While I was commuting yesterday I was thinking back at some of the past fittings and the challenges they each presented. The most interesting thought was that would I have not interviewed the customer being fitted a lot of the small nuances and issues encountered during the fit would not have made any sense.
On my last fit I started the interview asking about injuries and out it came that the right collar bone /clavicule had been broken previously in crashes and as the costumer was warming up on a trainer even before this fact came out I noticed that the right reach was a little shorter than the left but about 1-1.5cm. While sometimes there might be a perfect solution to address a specific problem, the interview process will prepare us for things we might see and experience during the fit. Most interesting is when the customers do not recall accidents until the fit is in progress.
So the tip of today is ... ask questions, a lot of questions about injuries, training and anything else that could have influenced how the rider is fitting on the bike. The answers you will get will most likely shed light on some findings during the fitting process.
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Part of what Andrew means is to really have a conversation... something more than a "yes" & "no" type of thing... really get them to describe their background... where they have been and what they have been through in their life. As we know, all the systems of the body are related, so one small detail about digestion, for example, could have an impact on fit. Nothing is too small a detail or unimportant.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog topic -- one that will always need emphasized.
This is a great topic.
ReplyDeleteAndrew is so right. I have done assessments in health care settings and fitting sessions, it still is absolutely amazing at what people didn't think was important until much later on in the fit. Things like repetitive strain injuries, past surgery's, broken bones, and the list goes on and on. I have found that a conversation type of style does work best but asking the same question multiple times in different contexts is also many times required.
Also keep in mind that until they feel comfortable with you there may be things they do not want to share. So it may be appropriate to re-ask some questions during the fit as you start to see things that don't look right.
Very appropriate topic Andrew, as Bilko said.