Fitness Tip - Buying a Road Bike - 11/4/2007
By George Hillinger
BS Kinesiology
ACE Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
I can only encourage outdoor activity for cardiovascular exercise in comparison to indoor cardiovascular exercise. Science tells us that we must maintain our exercise program to maintain a healthy, fit you. To maintain your cardiovascular exercise you should choose enjoyable modes of exercise so that you don’t use every excuse in the book to skip your cardiovascular exercise. Outdoor cycling, as most outdoor activities, is much more enjoyable than staring at yourself in the mirror while doing cardio in a gym. If you’re ready to add cycling to your recreational exercise agenda, there is only one thing to do… Buy a road bike.
When done right, bike purchasing is not a simple process. Simply put, the geometry of the bike needs to fit your body and your needs. This makes total sense because you can’t change the geometry of your body (and/or chronic ailments that you may have that can be irritated by poor bike positioning) but the geometry of bikes is different by size, make, and model. In addition, the geometry of any size bike can be slightly altered by simple seat and handlebar position changes. This is where things become complicated. Not every bike has a size that will fit any given person. This is because slight changes in a bicycle frame’s seat tube length, top tube length, head tube length, seat tube angle, etc have an impact on how a bike rides and fits a person. For instance, a top tube that is too long for the length of your arms and torso can cause you to be too stretched forward, putting stress on your lower back because it has to work harder to hold up your body. So that cool new bike you saw in the latest cycling magazine may look great but fit you poorly, which can lead to an uncomfortable ride and hurt your cycling performance. The worst way to purchase a bike is to buy it based on looks alone. What you should do is narrow your search for the perfect bike for you by having a bike specialist calculate whether a bike will fit you. Then test ride the narrowed down list of bikes and make an intelligent purchase based on fit first, then on what is appealing to your eye.
At least three people I know have bought a poorly fitting bike because they simply went into their local bike shop and bought the bike that looked the coolest. Unfortunately, the employees at your local bike shop may not have the expertise necessary to fit a bike to you. I have found that bike shops typically fit into two categories. The first are the warehouse bike shops. These bike shops have great deals and lots of products, but they usually have poor service and typically uneducated staff on bike fit and cycling biomechanics. In fact, some of the staff at these warehouse bike shops may not even ride bikes. Then there are the elite bike shops. These shops typically have educated staff that are cyclists, but it is hard to get the customer service you need unless you are part of their elite racing clique. My frustration with poor service and poorly educated staff at bike shops has led me to buy my last two bikes on the internet. Since I was a professional mtn. bike racer in the late 90s and I worked in a bike shop, and, since I have been a cyclist for 14 years, I can match up my body’s geometry to a bike’s geometry to figure out if a bike will fit me and my style of cycling. I don’t recommend anyone uses this method for purchasing a bike. Even with my expertise, I was still uneasy about the bike fit until I received it.
My uneasy online bike purchases are a thing of the past. Recently, I was referred to Sand Canyon Cyclery by Rob Dorf, a friend and the owner of Purefit Nutrition (who makes a healthy nutrition bar; imagine that!). Coincidentally, a client and friend of mine, David, was in the market for a road bike, because, unfortunately, he was a victim of purchasing a bike that didn’t fit him from a “typical” bike shop. I referred David to Sand Canyon Cyclery. Now David is riding a bike that fits him, and, yes, it looks cool. Jim, the owner of Sand Canyon Cyclery, and his employees, gave David a few options of bikes that would fit him correctly that were close to his budget. He was able to test ride the bikes before making a final decision. Sand Canyon Cyclery is an example of a bike shop that is not your typical bike shop. Not only do they have the education necessary to sell you a bike that fits you, they offer a higher level of customer service in addition to a friendly atmosphere for any customer that walks in the door. Since meeting Jim I have personally bought a number of products from him that I have been extremely pleased with including a semi-custom saddle for my wife that she was able to test ride before purchasing.
There are bike shops out there that have great products, educated and experienced staff, and offer a friendly atmosphere for every person, whether they are racer or recreational rider. Don’t learn your lesson the hard way, by buying a bike that doesn’t fit the geometry of your body. If your local to Irvine CA and you have cycling needs, stop in at Sand Canyon Cyclery. If you’re not local to Irvine, inquire at your local bike shops about how they fit bikes to make sure they can meet your needs before purchasing a bike.
