Bike Assessment

A bike assessment is the opportunity to look at how you and your bike fit together.

When a bike fits you well, it’s a magical experience allowing for a range of road, gravel, or mountain bike adventures. When a bike doesn’t fit you well, it can be hard to pedal efficiently, make hills feel harder, reduce handling precision and predictability, and can cause pain in your body.

Frame sizes are broad in the bike industry and don’t take into account limb length vs height or joint range of motion when making suggestions for sizing. For this reason there are lots of parts on the bike that can be adjusted to fit each individual better. Examples of common adjustments include moving the saddle which can make a dramatic difference on your ability to engage your core, feel power through your legs, and reduce pain while riding. We can also make adjustments to the stem, handlebars and grips to make the cockpit area of the bike much more comfortable and reduce loading on your wrists and reduce neck pain.

Common pain related to bike fit errors:

  • Knee and hip pain
  • Foot pain
  • Low back and SI Joint Pain
  • Wrist pain
  • Neck pain
  • Saddle area pain

By looking at your body position while you pedal on your bike, we can see how all of these factors come together to create an enjoyable experience. Some common things we will evaluate include the following:

  • Optimal joint angles for your road bike (allowing for modifications if your joints don’t have full range of motion):
    • Knee flexion roughly between 27 and 37 degrees
    • Shoulder approximately 90 degrees
    • Elbow bend approximately 15 degrees
  • Optimal joint angles for your mountain bike:
    • Knee flexion between 30 and 40 degrees
  • Pedaling and descending (dropper post down) positions
  • Handlebar width particularly if bars have not been cut down
  • Stem and crank length
  • Saddle height and width
  • Saddle fore/aft position and tilt

In addition to making recommendations to optimize your position on the bike, we will also assess your pedaling technique and ability to generate power. The bike should feel like an extension of your own body when it fits right, not like something you have to fight against.

What to bring

  • Your typical biking shorts or chamois
  • Shoes you bike in
  • Your clean bike in good working order including being able to remove from wheel to fit on a trainer and fully inflated rear tire
  • Helmet (if you’re experiencing neck pain or nerve symptoms in the upper body)

 

Make an appointment today so we can help you reduce pain and find more joy on your bike. Your bike fit may be billed to insurance if it is associated with an injury. We are also happy to provide this service as a cash pay option to just help to optimize fit and biomechanics.

Request An Appointment

We make every effort to include your healthcare professionals and exercise specialists in a cohesive plan to promote your optimal outcome. We want to truly understand what drives you toward recovery.
Request an appointment today
After injuring myself during a gym session and getting little relief with massage therapy, I sought help with Avant on my shoulders and low back/hip issues. Kate was my PT and provided a full plan of how to get back on track and what exercises I could do at home and during my gym sessions. Each session targeted the areas Kate and I felt needed more attention during that week. After eight weeks I had better mobility and no pain, plus the gained knowledge of how I can stretch and exercise all of my problem areas that I still use to this day. I highly recommend Avant!
Taylor Bennett
Avant PT is an amazing place! I came here after receiving major foot surgery and the time I spent with Avant was instrumental in my recovery. After many months of regular sessions at Avant, primarily with Laura and Corissa, I was able to fully recover and return to my job as a ballet dancer. Exercises were well selected and explained, and I always felt at ease asking questions. It's hard to overstate how incredibly helpful everything l learned was and continues to be for my physical well-being. I will continue to come to Avant for any future PT needs and I highly recommend them to everyone else. I am incredibly thankful for everything you guys do.
Joe Silva
Fantastic experience with Avant Physical Therapy over the last 6 months recovering from lower back and knee injuries and then working on strength and flexibility to prevent future occurrences. Giovanna (Gio) was a fantastic therapist. I asked a lot of questions about why we did different exercises and she always took time to explain how different muscle groups interact in the body and how it connected to the goals we set. In addition, she is simply a lovely human to be around . Beyond Gio, Ronni and the rest of the front desk staff had great communication, were efficient with scheduling and super friendly.
Shaun Boyle
Ryan is the best physical therapist I have had the pleasure of working with. The care he provides is top-notch. He is professional in every manner of his work. The hard work he puts in to figuring out the best plan to getting someone back to full heath is top level. Best therapist around!
Matt Polster
Matt Polster
Professional soccer player for Chicago Fire SC
After playing eighteen years of competition soccer, seven years of professional soccer & five major surgeries, I was blessed with the best medical personnel I’ve ever had. I would trust Avant with any piece of my training/therapy, shoot MY LIFE!
Lauryn Hutchinson
Lauryn Hutchinson
Trinidad & Tobago Womens National Football Team
Hands down, the best PT I've ever been to. Laura is a wonderful, upbeat person and and amazing therapist, and unlike many PT's she spends the entire hour with you. She's also very good with difficult cases. I've had an ongoing back issue for several years and have tried everything. I'd pretty much given up on ever really getting better. In one month Laura helped me more than anyone else had been able to.
Tanya J.
As an 11 year NFL veteran running back, I have worked with many therapist and trainers. I appreciate Avant's ability to assess movement deficiencies, identify where the restrictions in my body are and come up with a detailed plan during treatment as well as for me to do on my own.
Tim Hightower
Tim Hightower
NFL Running Back
Can't recommend Brenna highly enough at Avant. Her guidance enabled me to return quickly from a significant muscle tear and get back to the outdoor activities I love. I now feel equipped to strengthen on my own, and help prevent injuries from skiing and climbing, which is extremely comforting. Appointments were filled with helpful guidance on exercises, scheduling was painless, she thoroughly and clearly answered any questions I had, and corresponding over email between appointments provided me with all the information I needed to heal and get stronger.
Stoops
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