Quick start: Your first session

Three things are true at the end of a good session.

1. Nothing hurts and nothing has gone numb on the bike or afterward.

2. You can hold the position without significant effort. A position you have to concentrate on isn't one you'll keep for three hours.

3. The app has stopped pointing anywhere in particular. The readings sit inside their fit windows, and the last change didn't move them much.

Which is to say: you're done when a pass stops telling you anything new. You record, you look, and nothing is asking for a meaningful move. Ultimately, trust your body.

What "done" does not mean. It does not mean every reading sits in the middle of its fit window. The window has width because a span of positions works, so there is no perfect center to find.

It also doesn't mean finished forever. A new saddle, a winter of stretching, six months of consistent riding, or getting older all have implications in your position. Done means done for now, and coming back in a few months is normal rather than a sign you got it wrong.

One thing worth checking before you call it finished. Everything in this lesson reads your position from the side, and there is a movement the side view cannot see at all: whether your knees travel in or out as you pedal. If something still bothers you and the side readings look settled, record a front view. Elite records one and measures how far your knee travels. The lesson on what it shows is still being written, so for now record it and see what the app reports.

If something still hurts after you've worked through this, take it to a professional bike fitter or a doctor rather than to another adjustment. The fit window is a range that works for most people. It can't account for an old injury, or for proportions and needs that sit outside the common case. Having a report of the session you did at home is a great starting point with a pro fitter.