Unfortunately, I was so annoyed that I am only submitting a review over 2 months late. Hopefully this will help me to use objective wording.
I have been doing various endurance sports for decades (marathons, cycling marathons up to 200 km, triathlons up to middle distance, so far only without a handlebar attachment). The purpose of the bike fitting, as communicated to the supplier, was to check my subjectively perceived suitable setting for the road bike and to adapt it to my newly purchased handlebar attachment, so that I have a setting that is suitable for riding both with and without a handlebar attachment. A price of 399 euros was agreed for this.
I had my bike fitting appointment with Thomas. He first measured my foot, had me do a few mobility exercises and then let me ride the bike in various positions for video analysis. The technical equipment in the studio made a good impression on me.
The result of the analysis was that I have limited mobility, especially in my hip. But not only that. Thomas had to repeat it at least 5 times during the consultation and explicitly emphasize how bad my mobility values are. But that's not all: someone with such mobility deficits comes to him less than once a year. Even if this is not as mercilessly exaggerated as it seems to me, but is really the truth: this is no way to treat your customers. His question as to whether I don't notice that the cyclists I meet on the road during training move their hips less than I do shows me that he has absolutely no idea of the visual and haptic body perception of the average amateur athlete.
There was also a kind of side issue, which in the end no longer interested me at all, but which he wouldn't let go of. He was determined to persuade me to have a personal trainer look after me. Although I explained to him in detail exactly why I didn't want this, he didn't stop talking about it because he simply didn't understand or didn't want to understand my motivation.
His final conclusion was that I can't ride sensibly in the road bike position and certainly not on the trailer. If he were to adjust me anyway, it would damage his image if someone saw me riding and I told them that I had been adjusted by him. He also gave me a shoe recommendation based on the measurement of my sole and a recommendation to shorten my crank length. He then only charged me 199 euros instead of 399 euros, but he didn't want to provide the service I had actually booked. I was then given illustrated instructions with exercises with the fascia roller, which I had already been doing in a similar form 1-2 times a week anyway. However, it was touted as a kind of miracle program that would enable me to be so fit after 8 weeks with 5-10 minutes a day that he could do the bike fitting for me. However, he didn't explicitly offer to do this for the difference of 200 euros.
In general, bike fitting at the Bike Academy Berlin only seems to be aimed at professional athletes or recreational athletes with professional-like ambitions and very good body awareness. Amateur athletes seem to be in the wrong place.
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