good bike fit?

[JimO]

Hey everyone,

Due to me having some injury problems (see my IT band and back pain threads...!) I think I need to get a good bike fit.

I thought I could learn and do it myself and some people pointed me at the Steve Hogg bike fitting website, which was great. But, there's so much to learn and do and I'm wary of getting it wrong and doing myself no good. So, I'm willing to get a fit done by someone who knows what they're doing! The problem is finding someone as I'm aware a lot of these places are no good.

So could someone recommend a good bike fitter? I'm in the UK, in Gloucestershire, but am willing to drive reasonable distances if it means I can get a better fit. Someone at work said they went to the velodrome in Manchester for theirs. Has anyone any experience of that place? Is there anything I should look out for?

Thanks
James

[misterrea]

had a bike fitting done at worcester university performance and motion centre they improved my speed /comfort

[531colin]

Going back over old topics, James is an over-pronator with ITB syndrome and a disc lesion.
Somebody who sorts out the fast boys may not be the obvious choice.

James...
You can probably sort out your own saddle position from here...http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=74985

Then I would take it 1 step at a time.....Over pronating wasn't even invented when I sorted out my position, I have no idea of the degree of pronation that makes wedges etc helpful, to me that's a subject for a thread in itself, there is experience on this forum.
As for the disc lesion, again its worth asking on here (another thread) but you might end up seeking a physio. with experience of rehabilitation of back injury sufferers.

[JimO]

Yeah, that's me, all of those. I get the feeling the overpronating may not be causing me a huge amount of trouble. My feet are quite bad though, my arches completely collapse. I'll look into it, but it's just one of several things I might need to address.

My IT band problems began very soon after I got cleats for the first time so it may be to do with those. I do think I need to adjust them so that my feet are in a more natural position for me. At the moment they definitely force my feet to an angle I don't normally ride in.

My back is a longer term think and that is more a journey if you know what I mean!

With regards to doing the adjustments myself, yes I could try, and I have before, based on information I saw online, and I got it wrong. There is a lot of contradictory information out there and a lot of the factors are interdependent. Sometimes I think it just needs an experienced hand to guide you at first. I have no problem spending a bit of money (if it means someone who really knows what they are doing can in 2 hours get me to where I could possibly get myself in 6 months of constant tweaking and injury. Plus, by going through the process I feel like I would learn a lot that could help me help myself in future.

I guess right now, I just need to know I'm moving in the right direction. I feel like I spend all my time reading about bike set ups, stretches and good practices and feel like I come out with more questions than I went in!

Hope that makes sense

[JimO]

Going back over old topics, James is an over-pronator with ITB syndrome and a disc lesion.
Somebody who sorts out the fast boys may not be the obvious choice.

James...
You can probably sort out your own saddle position from here...http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=74985

Then I would take it 1 step at a time.....Over pronating wasn't even invented when I sorted out my position, I have no idea of the degree of pronation that makes wedges etc helpful, to me that's a subject for a thread in itself, there is experience on this forum.
As for the disc lesion, again its worth asking on here (another thread) but you might end up seeking a physio. with experience of rehabilitation of back injury sufferers.

Yeah, the physio idea is probably a good move. I mean, I was seeing a physio, up until the point when I eventually diagnosed. They recommended pilates, cycling, stretching and (as it seemed to be helping me) running. Basically build my core. If I find in 6-12 months I am not improving it will probably be a good idea to find a physio as an ongoing treatment.

[RJS]

Hi James,
I'm not any kind of expert, but I think getting your cleats right is very important, it was sugested to me that I sat on the table and noted the angle of my feet, then set the cleats up to replicate this. My arches are somewhat collapsed, Specialize advertise there shoes as having some bearing on this, and I do find they are the most comfortable cycle shoes I've had. Don't know if thats any help.
Cheers, Rob.

[JimO]

Hi James,
I'm not any kind of expert, but I think getting your cleats right is very important, it was sugested to me that I sat on the table and noted the angle of my feet, then set the cleats up to replicate this. My arches are somewhat collapsed, Specialize advertise there shoes as having some bearing on this, and I do find they are the most comfortable cycle shoes I've had. Don't know if thats any help.
Cheers, Rob.

