Crosssports's Weblog

I fit bikes for a living.

I do it for all types of riders, of all shapes and sizes and ability levels.

I do fits for folks riding an hour on the weekend, and for riders (literally) heading off to the World Championships or the Olympic games.

I’ve been performing this service for over a decade.

For a long, long time, when I told the average person what I did for a living, the reaction was – inevitably – “huh?” Nowadays, I more typically receive something along the lines of  “Oh – cool… I read about that in the NY Times.”

So, things have changed.

Things have really changed.

Allow me to step back in time for a moment here, and reflect upon a conversation I had with a prominent local rider. He is/was a talented guy; good enough to have a cup of coffee at the pro level, get his face in Velonews, and watch his buddies go on to ride at the Pro-Tour level.

About 5 years ago we were out on a training ride, and one of the other riders was asking me questions about bike fit, bike fitting, and what it was like to do it in a professional capacity.

The aforementioned Pro pitched in to the conversation, offering the following:

“Bike Fitting is a scam, and a waste of money. You buy a bike, you raise the seat until it’s the right height, and you’re done. End of story.”

Well, OK.

That’s an opinion. I disagree – as one would expect – but why argue, right?

So, who cares about this story? This was years ago… what’s the point?

Here’s the point.

Mr. “Bike fitting is a scam” is now a “professional bike fitting specialist.” Website, certifications and all.

In less than 5 years, he’s gone from skeptic to professional, and is charging a fair bit of money for his services.

He’s not alone.

When I started doing this, his original “scam” reaction was a pretty common one. Now, you need a broom to push all the “bike fitters” out of the way on your local club ride.

Here’s the rub, though.

I think, deep down, this guy still just might think this whole thing is a scam. The only difference is now he thinks it’s a good scam, and he wants in.

I don’t think he’s alone.

He’s on the BandWagon.

Just a thought…

~ by crosssports on October 8, 2009.

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