TT Bike fitting...worth the money?

El Director · 12-02-2010 11:48AM #1

hey guys, never had a proper bike fitting for my tri bike i hear it can be of benefit, what your opinion? it costs in and around 90 euro so....is it worth it??

Thanks.

pgibbo · 12-02-2010 02:45PM

I know a few people that have had it done. Mixed responses from them to be honest. Some swear by it and some reverted to their original setup. The one thing they did all say is that if you know a good bike shop then the setup they do for you when you buy the bike will be pretty damn good.

I guess it depends on who set your bike up in the first place. If it was someone with a good insight into these things then you might be alright. Otherwise I would say it would be 90 well spent. I think you'll have to be patient if you do change and get used to the new position.

What are your bike splits like already? What sort of gains would you like to get from a fit to justify your 90?

El Director · 12-02-2010 02:59PM

thanks p,

the guys i bought it off are great lads but more into their cycling as opposed to triathlon, they admit that they are 100% sure and that i will just have to do some trail and error, which is fine-race season still off a bit.

Well last year i was averaging 37 min for 20k and 1 hr 16 min for 40k, that was on my road bike, so room for improvement i'd say, im training much harder and smarter this year too.

Izoard · 12-02-2010 03:08PM

I was talking to a guy in the cyclesuperstore and they said just swing by with the bike and they would take a look at any obvious issues. If you want the full monty, then they would go ahead with the BikeFit.

El Director · 12-02-2010 03:16PM

really? that sounds perfect. do they do tri bike fittings?

Izoard · 12-02-2010 03:19PM

Yes, they do TT fittings.
I haven't followed up with them, but if you have something specific you want to ask them, no harm in swinging up with the bike at a quiet time and seeing if they will help out.

You'll probably end up dropping cash on other bike p0rn anyways...

El Director · 12-02-2010 03:23PM

lol, mmm thats what i'll do, on mid term next week so i will call out to them on monday just to see! thanks.

yop · 12-02-2010 04:10PM

What would the difference be between a tri-fit and an "ordinary" fit?

El Director · 12-02-2010 04:31PM

im no expert for sure but i'd imagine it has to do with two things...

1. the geometry of a TT bike is different to that of a road bike and

2. when using the TT bike for tri you have to run after the cycle so
cleat position may be important so as not to give you cramps in your
cavles.

Again, no expert, maybe someone else here will have a better ans to your question.

yop · 12-02-2010 04:37PM

Thanks for that, was just curious.

Thinking about the cramping on the bike, I suspect that my bike not might 100% as I suffered badly on the last 2 events I did where there was running then onto the bike.

I suspect maybe my seat has dropped a little, might have to go back to Mr Marrey in Ballinrobe to get me sorted.

Thanks for that

El Director · 15-02-2010 12:09PM

Decided to go for it. Chatted to the lads in wheelworx and once I was told that they'd make me go faster or money back I thought i've nothing to lose then. Also decided to get proper fit for my road bike-that was done at half price. Got it all done this morn and I already feel faster on my TT bike and way more comfortable on my roadie. Thanks for the input guys.

dare2be · 15-02-2010 01:40PM

2. when using the TT bike for tri you have to run after the cycle so
cleat position may be important so as not to give you cramps in your
cavles.

Could you explain (or someone else) as i suffered badly with this yesterday and hence poor 2nd run leg time

Thanks

El Director · 15-02-2010 03:04PM

Was yesterday your first duathlon by the way? That happened me on my first too but it never happened after and i didn't really change anything.

Anyway to the best of my knowledge, the proper set up on your TT bike will help you in the transition from bike to run. I found out this morning that instead of changing the position of my cleats the best thing to do was raise my saddle and push it forward a touch. This will engage the muscles in the front part of my legs (quads and muscles around my knees) as opposed to my hamstrings and calves, which will still be worked but not as much. This should make me faster on the bike and fresher going into the run (fingers crossed!)

Again i am no expert, im learning as i go, i only started tri's last May, so maybe others out there could help you more.

dare2be · 15-02-2010 03:20PM

El Director wrote: »

Was yesterday your first duathlon by the way? That happened me on my first too but it never happened after and i didn't really change anything.

Anyway to the best of my knowledge, the proper set up on your TT bike will help you in the transition from bike to run. I found out this morning that instead of changing the position of my cleats the best thing to do was raise my saddle and push it forward a touch. This will engage the muscles in the front part of my legs (quads and muscles around my knees) as opposed to my hamstrings and calves, which will still be worked but not as much. This should make me faster on the bike and fresher going into the run (fingers crossed!)

Again i am no expert, im learning as i go, i only started tri's last May, so maybe others out there could help you more.

It was my 3rd but 1st on a new bike. Picked the bike up on Saturday morning and took it for a quick 10miler before the duathlon yesterday. Adjusted the saddle slightly up and down to suit but didn't take it forward. I'll have a look somewhere for the correct riding position for a reference. I felt my calves were doing all the work instead of my knees and quads as you suggest.

Thanks for the response

sliksurfer · 21-02-2010 02:40PM

I hear cycle superstore are good but apparently the best are a company called Retul. They have places in UK not sure about Ireland tho...

tunney · 21-02-2010 04:32PM

sliksurfer wrote: »

I hear cycle superstore are good but apparently the best are a company called Retul. They have places in UK not sure about Ireland tho...

Retul are a fitting tool. what you want is a fitting technique. Google FIST and then look up the one trainer FIST fitter in Ireland.

TT Bike fitting...worth the money?

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