TestRides: An iPhone App For Making Sure a Bike Fits
4:56 pm, August 21st, 2009, Leander Kahney

The most important thing about getting a new bike is making sure it fits right. It’s all the difference between pleasure and pain — and very possibly a pair of blown knees.
The Test Rides iPhone app is a specialized but handy “virtual bike fitting room” that measures you up for a new bike. It looks handy for figuring out whether that beautiful bike on Craigslist will actually fit you.
First you take a picture of yourself from the side — you’ll probably need help. You then mark your joints on the picture: knees, elbows and ankles. The App calculates your body size.
Then you input the dimensions of the bike you want to buy – the top tube, bottom bracket, crank length, etc — and the App tells you whether the bike is a good fit or not. This part is a bit of work. Many used bike listings do not include all the measurments, and even the amount of info online about new bikes is inconsistent. While a lot of manufacturers have all the data, some do not.
Still, if you’re about to buy a new bike and have most of the measurements, spending $5 on this app seems like a good precaution to make sure it fits right.
Posted by Leander Kahney in News, Software, iPhone | Comment on this article
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Seems like it would have been smart to be able to take a photo of the bike and map ITS points too – and then the software could tell you whether it fit or not by matching them up…
Dave, on August 21st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
When I click the link, it takes me to a song in the iTunes Store. I tried searching “testrides” but couldn’t find anything. Could you send another link?
Karina Chan, on August 21st, 2009 at 6:45 pm
my bad. wrong link. thanks for pointing out. i’ve fixed it.
Leander Kahney, on August 21st, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Wouldn’t substitute for actually sitting on the bike, but would be a great first step in sizing.
Tim, on August 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 am