Fitted for an invisible bike

Well, I had my bike fitting yesterday. This was quite a complicated process -- he did a long interview asking about any athletic activities I've pursued in my life (and I totally left out five years of musical theater dance being my main exercise, though it certainly kept me thin) and any injuries I've had (I forgot about the physical therapy on my feet until later in the process), so he got my whole recent running history. He tested my range of flexibility in several directions (below average hamstrings, above average knee-to-chest (I forget what that's called), average hip rotation (much to my surprise -- I would have sworn I was below average there)) and studied how much my feet collapse. He measured my inseam but, fortunately, not much else in absolute terms. I sat on a gel board so he could see the distance between my pelvic bones (and that was a very gross-looking impression! Ick!) -- I am medium to medium-small, which means I'll probably fit the standard seat. He put sticky dots on my shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle and used a computer to measure my minimum and maximum leg extension angles and body angles and a lot of other angles while I was riding on the model bike that he'd already adjusted. He studied the way I ride -- my posture was actually not bad, though I rested my hands in a funny spot on the handlebars which told him I've been riding with them too far forward (and explains why my hands go numb after a while of riding -- it's the same numbness I get from pushups). He adjusted the handlebars on the test bike closer to me, and that fixed that; he also said I'd need a slightly narrower-than-standard set of handlebars. But I'm OK with a standard crankshaft, and the women's frames should fit just about right (when we were finished he took me over to the women's frames they had on closeout, and two of the 50cm frames measured just right). He studied what angle my foot takes when I'm pedaling (pretty good), and observed that I push my knees in a bit when I ride, though that doesn't seem to cause a lot of problems for people, and none for me so far (except grimy socks, because I hit the chain more than I should, I suspect). I spent a lot of time riding the adjustable bike, and it even had resistance on it, so I got a good workout of at least 20 minutes total -- possibly more! He discussed clipless pedals with me; I've never wanted these, because I like to be able to grab my bike and go for ordinary trips, but if I ever get an everyday bike I might consider switching my road bike over.

After two hours of bike fitting, I left empty-handed. By about 10 minutes into the process I'd figured out that that was likely. There's a lot of follow-up work to be done, so I haven't gotten the full report yet. But, as I mentioned, it does look like there will be at least a couple of relatively affordable closeout bikes that will be an option for me. One is the Pilot 2.0 WSD and the other is the Triple 1.5 WSD. (Opinions, anyone?) There may be others, and I could certainly order a bike, though it would cost more. I'll switch out the handlebars (which they'll have to order for me), but the seat should fit -- though after sitting a long time on the supposedly custom-fitted seat on the tester bike I was missing my squishy gel seat. Are the somewhat firmer new seats really supposed to be better for longer rides? (All the websites say yes.) The bike guy said I should wear padded shorts -- but, like the specialized shoes, that seems kind of stupid to me for everyday riding; why not just build the padding into the seat? I think I'm missing something. I guess my rides have never really been long enough to demonstrate the need for good saddle support. But I do plan to do this century ride this fall, so that means over the summer I'll doubtless try numerous longer rides.

Actually, I know what I'm missing -- I'm being fitted for a road bike to replace my current road bike, because I really WANT a good road bike that fits me just right. But I also wish I had a town bike (with a squishy seat). And, heck, I'd love to try some mountain biking too. I am much too greedy!