bike fitting when building your own tri bike
9
Member
485 days
bajapat posted 1 year ago.
WHen I got my bike I went to a shop which the fitter was doing this for 5 years and he happened to own the shop. He was excelent and knew i had my heart set on a bike other then one he sold. he told me he would do the fit and give me the paper work and the next shop would be able to fit me with his numbers.
in the end i bought the bike from him because i was not confadint in the other shop..
2828
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1317 days
Anton posted 1 year ago.
My bet is that you have everything adjusted for a comfort fit and you'll find getting fit professionally there won't be much difference.
Some real smart folks (Empfield,Carmichael,Friel,Byrn) will tell you that comfort comes first...despite what you might see or tri dealers might tell you. After comfort you can start working on aero. Getting fit this past winter (I get myself re-fit every few years..bodies change) The first time with a power meter...found that I produced far more Watts in a comfortable position than in one that was more "aero."
1)Take your measurements on your current bike...when you start your build,keep that in mind..when you are done...get a professional fit. DON"T do things during the build that can't be reversed ie. don't cut the steering tube or the seat post until after the fit job.
2) Get a pro bike fit BEFORE you start the build (my choice). That way you'll know your measurements before you start the build. Ask for a follow up after the build to make sure you are spot on.
I commend your wanting to build your own sled ( I'm currently re-building a bike into a single gear). Most shop wrenches do too and will be willing to help out and double check your work.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
4334
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1593 days
kylie posted 1 year ago.
I'll second most of what Anton has said -- comfort is often a HUGE part of the fit. I've had two fits -- one made me get into certain ranges, and I wasn't as happy when riding after that one but thought I should "get used to it". I later ended up crashing, and never bothering to get fit on the bike again. Instead I made it more comfortable.
With my most recent fit I was lucky enough to have Dan Empfield do a quicky-fix for me. He focused all on comfort. It was on a special fit bike, where he made small adjustments and we found where I felt the most comfortable. *Then* he measured things and we found I was inside all his guideline ranges, but that was just because I ended up there. He then gave me tips on how to get that comfort position on my bike. And the bike is much much better now. Having your measurements like that might help you make choices as you build up your bike.
Another thing to do with building up the bike is if you do have a choice in frames, try to sit on built up bikes using the frames to see if you like how they feel.
Kylie Donia's Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
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627 days
BigGus posted 1 year ago.
When you go for your fitting, just make sure you grab the stick from the guy before he shoves it up your crotch, tell him thank you very much, I'll hold it myself. And watch out, those things are spring loaded...ouch.
Like most triathletes I started (and am still racing on) with my low end road bike, a Trek 1200. Although I upgraded from the stock wheels to Cane Creek Strados and crankset to an Ultegra. For races and TT style workouts I slap on my Profile clip-ons (these bad boys were free from a friend). I figure it's mostly for effect, judging by my shadow when I'm riding I don't appear to be very aero! However I've made steady gains and recently posted a 65 minute split in an oly on a rolling, moderate difficulty course (down from the 80 minutes of my first oly distance tri). But I've never been fit and I have everything adjusted simply to be comfortable.
So to continue to beat around the bush before I get to my actual point, I'll also say that I've been spending a generous portion of time at the local bike coop. I've always been a DIY person. Lately I find that I just really enjoy taking bikes apart and tinkering with everything and then putting them back together.
So now that you have some semi-purposeful background here's to my point. While I'm sure there's more I can do to continue to slice off time using my current road bike the whole triathlon thing has become a very serious part of my life and as such it's time to move to a new bike. So like I mentioned before I'm very DIY person (and thrifty) so ultimately I would like to build my own tri bike. If not for the fact of complete customization, I at least get that thrill of building something.
However, I feel like many aspects of a proper fit continue to elude me. The more I read about it, the more I realize that it's a darn serious business. So when one goes in for a bike fit, do you usually do it on your own or on specialized equipment they have setup for fitting? And then do they right down all the measurements on a piece of paper for you for your records? So if they are doing it on specialized equipment then should I first get the measurements and then build the bike or should I build the bike first?
Okay, I hope those questions are straight and to the point. Sorry for the long winded post to get to the questions though.