Bike Fitting

How a bike fits is one of the most important reasons to buy a particular bike. If a bike is comfortable you will want to ride; if not you won't. Old Town Bicycle uses the best tools in the industry to make sure your bike fits correctly.

We believe in a very dynamic fit between rider and bike. One size does not fit all and we are here to help you get the most comfort and performance out of your bike. Whether it is a Road, Mountain, Triathlon, Time Trial or anything else. We will make you more comfortable and increase your performance.

We offer a 30 day guarantee. If we don't fit you correctly and we cant fix the problem we will give you your money back!

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Contact us or drop by to make your fitting appointment.

(If you interested in finding approximately what frame size you need check out our Find Your Bike Size page.)

BG Fit Detail

Body Geometry Fit Integration Technology has been developed by the world’s leaders in bicycle fitting expertise, none other than Dr. Andy L. Pruitt Director of Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and bio-mechanics and time trial specialists Todd Carver. Andy has over 30 years of experience in making bicycle fitting a science and is responsible for the elite of elites, athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, Peter Reid, 3-time World Ironman along with hundreds of professional cyclist and thousands of everyday riders.

Do you want to prevent cycling related injuries?
Pedaling a bicycle is a very repetitive motion. It is not uncommon for cyclists to accumulate over 5000 revolutions in 1 hour of riding. During your bike fit our fit technician will review your medical history, flexibility and take into account your cycling goals and any potential physical problems while adjusting your bike. Your seat height, fore-aft position, cleats and wedge placement (if needed) will be adjusted to help reduce injury potential and improve your position on the bike. Adjustments to your stem and handlebars may also be made. Recommendations for other changes (bars, stems, etc.) may also be discussed.

Do you have a cycling related injury?
Correct body posture on the bike can prevent injury, eliminate pain, make cycling more enjoyable and even improve performance. Clients first undergo a medical evaluation to pinpoint any potential problems, such as previous injuries, current pain and strength and flexibility inequalities. Afterwards, our specially trained staff members evaluate the client on their own bike. Measurements are taken and adjustments are made to the bike. Recommendation for other changes may also be discussed, as well as potential medical follow-up including specific stretches and/or exercises to help reduce pain while cycling.

Rule number one:
Bike fit is a marriage between the bicycle and the rider. If the two are incompatible, the marriage will fail. The bike can be adjusted to the riders anatomy in multiple ways, such as moving the saddle up and down or changing the stem. The body can be adjusted only in minor ways, such as with a carefully designed stretching program. This leads us to the second rule.

Rule number two:
Make the bike fit the body, don’t make the body fit the bike. It is easy to adjust the bike, but difficult to stretch or contort the body into some preconceived “ideal” or “pro” position. For example, long legs coupled with a short torso and arms require a bike with a relatively short top tube/stem combination, which is referred to as reach. Stubby legs and most of the height in the torso requires a bike with a long top tube and stem. Forget what your favorite pro rider looks like…unless their body is a carbon copy of yours (which it’s not). Make your bike reflect you, not your hero.

Rule number three:
Dynamic fit is better than static fit. This means that fit while pedaling the bike needs to be considered when fine tuning things such as saddle height and cleat position. Static formulas for deciding saddle height are only starting points. They must be overruled with dynamic findings, such as observing the rider on a trainer.

A pedaling rider is constantly moving on the bike. A rider actually rises slightly from the saddle with every down stroke. So, ideal saddle height is different when one is pedaling compared to just sitting motionless. The degree of ankling (how much the ankle articulates through the pedal stroke) also plays a role in saddle height. There is nothing wrong with static bike fit formulas as a starting place, but for a proper fit, it is critical to observe the rider while pedaling.

This bike fit approach aids our experts in analyzing your cycling gait in real time. This method is used to analyze motion in 3 dimensions using specific reference points and various angles for viewing specific anatomic landmarks, which allows our technicians to accurately analyze cycling gait. This information is then used to make appropriate changes to the bike. These changes can greatly improve performance, prevent injuries and make cycling more enjoyable

Rule number four:
Cycling is a sport of repetition. A cadence of 90 revolutions per minute is approximately 5000 revolutions per hour. A six-hour century would require 30,000 pedal revolutions. Every pedal stroke is almost identical, so it needs to be in the safest position to allow for this sort of repetitive activity. A saddle that is 5 millimeters too low on a six-hour century can lead to major knee problems over time. Because of this, the most important bike fit for a cyclist is the first one, to assure a long, comfortable, healthy cycling career.
It should be noted that our bodies change on a regular basis, therefore, bike fit is not static in its nature, but is dynamic throughout our cycling lives. Your position today is significantly different than it was earlier in your life. We should not expect the novice cyclist beginning their cycling career at middle age to be able to perform comfortably in an aggressive race position. Many people are entering cycling as a sport on the heels of an injury from another sport, and those injuries need to be addressed in their position on the bike.

Once you understand these four rules and reasons, you will begin to see how our fit method uniquely caters to the cyclist’s individual attributes to maximize their comfort and performance on the bike.