Body Geometry or Guru Experience

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rheosibal
Posts: 315
Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:26 pm
Location: LA

by rheosibal

Does anyone have on hand experience with any of these bicycle fitments? I planned on getting it done, however I'm not too sure which to go with. Any insight is helpful, thanks!
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uraqt
Posts: 1108
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:53 am

by uraqt

Neither, my point of view is that the 4 or 5 on the trainer is not close enough to real riding. I think you are better off buying the software you want and getting real video of you riding. I also think as you get better, you will want to change your fit and having the tools to test and verify your fit over and over again is a good idea.

I think that you do it yourself, or with your local club

here is one

http://www.siliconcoach.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

there a 4 or 5 more..


Yes this is crazy talk ; )

C

PS Body Geometry uses the silicon coach software

Sykes
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:35 pm

by Sykes

I think that the fit is only as good as the fitter. Both systems have been well reviewed. I like the idea that Guru watches your power output in different positions. I do think that uraqt's idea is a great one, but for me it would be near worthless as I don't think I would be very good fitter.

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redhed18
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:34 am

by redhed18

I did the BG Fit and know others who have also... no experience on Guru.
Generally I was satisfied with BG for a first time fit, but it will be looking at something more advanced next time.
---

As stated, the fitter is probably the more important variable.
Talk to your local fitters, get a feel for them and the service.
such as

how long have they been doing fits ?
(and how long on the current platform - e.g. BG or Guru - and what if anything were they using before?)
(20 years fit experience on a platform prior to the Guru system obviously could have value...)

be familiar with the fit platform you are choosing and be aware of how well implemented it is at the shop:
e.g. say Retul... in the beginning they had to put leads on one side of you, and then take them off and put them on the other side. Now they don't need to do that, and in fact they have a whole adjustable trainer bike system dealers can buy into. That's not to say that ALL dealers are necessary setup to not move leads around, or have that trainer system. This is just an example to say that not all dealers working with a given system will be technically equivalent. A BG fit on some adjust-a-bike from the Stone Age may be a less desirable experience, whereas another place down the road offering BG might have a better system. They should be able to smoothly move you from position to another on-bike to find the best fit for you.

are they working with people at YOUR level of the sport? or beyond
big difference fitting your average guy on his first road bike and fitting pro athletes.
you can probably get a sense of this from the shop...
is it a pure roadie shop, or are there just road bikes between the kids bikes and the cruisers.

are you going to be fit on a platform that's next to a busy area at noon on a Saturday?
personally I prefer a private space, and/or before or after the shop is open for retail.

ask questions which may be relevant to your needs and gauge their expertise and answers
e.g. if you have a leg length discrepancy, or foot/arch issues, or whatever - have they dealt with those before, and how?
you will need have some knowledge yourself (do some reading) to determine if they are out in left field...

also see what sort of products/solutions they recommend for those issues,
my limited experience with BG Fit suggests the range of their solutions only extends to Specialized products
(saddle, insoles, etc .... I hate those friggin' insoles - they are all wrong for my feet)

It would be nice of the if the place had experience on a wide range of products and wasn't locked into a particular brand. Be open to their suggestions if you think they are not just trying to sell you product. e.g. Speedplay pedals could be appropriate solution to some problems due to their wide range of adjustments. Particular shoes could be better than whatever you might happen to be riding now (wider toe box, stiffer sole, whatever)

See what they offer in terms of follow-ups to the fit (e.g. can you come back in 1,3 weeks or months and do an adjust?)
I'm not sure what is typical in this regards, but it would be nice to know you can do the fit, see how it goes and pop in for a tune-up rather than another $200-$400 fit session.

Talk to people at your level of cycling in the area who have used those fitters if possible - were they happy? Were they trying to resolve issues similar to your own? There's no point talking to some guy who just bought a cruiser and needed the saddle set at the right height give or take an inch, vs. someone at a competitive level tried to eke out the last 5 watts.

PS. if you're interested in playing arm-chair-fit-specialist, this is a decent app for some self-analysis.
http://www.ubersense.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

But nothing beats a proper fit.

joestralia
Posts: 34
Joined: Fri May 20, 2011 8:48 pm

by joestralia

It looks like you've made up your mind about getting a bikefit from either Guru or BG. And if you do , would you please post a review.

I ran into this during a search: http://www.bikesplit.com/bikefit.htm . This guy sounds like he's got many years experience as a coach and athlete. The price is right! At probably 10x less, the guy says he can get you to 99% of what a fitter can do.

peace

rijndael
Posts: 402
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:54 pm
Location: Haines, AK - Temporarily

by rijndael

I did a Retul fit on a Guru DFU machine (w/ computrainer for pedal analysis).

I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, especially in a learning about a fit, but I think a lot of the value-add that Retul provided could have been done by a clueful fitter. For me, Retul appealed to the data geek in me.

emorydptt
Posts: 149
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 2:43 pm
Location: Clermont, FL
Contact:

by emorydptt

As stated above, the tool is only as good as the user.
What most fit analysis software/suites do are allow for playback of pre-post changes made to a fit and allow you to analyze.
However, if the fitter doesn't know why a person exhibits a certain movement pattern, and more skillfully, know how to address it then all you have is the smoke and mirrors of an expensive tool.

There is the 'ideal' fit, and the functional fit. Also, it all depends on what your riding style is.
I think all fits should address reducing risk of injury and efficient comfort.

Good luck.
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