Comfort Is The Key

A bike fit process should always be about performance.  Now some of you might baulk at this idea dismissing it as something that’s only for a professional cyclist, well we disagree.  Whether you are competing at the highest level of competitive cycling or you’re getting in to cycling for the first time then bike fit is for you.  Cycling performance is about ensuring that your body and your bicycle are working together to give you the best opportunity to perform the cycling activity relevant to you.

Comfort is the key to any successful bike fit and injuries come from being uncomfortable.

The bicycle is symmetrical by design and our bodies are certainly not.  Understanding the asymmetries of the riders body will drive the best fit outcome.  If a rider presents with a leg length discrepancy (one Tibia or Femur is different in length to the other ) then we might consider adjusting equipment to help eliminate cycling related injuries such as chronic saddles sores or chronic lumbar pain.

We generally see a higher incidence of cycling related injuries to newer riders.  Many new riders ( we’ve all been there ) become very motivated and rapidly increase intensity and time on the bike in a short period of time and are susceptible to injury as a result of not really knowing what is acceptable pain from effort versus pain from an ill-fitting bicycle. Cycling is meant to hurt right…?

Riding your bicycle should be a comfortable experience, whether you are racing or commuting to work (or doing both ). When it comes to having a performance bike fit based around maximising power, efficiency, control and comfort there is no difference in process to an experienced rider or a new rider, what's different is the desired outcome.  Having spent time in wind tunnels working with the some of the fastest riders in the world has taught us one thing; even they will take the comfort gained from a higher position rather than a lower position as both positions produced the same aerodynamic value.  Comfort is the key to any successful bike fit and injuries come from being uncomfortable.

Are you looking for a performance fit or a comfort fit or do you in fact need both regardless of your cycling goals?