If I Had 500 Dollars ...

If I had a spare 500 dollars, you would think that I would get my rusty Prius's hood repainted, wouldn't you?

You'd be wrong.  I would spend $500 getting my bike professionally fitted. And that's just what I did!

What is a bike fitting, and why is it worth every penny of $500?  I'm glad you asked.  Some years ago Dr. Andy Pruitt began standardizing some of the ideal measurements and angles for a rider's optimal position on a bike.  His work is now part of the Specialized BG Fit system.  My old Schwinn Stingray with a banana seat had one position -- seat low & ape bars as high as they go.  A good road or tri bike these days has a lot more variables -- stem length & angle, seatpost length and position, handlebar width, crank arm length, footbed, cleat position, and for tri bikes, armrest position, aerobar length, angle, and position, and so on. 

Here is a clandestine photograph that I snapped with my Iphone of the fitting and the professional fitter (Clovis Anderson at Freshbikes Arlington).  This place is equal parts Dr. Frankenstein's office, snobby bike shop, SEAL command center, and espresso shop.

Clovis (a former professional racer and Dr. Pruitt-trained BG Bike Fitter) places your bike on a trainer where two cameras (one front and one side) record your movement on the bike.  A big TV screen in front of the bike shows you the front and side view of yourself riding.  (Who knew my gut hangs so low when I ride?  That knowledge was worth at least $5 of the $500.)  Clovis takes a bunch of measurements, including flexibility, leg & arm length, leg angles, and so on, then starts making adjustments to your bike.  Once the adjustments are made, the cameras record you in your new position, and you analyze old vs. new on the TV screen.  When you get everything dialed in correctly, and after a few follow-up visits, Clovis emails you the videos and measurements for future reference.

Here are some of the details of the report that Clovis generated:

To be clear, a road bike fitting only costs $150, and a tri bike fitting costs $200.  But in my case, a number of adjustments were necessary:  shorter, less angled stem ($65) + footbed with longer arch ($60) + longer crankarms ($175) = $500.  I would hate to advertise a $150-200 fitting to my millions and millions of blog readers without disclosing the likely cost of necessary upgrades.

I can hear it already.  "Bike fittings are for the free-trade mocha-latte swillers who ride Pinarellos and belong to yacht clubs."  Yes, that's 99% true.  But on behalf of the 1%, I must admit that since my fitting, my rides on the tri bike have improved in 1) power generation, 2) back condition, and 3) speed.  These are not minor factors in long-distance triathlons. 

So the Prius hood (and my yacht club membership) will have to wait another year.