# Travel to Colnago Store for fitting?



## Quest08 (Mar 2, 2008)

I am preparing to purchase my first Colnago. The closest Dealer is over 120 miles away. I am interested in purchasing my Colnago from one of the Dealers who frequent RBR and contribute to the general discussion and knowledge regarding Colnago. 
My question, as previously stated, would it be to my advantage to travel to California and actually pay for a fitting at the store rather than rely on a website based fit guide? I have no doubt that most people can use the online fit systems very well. However I realized that the additional cost of a couple hundred dollars to the total price of the bike is not that much. I assume a hands on fitting is going to leave little room for error in regards to the fit. Anyone have a chance to try both methods of fitting: online vs hands on? If so, were both methods more or less equal in accuracy?
Thank you for any comments and thoughts.


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## JLane (Jan 27, 2002)

*getting fitted*

If you're traveling - whether 120 miles or all the way to California, I would expect the dealer to roll out the red carpet and fit you for free - and take whatever time is necessary to ensure that.
You're buying the equivalent to a Ferrari, and with that large price tag comes the expectation of a level of service that should be far superior to more pedestrian race bikes.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

Have the place that's selling you the bike do the fitting. As JLane says, if you're buying a Nag, you have the expectation that they'll pull out all the stops to help you get properly sorted out.

Back in 2000, my wife and I bought his 'n hers Colnago Dreams. The dealer, Bicycle World in Santa Paula CA, essentially spent a good part of the day dialing us in. They'd, say, put a different sized stem on and then send us out on a ten mile ride. We'd come back. They'd adjust something and send us back out on another ride. Needless to say, my bicycle ended up fitting me very well.

The dealer (unfortunately driven out of business by the recession, I believe) even went so far as to replace my wife's frame with another color when, after a week, she decided she didn't like the way the bike looked.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

Quest08 said:


> I am preparing to purchase my first Colnago. The closest Dealer is over 120 miles away. I am interested in purchasing my Colnago from one of the Dealers who frequent RBR and contribute to the general discussion and knowledge regarding Colnago.
> My question, as previously stated, would it be to my advantage to travel to California and actually pay for a fitting at the store rather than rely on a website based fit guide? I have no doubt that most people can use the online fit systems very well. However I realized that the additional cost of a couple hundred dollars to the total price of the bike is not that much. I assume a hands on fitting is going to leave little room for error in regards to the fit. Anyone have a chance to try both methods of fitting: online vs hands on? If so, were both methods more or less equal in accuracy?
> Thank you for any comments and thoughts.


From what I have read in the general forum about "fitting", not every person that administers a fitting ends up with the same result for the person being fitted. The Serotta system is also another option. Essentially, I think you need to make sure you get the correct frame size and then work on the fit over a time period, not a single day. I used the online fit calculators to determine what frame size I should get, and then spent the good part of a month dialing the fit in to what felt comfortable for me.


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## JeremyP (Apr 30, 2006)

Am not a big fan of getting fitted. There are different 'schools' of fit, and would suggest you look at the dimensions of your current ride first.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

JeremyP said:


> Am not a big fan of getting fitted. There are different 'schools' of fit, and would suggest you look at the dimensions of your current ride first.


Yep, that is how I started setting up my Cristallo back in 2006. I measured how my 20 year old ride was set up and transferred those measurements over to the Cristallo. Then, I tweaked it over the next month of riding to exactly how I liked it.


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## Jbartmc (Sep 14, 2007)

fabsroman said:


> Yep, that is how I started setting up my Cristallo back in 2006. I measured how my 20 year old ride was set up and transferred those measurements over to the Cristallo. Then, I tweaked it over the next month of riding to exactly how I liked it.


I agree. A fitting is good if it is your first bike. Otherwise, transferring the measurements is what has worked for me.


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## Quest08 (Mar 2, 2008)

It will be the first bike I've owned since I was eleven that I actually get to ride. I had minor back fusion surgery a couple years ago and had some infection problems in my spine that needed to get resolved. I'm finally at the point where I can ride. In the mean time I had purchased two bikes and had one given to me by my Father to use as a carrot in my rehab. Turns out, none of them would have been the right fit anyway.
I plan on making just one expensive bike purchase (expensive for me anyway) and I don't mind paying the extra money to assure a good fit. Thanks for all of the good advice and I hope to post some photos as soon as I have my ride.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

We have people travel 500km for fittings. 
Do it.


