Bike Fitting Studios

There are a number of bike fit studios around the world. My little corner of the bike fitting world is by far the worst mess you've ever seen. Other bike fitting studios have nice hardwood floors, spotless desks, organized tools and coffee machines. They give the impression that it's a professional office where professional services are offered. Mine on the other hand looks like a 5 year old just had a temper tantrum, bike parts everywhere, tools randomly thrown in boxes, dirty carpets...

   I'm going to argue that my set-up is better. I will also concede that I'm a slob and I need to work on my organization, but that's a subject for a different day. A professional looking bike fit studio will have a selection of stems and bars in different sizes, it will have a number of saddles on the wall, and it will have a bunch of computerized devices to aid with fitting. Here's the problem - people need bike fitting because they have some parameter outside of the normal range. See the problem?  Over the years I have done fittings for people who are way off the center of the bell curve, and I've come up with a number of solutions to their problems. Those solutions involve parts that don't work for most. What looks like a pile of junk to most is, in the right hands, a solution to problems most "professional" fit studios can't touch.

   Bike fitting is problem solving. It's not tidy, it's not multiple choice. The bike industry doesn't understand that in the least.  Getting a bike fit correct often involves thinking outside the box.  I can't tell you how many times I've used my machine shop to make parts that just weren't available elsewhere. My machine shop is also a mess, in case you were wondering...

   So, the next time you see a picture of a professional bike fit studio with the nice sofa in the lobby and the giant bike fitting device in the center of a glass room, think of the plywood bear at the entrance of an amusement park ride that says "you have to be at least this tall...", only the studio is saying "you need to be in the center of the bell curve for this to work".