Ok, thanks, I'll have a look at this. A friend at work was told a good way to check is to stand and jump and, landing naturally, then see where your feet are and replicate that, but your method seems just as good (maybe better as your body will be more cycle like).

Thanks
James

[531colin]

..............My IT band problems began very soon after I got cleats for the first time so it may be to do with those. I do think I need to adjust them so that my feet are in a more natural position for me. At the moment they definitely force my feet to an angle I don't normally ride in....................

I don't see the relevance of sitting on tables or jumping in the air to setting cleats.
As you say, you can feel your cleats putting your feet in a place they don't want to be......the cleat has a few degrees of float in the pedal, what you are feeling is the limit of the float in a particular direction .....all that I do is set the cleat so that my natural foot position is somewhere in the middle of the float.....as long as you can't feel either "edge" of the float when you are riding, I reckon its OK.

[JimO]

..............My IT band problems began very soon after I got cleats for the first time so it may be to do with those. I do think I need to adjust them so that my feet are in a more natural position for me. At the moment they definitely force my feet to an angle I don't normally ride in....................

I don't see the relevance of sitting on tables or jumping in the air to setting cleats.
As you say, you can feel your cleats putting your feet in a place they don't want to be......the cleat has a few degrees of float in the pedal, what you are feeling is the limit of the float in a particular direction .....all that I do is set the cleat so that my natural foot position is somewhere in the middle of the float.....as long as you can't feel either "edge" of the float when you are riding, I reckon its OK.

Ok, I was probably a bit unclear in hindsight. I honestly didn't think there was anything wrong with my cleats at first. They didn't feel uncomfortable but it's my first time so maybe I wasn't sure what to expect. It was only when I looked at my feet on the pedal with cleats vs without that I noticed the difference. It is quite noticeable then. Although I don't feel pain on an easy ride I think it has put extra strain on my knees when I am doing a higher intensity ride. I honestly didn't have any problems with my knees until I got cleats.

As you say, I will set my cleat somewhere in the region of my natural position and let the float take care of the rest. I guess I don't have to jump up and down to do this. I think the idea is that it stops you consciously thinking about where your feet are and you are more likely to get your natural position.

[SilverBadge]

So could someone recommend a good bike fitter? I'm in the UK, in Gloucestershire, but am willing to drive reasonable distances if it means I can get a better fit. Someone at work said they went to the velodrome in Manchester for theirs. Has anyone any experience of that place? Is there anything I should look out for?

I've only heard good things about Mike Veal of BikeDynamics in Leamington - he has a website. I used to work with him in his previous career and always found him highly competent.

[JimO]

So could someone recommend a good bike fitter? I'm in the UK, in Gloucestershire, but am willing to drive reasonable distances if it means I can get a better fit. Someone at work said they went to the velodrome in Manchester for theirs. Has anyone any experience of that place? Is there anything I should look out for?

I've only heard good things about Mike Veal of BikeDynamics in Leamington - he has a website. I used to work with him in his previous career and always found him highly competent.

Ok thanks, I'll look him up

[andrewjoseph]

i've got very flat feet and use specialized red insoles, with a plastic wedge under the insole of my right foot.

this has worked well for 10 years but recently started getting knee pain.

arranged a bike fit with 'the bike shed', hereford.

seems my main problem was due to heel strike on chainstay due to extreme angle of my feet, this caused me to pedal toe down and so needed my saddle too high. i thought i had my position spot on, my wife was tested too and her position was just about perfect. thing is, i can see her position and make suggestions, i couldn't see my own position.

they recommended pedal extenders and this has made a big difference to cycling comfort. i've even put them on my mtb where the difference in the effort used is marked. my instep is no longer polishing the crank arm every revolution.

i also dropped the saddle and increased stem length.

[meic]

How much does it cost for a "Bike Shed" fitting session?

I had a look at their website and it looks as if they should know what is what and they are only a day's ride away.

[andrewjoseph]

sumpink like £150 for the full service.

[meic]

Thank you for the (not entirely welcome) news, it makes sense that that sort of machinery has to be paid for by some means.