I’m not racing xc. Just doing a lot of trail riding for fun. I’ve been toying around with my RAD and changing stems and bars quite a bit. I’m in the Bay Area and my friends keep telling me to get a bike fit since I’m always tweaking something. I’m just concerned a bike fit will be too road oriented and will ultimately not get me any closer to having the dialed handling I’m looking for.
Are bike fits worth it for mountain biking?
Citta
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Go to Marin Service Course in Fairfax. Those guys are legit rippers up and down and nice guys too.
The problem is finding people who know how to fit mountain bikes and are qualified to do so. Being a good rider isn't a qualification. Being a good mechanic isn't one either. Neither is working in a bike shop. These people might help you fix things that are egregiously wrong, but they aren't going to be able to fine tune things like bar width, bar roll, lever position, etc really well.
I've had fits done to address specific issues early on when I started riding and it helped, but the person I got fit by had extensive experience as bike fitter for decades, knew mountain bikes, knew current trends in mountain bikes, and how to adjust based on riding styles. That's not super common and most fitters you find are going to be really road, gravel, or XC focused, at best. For that reason alone, I'd not bother with unless you are certain you can find someone that knows mountain bikes and can demonstrate experience fitting bikes to people the way you ride.
A lot of people will tell you it's not needed for various reasons. That doesn't reflect my experience at all, but there is some truth there in the sense that most bike fitters have no clue how to fit to most modern mountain bikes. RAD included.
I've had fits done to address specific issues early on when I started riding and it helped, but the person I got fit by had extensive experience as bike fitter for decades, knew mountain bikes, knew current trends in mountain bikes, and how to adjust based on riding styles. That's not super common and most fitters you find are going to be really road, gravel, or XC focused, at best. For that reason alone, I'd not bother with unless you are certain you can find someone that knows mountain bikes and can demonstrate experience fitting bikes to people the way you ride.
A lot of people will tell you it's not needed for various reasons. That doesn't reflect my experience at all, but there is some truth there in the sense that most bike fitters have no clue how to fit to most modern mountain bikes. RAD included.
i had one done last year when I bought a new Stumpjumper. My previous bike was a late 90's Trek hardtail so the new bike immediately felt wonderful. I rode the new bike for about a month before doing the bike fit. It took almost 3 hours and parts of it felt like a checkup at a Chiropractor. 3d motion capture, adjustable stem, the works. At times the whole thing felt like snake oil but after went for a ride afterwards, I was very happy I spent the money. I do think it really depends on who is doing the fit
21 - 26 of 26 Posts
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