Tri-Bike Fit
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Toothless posted 21 weeks ago.
I would recommend doing some reading. Dan Empfield has probably put more thought into bike fitting for triathletes than anybody else. He has a bunch of articles here:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/index.html
Also, as long as you get the right size frame you can tweak other things like stem height/length and seat height.
I went to Colorado Multisport in Boulder and had Ryan Ignatz do my fit. A very good experience.
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tsilcyc posted 21 weeks ago.
It's a good question because there are shops that sell tri bikes just because it's another avenue of revenue. Then there are shops that know how to fit you on a tri bike. As toothless has mentioned, Dan Empfield is a pioneer in the tri bike biz and his articles are going to give you a lot of helpful information.
Having been FIST fit, I think it's definitely a good method for fitting but I think a shop that specifically sells tri bikes can fit you just as well. If the shop does FIST fitting and sells you the bike, they typically will give you the fitting for free. I'd go that route but I wouldn't pay for it again. But for me, it was more of a learning lesson than anything else.
What a lot of pros used to do in the old days was look at how the other pros were setup and just copy it. You'd obviously need the correct frame size. But really that's what we're all doing... mimicking the perfect position as best we can. You want to get as flat as you can in order to cut through the wind, arms underneath you, forward on the seat, and hopefully not lose power in the process. The poster child for the perfect fit...
http://www.zipp.com/portals/0/ZabriskieZipp%20casey%20gibson.jpg
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UFTriGator posted 20 weeks ago.
I did a fit on a computrainer and didn't change anything. I fit myself to a couple basic guidelines and it ended up being the most powerful position anyway:
1. Flat back (you need to be flexible and have good core strength for this...change your steerer tube spacers and stem angle for this)
2. Shoulders and elbows at 90 degrees (change your setback on your saddle and your stem length)
3. Proper knee bend at 6 o'clock (155 degrees IIRC....change saddle height)
4. Plumb line dropped from your knee at 6 o'clock in your pedal strok should hit above your first toe-knuckle (change saddle setback)
You'll probably have to slowly work into a position like that since it'll take time to get used to, but I think most professional fittings (unless you have a really good guy) are a waste of money since this is all they're doing anyway.
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kwmccasl posted 20 weeks ago.
I recently purchased my first tri bike coming from a road bike w/ aero bars. The bike shop had a sensor system that measured thing like height, torso length, arm length and they showed me which bikes had a congruent geometry w/ mine. My bike fit was part of my bike purchase. I definately recommend buying from someone who asks more than just "how tall are you" b/c there is so much more to a fit than height. No need to pay big $$ post purchase for a fit - find a place that will throw in the fit - if they want to sell bad enough, they will include it.
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tsilcyc posted 20 weeks ago.
kwmccasl wrote:
I recently purchased my first tri bike coming from a road bike w/ aero bars. The bike shop had a sensor system that measured thing like height, torso length, arm length and they showed me which bikes had a congruent geometry w/ mine. My bike fit was part of my bike purchase. I definately recommend buying from someone who asks more than just "how tall are you" b/c there is so much more to a fit than height. No need to pay big $$ post purchase for a fit - find a place that will throw in the fit - if they want to sell bad enough, they will include it.
Was it a laser fit? I haven't seen one but apparently they stick you in this box and lasers get your dimensions.
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kwmccasl posted 20 weeks ago.
Very similar to what you are saying. I stood on a platform and the associate manually moved the laser sighting up and down a slide and took 4-5 measurements onto a computer which made a profie of me. I was very impressed. Every other bike store I went to simply asked my height and started showing me bikes - I felt the first store knew MUCH more about trying to fit me to the bike than the others.
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ndtriathlete posted 20 weeks ago.
Besides tsilcyc above, has anyone else done a FIST Fit fitting? My local triathlon shop offers a FIST fit for $150. They apparently videotape the session and give it to you on a CD.
Besides trusting the salesperson who is helping you at the tri-shop, how can you tell if a tri-bike fits you well? I come from a road bike background and know what to look for in a well-fitting road bike, but I'm not so sure what to look - or look out for - in a tri-bike.
Thanks for your thoughts!