Bike fit + bike + bike fit?

I dont know anything about the GURU fit.  Sounds like this is geared towards buying a Guru.  Nice bikes!

But these would be the steps I would follow:

1) Get a bike fit to determine what bike will fit you best.  A good fitter will use more than measurements to determine this (your goals, flexibility, injury history, etc).  This will also determine your starting point for stem angle/length, seat height, bar type/position, etc...  This will get you 80% there.

2) Buy Recommended Bike and have it set to position based on fit

3) Ride for a few months in this new position

4) Tweak position.  This could involve going back to bike fitter (and/or wind tunnel) to dial in the last 20% of your position.  This could be a long process that you need to repeat several times, especially as things change (your fitness, flexibility, goals, injuries, desire to change components on your bike, etc).

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I should have done a better job explaining.  GURU Dynamic Fit Unit is the machine I am getting fitted on, and it's one of those funky looking contraptions that allows you to stay on the machine while making adjustments on the fly.  It's a machine created by GURU and it can be used to feed the data in to a custom GURU bike build, but it was posed to me as one of the tools in determining your overall bike fit.  I believe it gives you all the necessary measurements to determine the "best" fit as it detects power output and all those jazzy metrics.  Whether the data is then used to buy an actual custom GURU bike is up to the person being fitted (and I think they might be out of my budget ).

I have extremely limited knowledge on what it does - I only know what the fitter told me about it and the limited info I could bring up in a Google search.  If anyone is more versed in this area, please educate me!

I am in a very close problem.  Same as I bought my road bike years ago.  Now knowing I am going to get a Tri bike in march, the GURU machine is a option in my area.  Please post back how your fit goes.  Like you say it's not cheap and going to a couple fitters to try them out is very expensive.

Listen to this^^^

Ask about the fitter, how much experience they have and if they have done a lot of TT fits.

When fitting tools/systems come out (Guru, Retuel, FIST ect) folks go out learn how to use the tool in a weekend class then come back and say they are certified in xxx system. That doesn't mean much as fitting is an art and the system they use to measure is just a tool.

In your local area, have other triathletes used this fitter? been pleased with fit?

Post on your State's forum for feedback on good fitters.

Where I live if you ask around, there are probably 4-5 fitters that their names come up when asking about fit.

I've been fit by 4 different folks over the years and they have each fit me quite different. If fit was an exact science that wouldn't have happened.

I agree the order in which you are looking at things is best. There is a stack and reach table that can help you see what TT bikes (size, brand and model) will fit once you have those coordinates.

The machine is very cool - they make adjustments on the fly and you never have to get off.  Like other people mentioned, it seemed like my fitter really just used the GURU fit machine as a means to an end and not one tool in a complex process.  That was pretty disappointing, and the process wasn't nearly as comprehensive as I had imagined.  Then, the fitter put me on a bike that he said I was at the "extreme end of fitting," but he would make it work because he really liked what the manufacturer had done with their bikes this year.  Red flag.  From there, it was about adding spacers and risers and what not to make the bike work, where I really felt like I should have been put on a better geometry to begin with.  I felt like a bike was being fitted to me, rather than me being fitted to a bike.

All-in-all, the machine was very cool.  I would echo what everyone else said and research your fitter.  Talk to them before your fit to get their background, what they are going to do, and ask people in your area if they recommend them.  The fitter is much more important than whatever tool they use!

I'm in a similar situation as the OP, but I'm scratching my head in how to apply the fit data that I'll receive from the fitting to a used bike purchase.  I can see how this process would be much easier for a new bike purchase from a LBS, but how would I approach this for a used bike purchase where I can't make a bunch of measurements?

Would using the manufacturer's specs for the model I'm looking to purchase and comparing it to my fit data be sufficient?  Or can I skip the pre-purchase bike fit, use my in-seam measurements as a general starting point and then bring the bike in for a fit adjustment at that point?

I'm on a very limited budget (but want to get the most bike I can for my money), so that's why I'd like to buy a used bike.  Would a bike fit generally include a pre-purchase fit appointment or is that an extra charge on top of the fit adjustment to the bike you want fitted?

Thanks,
Steve