Bike Fit

Every year I lavish large sums of money on my bike in the pursuit of extra speed and performance. Often the gains are so negligible and indiscernible, that if they exist at all it is probably only in my head. However, as somebody once said “It’s not about the bike”. At the end of the day it is me that is powering all that expensive carbon and titanium along. Far bigger performance gains could undoubtedly be gained if I ate, slept and trained better. I do what I can in the time available, but cycling is a hobby and has to fit around work and family commitments. So without making drastic changes to my lifestyle it is about being the best I can, with the resources available

With this in mind I had always wanted to have a bike fit session. I have been training and racing bikes for 20 years but much of my bike set-up is formed from habit, I was sure that a fresh pair of eyes would highlight some areas for improvement. So when South Downs Bikes opened their new Bike Fit studio I was one of the first in line!

I rolled my embarrassingly dirty bike into the gleaming brightly lit studio and it was set-up horizontally on a turbo trainer in front of a camera. However, it wasn’t a case of leaping straight on the bike. Far from it, first came a health questionnaire. Injuries, past medical conditions were all covered in detail. Then it was time for the physical examination which was a real eye opener! I was asked to adopt a variety of poses, manipulated on a massage table and even dragged around by my feet. I was truly amazed at the level of detail involved and the time spent discussing each assessment. You do need to be prepared to stand in a brightly lit room barefoot, on one leg, wearing nothing but your cycle shorts! I was diagnosed with collapsing arches which was causing my legs to rotate inwards under load. My right leg was found to be longer than the other, although within normal tolerances I was relieved to hear.

Finally after all this it was at last time to get on the bike. Measurements were taken of my knee angles, hip rotation and other critical dimensions. Then literally mm by mm my cleats, and then saddle position were modified to move me to a more optimal position. You are constantly asked during the process to test the adjustments on the turbo for a few minutes to make sure you are comfortable before moving on to the next item.

After 3 hours my saddle had been raised 9mm and moved forward by 3mm. My cleats were off-set to allow for a twisted seating position and also moved back by a mm or two. I also had some nice new shoe inserts and most noticeably a longer and lower handlebar stem that almost instantly transformed how I felt on the bike.

The whole morning was a fascinating and informative process. The level of detail and the time dedicated to fine tuning my position was extremely impressive. Once back out on the road things did feel a little strange for a while, but I have adapted quickly. I am now in the process of transferring the measurements to my other bikes, even small gains will almost certainly benefit my cycling more than saving 20g on a new titanium widget.