Almost all attention in bike fit is given to the fit coordinates while in the aero position. But, pursuit contact points relative to saddles, armrests, and the steering axis is probably the next area deserving investigation.
by Dan Empfield, February 22, 2011
Bicycles are constructs of assemblies. Of course you know this already! But I’m talking strictly about how bikes fit. The notion that a frame alone determines fit is entirely wrong.
The defining fit characteristics of bikes are no longer solely contained in the frame. Or even the aerobars. Today’s superbikes focus on the sins of the stem and anything round sitting above the frame.
The exercise here is in the understanding of a tri bike’s frame geometry. There are several things worth noting, and this ought to impact, or at least inform, your buying decisions.
There should be a practicality to things that trumps even what the designer or seller intended for his product. Filling the gap between products-as-intended and products-as-needed is the tinkerer’s raison d’être.
It’s a bit of inside baseball, only for hard core bike fitters and those who follow the process as a hobby. The Exit fit bike – the standard for tri bike fitting pros – undergoes a protocol change.
For fitters and fittees alike, here’s a question you might be asking: What premium does a Retul deliver to the fit process over other measuring devices?
Looking for a new bike, and find you’re in between sizes? Your LBS owner will tell you to choose the smaller size, and he’s been saying that since, well, forever. But it’s the wrong answer, at least nowadays, at least in tri.
You’ve waited, you’ve wanted, so without further ado, here it is: a static fit system for generating rider coordinates. We’ll describe it to you, and then tell you why you shouldn’t use it.
Specialized and Trek each have a bike school for retailers, joining Serotta and perhaps soon other bike makers. How do you know when the point of a school is education or whether it’s just marketing?
A female lab mix named Charlee has attended each of 40 F.I.S.T. tri bike fit workshops held at the Slowtwitch compound. Somewhere along the way, she acquired the ability to distinguish good bike positions from bad
Judging by recent posts on the Slowtwitch Reader Forum, confusion reigns over bike fit systems, the difference between a system and a tool, and how it all relates to apple pie.
Read this first, if “tri bike fit” is new to you. It’s a guide to the dozens of articles in the bike fit section. The articles are grouped, and we offer our advice about the order in which they should be read.
