Bike Fitting in Dallas/Fort Worth Area

Have you tried Richardson Bike Mart? I know that they sponsor a lot of the tri's in Dallas...

Well, you could check out "Bikin' Mike". He does bike fittings.

I went to him for mine... but my issues were not due to bike fit... so we pretty much didn't make any changes.

IF you decide to go to Richardson, PM me...that's where I got my bike....

I have to agree with the RBM suggestions. They've done me right in the past too.

I bought my bike at RBM... but I always take it to Plano Cycling and Fitness for repairs, etc.

RBM could never fix my bike to where it would shift properly. I struggled with the gears for 6 months, before I was introduced to the bike mechanic at Plano Cycling and Fitness... who fixed my bike (I seriously couldn't get into the big ring for months!).

I also had my initial bike fitting at RBM, and it seems that the position of my cleats on my pedal contributed to my accute knee pain 6 months later. I was not "wow'ed" by that fitting.

I like the fact that RBM has a huge selection, but I have not been overly impressed with their fitting or bike mechanics.

Slowtwitch has this to say about each of them:

Plano Cycling & Fitness started its life in 1973 as Plano Schwinn & Mower. How times change. Owner Rick Gurney has literally grown up in the biz, buying this shop from his dad in 1992. Along with Richardon Bike Mart's Jimmy Hoyt, Rick is probably the most involved cycling advocate in the Dallas area, sitting on the board of the Texas Bike Coalition. "Schwinn & Mower" exited in 1992 as the shop got out of lawn & garden biz. The flagship bike lines are Cannondale and Specialized. Kuota, Felt, Litespeed are the tri-specific lines. Orca is the wetsuit, Orca, Pearl and C'dale the tri apparel.

Pros: This very strong, established shop just finished its 4th renovation, growing by 6000' to its present size of 20,000'. Kyle Carlson is the general manager, and is well-known and well-regarded in the industry, chiefly from his service department roots. Additions along the way of Sean Thomson and Brett Hydrick mean there are several mechanics with pro cycling team experience here. This shop is probably as wrench-rich as any anywhere. Get your service done here.

Cons: With Bike Mart in town, the certain lines are unobtainium. It would be nice to see QR and/or Cervelo here. But it's got Felt, which fills the gaps nicely

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Richardson's Bike Mart is owned by Jim Hoyt, a dynamo in the Dallas bike biz. This was originally one of five "Bike Marts" each independently sold in 1980, one of which Hoyt bought. This is the one that really "took" and Hoyt himself added two more locations of his own. This is a full service shop, but is very strong in the pro bike arena. Triathletes would want to go to the original flagship store.

Pros: Hoyt is an avid cyclist, and is quite a cycling advocate in his area. He's also a good citizen in multisport, sponsoring among other things Jack Weiss' schedule of multisport events in the Dallas area, and the local TNT chapter. The shop carries Quintana Roo, Trek, Specialized, Griffen, Cervelo and Litespeed bikes, Ironman wetsuits, and Zoot, De Soto and Garneau apparel.

Cons: The category of multisport is serviced, but is there much ardent enthusiasm continuting education tri-specific product knowlege? Specifically, Bike Mart sells more Trek units to triathletes than it sells Cervelo (according to Bike Mart). Here are the 2005 IM USA bike breakdowns of these two brands: Cervelo 268 (248 tri, 20 road), Trek 235 (56 tri, 179 road). To its credit, Cervelo is this store's #2 tri brand. But, the Bike Mart needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Dallas triathletes ought to be buying Cervelo and QR tri bikes two-thirds of the time (newbies the obvious exception). Dallas is ripe for a Jack & Adams upstart tri shop, but it's in Bike Mart's power to nip in the bud any chance of success such a shop might have.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/dealersurvey/dealerprofiles11.html#Anchor...

If there is a Sun and Ski Sports in the DFW area they should be able to give you a good fit. I know that we have them here in Houston but I don't know about DFW

If you are on the FW side of DFW then you can try http://bicyclesinc.com/index.cfm

I have not been fitted there but I like their service and they have taken good care of my friends. I'll be a customer of theirs for a good long while.

S

Try Colonel's Bike in Ft Worth (on University in the middle of TCU campus). I've bought two bikes from them - Giant and an Orbea - and the service/fit has been great. Talk to Doug or Rick

I have been to most of those places and they seem good, but it seems that when I go to those places they just take me to the bikes they offer and tell me which one would fit me best. I am looking for someone to perform all the measurements. I am willing to pay for it. Do you know if any of those shops offer a service like that?

Thanks,

Mike

The true purpose of the fit is to find a bike that fits you, not to fit you to a bike.

The Bicycle Fitter at Benbrook Bicycle is an independent fitter. This is important because he is not beholden to certain bike brands / sales. He finds your fit coordinates (stack and reach) and then helps you find the correct bike to fit those coordinates the best. He won't fit you to something already in stock that would have to heavily modify with steerer tube spacers or arm pad spacers to get you to your perimeters. You be lucky if a shop has a frame that fits you period. That's why they aren't doing it.

The aero technology is in the frame on TT/TRI bike. If you add spacers to either the steerer tube or pad height adjustments your adding wind resistance and defeating the purpose of that expensive frame you're buying.

www.mybicyclefit.com

I've been to RBM and I had a preconceived notion about what bike I wanted. The sales person simply said ok and ordered it for me. After going to another shop, I found out that the brand I "wanted " did not fit me very well. My power vs effort on it was terrible. I went to Playtri Dallas and they were so helpful. They took some simple measurements (i.e. inseam, height, reach, etc), gathered several different bikes. First, I tried every single bike inside on the trainer then we moved to phase 2. I rode every bike again outside for about 15 minutes each. Then after going through all of the bikes once, I narrowed the bikes down by one and then rode each of the remaining bikes again. I repeated this until I was down to 2 bikes. Then we fitted me on each bike and I rode outside again. I was finally able to select the bike that fit me best. I have been more than pleased with my bike and their service. They were willing to spend the extra time with me to ensure that I ended up on the best bike for me and not what I thought I wanted.