from some bike shops (certainly not all!) selling services labelled as bike fits that are little more than a basic bike-sizing process.
“A bike shop will often make sure they sell you the right-size bike and within 20 minutes or less set your seat height the best they can to get you going – that is a sizing,” explained Mike Flartey, fit technician and owner of Aloha Friday Wheelworks in Oahu, Hawaii.
John Karrasch of Flexfit in Birmingham, Alabama, offered a similar response when asked what he believes is the most common misunderstanding concerning bike fit. “A bike fit is something you pay for separately and should be a couple-hour process," he said. "Sizing is a quick process with someone helping you pick the right-size bike.”
Flartey also said that a true fitting session will often take multiple hours, commonly with a follow-up appointment. In that time, it’s normal for a fitter to do a full physical and structural exam looking for imbalances and flexibility limitations. Prior injury history, current fit concerns, rider skill level, and riding goals are all important details to a fitter, too.
Now not everyone needs a bike fit, and those who feel efficient, comfortable, and worry-free on a bike are likely already in the right ballpark with their fit. However, I’d argue that it’s just as common for people to ignore those little niggles (which eventually turn into bigger niggles) and forgo spending the time and money to be comfortable and efficient, all while prioritising spending thousands on a new bike, a new wheelset, or some other cycling-related item.
Depending on where you live, you may struggle to find yourself a great bike fitter. Word of mouth is important here, and generally, good bike fitters will often shine through with praise from local riders.
Fit before buying
Changing stem length or swapping to a different offset seatpost was once something you could do with a trip to a local store and a few spare minutes. Getting sized to a bike, and then leaving the bike fit for a later date, used to be common practice, and most of the time, it would work out OK.
However, times change. Modern road, gravel, and time-trial bikes with integrated cockpits present modern issues. As my colleague Ronan Mc Laughlin has covered before, these are real barriers to consider when buying that new bike.
Today, changing a seemingly simple component can require special ordering of the exact bike-specific model of handlebar with the right combination of stem length, rise, and bar width. Of course, such components never come cheaply, and that's before you account for the new brake hoses, bar tape, and multiple hours of labour. For this reason, Karrasch advises getting a proper fit before buying that dream bike.
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