Bike fitting oversight or regulation is just about non-existent, so it is extremely important to ask some questions and do some research to find out about an individual fitter. There is no licensing or certification board, outside of the few fit schools, but even these, as I've said before, are really just a brief warm-up to all that needs to be known. To increase your chances of having a worthwhile experience, it pays to look for the following things:
Notice that bike knowledge is last on the list. This is purposeful. As I've said before; the bike part is easy when you have the other qualifications, but it doesn't work the other way -- if you know bikes but have no real experience working with the human body, making sound decisions about someone's mechanics and how it'll affect their efficiency and safety is next to impossible. Bike geometry has a relatively few variables associated with them (the angles, materials, tube lengths, size of crank, trail, and even learning how these might affect handling). And what's more; these variables are all visible, easily measured and quantified. The human body is much more messy. First of all, the shear number of variables is astounding -- at a given joint you are dealing with multiple tissue types, all reacting differently to positioning. You may position someone differently on their saddle if their hip limitation is muscular or ligamentous or both. Now factor in that something biomechanically in the feet can affect their low back, and something in the low back can affect their knees and it is easy to see why a weekend education isn't going to cut it for most fittings. Beware... ...of fancy gadgets. These include digital video and motion capture, power and pedal efficiency readings, lasers, infrared cameras, aerodynamic software and more. Don't get me wrong --these are fantastic tools and I use many of them myself. But the are not a substitute for knowledge. They may tell you what is wrong or needs attention, but they will not tell you how to fix the rpoblem. Using these tools is like a physician using an MRI machine: MRIs can provide great information if you have the extensive background necessary to read them AND you have experience in understanding the clinical relevance of this information. You wouldn't have your dentist read the MRI of your shoulder and you shouldn't have an individual with limited experience using high speed motion capture (other than what the sales seminar taught them) to try and tell you what the pictures mean for you and your bike. An individual with a weekend education in bike fitting will more often than not be left guessing at how to fix the problem. ...of fast riders who, because they are fast, think they have cornered the market on bike fit. Speed and talent does not qualify someone as a bike fitter. They may know what is efficient and fast for them, but have no real experience understanding of the body and often have a difficult time relating to the everyday athlete. I have re-done many fittings where a very skilled cyclist working in a shop has put a weekend warrior in a position that is altogether too aggressive, because that is where the employee is fast. |
