I was the lucky person that won the BG Fit following the Specialized/London-Paris 2010 launch in January at the Specialized headquarters. I had my BG fit done in late February; I arrived at Specialized head quarters to be greeted by Mark Murphy (Murph) for the fit.
It all started with a lovely cappuccino! Murph then explained that the BG fit is split into 3 parts. The first part was questions about my riding how much I have done etc.and he then explained that there are no computers and it solely relies on the fitter. So it seemed fitting that Murph is so experienced with the BG fits. He then took a series of measurements and looked at my flexibility of my joints - hips, legs, ankles, and head with some special equipment and then we did some floor exercises looking at posture and flexibility of back.
It was then on to the turbo trainer with my bike. Murph very carefully watched me ride in different gears and holding the handle bars in different positions. The adjustments then started. He did have extra work with me as he fitted me with new cleats, pedals and shoes. There were many adjustments until he was happy with the cleats and then he looked at saddle height and position in line with my ankles and knees and this was done very precisely many times; straight away I could feel a difference.
He then looked at my handle bars and stem position and my arms and the way I hold the bars. The stem was lowered to make my riding position more comfortable and so I could hold the bars comfortably in different positions. I continued to ride the bike using different gears until I was more tired to see if my riding position changes and then a few more adjustments.
Then it was my shoes and the inner soles asking me about my feet. I have always had one foot that just goes to sleep on the bike and we changed the inner soles to match my foot shape and allow more blood flow to the feet.
I was now ready to take my bike out 3 hours later!
It is very exciting and amazing the care Murph took, how precise all the measurements are and checking that was done.
Well I went to ride on Saturday and Sunday and I did feel a difference straight away and felt stronger. It was great to be able to hold the handle bars in different positions easily and feel comfortable. I look forward to see how it feels on a longer ride.
So a big thanks goes to Murph and the Specialized team for giving me this BG fit.
Jacky Bernett