Bike Fitting 101

After months of fiddling with my bike, and staring at various bike fitting videos on YouTube, with little success, I finally caved and made an appointment with the local bike fitting guru to get my bike "professionally fitted”.
Let me just tell you, if you asked me which was easier, getting a bike fitted correctly or finding the perfect pair of jeans that make my butt look compact and my thighs slim, finding the jeans would certainly take the cake. Who knew that fitting a bike could be so technical! Apparently, many people are well aware of this fact.

My orthopedist recommended that I visit T3, a triathlon store here in Indy. (http://www.fittechbylamere.com) Vern LaMere is the go-to guy there. I think Dr. Kollias’s exact words were, “Vern works with a lot of the elite amateur tri guys. I am not sure how many women he fits, but he should do a good job for you.” One thing I’ve learned this far in my “athletic career” is that I have no time or patience for sexism. As a result, when someone recommends a specialist or doctor to me, the first thing I ask is, “Will he or she treat me with the same candor and respect as they would a male 33 year old guy.” If the answer is yes, then I’ll take the time, if there is a pause or a wrinkle in their forehead, then I know it’s a no. I’ll admit, I often walk into a new establishment or doctor’s office with a fairly decent chip on my shoulder. “Don’t you talk down to me just because I am a woman. I will be treated just as you would treat a male patient/customer or I will take my business elsewhere.”

Happily, Vern turned out to be a fantastic guy. He spent 2 and a half hours with me, doing a insane amount of measuring, videotaping and adjusting on my bike. I am saddened to say, that all of the adjustments I personally made to my bike were dead wrong. I moved my seat forward, it needed to be moved back, and not just a little bit, but 4 INCHES! I raised my seat; it needed to be lowered. Vern was pretty nice about it. He said, “You know it is just tricky to try and fit yourself to your own bike because you are looking down on everything.” I appreciated the comment, but I also realize I’ve got so much to learn. So what? We've all got to start somewhere. I'm learning. Everyone starts somewhere right?

I enjoyed chatting with Vern as he viewed the video and made different adjustments. He grew up in Wisconsin. We talked about how much we both like that state, Summer Fest in Milwaukee, how nice people are in Wisconsin, etc. He asked me several questions to find out what kind of rider I was. When I told him I planned on doing a few triathlons this summer, he suggested a particular pair of tri shoes to shorten my transition times. I laughed, needing to explain myself, “I am never going to be someone who is out there competing to place within my age group. I am just out there to have a good time.” He actually looked surprised. Do I look like I could possibly place? I don’t know, but I loved him for thinking I could or that I wanted to.

The thing is, as a woman out there, I want to be taken seriously, but at the same time, I am not out there to kick anyone's butt but my own. I am out there for the experience, for the sense of empowerment I feel, not for time or a medal. I appreciated all of his questions and the fact that my answers were accepted at face value. I didn’t feel pressured at all. He explained to me that he fits the bike to the person’s preferences. My preferences quickly became apparent. I am looking to stay within a certain price point and I want to be comfortable. Meaning, I do not want to be in any pain and make it cheap!

Cheap it was not. I walked out of there with new pedals, new shoes for the new pedals, a new seat post and, oh yeah, a bike that fits correctly. I am not a big spender, and I specifically choke on big ticket items. So, I tried to not to collapse into a total panic attack when I paid the bill. But as my sister later reminded me, “Kate, you are supporting the economy. Someone has to spend money and you just spent money at this guy’s shop, and he’s a good guy.” And it’s true. I want to ride, my bike feels good, my shoes feel good, and Vern is a cool dude. So, I guess that would qualify as money well spent.



There are my new Speedplay pedals. Vern suggested these after I told him how I get worried about getting stuck in my pedals. During one of the Hilly rides I was climbing the biggest hill, Mount Tabor, and passing people because I don't have smaller gears and therefore need to muscle it up hills. As I was pushing past several groups of riders on their left, a pick-up truck flew up and over the crest of the hill. I had no where to go to get over. I tried to clip out but my legs were dead and the hill was so steep that there was no cruising, stopped meant falling over, falling meant taking down several riders or getting hit by the truck, all of this in about 2 seconds. I did manage to pull my foot out of the clips and stopped fairly safely, but it freaked me out. So, these pedals are easy in and easy clip out. Plus, they've got lots of float in them so it feels great on the knees.


The shoes. I have to say, I love the purple trim on these! I wore my brother-in-law's old Shimano road shoes for years. They were of course too big and thus caused some problems. It was certainly time for a pair of shoes that actually fit!


So this is the cleat that clips you in. Cool huh? What can I say, I am my father's daughter. He LOVES gear. I do too.