A Professional Bike Fitting Experience

A few weekends ago, Jordan and I drove up to Poultney, Vermont so I could get a professional bike fitting. A bike fitting is when a professional take a measurement of your body, observe you riding your bike, and then makes adjustments to ensure you have the bike set up properly for comfort (and in a racer’s case, maximum speed and power output). Ever since I got my gravel bike in May of 2018, my hands have gone numb on longer rides. I had tried everything to prevent this from happening, including trying all different types of gloves—pads, no pads, fingerless, and full-fingered— to no avail. I have always loved my bike and thought it was overall a comfortable bike to ride for a drop-bar bike, so I thought it would only need a few tweaks. The only things I had changed since getting the bike were the saddle, pedals, and the chainring.

I upgraded from the stock saddle to a women’s specific Ergon Sport Gel Saddle.  A women’s specific saddle is important due to women’s anatomy. Having the right saddle is key for comfort, especially during long rides!  Thankfully I haven’t had any issues with my saddle.

When I first got the bike, I waited about a year to upgrade to clipless pedals, the crankbrothers eggbeaters. Once I learned how to ride clipped in (there is a huge learning curve with lots of falls when learning how to ride clipped in), I stuck with these pedals due to the ease of clipping in and out and their ability to shed mud easily, as they are actually mountain bike pedals. However, I removed them briefly after ACL surgery and replaced them with the stock flat pedals until I was cleared by my surgeon to ride clipless. I switched them out again for the stock flat pedals about a month ago when I sprained my ankle. The bike fitter suggested that I continue riding with flat pedals since a growing movement suggests that clipless pedals lead to more injury and cause general discomfort during long-distance riding. I never had much discomfort aside from the occasional numb toes during long rides but had always been told that riding clipless is better for road and gravel riding, therefore I assumed that was the case. I had forgone my comfort to do what everyone said I should do—ride clipless.  After recently completing a very long ride with my new flat pedals, I think it’s safe to say I’ve switched to flat pedals on my gravel bike for good!

The only other modification I made to the bike since purchasing it was switching to a smaller chainring (wolftooth components 36 tooth chainring) to make it easier for me to climb up hills in an easier gear. Smaller chainring=easier climbing.

Fast forward to 2021, I decided I’d had enough of numb hands on my long rides, so I decided to investigate different bar options for gravel bikes. During my research, I came across Analog Cycles, a bike shop and website that had a lot of comprehensive info about bike fitting and ergonomics. Upon discovering that Analog is in Poultney, Vermont, I decided to make an appointment and drive the 90 minutes to rural Vermont to get my first professional bike fitting!

James asked me a few questions, took some measurements, observed me riding, and then made recommendations on how to improve my comfort on long rides, and to address my hand numbing issue. 

Improvements we made to the bike include:

• New, wider handlebars, the Ritchey Beacon, with a flare to offer more of a variety of hand positions for long rides. My previous handlebars were too narrow for my shoulders!
• A new stem (35-degree stem) to bring the handlebars further up so I’m not leaning so far forward and putting a lot of weight on my hands. This also prevents me from hunching over during climbs making it easier to breathe.
• Higher bars required longer brake hoses. I also got new brakes since my old ones were worn down after 3 years of riding.
• New bars also meant new bar tape. I chose Fizik Tempo Tape in the electric green color to match my bike, along with Fizik gel to give my bars some cushy comfort.
• New flat pedals, the Deity Deftrap in electric green to match, of course. These are mountain bike pedals that have spikes in them to help your shoes grip the pedal! I’ve been riding in flats like this for years on my mountain bike. 
• A new Velo Orange seat post, since my saddle was set way too far back on the rails for my current seat post which, according to James, may cause the rails to snap! That’s not something I’d ever even considered, so it was eye-opening. 
• A larger cassette, which provides more gears to make those steep gravel climbs easier. I enjoy riding gravel roads, which usually means a lot of intense elevation. It has been nice having those extra gears allowing a higher, more comfortable cadence on the steep climbs.

My bike feels like a completely new bike! Riding it has been a dream, the hand numbness has been resolved almost completely, and I’ve been able to climb more easily. To anyone out there considering a professional bike fitting—DO IT! It’s totally worth the money to make improvements on your bike to increase your comfort while riding, especially long-distance riding. Thank you to Analog Cycles in Vermont for providing great service and a quality bike fit experience!