Importance of Getting Your Bike Fitted

Hi friends!

First of all, wishing all the luck to everyone running the Boston Marathon this morning. I hope you have a memorable and successful day out on one of the best marathon courses in the world! I will be cheering!

I had a great weekend – we have one of our biggest work events of the year that saw me up at 4 am on Sunday morning to get in my long run, but I managed to take Saturday off to get in my long ride in the sunshine!

I rode about 90 KM, alternating my heart rate zones for a bit of tempo training. Mid-ride, I stopped by my parent’s house to grab a snack and my mother happened to be there and fed me her home made bread.

I spent some time talking to her in the sunshine before heading out.

This was my first outdoor long ride since getting my bike professionally fitted and it was incredible the difference that it made. I had it fitted when I bought it and tuned up at a local bike shop, but nothing compares to getting it professionally done.

Whenever I buy a new bike, I get an initial fit with the bike shop and book in with Dave Galloway as soon afterwards as possible. I find that bike shops will often fit “good enough” but don’t necessarily go to the detail that Dave offers.

But I still haven’t the addressed the point of WHY get properly fitted?

Comfort of ride.

I noticed with my preliminary bike fit that my left hand would go numb on longer rides, my seat was sore and my lower back would get sore from the reach to the handle bars. When you do miles and miles of riding, these small things add up over time and it is important to remove all distractions so all you need to focus on is riding fast! Since my fit, all of these issues have disappeared.

Lower chance of injuries

When you have an incorrect position on the bike, it puts unnecessary pressure on your knees and back, and when you pedal, it will cause you to recruit the wrong muscles, causing injury which is especially concerning to multi-sport and runner athletes who need to be 100% healthy for the additional pavement pounding that follows.

What does a bike fit entail?

Take your bike with you and wear a pair of cycling shorts. Dave will film you on your bike and using a special program, determine the angle you are riding against the angle that you should be for optimal performance.

Then, we get to work adjusting the bike and getting on and off the bike to ensure it is perfect.

Once he has it perfect, you leave with a smoother, faster and more comfortable ride. I highly recommend getting your bike fitted by a professional – I mentioned to him while he was working on my bike this time that I would rather buy a cheaper frame and have it professionally fitted than ride an expensive bike with the wrong fit. It really makes that much of a difference.

If you are interested in getting your bike fitted by Dave, send me a message and I can share his information.