Bike Fitting for a South African Bike Shop

Question: Hey Samuel. I’ve got a bike shop in S.A. It is my dads and I’m kind of taking over! But I’ve only been here for about 6 months now and still need to learn a lot. I hope u guys can help me out. First thing I really need to know is what’s the correct way to measure up a guy for a bike.. I’ve been using the old conventional method of making the customer stand over the frame and having 3 or 4 finger space from top tube to crotch!

Hi Taahir,

Good to hear from you and good luck with the shop, I guess you will need it!

Your measuring method is correct for a normal level top tubed bike and for a regular cyclist this will give a very good approximation of the correct bike size. If you want to be more scientific for more keener cyclist, say guys who want to get fit or even start racing then you need to sit the rider on the bike and with their feet on the pedals they should be able to flex their knee slightly, it shouldn’t be straight, but also shouldn’t be bent too much. Hold them up on the bike and check with your hand on their knee if there is a comfortable movement in the customer’s leg and it’s not stretched. This method is the best way as it gets the rider on the bike and feeling comfortable; also for slopping top tube frames it’s a necessity as the stand over method will not really work.

There are more scientific methods to get an exact saddle height, but most racing cyclists have there own ideas and you shouldn’t have to do too much measuring up. If you do get lots of racing cyclists it would be a good idea to look into one of the “Bike Fitting” systems, you can find out more about them on the internet

This gives the customer that personal touch and will start to build up a relationship up between you both, hopefully making you friends and importantly solidifying the customer and cycle dealer relationship for a long time.

I hope that answers your first question, we are waiting for the next one Taahir.