Sand Canyon Cyclery
6616 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 450-9906
When done right, bike purchasing is not a simple process. Simply put, the geometry of the bike needs to fit your body and your needs. This makes total sense because you can’t change the geometry of your body (and/or chronic ailments that you may have that can be irritated by poor bike positioning) but the geometry of bikes is different by size, make, and model. In addition, the geometry of any size bike can be slightly altered by simple seat and handlebar position changes. This is where things become complicated. Not every bike has a size that will fit any given person. This is because slight changes in a bicycle frame’s seat tube length, top tube length, head tube length, seat tube angle, etc have an impact on how a bike rides and fits a person. For instance, a top tube that is too long for the length of your arms and torso can cause you to be too stretched forward, putting stress on your lower back because it has to work harder to hold up your body. So that cool new bike you saw in the latest cycling magazine may look great but fit you poorly, which can lead to an uncomfortable ride and hurt your cycling performance. The worst way to purchase a bike is to buy it based on looks alone. What you should do is narrow your search for the perfect bike for you by having a bike specialist calculate whether a bike will fit you. Then test ride the narrowed down list of bikes and make an intelligent purchase based on fit first, then on what is appealing to your eye.
At least three people I know have bought a poorly fitting bike because they simply went into their local bike shop and bought the bike that looked the coolest. Unfortunately, the employees at your local bike shop may not have the expertise necessary to fit a bike to you. I have found that bike shops typically fit into two categories. The first are the warehouse bike shops. These bike shops have great deals and lots of products, but they usually have poor service and typically uneducated staff on bike fit and cycling biomechanics. In fact, some of the staff at these warehouse bike shops may not even ride bikes. Then there are the elite bike shops. These shops typically have educated staff that are cyclists, but it is hard to get the customer service you need unless you are part of their elite racing clique. My frustration with poor service and poorly educated staff at bike shops has led me to buy my last two bikes on the internet. Since I was a professional mtn. bike racer in the late 90s and I worked in a bike shop, and, since I have been a cyclist for 14 years, I can match up my body’s geometry to a bike’s geometry to figure out if a bike will fit me and my style of cycling. I don’t recommend anyone uses this method for purchasing a bike. Even with my expertise, I was still uneasy about the bike fit until I received it.
My uneasy online bike purchases are a thing of the past. Recently, I was referred to Sand Canyon Cyclery by Rob Dorf, a friend and the owner of Purefit Nutrition (who makes a healthy nutrition bar; imagine that!). Coincidentally, a client and friend of mine, David, was in the market for a road bike, because, unfortunately, he was a victim of purchasing a bike that didn’t fit him from a “typical” bike shop. I referred David to Sand Canyon Cyclery. Now David is riding a bike that fits him, and, yes, it looks cool. Jim, the owner of Sand Canyon Cyclery, and his employees, gave David a few options of bikes that would fit him correctly that were close to his budget. He was able to test ride the bikes before making a final decision. Sand Canyon Cyclery is an example of a bike shop that is not your typical bike shop. Not only do they have the education necessary to sell you a bike that fits you, they offer a higher level of customer service in addition to a friendly atmosphere for any customer that walks in the door. Since meeting Jim I have personally bought a number of products from him that I have been extremely pleased with including a semi-custom saddle for my wife that she was able to test ride before purchasing.
There are bike shops out there that have great products, educated and experienced staff, and offer a friendly atmosphere for every person, whether they are racer or recreational rider. Don’t learn your lesson the hard way, by buying a bike that doesn’t fit the geometry of your body. If your local to Irvine CA and you have cycling needs, stop in at Sand Canyon Cyclery. If you’re not local to Irvine, inquire at your local bike shops about how they fit bikes to make sure they can meet your needs before purchasing a bike.
Sand Canyon Cyclery
6616 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 450-9906
*Consult your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. If you have a question about fitness, email me at george@2fitnessconnection.com and I may write about your question in the next tip of the month!