PHYSIO FIT OR SHOP FIT
Physiotherapy bike fit or bike shop fit?
A shop fits the bike. A physiotherapist fits the rider. If nothing hurts, the first is often enough.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What is the difference between a physio bike fit and a bike shop fit?
A bike shop fit starts at the bike and works outward. It sets a sensible position from measurements and experience, and a good shop can swap stems, bars and saddles on the spot. A physiotherapy bike fit starts at your body: it measures hip rotation, hamstring length, ankle range and trunk control, takes a full injury history, and sets the position around what your joints actually allow. It can also assess and treat the problem it finds. If nothing hurts and you have just bought a bike, a shop fit is often all you need. If something hurts, has hurt before, or a previous fit did not solve it, the assessment needs to come first.
2
Real services. One starts at the bike, the other starts at your body
90min
The initial fit, including the off-bike assessment and the written summary
0
Bike parts we sell, so nothing steers the recommendation
60min
The follow-up, once you have ridden the new position for a few weeks
This question comes up constantly and it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch. Bike shop fitters are often excellent at what they do, and plenty of riders get everything they need from one.
The difference is not skill, it is scope. A shop fitter works with the bike. A physiotherapist is also licensed to assess and treat the body, which matters when the body is the reason the position is not working.
So the useful question is not which is better. It is which problem you actually have.
AT A GLANCE
- Shop fit is right when
- Nothing hurts and the bike is new
- Physio fit is right when
- Something hurts, or has before
- Where we fit
- New Westminster studio, by appointment
- Who does it
- A physiotherapist registered with CHCPBC
THE SHOP FIT
What a bike shop fit does well
A good shop fitter has set up thousands of bikes and has a strong eye for a position that looks and works right. They usually have the parts on the shelf, which means a stem can be swapped and tried within minutes rather than ordered and fitted next week.
They also know equipment in a way a clinic does not. Which saddles suit which riders, how a particular frame behaves, what will and will not fit on a given bike.
Strong on hardware
Stems, bars, saddles and spacers on hand and swapped on the spot.
Equipment knowledge
Deep familiarity with what components exist and what works on which frame.
Efficient for a new bike
If you have just bought a bike and nothing hurts, a shop fit gets you to a sensible starting position quickly.
Often cheaper
And sometimes included with a bike purchase, which makes it good value for a straightforward setup.
THE PHYSIOTHERAPY FIT
What a physiotherapy fit adds
The addition is clinical assessment. Before the bike is touched, a physiotherapist measures the joints that determine what position is possible for you, and takes a history of every injury that might have changed how you load one side.
That changes what the fit can explain. When a rider's hip only rotates so far, no combination of stem and saddle will make a low position comfortable, and knowing that early stops months of expensive component roulette.
It also changes what happens next. A physiotherapist can treat what they find, which a fitter cannot.
Measures your actual range
Hip flexion and rotation, hamstring length, ankle range, single-leg control. The real limits on your position.
Takes injury history seriously
An old ankle sprain or a knee surgery changes how that leg works, whether or not it hurts now.
Can diagnose and treat
If the knee needs treatment rather than a saddle change, that happens in the same building with the same clinician.
Prescribes the work that widens the ceiling
Mobility and strength work aimed at the specific limitation, so the position can improve over a season.
Tells you when the bike is not the problem
Sometimes the position is fine and the training load is not. That is a useful answer and a shop cannot give it.
CHOOSING
Which one you actually need
Here is the honest split. We are not going to tell you that every rider needs a clinical fit, because plenty do not.
Go to a shop if
You have just bought a bike, nothing hurts, and you want a sensible position set up properly from the start.
Come to us if
Something hurts on the bike, has hurt before, or keeps coming back after you thought it was solved.
Come to us if
You are riding after an injury or surgery, or you have an old injury on one side that changes how you move.
Come to us if
You have already paid for a fit and the problem is still there. That usually means the limit is in the body rather than the bike.
Come to us if
Only one side hurts. Asymmetry needs assessing rather than adjusting around.
Either works if
You simply want to be more comfortable and nothing is actually wrong. Both will help.
USING BOTH
They are not in competition
Plenty of riders use both and it works well. We assess and set the position, and you take the numbers and the recommendations to a shop that has the parts to execute them.
That is why we write everything down. A fit summary that gives specific numbers and specific component recommendations is something any shop can work from, and it means you are buying the right stem rather than the third one you tried.
If your position needs hardware we do not carry, we will tell you exactly what to look for and let you buy it wherever you prefer. We do not sell bike parts, which means there is nothing steering the recommendation.
COST AND COVERAGE
What each one costs you
Our current bike fitting prices are listed on the rates page. The fit is booked as a private-pay assessment rather than a physiotherapy treatment appointment, so check your extended health plan's wording before assuming it is covered.
Where the two differ is what happens if the assessment finds a problem needing treatment. That follow-up is a physiotherapy appointment, billed the way physiotherapy normally is, including direct billing to most extended health insurers, and to ICBC or WorkSafeBC where they apply.
The fit itself
A private-pay assessment. Current prices are on our rates page.
Treatment afterwards
Booked as physiotherapy and billed normally, with direct billing to most insurers.
ICBC and WorkSafeBC
Apply to physiotherapy treatment where relevant, such as returning to riding after a collision or a work-related injury.
No referral needed
In British Columbia you can book a physiotherapist directly.
ENQUIRE IN NEW WESTMINSTER
Book a physiotherapy fit if
- Something hurts on the bike and keeps coming back
- You have already had a fit and it did not solve the problem
- Only one side hurts
- You are returning to riding after an injury or surgery
- You cannot hold the position you want and do not know why
- You want the underlying limitation addressed, not worked around
LAUNCH REHAB NEW WESTMINSTER
Bike fitting runs from our New Westminster studio, by appointment. Tell us what happens on the bike and we will tell you whether you need a fit, a physiotherapy assessment, or both. It is a two-minute conversation and it saves booking the wrong thing.
- Address
- 219-800 Carnarvon St, New Westminster, BC V3M 0G3
- Getting here
- Inside Shops at New West, above New Westminster SkyTrain station
Bike fitting is by appointment only and books out during the spring and summer riding season. Enquire early if you have an event coming up. About the New Westminster studio.
FAQ
Common questions.
Not better, different in scope. A shop fit is often the right choice for a healthy rider setting up a new bike. A physiotherapy fit adds a clinical assessment of the joints and the ability to treat what it finds, which is what you need when something hurts or when a previous fit did not work. Picking the right one for your situation matters more than which is theoretically more thorough.
KEEP READING
More from the bike fitting guides.
- How a fit works
What happens in a fit
The full 90 minutes, step by step, from the first question to the numbers you take home.
READ - Pain and symptoms
Knee pain
Front, back, inside or outside. Where the pain sits narrows down which part of the setup is doing it.
READ - How a fit works
Saddle height
The most influential number on the bike, and the one most riders have wrong by more than they think.
READ
FROM THE JOURNAL
Related reading from our clinicians.
READY?
Book your bike fit in New Westminster.
By appointment at 219-800 Carnarvon St, New Westminster, BC V3M 0G3. Not sure which appointment you need? Call 604-519-0777 and describe what happens on the bike.