Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

CyclARSEts talk in here.
nutty
Spam King
Spam King
Posts: 5800
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:43 am
Location: Brisvegas

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by nutty »

ahaha that picture is gold (and yes norbs)..
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

Don't you have a Giant nutty? :)
nutty
Spam King
Spam King
Posts: 5800
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:43 am
Location: Brisvegas

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by nutty »

Yeah but I really want a Look, it helps me justify my next decision :)
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

haha excellent :)
User avatar
Brett_S
Posts: 647
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:31 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Brett_S »

Enforcer-J wrote: Just one other thing to consider Vil
:D
BMC is pretty accurate for Jamo :D
This is the way the world works, if you want want to find some quality friends you have to wade through all the d**ks first - Eric Cartman
User avatar
norbs
fucking right wing vegan lesbian
Posts: 24178
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:01 pm
Contact:

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by norbs »

Fuck it Mando, tell us, the suspense is killing me.
Sarc ; my second favourite type of gasm.
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

norbs wrote:Fuck it Mando, tell us, the suspense is killing me.
haha, such power!

I'll show you tonight :)
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by Vilante »

norbs wrote:Fuck it Mando, tell us, the suspense is killing me.
Pics are here:

viewtopic.php?f=89&t=15456&start=200

:)
User avatar
CLP
C grade super domestique
Posts: 4903
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :)

Post by CLP »

Enforcer-J wrote: Just one other thing to consider Vil
Image

:D
Pinarello one seems pretty accurate.

the height thing.. not the chick thing :tilt:
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by Vilante »

So, took the bike back tonight for the promised fitting and was less than impressed.

Took him about 15 minutes and all her adjusted was the seat height and distance forward. It was done on a video program with angles etc but only from side on and only concerned with my leg angles.

I expected things like pedal/cleat adjustments etc too.

Was this just a quick new bike fit and should I be getting a more thorough fit done? The Willier guys said theirs takes 2 hours, but it also cost an extra $200.
User avatar
Enforcer-J
Posts: 6512
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:16 pm
Location: right on your A.R.S.E.

Post by Enforcer-J »

Surely the biggest rip in the bicycle industry... the trial and error method is free
User avatar
CLP
C grade super domestique
Posts: 4903
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:37 pm
Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by CLP »

Unfortunately, this might be a store specific thing, though potentially it's an Avanti (and giant/merida/<other similar brands>) thing too. Suspect that to sell bikes cheaply, they need to cut costs somewhere. So you end up with a lot of bike for your money, but need to spend more to make it work perfectly for you.

When I bought my Giant, i think i had a similar "fitting". Adjust the saddle, a question or two as to whether i felt ok, pat me on the back and out the door. In contrast, Miss V had a fairly reasonable fit when she bought her Avanti which included swapping saddles and stems to try etc. This may have been compensation for being screwed around in the purchasing process though, then again it might have been a function of the guy serving us being a perfectionist (apparently having been a mechanic for Jan Ulrich)

Purchasing my Focus and Pinarello were completely different to my Giant. A lot of attention to detail including cleats checked and adjusted, leg/knee tracking checked, posture/riding position assessed and accounted for. Both of those took about an hour. The Pinarello fitting probably involved less adjustments (eg, no stem swap) but this was due to them taking reach measurements when i paid my deposit. First sit on the bike and it was nearly spot on. That said, a lot of time was spent checking that it was actually right, and not just looked right. The Focus fitting involved a stem swap. and stem height adjustment (from memory!). Both of these fittings involved spinning on the trainer, being assessed, questions asked, adjust, rinse, repeat. For an fit included with bike purchase, I don't think I could fault them.

The third fitting i've had was from a local bike shop (BMCR) which cost about $150 from memory. this took about 1 1/2 hours. This was far more indepth than both of the Focus and Pinarello fittings. This fitting covered things like leg length, foot alignment, posture, pedalling style assessments including hints and tips to improve. Adjustments were made to cleat postition, saddle height and position, stem swapped for a shorter one, and a narrower bar with shorter drop installed and set up (parts obviously costing extra). All this was done on my Giant. Miss V has had a fitting done at BMCR on her Road, CX and MTB.

Hope that helps a little. It's probably worth trying what you have for a bit, but it probably can't hurt to get a full fit done, if for no other reason than to have a baseline for what things should feel like.
User avatar
markus
Posts: 948
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 7:09 pm
Location: Gitmo nation reindeer

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by markus »

If you have an iPhone or iPad then this is a pretty decent and cheap method to get a good fit, http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/10/auto ... eview.html
Much cycling such kilometers.
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by Vilante »

Thanks guys.

Have been getting a bit of a sore knee (on the inside of the left knee) so I'm a bit concerned about making sure that doesn't flare up.

A mate went to get his cleat adjusted as he was hitting his knees on the frame! So he has all sorts of things in his shoes to correct it, I figured if you're spending so much time riding this must be an important factor to prevent injury.

I also figure he should have at least looked at my reach, he didn't even consider it.

I think I'll see how I go with it for a couple of weeks. There is a LBS that does cleats by themselves so I could always do that if I feel I need it.
User avatar
norbs
fucking right wing vegan lesbian
Posts: 24178
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:01 pm
Contact:

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by norbs »

It is a pretty standard thing Mando. Buy a bike and we will give you a shitty 5 minute fit.

A guy I know got a fit at Clarence Street that he paid extra for and it was done in 9 minutes. Because "the bike is such a perfect fit!"

He had issues and ended up going to Steve Hogg and they said the bike was too big for him!
Sarc ; my second favourite type of gasm.
User avatar
Vilante
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 9336
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2006 9:32 am
Location: Sydney - Australia

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by Vilante »

It felt really comfy straight off the bat, so it might be fine, I'm just really wary of injury after having trouble with them running.
nutty
Spam King
Spam King
Posts: 5800
Joined: Thu Aug 04, 2005 11:43 am
Location: Brisvegas

Re: Choosing a New Bike :) - Now Mike's Avanti DR1

Post by nutty »

I went to a bike physio, took ~3 hours for my full fit. I was having heaps of knee problems on my old bike so when I got the new one I did a proper fit.

He was a total manual process, he measured everything and moved me around 50 times, ended up being perfect :)
Post Reply