Bike Fit Feedback

Back in December I had a bike fit with Scott at Fit My Bike near Hinckley where the outcome resulted in the need for me to make some amendments to my bike. After doing those, the plan was to follow up my original post with a real life report on how I found the new position but the incessant bad weather after Christmas and New Year delayed that somewhat but I’m happy to report I’ve done enough riding on it now including two gravel events. So, I think I’m in a position to finally report back and offer my honest feedback.

The Adjustments

I’ll cut straight to the chase on these. No need to rehash why I had a bike fit or go into detail etc, you can read all that in the original post. Lets get straight into what I changed and how I found it.

The bike I was fitted on was my Dolan GXA which is my go to Gravel Bike in the winter months as I usually pop road tyres and guards on my Dolan GXC to make it a winter road bike. The major takeaways from my fit were narrower bars (42cm to 40cm), a shorter stem (100m to 80mm), move the saddle back a touch and lower the bars a touch too. Nothing too extreme other than the stem but I’ll get into that shortly.

I ordered and fitted the parts over Christmas and then the bike just sat in the house for a few weeks while the weather never seemed to improve but eventually I did get out.

Ride then Compare

My plan to test the new position was three-fold.

1. Ride it normally on my local roads and trails
2. Ride it in an event
3. Go back to my original position on my Dolan GXC and see what the difference feels like

I finally got out on it for the first-time in early February. A quick spin on a tried and tested hour long route which is a mix of mainly roads but some towpath too up the Tardebigge Flight.

When you’ve ridden the same position for so long, any change is always going to feel different the first time you ride it. I just needed to trust the fit and go with it. And I did. There isn’t much an hours ride is going to tell you unless something is seriously wrong. The ride was comfortable. My hands were definitely sitting on the bars differently due to the shorter stem but everything else felt fine. I wasn’t expecting a stark change in feel or handling, it’s all subtle. Only time riding it then flicking back to my original position would be the way to convince myself it works.

My next ride was a 90 min ride to one of our branches and back. Again mainly roads with a fast section of towpath where I could open the taps a bit. It was pretty sloppy too so I was able to see how the handling was. It was this ride when I think I went past that point of not feeling the changes anymore, it just felt normal. I was also able to work out how the shorter stem has changed my hand position. On the 100mm stem, the heel of my hand would rest on the bend which, after a long ride, could get numb and sore. Something I had highlighted to Scott in my pre-fit questionnaire. The 80mm stem has brought the hoods much closer now. Weirdly I still pull my hands away from them a touch but my palm now rests across the bar with my fingers lightly touching the hoods ready to react if I need to brake. A much more natural position. I feel like I’m fidgeting less too.

The first real test was the Alpkit Sonder Winter Series gravel event I’d entered last month. Only 50km but stacked with 1200m+ of climbing around Betws-y-Coed. Another issue I’d mentioned to Scott were my hip flexors on longer rides around 3hrs+. After extended periods in the saddle they’d become sore and a bit weak, particularly my right one. The event was much harder than I expected with some brutally long climbs and a tough hike-a-bike section up what seemed like a mountain but I finished and I have to say, absolutely zero niggles anywhere. Just the standard tired legs. Even my back was ok despite carrying my bike for so long.

It was the same last Saturday too at The Spring Fling Gravelton Event. I rode that and finished again without any issues. No sore back, no tinges of cramp anywhere. Just tired like I’d expect to be.

So from all those hours riding, I’m comfortable my new position is definitely better than what it was

So all I needed to do now was ride my GXC in my old position, which I did yesterday. A repeat of the 90 min ride to one of our branches and back. Well as I sit here writing this, my back below my shoulder blades is aching a bit and on the ride I definitely felt stretched on my 100mm stem with tension noticeable under my arms. The wider bars weren’t really an issue width wise but may have contributed to feeling ‘stretched’.

Conclusion

You can probably guess where I’m going from this. If you read my original post, you’ll know I was a bit of a bike fit skeptic and having had a fit now, made the changes and tested it, I’m pleased to say I’m really glad I got the opportunity to do it. Apart from my stem, I think the changes have been quite subtle and haven’t made any massive jumps in feel too but they’ve definitely been effective. That has been pretty subtle too but then going back and riding my original position, thats when you know where the differences are. I’m glad I did that because it reinforced and confirmed what I thought.

We cyclists spend so, so much money on our beloved sport, hobby or pastime. Whatever you choose to call it. Being comfortable on a bike is probably the most important thing to get right before anything else. Forget frames, wheels and components, they’re secondary so I would say, if you want a good return for your hard earned money. Think about getting a bike fit.

I’m a convert.

For an exclusive 5% OFF a Bike Fit with Scott at Fit My Bike use the code GRAVELTON5OFF via the button below