Possibly the best upgrade you will purchase.
Lets start with why you might want a bike fit. You wouldn't wear a pair of shoes if they were the wrong size or try and squeeze into a pair of bib shorts 2 sizes too small. So why would you ride a bike set up for someone else?
There are 3 main reasons people starting looking for a bike fit.
1) The Sort it or Sell it group.
This is by far the most likely reason we see someone. Sore wrists, sore neck, sore knees: you get the idea. For the majority of these people it has got to a point where they can't cope anymore. They have hit a crossroads after going beyond 'no pain no gain'(see later blogs for why this is a bad approach). Normally the options are get it sorted or get it sold. As passionate cyclists (and for one member of the team a former visitor of the sort it or sell it cross roads) this must be avoided. Cycling should be a fun sport. Most of us get addicted to and take it far too seriously, but aside from that , you should want to get on your bike and miss it when your can't.
2) The marginal gains group.
If you are going out to race, lets face it you want to win. You might tell yourself that it's all about taking part, but we all know the truth. Why would you compete if you didn't have the drive to win. Even if that win is sometime away, everything you can do to put yourself in the optimum form is normally done. Why is your fit any different? To be in the most efficient position, using every watt productively is a no brainer.
3) The Newbie
We don't see enough of this group. Sadly, either through ignorance that bike fitting exist, the budget being spent on the bike, clothes, shoes etc or all the advice telling them they don't need one, Newbies start out missing the most beneficial tool to getting going. They suffer unneeded discomfort that an experienced cyclist might be able to work out. We'd love to see more of this group as so many cyclist quit before they've got going due to badly fitting bikes and poor set up.
So what is a bike fit?
In simple terms it's making the bike fit you. To quote the Life or Brian "you're all individuals" but bikes aren't. Unless you're part of a very lucky group who can have a purpose built machine in your bike store, them you will be buying off the rack. This makes a bike fit even more important. It's a one size mike fit some solution that tries to accommodate as many people as possible, but also by staying at a price point. This is why you'll find mismatched component sizes fitted to a range of frames. The biggest problem we see with components is cranksets. Especially if you're a short cyclist. If you're 5 foot with short legs, a 172.5mm crank is never going to work for you, yet most bikes you look at will be equipped with precisely that.
So lets make your bike as individual as you are.