My local bike shop (Cycling Zone, in Alabang, cycling_zone@yahoo.com) has a bike fitting service and I'd always wondered if my bikes were set up for me correctly. I've read a number of articles that the correct bike fit can alleviate back pain, knee pain and also help you improve power and aerodynamics. I reckon that anything that gives you a more comfortable ride and make you faster is worth checking out. The price of the service here in Philippines is pretty reasonable PHP1000 (US$18) so I made the booking and went into the shop this morning.
Toots and one of his contraptions
What I wasn't expecting was 2 plus hours of my body being measured in excrutiating detail. Toots, the guy who does the fittings had a whole bunch of equipment that measured me to the last millimeter. The fitting equipment and software is supplied by bikefitting.com. A Dutch company that have got this down to a fine art. Toots knew exactly how the all the equipment worked and could explain in detail why it was important for my performance on the bike.
The first measurement was for my feet and to establish exactly where the ball of my foot was and where the cleat should go on each of my shoes. It turns out that my right foot is 8mm shorter than my left, which means the cleat on each shoe needs to be set up differently. This explains why its always been easier for me to engage and disengage cleats on one foot more than the other.
The Foot measuring contraption also takes into account seat height according to the height of our shoe
Next I got my entire body measured: my height from knee, hip, sternum and other points. The inside of both legs, arm length, shoulder width and shoulder height. This included having a padded pole forced horizontally between my legs. Once all this was done my body measurements were put into a computer and checked against figures of all the other people that have had fittings done over the years.
The bikefitting.com database is comprehensive. Here it's showing correct alignment for my Look cleats.
The computer spat out an average set of numbers that allowed Toots to set up a dummy bike for me. He adjusted seat height, handlebar height, stem and top tube length. Then I got onto the bike and pedaled for about 5 minutes. This was to allow my body to adjust itself into my natural riding position. After the allotted time I had to stop pedaling and remain absolutely still. Toots then locked the cranks vertically and measured the plumb-line. Apparently this is the most important part of the set up because this establishes the angles needed for your body to generate the most power through the pedals. After the plumb-line was calculated Toots changed the top tube length and made minor adjustments to get the final measurements.
The dummy bike
There are a number of setups available through the system and the PHP1000 gives you a choice of three. You can get Triathalete, Road and Mountain categories and within each category you can choose a number of options, ranging from comfort to competition. I chose two road bike set ups and a one mountain bike set up.
The system prints out all the numbers with a diagram of a bike. The idea is that you take this along to your local bike shop and ask them to copy the set up. As long as the frame is the right size to begin with most adjustments can be made just by changing seat post height, saddle position, stem length and handlebars.
The system calculates the optimum measurements
Toots set up the dummy bike with my "professional" road measurements and I had a short pedal, but its impossible to tell without having the actual set up on a real bike. My next step is to get one of my bikes set up with the measurements , then get out and try it. I'm going to take my roadbike into the shop over the next few weeks and let the guys set it up.
I'll let you know how it feels, and if I think it makes a difference.
The dummy bike from another angle
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