History
The New Pro tool
Since having his first professional bike fit Darren Ryden was always frustrated by the complexity of setting a bike up to the desired rider’s position. Usually this entails using a combination of rulers, tape measures and a plumb line or laser level. This is time consuming and easily introduces errors. Alternatively, there are professional XY measurement tools available, but these are also very pricey for the home mechanic and still complicated to use.
One of the key challenges when replicating a desired setup is consistently finding the centre of the saddle. This is important as setting the saddle ‘set back’, or ‘X’ position is one of the most important, and frequently overlooked considerations. The saddle ‘X’ position, combined with its height determines your balance on the bike, and if incorrect can result in too much weight being placed on the bars, which on long rides can lead to problems with the hands, shoulders, neck etc.
In his search to make setup easier Darren developed a tool which combines the simplicity of a lightweight measuring device, with the sophisticated capabilities of the latest smartphones to calculate all of the important cycle fit measurements. It uses a single tool to locate the saddle centre, measure the distance from the bottom bracket (BB) to the saddle centre, and BB to the handlebar centre. The smartphone application then measures the angle of the tool and uses this to calculate the important X/Y dimensions used by the majority of bike fit professionals. The tool also allows easy measurement of the rider's hand position.
The photographs on this page show the new 'Pro' version of the tool, the original white/orange version is also still available.
Please see the following diagram for reference:
Please note: This tool does not replace a professional bike fit. Please get a bike fit from your local bike shop, or a bike fit specialist. What this tool does do, is to allow you to easily set a bike up when you know what your correct measurements are. It also allows you to easily transfer and compare the setup from one bike to another.
Visit the instructions page for step-by-step details on how to use the tool.
