Stupid Rant but with good intentions...

In our "private bathroom" in the shop is the current issue of Bicycling Magazine.  It's never been my favorite and this one, while better than many in the past, still has phrases on the cover that just crack me up (or piss me off) or maybe both!

How about, "Power Abs - Transform Your Riding in 20 minutes" or, "How to Buy a Bike - A Tale of Tortured Obsession".  Both of which got me to thinking about what the customer experiences when he or she goes into a bike shop.  (Of course, I've been thinking about this for, oh 30+ years... but there weren't blogs in the past.)

Like nails on a blackboard, I cringe when I hear customers say "the bike shop said"..."Just stand over the top tube - oh, that fits just fine!"  or in todays' very high-tech world, "our fit system doesn't lie - that bike fits you fine, you need to (fill in the blank)  - get more limber, lose weight, gain some weight, lift weight, ride more - etc. etc. etc.

What makes sense is SENSE! Not non-sense.  Numbers are just numbers and in the hands of an incompetent fitter they result in the same thing as not even having a fit, only you're a couple of hundred dollars lighter.

If you idiosyncracies aren't explored and taken into consideration, you may still have a less-than-desirable outcome.  For example, did you disloczte your shoulder or break your collar bone?  Is one of your feel 1/2 size smaller than the other?  What, you had knee surgery and broke three ribs in a bike accident?  IT ALL MATTERS!  And, while we can look at you and "remind" you that something happened, many fitters don't bother looking OR asking, but rely on some "points of light" and a bunch of numbers that will be meaningless taken in the absence of your input.  You need to be able to trust your bike fitter and be thrilled, not just marginally okay, with the results.

Enough said.  I got it off my chest so, bibi for now.