John’s Ramblings

Week before last, I had seen the folks from Group Health Cooperative doing bicycle fittings at the Bike Expo in Seattle. As I strolled by the booth (sans bike, which was parked at home) I noticed that the Physical Therapist I had some sessions with at my local clinic was doing the fittings.

Although I haven’t had any big problems with my bike fit, I was curious what a professional review would reveal, and whether the little “nit” issues of occasional hand numbness and the odd creak in the knee could be addressed. Last week I “hopped” on the Group Health website, logged in, and was able to schedule myself an appointment for today.

I headed out to my 10 AM appointment with bike, shoes, shorts, and gloves. Ron put my bike into a trainer, had me put on my shoes and get pedaling! He checked seat height, seat position, handlebar height, handlebar angle, and brake hood placement. He hung the plumb-bob off my knee, measured the angles of my leg extension, arm placement, and overall body position.

The bottom line was that my seat height was correct, although the shock-absorbing post that is on my Specialized Sequoia was offering a bit too much “koosh” factor, so he tightened it up. He rotated my handlebars up so as to straighten my wrist when I have my hands on the brake hoods. The only other adjustment was to straighten out the brake/shifter/hood assemblies themselves, as they were a bit “toed-in”, probably from being bumped.

Then, he gave me the awful, devastating news that I never expected…

This bike is perfect for you. It’s the exact right size, and it is doing exactly what you need.

You see, I have been trying to convince myself and my wife that, after 3 years on the same bike, I really need to shell out $4,000 for some shining custom-built titanium or steel steed that would make me feel like I was flying like the wind. Instead, he took the wind right out of my sails. My secret hope was that I’d leave the Physical Therapist with a “prescription” for titanium or carbon or something. With my luck, my wife will now get a similar appointment for a fitting, and be told she needs the Rodriguez S3 that I was lusting after. Oh, the humanity!

Work calmed down about 3, and I didn’t have to be anywhere until 8 tonight, so I did squeak out this afternoon to try out my new fit. The changes are subtle, but I did not seem to have the same amount of numbness in the fingers as before, so I’d score this a big victory for my $10 co-payment. There was about a 20 mph wind out of the south tonight, so my northward jaunt was at about 20-21 mph, while the grind home was a more reasonable 14 to 15. I’m chalking it up for headwind practice for this year’s dash across the Skagit Valley on RSVP.

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