My F.I.S.T. Bike Fitting Experience

My F.I.S.T. Bike Fitting Experience

Two weeks ago I got my first Tri-Bike, a beautiful Felt S22. I have to admit that I'm somewhat ignorant on all things bike so seeking advice on a fitting was in order. I went to three of my local bike shops and one tri-shop looking for someone that knew how to properly fit me on my tri-bike but was frustrated with the obvious lack of knowledge. I did some homework online, came across Dan Empfield’s (the father of the modern Tri-bike) site, read what he did for the sport, and realized right away that I wanted to get in front of an F.I.S.T. certified fitter.

F.I.S.T. stands for "Fit Institute Slowtwitch" and you can find a great explanation of what it is at the following location:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/bikefit06.html

It's a work in progress, but you will understand the intentions and history of the program. In a nutshell, it's a system designed to help triathletes find the perfect fit just as a golfer tries to find the perfect swing or a tennis player tries to find the perfect backhand. A monumental achievement to say the least.

You can find a list of F.I.S.T. certified coaches here:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/dealersurvey/fistcoaches.html

In my area, two coaches come highly regarded, Ian Murray and Rich Strauss. Both coaches are well known; Rich Strauss as a founder of the Pasadena Tri Club and owner of Crucible Fitness and Ian Murray as one of the founders of the Los Angeles Tri Club and a head coach for Acme Coaching. Prices were very close, Rich was charging $150 and Ian $120 for the session. In the end, I went with Ian as our schedules were easy to line up and he's a bit closer to my home.

I'd never met Ian before. As I'm an LA Tri Club member myself, I knew of him and his reputation. In person, you couldn't meet a nicer or more genuine guy. It was obvious that he loves the sport that he coaches and participates, but his knowledge of the sport was what I found so incredible. Throughout the fitting, he was asking tri-related questions on all aspects of my training. My diet, my workout regimen, the routes I ride, my pacing plan and nutrition plan for an upcoming IM race on my calendar, all were open game. His questions would raise many more and in the end, the session was so much more than simply a bike fitting. It was clear that the fitting was an academic exercise for Ian, but he wanted me to get more out of the session than simply a fitting.

On to the fitting, this was after all what I was paying for. Ian's requirement was that I bring a pair of cycling shorts and shoes (and of course the bike). He broke out levels, rulers, tape measures, and plumb-bobs (I had to look that one up) and went to work.

What Ian didn't know was that I had done all of the measuring myself before the fitting following various online guides using digital photos as my source for modifications and had done my best to dial in the fit. I thought I had it perfect and had gone on a couple of 75+ mile rides with some slight discomforts which I hoped could be addressed, but honestly didn’t expect much of an improvement. I truly thought I already had the best possible fit I could get and would have to live with some minor annoyances.

In the end, he made three changes which involved lowering the nose of my saddle (never even considered this), removing a spacer (went hand in hand with dropping the nose of the saddle), and widening my aero-handles.

He justified each of the changes and his explanations were in a language I could understand. So often cycling gurus have little patience to explain themselves and worse yet, use geek speak. None of which describes Ian, he was pleasant throughout and demonstrated a great deal of patience.

He said the loss of a spacer would give me a bit more power and make me slightly more aero - more on this in a bit. The lowering of the nose of my saddle would offer less aggravation of my perineum, and because I have a broader build, the widening of my aero bars would be less restrictive on my breathing.

He then pulled out several pictures of riders in aero positions and pointed out the differences and similarities in their riding styles and then gave me pointers on how to ride – in essence teaching me how to ride on the trainer. One thing I never gave any consideration in my own fitting was sitting on the nose of the saddle which he fully took into consideration. I suspect that many first timers don’t know that they need to ride on the nose of the saddle (and I use the term ride loosely, hover is probably a better term). This was definitely a “Eureka!!!” moment for me. I felt the power increase on the trainer right below my very feet and could hear the trainer whine as the rpm’s increased. Incredible.

The widening of my aero-bar handles at first seemed counter-productive to me, but that probably had the second greatest impact on my fit. No longer did I feel restricted. I didn’t realize I even had a problem until he made the adjustment and equally amazing was that he just knew to make the adjustment without any prompting from me. Amazing to say the least.

In summation, for $120 I got the following:

1. The Perfect Bike Fit!
2. Riding pointers and really a riding lesson.
3. Goody Bag full of Cliff products (bars/bloks), PowerGels, and a bottle of FRS (Free Radical Scavenger).
4. Pointers on IM nutrition and pacing.
5. General morale boost.

Thank you Ian, your time was worth every penny to say the least. I would recommend Ian to anyone and I would say that F.I.S.T. accomplishes what it sets out to do – provide the perfect fit.