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bike measuring and fitting tips

I have noticed a lot of posts lately from people asking for help and advice in buying a bicycle and making sure it is the right fit, etc. So, I did some looking around and found some web sites which seem to have some pretty good explanations and advice on them:



1 - [color=#810081]http://www.rei.com/learn/Cycling/rei/learn/cycle/clfitf[/color]

Is an American web site (so it's all in inches, if that matters to you) and talks about how to figure out the right size for mountain bikes and road bikes, with good, overall, introductory information in plain English.



1a - [color=#810081]http://www.rei.com/learn/Cycling[/color]

An index of more articles from the same web site on other tips on buying bicycle equipment.



2 - [color=#810081]http://www.coloradocyclist.com/bikefit/[/color]

A good introductory overview of fitting a road bike, with some illustrations and photos. Goes into a fair amount of detail if you want to get beyond the beginner approach, and is fairly comprehensive for one single article.



3 - [color=#810081]http://www.bicyclesource.com/bike/fitting/right.shtml[/color]

Pretty good set of articles about fitting your bike and individual components. They are short, to the point, include illustrations and photos, and a bit more technical than the others above (e.g. there are articles on crank length, cleat adjustment, etc).



4 - [color=#810081]http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit.html[/color]

An excellent, but very long, very detailed, and fairly technical article on fitting a bike for triathletes. More information here than I ever thought I would need, and some very interesting points specific to triathlon.



5 - [color=#810081]http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm[/color]

Possibly the most intellectually engaging article on fitting a bicycle I have ever read. If you really want to get beytond the "standard" approaches to fitting a bike (maybe because you already tried taking the standard approaches recommended elsewhere and they still don't feel right), then read this.



I hope you find these useful.

Comments

  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    thanx for sharing the research with us popper[;)]
  • RobRob Posts: 209
    Cheers rpopper, I'll have a look at those. I've just had a bike fit myself. Something I should have done ages ago really, but I'm getting a bit more serious about training now so it was overdue. Very informative & useful if anybody is thinking about it. A good bike shop will give you a bike fit for free if you buy a bike from them.

    Cheers
  • rpopper65rpopper65 Posts: 171
    I find that fitting tips like these are really useful (a) to see if a bike shop is offering a service that's really worth all they're charging [i.e. they cover all the key points covered in these articles and then some] and (b) to do some small adjustments myself afterwards.
  • I haven't read the articles yet, but this is perfect timing for me as I bought my first bike at the weekend. The shop set it up for me, but by the time I had ridden it home I felt that it needed a few tweeks, but being new to all of this I am a little reluctant to play around when I don't know what I am doing.

    Thanks for the help rpopper
  • RobRob Posts: 209
    There's a video podcast available on http://www.enduranceplanet.com/ which explains a little about bike fitting. It's not the full thing, but a small clip. Haven't had a chance to watch it fully myself yet, but it seemed OK, it's the Monday 8th October podcast.
  • bennybenny Posts: 1,314
    www.canyon.com/tools/pps.html

    there's also a 'bike finder' tool, and some other gadgets here.
  • Just coming back from knee surgery I was also suffering from muscle and feeling loss from my hands by squishing the nerve that runs down the outside of my hand. Physio suggested i get my bike fitted propery (ie not a sales guy telling me what size frame i need, but involved with weights hanging off my knees etc). I looked around and the only place i can find that does it is Bikefit - £150... I think i'll give the sites above a crack first and same meself some dosh!!! Thanks again rpopper!!!
  • Hi folks



    We are bike fitting specialists based in Gloucestershire. Stroud to be precise. We specialise in fitting triathletes and time triallists. We charge £129 for a full fitting including video analysis - not the £150 mentioned in an earlier post. Please see www.kinetic-one.co.uk for more details. Many thanks. Andy
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