Another long one, sorry.
I’ve mentioned my experiences with pro-fitters before a few times and would always work with a fitter who had a physio /physical therapy background over anyone else.
They still need experience fitting bikes (and to be a good physio!), need to be riders themselves and even better if have suffered issues with their own bike fit.
I turned up to a bike fit with a highly recommended physio based fitter and was sent away after 60 minutes with a rehabilitation programme. Rather than complete a compromised fit they knew I would not be happy with, they saw weakness in me (specifically muscle activation and ability to support a vaguely sporty position) and believed some work off the bike could resolve it. Some weeks later I went back, had another physio assessment (huge improvement), a visual assessment on the bike from which we agreed a frame change was needed (a frame I was fitted to by another pro fitter).
I got specific advice on reach/stack and angles, went and bought a frame and built it up. Fit it to myself and tweaked over a few weeks.
Went back a 3rd time, quick physio assessment and as that was positive a visual fit. The changes were minor as I had fit it on feel, and what feels good usually is good!
Total cost was half that of a typical bike fit, it was basically 3 very reasonable physio sessions.
The result was the best I have ever felt on the bike. Annoyingly I didn’t keep that form up, I’ve let myself to, and due to that I am not as comfortable as I could be again.
It is worth mentioning a fit never ends. One fit won’t work for life. Injuries happen, amount of time on bike changes, your body changes, all these things can change what works. You may not need a full fit regularly but over time may find you get shorter or longer.
One thing to note is everyone has a ‘range’ they can be fit within. A lot of people go to the most extreme of that when dialling it back would be more appropriate.
In that same line of thinking you may or may not want one fit for everything you do. If you race crits and also do sportives you might have a bike at each end of the fit window. If you ride CX you might have a fit for traction/balance that is slacker than a road fit, it isn’t just the bike angles are slightly different.
Back to the thread. Questions to ask:
How long have they been fitting, is it their main job, what is their professional background that supports fitting, how will they know you am fit to be fit, what tools do they use, how do they deal with leg length discrepancies, how do they deal with injuries.
Just to mention my first, worst and most expensive fit ended up with cleats in different places to match me to Retul’s suggested angles. I was fitted to numbers above anything else. The guy is an irregular cyclist who does mechanic work and sales. His background is being around bikes and doing a 2 day Retul course. This for me is the worst kind of fit you can get!