I went today to get a bike fit from Matt Loder - the "Cycle Surgeon" http://carycyclesurgeon.com/Home.shtml and I can very highly recommend him.
I have known or a while that my bike probably needed a good tune-up, but I have also suspected that being properly fitted for my bike would help my riding. When I purchased the bike I was given a basic fitting and this was adjusted slightly when I added clip on pedals/shoes, but I have never been particularly confident that these were "good" fittings. For a while now I have felt that I have been cramped in my up stroke and, of course, (see previous Quasimodo post!) The Puppeteer has been working to get me to loosen my arms and engage my core when rididng and these can also be affected by "fit".
The Puppeteer receommended Matt and I was very impressed.
Started with some stretching and measurements and then adjusted my cleats slightly. Next was on to the saddle, which was the biggest change. I have thought that it was probably too low for a while and Matt agreed. Raised it by about an inch (which is a huge amount) to make a more efficient angle at the knee at the end of the down sroke. Then went onto the handle bars and increased both the length and angle of the stem before re-adjusting the aerobars.
By the end of the two hour fitting I felt much less "cramped" and am confident that the fitting will improve performance. Matt is also giving the bike a tune-up. Can't wait to pick it up next week and get out there and try it!
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| Matt doing his thing. |
At least as interesting as the fitting was just chatting to Matt about pedal stroke; positioning; wheel types; components and all manner of other cool stuff. It's obvious that he has a huge amount of knowledge and experience and I enjoyed picking his brain. I think that he has to become an official member of the team... hmmmm... a name? How about "The Peddler"?
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