The Bike Fitting Kit
I’ve been dealing with my knee pain for quite awhile. I went to physical therapy, but the pain remains at the end of some rides. One of my bike racing buddies attributes my pain to improper bike fit. Since I’m always switching bikes, I can’t afford to have a bike fitting for every single bike that I own. I saw the ad of The Bike Fitting Kit on a major magazine, so I decided to buy it.
I opened the box to see the contents, and so far, I’m not really impressed with it. The instructions look a lot like a photocopy of so-so quality, and some of the items look like they came from a 99 cent store. I will try to do a fit on two particular bikes that cause my knee to swell, I hope that my knee pain goes away with the use of this kit. I’ll do a post on that later on.
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
Knee pain? Try some Wedges after you have set your bikes up with the Kit you got. It will get you to a good starting point.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am
I would have saved my money and found a shop that uses the Fit Kit System ( http://bikefitkit.com/store_locator/store_locator.php ) and have them do a full fitting, which should give you measurements to help you figure out your position on any bike. For the knee pain, some shops offer a rotational cleat adjuster to get the optimum cleat position, in combination with wedges, as Bilko suggests, will help.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
A professional fitting costs way over 35 bucks, so I figured why not give the kit a chance… who knows it may be the best 35 bucks I’ve ever spent.. or not..
January 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Interested to see if that kit works. I’ve never had knee pain but have always wondered if the fit is right on my bikes.
January 25th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Let me help.
To understand fit, you need to understand biomechanics.
Read : http://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html
The paper is by Keith Bontrager.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Look for this book The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling: Build the Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want
Cost is 13.00 on Amazon
January 27th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Fitting does not need to be complicated or expensive. You can do it at home with the assistance of just one other person. I find the biggest problem is that people buy or they are sold bikes that have frames that are too large for them then they try and compensate by changing stem length and or moving the saddle on the rails etc. Fitting should be to fine tune the set up.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Try electric bicycling. www.electricvehiclesnw.com
I know personally a professional sports scientist who specializes in muscular injuries who recommends it.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
I had a bike with the EV Electric Kit. The bike weighed 80lbs. I found myself pedaling instead of using the electric kit so I sold it.
My knee issue is not with every bike, just a couple that have a non-traditional geometry.
I have re-adjusted one of those bikes. The saddle height and tilt was a little off, so I’m hoping that will help me out.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I purchased the bike fitting kit in hopes to correct knee pain also. I found the booklet to be very helpfull. Especially the troubleshooting guide. My saddle was to far forward, and a little low. This was causing pain in the front of the knee. I adjusted it using the plumb bob from the kit, and the pain has gone away.
I found the kit to be simple and effective. Well worth the $40 I paid.
PS They must have upgraded the tools. The ones in my kit do not look like the tools in your photo.