As promissed here is a follow up on fitting with Steve at Trek store of Kansas City. It has been several weeks since I have completed it and have ridden some time in order to summirize the impression.
Steve is very nice, extremely knowledgable and professional. It started with about a 20 min interview on my background, skill level, objectives....He took basic measurements and documented them. The only real complaint I had was on occasional numbness in the sensitive area during rides on stock Bontrager saddle.
After the warm up, it started with cleat adjustment, saddle height, fore/aft, tilt up/down adjustment, cockpit length and elbow pads last. Saddle adjustment made the most difference instantly noticeable. He ended up turning my seat post around
(E9 has a dual position seat post
) which reduced the cockpit length to my size.
Steve is Serotta certified and from the little literature I read about fitting, he followed it as in the book. Very methodical.
Ride impressions after the fit.
It was a radical change from what I had when I took the bike from the store in August, however as I am totaly new at this, it did not bother much. I did get slower at first as I noticed that different muscle recruiting pattern was taking place. I belive, not sure 100% that my hamstrings are now less utilized, but I sure feel quads and glutes more. That is subjective. Here is what times, speeds and hr is saying. I am back on avarage speed over 25-30 mile course at just over 21mph, however hr is avg 144, compared to 125-130 for the same speed just prior to the fit. I do feel more powerfull pedal stroke, but higher hr indicates that I am working much harder. Subjectively, it does not feel that much harder. I would anticipate if the fit was done correctly and I continue to do the work that hr will drop. Cadence data- all I have is the last two rides as I just installed garmin sensor, avarages out at 83-85 rpm for 30 miles over the courses here in Southern JoCo, all gentle rolling hills. No prior data available.
Saddle got replaced. Steve hooked me up with a customer who was selling his Fizik Arione Tri saddle for $25 and I replaced it. I love the saddle as I get 0 soreness during or after the ride. I still get just a little numb briefly, maybe twice during 30 miles but as I stand up it goes away. I anticipate that with little more riding and a better quality shorts, that will be solved too.
I know it has been long. I apologize. I highly recommend Steve and the Trek store. It was money well spent.