What is an Accurate Fitting?

In the past few years, bicycle fitting has become more widely accepted. More and more cyclists are getting fit and this is a good thing. Something else has occurred however. What qualifies someone as a fitter has become a gray area. Almost anyone can take a class and pay for a certification from one of many institutions and become a "bike fitter". It seems that every shop has an "expert fitter". So how do you get an accurate fitting? How can you differentiate one "expert" from the next. Start by interviewing your fitter. An experienced fitter should have qualifications or certifications from reputable institutions but should also have the experience to back it up. A good fitter will have performed literally thousands of fittings with a variety of cyclists. They should also have experience with bicycle design, anatomy and human kinetics. They should also be willing and able to quantify this experience to any prospective client. Interview your fitter and do a little research. Accurate fitting comes from experience and is not based entirely on mathematics, lasers and anatomical measurements, it's based on your individual goals, strengths and weaknesses. It's the person implementing the tool, not the tool itself.