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## icsloppl (Aug 25, 2009)

First Colnago? Get fit at all cost. If you don't, chances are that you'll go too large, which will result in the Slow-Handling Colnago Syndrone.

Very bad. Very expensive. Obama won't help you.


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## Clevor (Sep 8, 2005)

icsloppl said:


> First Colnago? Get fit at all cost. If you don't, chances are that you'll go too large, which will result in the Slow-Handling Colnago Syndrone.
> 
> Very bad. Very expensive. Obama won't help you.


+1

But be sure you get the right 'fitting'. Fitting on a Colnago is not straightforward. People forget what gives the magical ride quality of Colnagos:

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/colnago.shtml

Note a bit of irony there about Trialtir. It's really best to sit on a couple of bikes (at least), but there may not be many C50s or EPSs in the store. In Japan, they won't let you sit on a new C50. Heck, they won't even let you sit on a customer's bike that is in the store for service!

The top tube lengths are cut so fine on a Colnago, I could ride a 53, 54, or 55 frame. But I chose a 53 and use a 130 mm stem. On a conventional frame, you want a pleasing amount of seatpost showing, plus adequate clearance for the family jewels . The longer stem will help quicken the steering on the slack front end.


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## WrenchScienceCliff (Feb 12, 2010)

When I first started at Wrench Science, I was skeptical as to the fitting approach..especially having worked for years at shops with in-person personal fitting sessions, Fit Kit certifications, etc. But do any research on Wrench Science and you'll find our reputation for fitting is excellent. We've been fitting riders from all around the world for the past 9+ years and we do this based on multiple sets of data, for free, and without having to be in the shop. The process still takes a decent amount of time, but is well worth it.
Bottom line is this: *we offer a satisfaction guarantee on the fit*, so there is zero room for error on the fit. This includes swapping the stem as needed (as other folks have commented, it can be quite hard to dial in post height and stem length in the course of a 1-day fitting), though once we have finalized a fitting, the frame size is always spot on. Give me a call if you'd like to talk - the phone call is free.


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## fabsroman (Jul 14, 2006)

WrenchScienceCliff said:


> When I first started at Wrench Science, I was skeptical as to the fitting approach..especially having worked for years at shops with in-person personal fitting sessions, Fit Kit certifications, etc. But do any research on Wrench Science and you'll find our reputation for fitting is excellent. We've been fitting riders from all around the world for the past 9+ years and we do this based on multiple sets of data, for free, and without having to be in the shop. The process still takes a decent amount of time, but is well worth it.
> Bottom line is this: *we offer a satisfaction guarantee on the fit*, so there is zero room for error on the fit. This includes swapping the stem as needed (as other folks have commented, it can be quite hard to dial in post height and stem length in the course of a 1-day fitting), though once we have finalized a fitting, the frame size is always spot on. Give me a call if you'd like to talk - the phone call is free.


Back in 2006 when I was looking at the Cristallo purchase, I had no idea how to size these sloping frames or Colnagos for that matter since my last frame purchase was in 1985. One of Wrench Science's employees on here referred me to the Wrench Science fit calculator and it suggested a 51cm c-c frame or a 53cm c-t frame. I think it was dead on with the frame sizing. The competitive cyclist fit calculator came up with the same thing. both came up with a 65 cm reach overall and that it what I have been going with. However, I think 64.5 might have been closer.


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## Quest08 (Mar 2, 2008)

WrenchScienceCliff said:


> When I first started at Wrench Science, I was skeptical as to the fitting approach..especially having worked for years at shops with in-person personal fitting sessions, Fit Kit certifications, etc. But do any research on Wrench Science and you'll find our reputation for fitting is excellent. We've been fitting riders from all around the world for the past 9+ years and we do this based on multiple sets of data, for free, and without having to be in the shop. The process still takes a decent amount of time, but is well worth it.
> Bottom line is this: *we offer a satisfaction guarantee on the fit*, so there is zero room for error on the fit. This includes swapping the stem as needed (as other folks have commented, it can be quite hard to dial in post height and stem length in the course of a 1-day fitting), though once we have finalized a fitting, the frame size is always spot on. Give me a call if you'd like to talk - the phone call is free.


 Thanks Cliff, PM has been sent. Thank you!


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