2014-Oct-28: Post Melaka Century 150km ride review from my customer. He's 57 years old and such an impressive achievement..!!
2014-Oct-6: Customer did his first and longest 200km ride few days after bike fitting..!! He was having a painful right foot before with 80-90km rides. We switched out his saddle as the old one was too narrow and he was rocking side to side. We did some cleat rotation adjustments and worked on his pedalling technique and problem solved:
All the way from Seremban came a live-to-ride, ride-to-live seasoned rider who was previously capable of 200-250km per week until knee pain started 6 months back. After some discussion and measurements, we suspected foot-tilt-angle (FTA) was the main culprit which was silently destroying his knee as he was riding with a self-compensating knee position to achieve comfort and this eventually turned into a habit. We installed some wedges and spacers to straighten up his knee-to-pedal alignment. Following 3 weeks of riding he's pretty much back into his old form and knee pains are gone:
Customer who came for bike fit due to minor discomfort, however he gained more than just comfort after being taught proper weight distribution technique:
Arm and neck discomforts are commonly caused wrongly sized handlebar. Wider doesn't mean more stable, as the following is a case where i installed a narrower bar for a lady customer and she end up having better control of her bike:
Pedalling efficiency is the key to enjoy road biking:
Here's a junior 14yrs old cyclist who is just starting out and have a bike sized too big for him, suffering from backaches, arm soreness and muscle strain. We swapped out and dropped in a straight seat post to correct his leg angles, then reduced reach of stem, and finally worked on pedalling technique as well:
Contact: 012-232-4868 Chuah (Watsapp/SMS or call) .
Google/Waze Location: Jalan Hujan Bukit
Located in: Taman OUG, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (nearby Bukit Jalil & Sri Petaling)
Thanks very much. Ride safe and have fun..!!
From my experience in bike fitting, till date most issues related to arms and shoulders are directly affected by handlebar width. The effect is so great that 20mm width difference (basically 1-size up-or-down) can throw off a properly fitted posture, the strain on upper body and arms will not go away regardless how well a posture is fitted.
When a customer comes in, I would measure shoulder and handlebar widths first. If the handlebar width is not suitable for the rider, this information will be used as baseline to analyse customer’s feedback on discomfort for upper torso and arms for the rest of bike fitting session.
It is the bike fitter’s duty to inform customer on a suitable handlebar width, regardless whether the handlebar is to be supplied by bike fitter or sourced separately by customer.
NOW, here comes the confusing part for the customer. Time to pay great ATTENTION.
If your bike fitter says you’ll be fine with a 40cm handlebar, most probably you’ll end up NOT fine if you buy a handlebar on your own. Why? Main reason is different manufacturers designate handlebar widths differently.
It is important that we measure handlebar width based on ACTUAL DISTANCE between center-to-center (C-C) of the brake hoods. However, most manufacturers do not specify handlebar widths this way. Some do, but not all.
Here are a few examples: (samples from 2013-era)
Brand Model Marking Actual
Zipp Service Course SL 40cm 40cm
3T Ergonova 40cm 38cm
3T Rotundo 40cm 40cm
FSA K-Wing Compact 40cm 39cm
If you noticed, even 3T has different width designation for different models.
So what’s the safest way to protect your wallet when buying a handlebar?
Step 1: Do not guess. Bring a tape measure.
Step 2: Always refer to brake hoods center-to-center measurement.
Step 3: Buy from a local shop so you can measure it on the spot.
Step 4: Don’t be blinded by good deals. If the shop does not have the size you need, do NOT be tempted by handlebars of next size up/down. The handlebar goes onto your bike should be of correct width as recommended by bike fitter. If you’re in doubt, double check with bike fitter, make sure you get the right info from him/her.
*Disclaimer: I use brake hoods C-C as most riders spend most of their time there, if you're a drop rider, then measurement might take a different approach. I’m open to suggestions and opinions, but will not debate on this in comments section. However, contents of this article will be updated when reasonable suggestions are being put forward by readers.
Contact: 012-232-4868 Chuah (Watsapp/SMS or call) .
Google/Waze Location: Jalan Hujan Bukit
Located in: Taman OUG, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (nearby Bukit Jalil & Sri Petaling)
Thanks very much. Ride safe and have fun..!!
Pricelist (click on photo to zoom in)
What to prepare before bike fit session:
1. Do not cycle or workout heavily 1-2 days before bike fitting. Muscles need to be fresh.
2. Bring bicycle, cycling shoes and pants, towel, gloves and water bottle.
4. Sense of humour and calm nerves are a must, need patience to get the perfect fit.
5. Bring along your favourite music, coffee mug, etc, you get the idea, right?
6. Try not to schedule on a busy day as the session might take longer than it should.
Step-by-step process of LRC Bike Fitting session:
- Review on customer's current dissatisfaction with their riding experience.
- Record current bicycle dimensions.
- Measure foot-tilt-angle (FTA), leg-length-difference (LLD), shoulder widths, etc.
- Install sloping wedges and/or shims to shoes to compensate FTA and LLD.
- Customer warms up on trainer.
- Power output observed using power wattage meter linked to trainer.
- Explanation on proper road biking posture and pedal stroke method.
- Riding habits and posture observed and corrected if improper.
- Adjustments made to main contact points.
- Knee alignment measured with laser guides.
- Customer continues to ride and communicate on difficulties, discomfort, numbness, pain, etc.
- Further adjustments made until customer is satisfied with improvement.
- Bike dimensions are recorded and compared to initial figures.
- Recommendations are recorded and informed to customer.
What happens after LRC Bike Fitting session?
- Customer to cycle as per regular basis.
- Feedback to LRC-Chuah on any immediate pain/discomfort.
- 1-4 rides: Body taking in new muscle memory. Improvement might not be obvious.
- 5-8 rides: New (better) muscle memory set in and rider will gain improvement.
- Free follow-up update fitting within 3-months when rider improved and feels the current fit is outdated, e.g. cockpit feels cramp, saddle feels low.
Google/Waze Location: Jalan Hujan Bukit
Located in: Taman OUG, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (nearby Bukit Jalil & Sri Petaling)
Thanks very much. Ride safe and have fun..!!
