I got my bike fit by a F.I.S.T. Fitter. It was a christmas present from my wife. It felt pretty special. Just like a man getting fit for his first real suit, a bike fitter will sit down and make sure that your bike fits around your body. Your bike will no longer be something you just hop onto, it will be an extension of everything you do in the race.
On my first 40-mile ride, I noticed an odd feeling. My pinky and ring fingers went numb. It was a sensation that has been brought up many times by riders on the internet. The "Shoot from the hip response" is always, "You got a bad fitting.". The person replying is always under the impression that everybody elses' bike fitter and bike shop employees are dumb as a doorknob, but THEIR fitter and employees are angels.
The truth of the matter is that fitters do what they can with the information they are given and people need to be given less blame than we give them now. Let's stop pointing fingers at people. We're grown-ups.
Gratefully, I was able to figure out the reason real quick. You see, I have big old veins. Like...they are huge and obvious and very defined. Blind people could draw blood from me if they wanted.
The "Numbness" that I have always felt in life has been bloodflow issues: Body parts falling asleep, tingling, etc. When I adjust my position, the situation fixes itself.
So I paid close attention to this guy right here:
This big blue friend of mine is the one that is causing my struggles. When you are applying pressure to it for over 2 hours on your aerobars, it is going to cause some blood flow problems.
So what do you do?
#1: Stop blaming your bike fitter, and stop listening to people who blame your bike fitter for you.
On my first 40-mile ride, I noticed an odd feeling. My pinky and ring fingers went numb. It was a sensation that has been brought up many times by riders on the internet. The "Shoot from the hip response" is always, "You got a bad fitting.". The person replying is always under the impression that everybody elses' bike fitter and bike shop employees are dumb as a doorknob, but THEIR fitter and employees are angels.
The truth of the matter is that fitters do what they can with the information they are given and people need to be given less blame than we give them now. Let's stop pointing fingers at people. We're grown-ups.
Gratefully, I was able to figure out the reason real quick. You see, I have big old veins. Like...they are huge and obvious and very defined. Blind people could draw blood from me if they wanted.
The "Numbness" that I have always felt in life has been bloodflow issues: Body parts falling asleep, tingling, etc. When I adjust my position, the situation fixes itself.
So I paid close attention to this guy right here:
(not my arm...just a shaved arm)
This big blue friend of mine is the one that is causing my struggles. When you are applying pressure to it for over 2 hours on your aerobars, it is going to cause some blood flow problems.
So what do you do?
#1: Stop blaming your bike fitter, and stop listening to people who blame your bike fitter for you.
- Your bike fitter is not able to fully predict how your body will respond after 30 miles into a ride. Comfort is a very personal thing.
- Your bike fitter can take that feedback and make adjustments...but so can you.
#2: Adjust your body every now and then to relieve the blood flow blockage from your aerobars.
- Just like any other limb falling asleep, your fingers are no different. Allow bloodflow back into your fingers and get the feeling back in your fingers.
- The bike fitter most likely got all of the measurements correct based on how they "should be". However every body is slightly different. If something is bothering you, you should feel freedom to make minor adjustments to the bike to help yourself out. I would not make any changes to stack/reach or knee/hip angle measurements...But minor things can have changes.
- Your bike fitter does not own your bike. You are the one sitting in the saddle and turning the cranks.
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