Guru Bike Fit
During our recent trip to Club la Santa for the JBST Training Camp, I had a Guru bike fit done by Ben Price. I’ve never really had a bike fit done before, only a cursory saddle and handle bar adjustment when I got my first ‘proper’ racing bike in the Netherlands back in 1989. Since then, I’ve just transferred the measurements from the previous bike to each new one.
Initially, Ben took some body measurements and assessed my flexibility before plonking my existing bike on a turbo trainer to allow him to measure and transfer my current position onto the Guru bike jig. The bike jig resembles a bike in that it had 3 contact points – a saddle, pedals and handlebars – but that’s where the resemblance ends. Each of the contact points can be moved using a handheld control. It’s a strange sensation as the saddle or handlebars move to a new position when you’re using them! It’s also connected to a Computrainer-type unit that allows you to see your power produced and your pedaling efficiency for each position adjustment.
Ben immediately picked up that my saddle was way too low – by the end of the session we’d established it needed to be raised by about 50mm. The bars were also raised by 30 mm, and moved slightly further out.
The only adjustments Ben was unable to make were to the cleats on my shoes, as the screws were rusted in – the result of a winter’s cycling in Scotland!
At the end of the fit session, the Guru software produced a print-out showing the suggested saddle and handlebar positions, both for a road bike and for a tri-bike, along with a list of suitable bike models with suggested stem length, stem spacers and saddle setback. Since I’m in the market for a new bike, the Cannondale Synapse, with its slightly taller headtube looks like a good prospect, if I can find one with Ultegra Di2.
More details here of Club la Santa’s Bike Fit: http://www.clublasanta.com/news/2013/05/experience-the-new-guru-bike-fitting
