Great Fit Expectations: Perspectives of the Cyclist and Bike Fitter

Many bike fits are a wonderful experience for both the bike fitter and the cyclist. The two are brought together by a shared love of cycling and a desire for an enhanced riding experience. There is much that can be found in common, and a bike fit can not only be helpful for the rider, but fun, informative, educational, and motivational at the same time. It’s also a professional service that the cyclist is paying the fitter for, and as such has expectations of what that experience will be like, and what will result from it. The bike fitter also has expectations as to what can reasonably be achieved, and what the cyclist can do to help with that. In most cases there is reasonable alignment of expectations, resulting in a positive experience during the fit, and a noticeable benefit as a result of the fit.

But sometimes things don’t work out that way, and expectations are not met. This is more likely due to the attitude and actions of the bike fitter rather than the rider, although both have a role to play. Hence I thought I’d explore this from the perspective of both parties, to help promote a more productive relationship between the client and the bike fitter.

The Cyclist’s Expectation of the Bike Fitter

Communication and Relationship Skills

• Active listening: Be a good listener, ask relevant questions, clarify and validate what are reasonable and unreasonable sensations on a bike; and accept the rider’s experiences as being real for them.
• Respectful and non-judgemental: Be accepting, respectful, and non-judgemental of the rider, regardless of gender; age; gender identity; physical condition; choice of bike; brand and model of bike; choice of riding attire; ability level, and riding intentions.
• Validate and Empathy: Relate to the rider’s experiences and aspirations and be empathetic, understanding, and encouraging.
• Avoid Blaming: Do not disparage or blame the rider or their equipment for being “at fault”.  This is seen as demeaning and unprofessional by the rider.
• Establish reasonable objectives and expectations: Clarify and confirm what the objectives of the session are, what can reasonably be achieved during the fit session, what might require follow-up visits, additional expenditure, or what might require referring to another specialty service provider – for bike or body work. Bike fitters: this is an ongoing conversation before, during, and after the fit.

Fitting Skills

Demonstrate capable fitting skills. There are a plethora of skills that go into being an excellent bike fitter, but in this context I mean the following:

• The ability to assess the rider off and on the bike
• Present findings from observations and data to explain recommendations for changes in position and/ or equipment choices
• Take the rider through a process to evaluate the recommendations and implement those, with a focus on their bike fit objectives.

Mechanical Skills

Most bike fitters will make equipment changes or adjustments to equipment on the bike as part of the fit. This requires understanding

• Component compatibility and options
• Changing equipment
• Torquing bolts
• Adjusting saddle position
• Adjusting handlebar and hood positions
• Changing bars and stems
• Taping up handlebars
• Adjusting brake lever reach.

The cyclist expects this work to be performed competently and with the attention to detail needed to leave the bike safely operational, functional, and presentable. If there is mechanical work needed outside the scope of the fitting practice, that should be communicated clearly.

Next Steps

At the end of the bike fit session, the cyclist wants to know what’s next, other than riding their bike.  What if something feels unresolved, or worse? Are there any additional actions they need to take?  Is a bike fit report provided?

The Bike Fitter’s Expectations of the Cyclist

Be Prepared with All Your Cycling Equipment

• This includes your bike, riding attire, shoes, gloves, glasses, helmet, and hydration.
• If you (the cyclist) are a DIY bike fit tinker and have already been changing stems, saddles, shoes, cleats, or anything else, then bring in the parts.
• If you are on a tri bike, bring in any aerobar risers or parts needed for adjusting the front end that was provided with the bike.
• Don’t arrive for a fit appointment without your wheels, shoes, derailleur batteries, riding kit, or bike (amazingly, all of these have occurred).

Ensure Your Bike is Clean and Working

• You are paying for a bike fit, and this does not include bike repair or a bike tune-up. As a bike fitter, I spend way too much time pumping up tires, fixing flats, tightening headsets, lubing noisy chains, and adjusting shifting in order to be able to proceed with the fit.  That’s less time fitting. Check your bike is in working order before a fit session.
• If you are a mountain biker, clean the mud out of your cleats and thoroughly clean your bike.
• If you are a triathlete and the last time you used your bike was for an event, please decontaminate it of sweat, drink mix, gels, and any other bodily fluids or fueling spillages that are splattered over the bike.

Clearly Communicate Your Fit Expectations, Goals, and Priorities

Bike fitters are many things, but mind reading is not always one of them.  We are essentially an advisor/consultant here to help you improve your cycling experience, but you have to be able to tell us what that means for you.  Common themes include:

• Resolving specific discomforts or aches (feet, back, neck, hands, genitals, etc)
• General check-up and refinement: things seem good, but could they be better?
• Advice on future equipment purchases: shoes, saddle, bike
• Performance optimization: aerodynamics, peak power, all-day riding comfort, and economy.

Take Action on Recommendations

A bike fitter is not a solver of ALL problems, and some people think the bike fit will be the magic cure for all that ails them.  It will not be. There are often other significant factors impacting a rider’s outcome beyond what is provided by the bike fitter.

• There is the rider’s physical condition that in most cases could use improving through adding in strength training and/or mobility work
• Muscular/ fascia tension that could use release
• Potential orthopedic, spinal, or neurological issues at play or other undiagnosed medical conditions that may be the root cause of what is experienced on the bike.

For example, I had a cyclist presenting with persistent neck pain when on the bike.  No positional adjustments provided relief.  Having a large tumor diagnosed and removed from her neck did provide relief.  So a bike fit may be a stone you turn over to help eliminate possible causes, but it could be that something or someone else is needed, and it is not uncommon for a bike fitter to make recommendations for either things you can do for yourself, or a suggestion to see someone else.

The Bike Fit Outcomes

Some of these may be immediately apparent and known by the end of the fit session, and others may need riding time to evaluate and prove out. Communication between bike fitter and cyclist during and at the end of the session, as well as some time later is recommended to check in on the desired outcomes:

• Were questions answered and information gained?
• Were discomfort issues resolved?
• Was overall position and functioning improved?
• Is anything still outstanding that needs revisiting?

We dive deeper into outcomes and expectations in our main fitting page, “Everything You Need to Know About Bike Fitting.”

The Wrap

The cyclist has two takeaways from a fit session:

1. The experience of going through the bike fit
2. The on-bike results of the bike fit in subsequent riding

A bike fitter who may be strong in one or two but not all areas will create a dissatisfied client.  The bike fit outcome might be great, but if the cyclist was offended by the bike fitter’s communication or attitude during the process, they won’t return to the fitter, and neither will any of their friends or family.

If the bike fit experience was fabulous, but there was no noticeable benefit in subsequent riding, client expectations are also unmet.  They might think the bike fitter is a lovely person, but not the right person to affect a positive change in their cycling.

Respectful and considerate communication between both parties is the key to meeting expectations and the deployment of the relevant skills is needed to achieve satisfying outcomes. Feedback and comments indicating dissatisfaction are beneficial for identifying opportunities for improvement.

Notice that none of this article mentions the tools or technologies the bike fitter might use.  These are less important than building rapport and trust, following a process, being professional, communicating well, and respecting and honoring the cyclist for entrusting you, the fitter, with their concerns, frustrations, aches, pains, and ambitions. One of the best comments to hear at the end of a bike fit is either “I should have done this a long time ago”, or “this is exactly what I was hoping for”. Both are confirmations that expectations were met.