Stiggity – I got my cross bike fit at Johnny Sprockets from Sean Palmer a couple of weeks ago. With over a hundred miles on the new position I have come  to realize that previously I had been wearing clown shoes every time I rode the Nova. Sean assured me that drastic changes were in store. Wow he was right, he changed every relevant measurement on the bike except my cleats, they were actually okay. Rusted in place, but okay. As a graduate of the Dr. Andy Pruitt school of sit on the bike right, going in I had a degree of confidence in his approach. None of this lasers and wires hooked up to the body nonsense, just good old numbers and flexibility. The first thing he changed was my stem. With the new high rise stem employed, I was noticeably skeptical. “Do you want to look good, or do you want to go faster”, he snipped. Well shit that’s an easy one I voted for velocity over fashion. Much of our idea for what a bike fit involves is based off of the European Pro scene. Since I am neither, it was an easy decision. The mimicry of the bikes of the Pros has many of us on ill suited bikes. Wattage increases were not guaranteed, but the philosophy is, when you are on the bike right, you can apply the power more efficiently. And those big numbers are more Pro than a 140mm stem.

What I first noticed about the way the bike felt was how every position on my bars was viable. As I said before my previous position was all clown shoes. When I went back in my head and analyzed my thoughts on my positioning on the bike, all of them were negative. Now, there is a fluid feel to being on the bike. None of the positions on the bars beg me to go somewhere else. The shorter stem has increased the how quickly it responds up front, noticeably changing the handling for the better. It no longer feels like a school bus in tight situations. Everything is more relaxed except the ability to apply power.I don’t have any long days in the saddle, but I am yet to feel any of the aches that I occaisonally had previously. My clown shoes style fit I had, is now the bicycle fit equivalent to a carbon soled SIDI. Having just done the ride to Michigan on a different bike, those aches came back, and I have no choice now but to mimic the fit of the Nova for the Tarmac.

Sean Palmer charges $150 for the fit. This is the biomechanical portion of the test. He will go through the various body tests, range of motion, skeletal tendencies, and personnal preference all go into the final dimensions for the new setup. You won’t find  a better deal in town, with others charging upwards of $300 for the service. And that’s not Cookoo town, were talkin’ right here in Chicago. The part of all fits some don’t realize, is you will probably have to buy some new stuff. I had no idea how crucial the shape of the handlebars are for proper fit. With the wrong bending in the right places some bars can become incompatible with a bike for optimum results. I needed a new stem, and bars to make the switch complete. Not to worry, it’s not like a fist time appointment at a chiropractor. You won’t be signed up for a years worth of visits in advance. Just take into account that you will probably need more to spend more than just the price of  the fit. It will be well spent. Tell him ‘The Bonebell’ sent you and he’ll knock something off the top of the fit. Adios back ache hello big watts…