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Evan Evans's Journal
Old Broad, New Fit
posted by El Presidente at 03:01 AM on February 01, 2010
I come from the era of cycling when wool was still considered a technical fabric, clipless pedals were heresy and aero bars were seen as the work of the devil. Needless to say, we’ve come a long way from that time. Or perhaps come full circle as wool is now back in favor…
When I first started racing, a bike fit was essentially your DS looking at how you looked on your bike, muttering something in an unknown foreign language, making some adjustments and sending you on your way. When I returned to racing after a 20 year hiatus, a bike fit had suddenly turned into a major event, replete with all kinds of shiny gizmos and mathematical calculations. My first “modern” bike fit was a major disaster, done by a person who talked a good talk, but the result nearly separated me from riding my bike permanently. I then heard about this new thing called a Body Geometry fit, developed by an actual medical professional, Dr. Andy Pruitt. By that time, I’d aligned myself with Specialized and figured given what I’d read, I’d give it a shot.
Now I’m what I consider a fitter’s nightmare: I have no lateral cartilage in my knee, a twice-torn-up lower back, a healed separated shoulder, freakishly long arms, male geometry on a female body and am generally persnickety about how I feel on the bike. I had not one, but two BG two-dimensional fits. I’m happy with the result, but not entirely satisfied. I’m still riding in significant pain and that’s not ok because I really like riding/racing my bike.
Then I hear about the BG 3D fit. I figure this is my last stop on the fit train. Either this works, or I just get used to pounding ibuprofen before and after every training ride or race. Given the cost of this newfangled fit, I count my pennies (on my puny salary) until I can finally afford it. Excitedly, I make an appointment with Elliot Doyle at Concept Cyclery in Morgan Hill. I give him both my extensive injury and athletic palmares over the phone. I’m not sure what to expect. Part of me wondered if I’d be putting on a catsuit with ping pong balls attached to all my joints. Will the fit involve interpretive dance and/or electric shock? Should I bring the Glee soundtrack to assist?
Turns out, these fears were far from necessary (I was bit disappointed about the cat suit though). On arrival, I’m ushered into a clean white space with a Computrainer, two small digital video cameras, and a flat screen TV to die for. Elliot first records me riding in my current position. Then I’m off the bike and out comes the measuring tape, some kind of angle measurement thingy, followed by lots flexibility tests. Then I’m back on the bike and here come all the adjustments. At the end of three hours, I had a completely different riding position and a new set of uber-cool Keo pedals. Best of all, I was able to see and feel in real time the profound difference between my original riding position and the new riding position. Elliot suspects both my power and comfort will increase given all he’s done. (He even offered to make the cat suit for me next time so at least I’d feel like I had entered the 21st century with my bike fit.)
But no fit is an island and can’t be judged by just riding on a trainer. The day I hit the road, I was totally blown away. Back pain? Buh-bye. Knee pain? Reduced from searing to a dull twinge. Even my pedaling felt smoother. What used to feel like power sputters were replaced with actual power surges. It’s a good day when you can’t blame your chronic pain for your lack of fitness. All I really felt was my lack of fitness. Darn. Time to git to work!
I can’t recommend Elliot enough. This man knows his stuff and keeps you totally informed about the whys and wherefores of his adjustments. So go. I can say confidently that this old broad loves her new fit.
categories: General
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