Understanding the Idea of the Virtual Bike Fit

Virtual Bike Fit

During this pandemic, we’ve had to use the Internet for things that we never expected we would, or things that we figured would never be allowed. It prime example of this is telecommuting, with many people working from home. Absolutely, people have desired to do this for a long time, but companies wouldn’t allow it, fearing that people wouldn’t actually work. Well, due to the need during this pandemic, these companies have been proven quite wrong. 

Road bike fitting is another thing that people would have originally doubted feasible before the need arose. After all, how would you even achieve this without going into a bike shop, and consulting a professional? Well, a virtual bike fit isn’t a solution in and of itself, but going through a virtual bike fit, and then a little bit of explanation on how to make the necessary adjustments, will definitely solve the problem.

Today, will discuss how a virtual bike fit works, and how necessary physical adjustments are made in the aftermath. Will look at the methods for implementing changes in the order of their viability and safety, as one of the options, while convenient, is actually slightly riskier than the others.

As usual, minimizing contact and social interaction is a good idea during these trying times, of course. It is better to be overly cautious and foolish, as foolishness can cost lives, and over caution is only a mild inconvenience.

How a Virtual Bike Fit Works

A virtual fitting is usually done through a couple different methods. The easiest method, albeit not that convenient to arrange, is to just use voice and video chat to talk to a bike sports, who will guide you through measurements, and discuss the various factors and adjusting your bike. They may be a lead is a real-time application with you, which simplifies and visualizes these various factors, and they can talk you through implementing changes to your bike afterwards.

Other methods include interactive applications which do something similar, albeit without the human factor, meaning that they are somewhat more fallible, but also more convenient to get a hold of.

How a Virtual Bike Fit Becomes a Real Bike Fit

Once you’ve had the fit done virtually, you still need to have it actually done properly. There are a couple different ways this can be done, including several that are simply DIY, with an expert or nap guiding you. We mentioned that in brief in the previous section, but it bears mention again. While it’s a little more involved, and thus a little more challenging, it minimizes contact, which is a good idea during this pandemic.

Some shops offer delivery and pickup, where, once they know what fitting needs to be done, they will pick up your bike, make the adjustments, and return it to you. Truth be told, this is actually fairly safe, because the pickup and delivery people will dress accordingly to say safe, and the bike will be sanitized both upon pickup and upon release, but is still results in people traveling around more than necessary, so you should only do this if absolutely necessary.

We like to discuss a virtual bike fit in more detail, and how road bike fitting can be done so safely, but it’s actually a bit intricate, and beyond the scope of this piece.

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