Fitter

More urban legend. As one poster asked - where/what is "the core"? Lower back pain is invariably a bike fit issue and it takes a good fitter to be able to fix it. Trust me it isn't a question of saddle height or stem/bar positioning either. Working up the "core" or whatever, just gives some intermediate stabilizer relief but the fundamental problem, unless fixed, will remain and WILL come back to revisit.

What you describe is pretty much all fit related. Please PM me and I will assist you with getting a more workable fitting so you can at least begin enjoying the sport.

Bike fit calculators rely on thumb-suck averages. Hardly anyone fits the average assumption. In addition these calculators ignore critical factors such as flexibility, symmetry (or asymmetry as is the more common) and riding experience or style. So they are just going to ball-park you in a sport that requires a whole lot more than ball-parking for long-term results. Sore neck can be neck or shoulder or both and can be caused by a number of different issues. Get to see a proper bike fitter - and yes, I see you went to Cyclefit. Perhaps you should go back so they can do the job properly.

Quite frankly you can make anything bombproof depending on where you want to compromise. The argument for mechanical deficiency based on wheelsize is without substance. Weight is most certainly NOT the determining factor in building a bike and on a WC XC course, you can pretty much break anything depending on how and where you land. Burry had a bad year. Fini. Kulhavi had a great year. There are cynics who would argue for the relative brilliance of their medical teams!!! Where would that get us? Lets see what next season brings. Burry is still a laaitjie.

Hey Pain, the Dangle has won some significant MTB events in his time. He is as technically competent as any othe LBS owner I've come across, and I know most of the worthwhile ones in the country. He also sort-of likes Spesh. He also likes Pink Floyd! And he is absolutely right when he says this is not platform-sensitive. Composure comes from making a habit of success. When you are used to winning, losing becomes the challenge and re-discovering the winning habit takes time. When all is said and done I think it is a bit presumptuous of forum-doodlers to want to prescribe to a former world champ how or what he should ride. Burry is far from a fool and by no means over and done with.

Did you ever see his older brother Jimmie play guitar? The absolute antithesis of SRV - never moved a muscle apart from his hands but he could shred with the best.

Changing frame sizes changes a lot more than just tt length. Even on the same model bike. Fit is not about angles at knee or hip or elbow. PM me and i will refer you to a trained and certified fitter in CT who can help if you get stuck.

It's hard to beat working with good bikefitter. That being said, good bikefitters are very, very few and far between. The problem with measure-and-calculate bike fitting is that it relies on average assumptions. Bell curves suggest most of us are anything but average. Any system that uses physical measurements to calculate a bike sizing (including guarantees of decimal-point accuracy) has to be viewed with complete skepticism. But worse is that, even when a proper pre-purchase physical assessment and functional assessment has been performed, by a good fitter, most people display widely diverse biomechanical responses during a dynamic fitting on a bike. In addition these diverse responses change depending on the load, fatigue and neural stresses on the rider. What I'm saying is that you can feel free to plug-and-play bikefit measurements - the web is full of different "systems", each guaranteed to give you a different result, but you are ballparking about as accurately as a new salesman in a bike shop using "rule of thumb". The minimum requirement is to get a flexibility and functional physical assessment done, then factor in your riding style, requisites, goals and limitations. This will get you close to a good approximation based on your overall height . Then it is down to the fitter and his ability to take you through a dynamic fitting to achieve the desired result. And, yes, I've heard all the arguments about how you can do this at home with your ex-pro buddy, but really, you can't - at least not any better than the new salesman in a shop with some internet reading behind him. To the OP - are you young or old, flexible or stiff, muscled or slim, chunky or skinny? Are you trying to podium or are you riding to win age-group or just have some fun and stay healthy? A bigger frame will increase head-tube height but also increase reach. The stay lengths/wheelbase/saddle height are generally irrelevant. What is important is your ability to get proper saddle setback (and NOT the calculated kind) and a useable saddle height that lets you keep control of the pedal throughout the pedal stroke, and most importantly, a comfortable front-of-bike position that permits some option for anterior pelvic rotation and lessening of load on the hands and arms. This means, contrary to some of the popular myths being bandied about, a raised bar height with properly assessed balance and reach. If you are having lower back or hand pain, the larger frame might be a solution. Frankly, stem reach adjustments down to 60mm are absolutely fine and won't materially affect bike handling for our purposes. But slammed stems and the pro-wannabe long reach look are just guarantees of overuse injuries lying in wait.

Not unless you are a monster rugby player - then we need you for Saturday V the Kiwis. Rear brakes don't require that amount of grab as your limit will be traction and the brakes you have are powerful enough. This unless you are riding 29 wheels or doing a lot of DH - then maybe a 140 ....

