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Bike fitting

theBlob

Bokeh master
Sep 28, 2011
3,014
1,715
Can anyone recommend professional bike fitters in the Tokyo area?

I think it is time to get myself fitted...

Thanks
 
We have our very own ProMechanic here whom I recommend however he is based in Nagano and I'm not sure of when he will next be in Tokyo

Failing that you might want to take a look here:

Alpha:http://www.alphacycle.co.jp/

Here is the guys Bio:

With over 20 years of experience in the cycling industry in Japan and abroad, I decided to branch off on my own. While there are many capable shops in the Tokyo area, I still felt there was a need for a very specialized after-sales shop that was able to do custom and repair work not bound by constraints such as time or overhead.

Bike fitting, assembly and overhauls are very time-consuming aspects of running a normal bicycle shop. ALPHA is not normal bicycle shop. If you are looking for something unique, feel free to drop in. Or just come by for a cup of coffee, talk story, etc.

Some of my past work experience:
  • Cycle Work Station, Kichijoji, Tokyo
  • Trek Bicycle Store, Boulder, Colorado
  • Team BPT Mechanic, Moab, Utah
  • VeloNews Magazine
  • Brands Cycle and Fitness, Wantagh, New York

Professional Certification:

  • USA Cycling Race Mechanic
  • Retul Certified Pro Fitter
  • United Bicycle Institute Mechanic
 
Thanks, I fired a PM off to pro mechanic but I haven't heard back yet. I will check out the other shop
 
Hi Road

Hi,

I am back in the UK now but I can definitely recommend Aoyoma-san and his small but dedicated shop - Hi Road in Shinagawa-ku.

Here are the details.

http://www.geocities.jp/bikehiroad/

There is an English link half away down if you need it. He also speaks excellent English too.

Hope that helps,

chazzer
 
+1 for HiRoad
 
Fitting

Sorry, I am not fully set up at my home workspace yet. I will be conducting a fit in the next few weeks and documenting it to show the results to every one at TCC.
It sounds like you are in good hands. I would love to hear a full wright up of the experience. One thing I have learned is that just like your flexibility and stamina a fit is ever evolving and you are never pegged down to one exact position. For that reason I have an open door policy and think that is an important part of the process.
Thank You
-Chuck
 
Hi, theBlob

I was talking about this shop today,

MANGROVE bikes
http://mangrovebikes.blogspot.com/

map: http://goo.gl/gdvlc

Shop near Tachikawa. Very nice guy!
His fitting is 3000 yen for 3hrs!
He fits only one person a day from 9am to 11am.
You have to call him for reservation.
One big problem may be that he dosen't speak in English...

He was a Keirin pro for 16 years, fitted alot of people he told me.
He puts you on rollers in his small shop, looks a you current possition, and explains what is your problem. Then he fixes it to what style you want to ride. No body measurements and no spacial lasers or anything. Well it's 3000 yen after all.
What I like the most about him, he dosen't sell you anything. He try's to do the best with parts on your current bike. If you have any spare parts like stem or saddle you can bring them with you, and if they fit better he will use them. If you don't have the parts he will suggests you what he thinks will fit you. His shop is small and he dosen't have many parts. I bougth my stem after he fitted me online, he has no problem with that too.

Maybe Keirin and road bikes are different things, but what he did for me for 3000 yen I'm very satisfied and was happy. I went to him twice just to talk to him and check my possition. Of course I changed my possition a little after riding for a while. But for 3000 yen, what can you lose?
I would recommend to try him out before paying big money for others...


sorry for my bad English, hope it helps...
 
I'm a bit wary of these agnostic style fits, Slam the seat way high,saddle way back and drop that stem - So many shops here are about 15 years behind in the art of fitting. Also Keirin and Road are two totally different beasts and although I would no doubt take this guy for his word on a "Real" track fit I wouldn't let him near the road bike.

Aoyama-san and also Alphacycles are fully qualified in fitting and have up to date certification and experience.
 
I wouldn't knock anyone's experience , especially if the result is positive. Certifications don't mean anything other than the recipient passed a test. Woo hoo. Do you want to be in the cockpit with a fresh nosed pilot who may have scored 100% on all his sim training and yet less than 1000hrs in the air? Or a seasoned veteran With a thousand Kai Tak's under his belt?

That being said , the basic body fit can be eyeballed pretty close especially by a skilled observer. And most issues spotted very quickly and corrected. However, I think the foot / cleat adjustment is best done with the proper tools, especially levelling and alignment, and in cases where the rider is especially sensitive or has some reoccurring pain issue, may benefit by this method.

