Bike fit recommendation - Berkshire

[Vorix]

I'm thinking of treating myself to a bike fit session in the new year to get ready for some longer rides and sportives in 2017 (building up to the Velo Birmingham in September). Can anyone recommend a good bike fit place/practitioner within a sensible driving distance from Bracknell, Berkshire? Happy to spend the money for the right experience but have also read varying reports about what to look for. That said, indicative costs would be good too. Thanks.

[NatAsp]

Bike Whisperer. You are very lucky to have him so close! I'm always busy so haven't been yet, but when I tried to book in about 8 weeks in advance they "had someone flying over from Spain that day" so couldn't accommodate.

[Vorix]

Thanks - just looked him up - having said I would spend the money for the right service I had to take a second look at £299. Is this the going rate for a good bike fit? Pretty much a 1/3rd the price of my bike! I guess I was thinking around the £200 mark.

[Magic919]

He is very good and can easily spend 4-5 hours doing the job. I've been once and my wife went twice so far. Was easier for us before he moved away, but still worth the drive for us.

[neenaw]

Adrian at Cadence Sport is well worth the trip.
He's up in Staffordshire so it's a couple of hours drive but I've done it twice so far and will do the same if I change the bike again any time in future. I think it's about £180 for the bike fit and includes a set of custom footbeds which are usually about £50 or £60 on their own.

[daddy cool]

Firstly - Bracknell? Hello fellow resident

Fully expect some sneery comments due to the cost, but i had a bike fit session at 700 in Windsor, which was £40. Took less time than usual because (at the time) i didnt have SPD-SL shoes/pedals to adjust, but guess i was there about 40 mins being measured up, and having my bike put up on the turbo trainer to check the settings.
My main reason for going there was to fix a pain in my knee. He said the adjustments he made for fix that, and would also give me a 1 mph ave speed increase on a usual route i do. He was correct on both counts.

Yeah, i would love to spend £200+ and have a pro-level session, but if you just wanted a cheap check-up to see what difference it could make then i'd recommend 700.

[Vorix]

Thanks for the recommendation of 700 - I tried joining the 700cc club trial ride 2 weeks ago but it was cancelled due to the cold weather so plan on trying again in January and will ask their thoughts.

[Your Dad]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Has the Canyon arrived yet, will you be getting a bike fit to get optimal setup?

[outnumbered]

There's different levels of fitting. Any good bike shop will offer a basic fitting service including measuring and maybe pedaling on a static bike or jig, mainly to make sure that you have an appropriately sized bike that works for the type of riding you're planning- e.g. crank lengths, stem length/height, bar width. You shouldn't pay more than 50-60 quid for that, and many will throw it in free with a bike purchase. I got a very worthwhile improvement in my bike position and setup just through having one of this type.

Then you have the more detailed types like Retul that look at it in much more detail where you're in the £00's, this is where they're looking at joint angles, cleat adjustments etc. I'd say that the Retul type fitting is more useful for experienced riders who are trying to tune for ultimate performance, or for people who have had injuries or other issues they need to work around.

Personally I'd start with the first type, and see if I then wanted to spend 5x as much again.

[Gruffy]

Vorix said:

Thanks - just looked him up - having said I would spend the money for the right service I had to take a second look at £299. Is this the going rate for a good bike fit? Pretty much a 1/3rd the price of my bike! I guess I was thinking around the £200 mark.

In my experience it's pointless paying for an 'OK' bike fit. Think about the value rather than the cost. I've wasted a lot of money on fitters who felt like they were following a formula without necessarily understanding the essence of it and the results have been poor. Scherrit (AKA the Bike Whisperer) was more expensive but absolutely worth it. He does one fit per day and is booked up long in advance, for a reason. I worked with him to fit my bike for the Transcontinental Race (rode there and back from the other side of London) and despite whiplash injuries ahead of the race I didn't suffer fit problems (except the achilles, which he flagged up beforehand!). He also works with several other TCR riders, including national and world 24 hour champs. He genuinely knows his stuff but he also cares. He could easily make twice as much money but I think he just loves what he does. I'm also heading back next year to tweak some replacement shoes (which were suggested in the first fit) and will only be charged for any insoles, not his time.