Many independent bike shop owners have contemplated offering bike fitting to their customers. As they ponder the value to their clientele, the common decider is usually based around the investment of time and money in training and equipment. If a bike shop has never offered a service like bike fitting, it’s a little scary wondering if these new services will translate into more customers or higher profit margins. As a company that has engineered a complete line of fit tools and fit bikes, Purely Custom is quite aware to the possibilities of bike fitting, but that’s because we’ve done our homework, we’ve listened to cyclists and fitting professionals and we’re simply producing a product that we believe is beneficial to all levels of cyclists. So with that being said, and admitting we may be a little partial, I wanted to hear from someone straight out of the bike shop and get their insights on bike fitting. We talked with Steve Price, manager of Cycle Therapy in Twin Falls, Idaho who just recently became a certified bike fitter. It’s always beneficial to hear someone else’s journey and look for correlations to one’s own path.
Steve’s Background
Steve Price got bit by the bike bug back when he was in college, that’s a fun bunch of words to say all together. Steve’s roommate had a pretty nice mountain bike and after taking it for a spin, Steve was introduced to the reality that not all bikes are created equal, and he was hooked. It wasn’t long before Steve was racing mountain bikes and riding all that he could. In 2012, Steve became the National Champion in Cross-Country Mountain Biking, and after being recently introduced to Cyclocross, made a few podium visits in the Pro Open and now holds the State Champion position in his age group. Through the bicycling community he met Bob Seastrom whose offer of settling down into a consistent bike shop job just happened to coincide with another request. Now that Steve was all reigned in, he’s been the bike shop manager for the past three years.
Bike Fitting Reality
Before Steve started training as a bike fitter, his interest was piqued through his own experience of being fit for a bike. According to Steve, “Once I got fit and felt the difference, it had my interest.” As a serious rider, Steve immediately wanted to know the science behind bike fitting. Through the need for another trained fitter in the bike shop, Steve would soon be on his way to get certified through a week long class at Cyclologic in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Class
Having a considerable amount of bike shop experience with the basic fitting of people to bikes, Steve entered the advanced class at Cyclologic for his bike fitting certification. This week long class was intense with eleven hour days, a lot of information and a lot of instruction on anatomy. Steve tells me there is so much information that it doesn’t seem possible to use it all, but certain things jump out like how to open up the breathing and create more power in a proper position. It’s not all about measurements; sometimes it’s just recognizing obvious bad habits or trying out scientifically proven angles that help with efficiency. It is important to know how the body works and translating each person’s unique body type to the most efficient riding position.
Applying What You Learn
Getting fit properly was a good experience for Steve encouraging him to want to learn more, so I was interested to hear what experiences he’s had while fitting others. Steve believes a proper bike fitting has a place everywhere and everyone should be sized in some form and there’s a really good moment when you start gearing them toward the proper parameters and the “light” goes on in their expression as they feel better and start generating more power.
He had one rider that was sitting so far back on his saddle that he wasn’t utilizing all the proper muscle groups. In the new position, this cyclist kept saying it felt weird and was causing muscle soreness. This was a good learning experience for Steve because sometimes you will be forcing a rider out of bad position they have been using for years and it is important to have them stick with the new position and check for positive results. In this case the rider was now using new muscles and of course there was some initial soreness.
The Business of Bike Fitting
Bringing customers in for a bike fitting is different based on the demographics of your community. In some towns you could tell them they would be faster on their bikes and the fit would cost $500 and they wouldn’t blink at the cost; smaller towns like Twin Falls would question the value at $100. This is a realistic concern for people entering the bike fitting arena, especially if you’re not planning on doing anything to develop your cycling community. It’s all part of bringing awareness to the process and the results. Steve compares it to biking apparel when you tell someone that padded shorts make a difference. Until they are willing to try it and see the benefits, they will remain convinced the shorts they’re wearing are just fine, regardless of the discomfort in the saddle. Offering the service of bike fitting to your customers offers them a personal service that cannot be replicated anywhere and especially not on-line. A customer that has been fit properly enjoys cycling more, returns to the store for service and upgrades to their bike and best of all, usually becomes an advocate for your shop. Competitive riders looking for more power claim results all from being in the right position. This is a real service you’re offering to your customers.
Bike Fitting Tools
Every fit is different and so the level of fit may determine the tools you need. Some fitters conduct a fit with the X/Y Tool, a plumb bob and a goniometer. Cycle Therapy has a Purely Custom Fit Bike Pro 1 in their fit studio, so I asked Steve how important it was to have this fit bike. He told me that for everyone, time is everything, and by using the Fit Bike Pro 1, they can get to the measurements they need quickly and accurately. People want results and they want them quickly. He’s even had clients that needed to leave and he was able to take the measurements from the bike after they left. A fit bike is also impressive developed to the specifications of the top bike fitters in the world and shows your clients you are serious about bike fitting. So if you’re interested in being fit for your bike ask your local bike shop if they offer this service and if you’re looking at getting into bike fitting, just remember, Purely Custom offers a complete line of fitting tools that go hand in hand with your bike fitting education to give all your customers accurate results.
