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| My bike fitting with enduranceWERX |
I got the bike! After
debating for the last few years if I should buy a triathlon bike, I finally
took the plunge. I was recently reading
an article how a triathlon bike purchase is one of
the big milestones in a triathlete’s life – CHECK!
Many of the race courses I ride are hilly and technical so
that is one of the reasons why I haven’t opted for a triathlon bike to
date. But my first half in Atlantic City
is a flat course and since I need to pick up speed on the bike, it seemed like
the right time. And with the big
birthday looming, the perfect “new gear milking scheme”!
Shopping for a triathlon bike was a different experience
than a road bike. To begin with, it’s
best to start with the bike fit, rather than end with it. Starting with the fit will make your shopping
process much easier as you will quickly narrow down which bikes will best work
for you, and it will lead you to the best possible aero position, efficient
pedaling, comfort, and injury prevention.
I think it’s best to find a bike fitter who is completely neutral to
brands, which means they are probably an independent operator. Most bike shops throw in the fit with a bike
purchase at a certain level, which has some appeal, but you will then feel an
explicit or implicit obligation to buy from that shop that may or may not carry
the right brand for you. You can expect
to pay $350 - $400 for a bike fitting in the metro NY area, which should include
the initial fitting, consultation on bike purchase, and subsequent tune ups. It may or may not include bike assembly for
an online bike purchase.
In the NY area, there are a few independent bike
fitters: 1) ACME Bicycle Company owned
by Jonathan Blyer, who was recommended to my husband Mike from a fellow
triathlete, and where he went for his fitting and would recommend
Jonathan. Since I didn’t want to go all
the way to Brooklyn, I researched fitters closer to us in CT. 2) Signature Cycles in Greenwich, CT would
have been the closest option for me. I
had remembered seeing them at an expo a few years ago. However, when I spoke with a person on the
phone and described my long leg, short torso body composition, he immediately
recommended a Specialized which I thought was odd since it seemed like we
should be talking fit before any brand.
I saw later that Signature, which used to be brand neutral, now has a
partnership with Specialized so I felt they could be too biased. 3) enduranceWERX, owned by Chad Butts, has
been in Harlem for some time, but he had conveniently recently opened a shop in
Montrose, NY, about 30 miles from me.
After seeing good reviews online, I opted for Chad.
Chad, like some other fitters, uses the Retul fitting
system. He told me to come in dressed in
my bike workout attire. I soon saw why –
you can get a mini workout just with your fitting! Chad holds a MS in Exercise Physiology so he
is very attuned to your body movement and physiology. He first assesses your flexibility to
understand what kind of bike position is going to be comfortable but also the
most efficient. He quickly pointed out
how my right foot is naturally turned a bit, something I never noticed but now
realize that is probably why that foot “feels different”, and I’ve come to
realize the natural crossing of my legs with right foot over left has probably
caused it.
The Retul system involves hooking different parts of your
body to wires that track your movement, and there are 16 measures that the
system captures your optimal position.
At the conclusion, Chad provided a detail report and explained I should
search for bikes with a stack and reach range.
He also explained that some bikes are more adjustable than others, and
given my body proportions, adjustability was going to be important.
Armed with my data, I began researching triathlon bikes to
see which brands would be the best fit.
Unlike road bikes, it’s not like you can just walk into any shop and
find bike inventory you can easily test ride for fit. Still, while Mike successfully bought his tri
bike online without a test ride, I highly recommend test riding to insure you
have a good feel for the bike and fit.
When one shop told me over the phone, “well most people know what they
want and just come in and order it”, I did not visit that shop.
Based on fit and budget, I narrowed my list of brands down
to Cannondale Slice, Cervelo P3, Quintano Roo, and Specialized Shiv. Finding stores with inventory in December
proved to be a challenge, although not impossible – I just had to go to 3 different
stores to be able to see and test ride 3 of the 4 brands. But the snow, cold weather, and busy roads
near some shops did present some test ride challenges. I never did find a Specialized Shiv but since
it’s pricing was higher than the others for the same components, I eliminated
it. I also eliminated the Slice – while
the fact that they had a women’s version (which was basically just a different
seat and handlebars) was appealing, the Cervelo and QR had more modern frames.
I thought based on brand alone, I would go for a Cervelo,
but as I test rode both a Cervelo and QR, the QR felt more stable. The Cervelo’s handle bars seemed a bit
“jerky”, a topic that was discussed on a forum, although most people said you
just had to get used to it. QR’s website
claimed different technology that added to the bike’s stability, but was it all
in my head? And since I had ridden a PR5
with Di2 technology side by side a Cervelo P2, was I comparing apples to
oranges? The QR PR3 was the bike that
would be in my budget but was the different chainstay on the QR PR5 really
adding to better stability? I inquired
with QR, and the answer I got back is that chainstay technology on a PR5 or PR6
makes a difference with larger sized bikes, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference
on a smaller frame I would buy.
So I concluded the QR P3 would be the bike for me, and since
Jason at Bonzai Bicycle in VA had been so helpful helping me compare the
Cervelo and QR during our vacation travels, I was all set to order from
him. The day I was going to email him to
put the order in, a one season used QR PR6 showed up on the Facebook site Tri
and Sell It. It was the same price as
the new PR3 but with a lot of upgraded components and a carbon frame 2 models
up. And the seller was in CT! I tried to temper my enthusiasm – the bike
was a size 50 and the new one I was going to order was a size 52 so I didn’t
think it would be the right size. As I
dug into the fit charts, however, there was some overlap in the sizing. Chad thought it would still work and
suggested I take pictures with me on the bike so he could further evaluate.
The seller, Linda, was located in upstate CT but was headed
down to NYC that weekend so she graciously offered to meet me in Stamford on a
Friday night. But where could I possibly
test ride it given the snowy, frigid weather?
Mike’s office parking garage provided the solution. Linda is also my height but our body
proportions are different but still when I got on it, it felt pretty good, and
actually a better fit than the 52. We
took pictures and sent them to Chad, who confirmed with me the next day that it
was a good fit. Linda was heading back
up to CT that night so we met again and I was the happy owner of a QR, PR6, a
much better bike than I had expected!
A couple of weeks later, I went back to Chad for my
fitting. He adjusted the seat height,
position and made the handlebars more parallel but the bike was pretty much
ready to go. He did advise me to get a
new clamp for the seat, which had been replaced from the original, but the
clamp was the original and not the right fit for the new seat which could cause
wear on the carbon seat post. The
guidance and advice of Chad has been very valuable!
The bike took Linda to her first Ironman finish in Louisville
last October so we are both excited to see it take me on my first half Ironman
journey.
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