Then try a 120.

This is not an unknown problem. Can be fixed by going to a smaller diameter rotor.

So can I pose a question? If available funds were capped, which would be better - a) To enforce helmet wearing in cyclists under the age of 15, or B) Spend an equivalent amount of money on road use education for that rider?

LLD can be skeletal or functional - this latter includes pelvic rotation/displacement or neural (left brain hemispherical domination). Often a skeletal LLD will be functionally compensated for by the rider. Most often though, LLD needs to be dynamically assessed on the bike and the proper correction made after assessment. As to correcting for LLD by shortening the crank - think about it ........ All you are doing is decreasing the rotational travel of a (somehow) shorter leg. And while the shorter crank might help (in a VERY limited fashion) at the lowest part of the pedal revolution, it actually exacerbates LLD at the top of the pedal stroke. This in addition to functionally altering neural/muscular enlistment, leverage, foot velocity etc.

Who measured the LLD? How much is the LLD? Is this a skeletal or functional LLD? Where is the LLD - tibia or fibula or a combo of both? Please PM me and I'll sort you out. I have the shims (if they are required) and they work fine. And NEVER adjust for LLD unless you have a clear understanding of what is at play and have a proper bike fitter attend to the solution. Also, NEVER adjust for LLD by shortening a crank, irrespective of the quantum of difference.

Actually, the best builder in your area would be "Uncle" Bill Horne. And he'd rank up there above most of the rest purporting to be wheelbuilders. PM me for his contact details. He is in Edenvale.

Ok! And that's an edited list! I gotta get me a MTB then ..

No interest whatsoever in arguing anything with an ex-(wannabe) journalist. I am all-too au fait with 4th estate perceptions of truth. So "slightly" implies what, esp in the light of your obvious diss on roadies? Not arguing - merely "reflecting" ...

Yes, and as we all know, mountainbiking is so completely devoid of drug-taking ....... Another high horse, perhaps?

If I agreed with any of your apologist cr@p I'd say so. But I didn't, so have the courtesy not to put your tripe in my mouth. Frankly, if you had even half an intellect I'd bother engaging with you, but you manifestly don't, so I won't. Isn't mummy calling you for dinner? Have a nice day.

Actually it's a well recognized management definition of proper service. So if you do ever bother to shut up, you might learn something. What you might learn is that it has FA to do with nirvana, "mate", and everything to do with doing business properly. Whether on not it has ever been accomplished pervasively is besides the point. A point you miss, obviously. CWC is far from perfect. Probably most of us are no different. But the circumstances that persuaded the OP to post here are so manifestly short of being "right" I dont really care what you have to say about it, and I'm sure Chris agrees and has taken steps to rectify these shortcomings. He understands that if they did it right the first time he wouldn't have had to waste time trying to fix the mistake, and it probably would have been cheaper doing it right the first time. And don't mistake me for one of your school friends - your spurious remark about me needing to provide a single example or risk negating everyone else's argument is more suited to a primary school-yard argument than an adult forum. So rather leave it there. In the school yard, that is.

Ten pages of fanboy disses, apologists waxing eloquent about their definition of (good) service, and there I was, wallowing around in my misguided belief thet the proper definition of service is "Doing it RIGHT the first time, on time, every time". Anyone failing to meet this standard, like it or not, has delivered *** service (to quote). Frankly there is no excuse for allowing the events spoken about here to transpire, and while Chris is to be commended for his ex post facto mopping up, there must be context to this. And the context is that there is absolutely nothing to suggest that this is an isolated incident. So let the truth lie where it ends up, even if it has to be on these pages. The positive is that I'm sure Chris, the smart operator that he is, will have put steps in place to try and avoid this recurring.

Interestingly we have been able to sort out XX FD shifting issues similar to what you describe by using Dura Ace chains.

I'm only too happy to dispute this. I do the bike fitting at Melrose and every fit I do is a full BG fit including video analysis of the pedal biomechanics, positioning etc and this includes a full physical assessment including flexibility testing. So I'll call your R1000 for a saddle height adjustment as BS. I also have records of all of the fittings I have done including full reports of those fittings. The fits average 3 hrs and with respect, Retul is light years behind. Please give me details and I'll happily post your video captures of both before and after your fit.

Most of the Bizhub lady MTB'ers are using that Ruby saddle on their ERA mountain bikes. They are dual sussers tho ..... These are the new Ruby saddles - without the plastic edge trim on the back.

The shop has a complete BG FIT studio utilising the DATA dual-camera analysis system - currently the only such setup in SA.