Get used to that biking... Forward or back and what's the seat angle?

I am constantly dissatisfied...

I know there HAS to be a better way...

But I can't get no satisfaction.

I am referring, obviously, to my bike fit...

I have it set up for road cycling now. And, it seems to be serving me well, but I do feel like there is something not "quite" there. I believe this is also a bit of a testimonial to my lamen's knowledge of bicycle science. When it comes to running, I can tell you ten ways on Tuesday to make your running style more efficient for your body type, and find you a pair of shoes to go with the suggestion. That's years of Running Room training (or, as we used to say on the job, "trial by making mistakes") to thank for that.

But on a bike, I am hopeless. I just don't have the knowledge base, yet, to make informed choices about how my bike should feel. It has always felt good, and then I get it refitted and it feels a little better. Then better, then worse, then better... well, you get the idea.

So, I turn to the experts and, like in running, or medicine, or anything other than the eternal truth that falling out of a tall building could cause bodily harm (and even that seems to have its skeptics), the experts are conflicted. Which leaves the lamen biker - me, for those playing at home - with little more than unquestioning faith in the person doing the fitting.

The problem with that is that I am not blindly faithful and, looking around, there does not seem to be a standard for bike fitting out there. There is the F.I.S.T. certification (Fit Institute SlowTwitch) which seems to have some level of industry recognition. But otherwise, heck, give me a protractor and an angled ruler and I could claim this for myself.

I have started doing research and checking out websites for information. I find that the www.slowtwitch.com website is a good source, as they have some technical articles. What I dislike about most of these websites and articles is that they tend to get into the gobble-de-goop techie talk that, again, silly arts boy like me can't quite figure out. And the one's that do explain things in less legal-ese are ambigious "Road cycle set-up is best with this seat angle... unless, of course, you are a + b - c (which I can't figure out if I am our not)"... The only thing I know is that I am not a short woman and not a tall Clydesdale... Does that make me the "typical average male"?

Ah, so what is a boy to do? Seek references.... I now have a few. But, again, this is like going on a blind date. It is nerve racking, and I don't want to get a WORSE position than what I have now and spend the next few months trying to figure out how to get back to a feeling I had before. All in all, I figure I have to find a plan and stick with it. So, my thoughts are to turn to my coach, who is already planning out the rest of my life up to August (after that I have to go back to self-reliance for my social life again). He does fit bikes, and I figure if I let him do it then he'll take some pride in it since he knows he'll have to hear my feedback on the long rides for hours if he messes me up. Better that than someone who doesn't have to deal with you again if he/she's wrong.

That means that I have to follow my own advice:

"Shut up, listen, and have some faith it'll all be fine..."