Fit To Get Fitted

When I upgraded to my new Trek Madone last April, one of the things I was hoping to get out of it was a spectacular fit that provided me with hour upon hour of comfort to go along with increased performance from the bike.  It’s been a great road bike, and really can’t complain too much about the fit and comfort….but then again, it’s in my nature not to settle.  I have this strange little personality trait where I just have to keep striving to make something better.

So here I am.  One year of riding on my Madone.  Comfortable.  At one with my bike.  Why would I ever think of changing things?  Like they say, if it ain’t broke…why go and fix it.

To be honest, if I would have known of a professional bike fitter when I bought the bike last year, I would have hit them up for a fit.  But, to my knowledge there was no such professional around these parts.  So I had the bike shop give me their fit and was sent off happy enough with my new ride and the way it fit.

Then I met a guy on Twitter.  His Twitter ID was @BicycleLab and he oozed great cycling wisdom from many of his Tweets.  I told him that I wished there was someone doing what he does over here, and he came back to me with some fantastic news.  He told me that if I had a camera, video camera, and tripod he would be able to give me a virtual fit.  Upon learning more….and given the fact that I already considered this guy a cycling guru, I decided to enlist his services.

Victor Jimenez from the Bicycle Lab has over 20 years of experience in custom fitting bikes to their owners.  He started off with a high end retail bicycle shop, and taught clinics on bicycle fit, repair, frame selection, and riding skills to enthusiasts.  Today, Victor focuses on helping cyclists obtain the most out of their sport and is passionately committed to helping the bicycle become more utilitarian here in North America, and worldwide.  Basically, he just truly wants to help people.  Once you meet him, there is no denying that truth.  Bicycle Lab is a small business that offers one-on-one bicycle fitting and mechanical services. They also design and build custom road and triathlon bikes under their own Karma Cycleworks brand.

Okay, so back to the fit.  They say that change is one of the hardest things for us as human beings to adjust to.  That it is the cause of great stress in our lives.  But to get the most out of life, we have to try new things and experience various circumstances and situations.  Yet, so many stay contained within their comfort zones.  Fearing the unknown.  Fearing to make a change.  These same feelings likely play a part in our relationship with our bikes as well.  “I’m comfortable on my bike…why would I want to mess with it?”

I know that my body type is far different than any other guy out there riding a 53” Madone, so why haven’t I tweaked it to mold to my body?  I haven’t been convinced that I have the utter most ideal fit on my bike…and I’m not going to let these questions linger any longer.

I want to see what will happen.  I want to know I am set up perfectly on my bike.  That the fit cannot get any better. The time has come and I’m ready to put it all in the hands of the Bicycle Lab.

Stay tuned…..

Tags: Fit, Performance, Review