The Importance of Bike Fitting

Riding your bike is not only a great way to stay in shape, but to keep your joints and muscles healthy too. However, like any other exercise, there’s a proper way to do it. Take a moment to learn more about the importance of getting your bike fitted.

As you get older, it’s more important than ever to keep your body healthy with exercise. Activities such as swimming, bike riding, and hiking are great low-impact ways to stay in shape.

However, if you’re not careful, these activities can do more harm than good. This is why getting the proper bike fit for your gear is so important.

At Peninsula Orthopedic Associates, our team members are experts in everything that pertains to your joints, including activities like biking. Orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists make up our staff, and can help you overcome joint disease through treatments like therapeutic exercise. Our bike fitting specialist can help fit your bicycle specifically to you.

What exactly is bike fitting?

Bike fitting is a way to help you enjoy your hobby without sacrificing posture or ergonomics. This entails our team specifically adjusting your bike to you to help you be more comfortable and maximize your performance.

Whether you’re taking leisurely rides down the road, or you’re an experienced cyclist training for a race, a properly fitted bicycle helps you to avoid issues like knee and back injuries. These issues are more likely to happen when you don’t have a bike that’s fit specifically to you and your body.

Bike fitting not only improves your comfort, but also aims to help your efficiency and stops preventable overuse injuries. It makes cycling that much more enjoyable, knowing that your risk of problems has decreased tremendously.

Why it’s important to have a fitted bike

Bike fitting is essential for injury prevention. Many times, cycling leads to a various number of injuries that are totally avoidable. Pressure on your knees and back, along with your hips, is just one of the things that can lead to pain after a long ride.

However, a properly fitted bike takes your body mechanics into consideration when our team is adjusting the bike to you. This allows for certain parts of the bike to fit your height and the way you ride. This cuts down on wear and tear on your body from improper or less-than-efficient movements.

A bike fitting involves adjusting several contact points that are essential for proper and safe riding:

Foot/pedal interface
Saddle
Handlebars

These areas are essential for proper body positioning, which helps you avoid unwanted pain or injury. At Peninsula Orthopedic Associates, our bike fitting specialist helps you get your bike adjusted to give you the edge on the road.

How it’s performed

Our team has done lots of bike fittings, and we offer several different types of fittings. But what can you expect when you bring your bike to us? At our facility, you can expect a thorough fitting from our expert therapist. Our fittings always include:

History of your riding
Physical assessment off of your bike
Joint analysis on your bike
Analysis and adjustment of all contact points on the bike

We also send you a post-assessment email so you have all of the fitting information for the future. The bike fitting is completely tailored to you and your riding level to ensure that you get the most out of cycling, while avoiding certain injuries.

If you need your bike fitted to you, don’t hesitate to contact our clinic at 455 Hickey Blvd, Suite 205, in Daly City, California, at 650-746-3299.

You can also schedule your own bike fit appointment online anytime.