….And the Bike Fit Continues

If you’ve ever considered getting a bike fit done, I would highly recommend it. If you’d like to get one done, but don’t have a bike fit professional in your area, there are still ways to get it done. If traveling to another location to get a fit completed is not an option for you, why not try a virtual fit? That’s the situation I am currently faced with, and I was lucky enough to cross paths with someone who could help me.

Last week I enlisted the services of Victor from the Bicycle Lab to do a professional fit for me on my road bike. A traditional bike fit, of course, is completed on site so that the fitter can see first hand what is going on and what needs to be done. Well, in today’s world pretty much anything can be done virtually, and a bike fit is no exception. Victor will be the first to admit that the best option is still to have a fit completed live with a professional, but when that’s not possible a virtual fit is a pretty darn good alternative.

I was told what measurements, photos, and video to send in for analysis….Victor was extremely detailed in all that he wanted from me and when some of the information I sent in wasn’t exactly what he needed, he contacted me with details on how to provide what he needed. It was easy for me to see that Victor has incredible experience doing bike fits and that the fact he wasn’t right there in the room with me, really didn’t matter. He’s seen it all and knows exactly what to look for. Man, anyone who can sit through video after boring video like that found below must really want to be helping people. How else do you endure this stuff?

We spent a lot of time together on the phone going over comfort, discomfort, cadence, style, and other information that would help Victor put all the pieces together. We also spent a great deal of time just talking. Talking about life, parenting, enjoyment, and many other non-bike topics. He won me over with his expertise…but took it even further with his great personality.

The first time I ever talked to Victor, he told me that he is passionate about what he does because he honestly wants to help people ride better and enjoy cycling more. It wasn’t hard to see where his heart lies, and I’m extremely happy I was able to work with him on my fit.

We may not have been together in the same room, but I really don’t think it mattered that much. Victor and I worked together on this over the course of five days…making sure that all the variables were exactly what he needed to confirm his recommendation. In the end, I was told to make the following adjustments:

• Change stem size
• Move saddle back
• Use insoles in my shoes
• Move one of my cleats back

I made the adjustments over the weekend and will be testing it out this week to see how it feels. I’ll also be sending Victor more video and photos to make sure the adjustments are complete.

Stay Tuned….

Tags: bike fit, improving your ride