Combining them is best. A skilled fitter who has thousands of fits under their belt AND using great tools AS TOOLS.
 
Agree. The Keirin guy would be a good starting point. Better than just going into it blind. But a pro fit is best. I like what Prorace says about an "open door" policy. This is very important. Getting the perfect fit is a slow process of evolution. You should keep going back. Give feedback. Make small adjustments till you get it just right.

Also, if you are going to do a bike fit, now is a good time to do it. Give your body chance to adjust to the new fit in the winter. Big changes in the summer when you are riding more, could lead to problems....

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
What PR brings to the table is a proper set of alignment tools. Anthony, We could see you have a funky pedal stroke already. You need to get real measurements on that if you're still feeling pain. And setting cleat forward generally EXAGGERATES alignment issues due the increased demand on metatarsal support and muscles. If your stroke is not perfect to begin with and in alignment, the last thing you want to be doing is introducing more ankling issues. Pushing cleat forward is messing with the valve timing. You do that very carefully and in very small amounts.
 
Makito was featured in Cycle Sport magazine a few months ago. He uses the RETUL 3D motion device with BIKE FIT. He has been training bike shops on fitting since 2010.
Also he speaks English as he spent many years living and racing in Canada.

SUN MERIT BIKE FIT SERVICE
Makito Fushimi
Retül University Certified Fitter
543-14 Gumisawa-Cho, Totsuka-Ku,
Yokohama-Shi, Kanagawa 245-0062
Japan
phone: +81-45-881-8110
[email protected]
www.bikefit.jp

http://www.retul.com/fitter_detail.asp?fid=387
 
UBI -- He must be good

Well, if Sekine-san at Alpha Cycle is a UBI certified mechanic, he must be good. ... not that cycling is an industry where "certification" counts for much.

The mechanic's class is at United Bicycle Institute is in the room just across the alleyway from my framebuilding class, and those guys really look like they know what they are doing.

UBI: http://www.bikeschool.com/

Some recent posts on my framebuilding class (last week and this):
http://positivo-espresso.blogspot.com/
 
I am pretty disapointed at the moment and not sure what step to take next. The trip to the bike fitter was expensive and left me no closer to a solution.

I rode the 20km to the bike shop and by the time I got there I was in a degree of discomfort (despite the two weeks rest leading up to the fitting). This only intensified as I tried to get fitted to the point where there was zero point continuing.

And that exemplified why the entire process is quite bogus. If it's all about how you feel in the shop then it isn't science. I guess there is no science in the whole procedure as everyone is different. There is no magic wand, and the truth is the price that I was charged I guess I was expecting some results. My advice on bike fitting, unless you can work with someone over a preiod of time then it is useless. Don't waste your money on the one time 30,000yen bike fittings unless you have scads of cash and have zero interest in keeping it.


What we discovered however was that it is my left leg that is slightly shorter. not my right, My left stroke is very stable but the right has a slight turn in at the end of the down stroke. Nothing that required any shim adjustments.

So then we went about adjusting my seat height(which was a bit high and back)

We moved it to alsmost exactly the same spot that I had previously set it and caused the intense agravation of my right knee.

The end.

I rode home 25km in intense discomfort, riding out of the seat the entire way in the lowest gear to get home in the minimum possible revolutions.

Next step....?? No F#$%&ING idea.

Try and find a doctor that won't just say overwork? Stop cycling and take up knitting? Rest for a few months and start again? although I think the outcome may not be any different.

Gutted....:(
 
Ok I would first off go see a knee specialist - you may have a mouse on the knee or other internal issues that might need correcting before anything can get better.

Also the fact that you were already in great pain before you even reached the shop for the fitting was going to equate to poor results in the fitting session as you had already aggravated the issue and any benefits or relief from the adjustments for the better will have been masked by the pain and tenderness of the knee from you riding there.
No there is no exact science or magic wand and nobody said there was – it takes several sessions with a fitter before the ultimate position can be found it takes me about 4 weeks of tweaking before I find the perfect placements for my cleats – so a positioning to protect you knee is going to take several visits and this should have been explained in the process.

So where do you go from here??

•Take a complete break from any training - the fact that you have been riding with knee issues is one of the biggest mistakes you made.

•Go see a specialist and make sure that that you don't have things like spurs, mouse on the knee and other issues that could be inflaming the issue and preventing ANY form of fitting to resolve the issues.

•STOP RIDING until its resolved.

Trust me knee issues are not something you want to take lightly.
 
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