The holidays are here, the weather has turned alternately nasty and lovely, and it generally just feels like the off-season. Of course, in Texas, that means only a couple months’ respite before heading into another 9 months of our famous all-you-can-race buffet.

This is also invariably the time of year when we start considering new equipment purchases and considering what we can do to prep for next season. It is for this reason I wanted to write about THE best bike component on the market. It’s not carbon, it’s not shiny, it is sleek, and, if it’s the right one, it’s going to make your cycling experience better every single day.

If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s a bike fit. Yes, you need a bike fit. I gave myself one of these a few weeks ago. I headed over to see Erik Vitela at Pro Cycle Works to let him have a look. Vitela has a darn good pair of eyes, and a lot of experience and training to back them up. After a nearly straight 2 year run of racing, it was time for me to get back to some critical basics: bike fit being at the top of my list.

“Some people have a position that might look terrible on the bike, but they’ve been sitting that way for so long that if you change them to fit conventional logic, you destroy their power,” says Vitela. Thus, he starts by gaining an understanding of your basic flexibility, then riding style by watching you pedal.

A proper bike fit is a combination of the practitioner’s experience and training, and it’s worth every penny to get a qualified fitter to evaluate your position. “Typically, a rider is going to make the small adjustments to the bike—a few millimeters here and there, not the bike fitter. The fitter is going to make the gross adjustments. Invariably, the rider will continue to make some tweaks as they train.”

This has been my experience as well: riders tend to change their style as they become stronger, fitter, and more flexible in certain planes (or less flexible if they are not maintaining a proper range of motion through stretching!) This invariably leads to small adjustments in stem height, seat height, and saddle position. The net effect is that, over time, bike fit should be revisited.

In my case, I had continued to lengthen my position on the bike causing power losses on the road bike and which evolved into consistent upper-back pain. Over time, I would have set myself up for injury.

A good bike fitter can be your best friend with regards to injury prevention. All those little aches and pains on a long ride might mean more than you think. One of my teammates reported pain near her shoulder blade after two hours on the bike, “I let it go, and now I actually have a diagnosed problem and am in physical therapy. I’ve been told for so long that pain is a part of long rides, that I believed it. If I had gotten a good bike fit, I could have avoided this.”

If you have an established relationship with a bike fitter, he or she can also be your best friend when the new bike bug bites. More often than not, riders choose bikes based on the way they feel at the shop—without verifying the geometry—and knowing which geometry works best for you, that new bike can end up on craigslist faster than you’d think. Vitela makes the great point that each bike is set up differently depending on the bike builder. For example, a stem might be set on a tall stack (higher) and have a steep rise. The saddle might be forward on the rails. The combination of these two items could convince a rider that the top tube is too short, or that the bike does not handle well. It is better to review the geometry in advance, know which size will suit you, then ask the shop to make a few minor adjustments to give you a better feel for the bike.

We cycling fanatics tend to gravitate towards the tangible when we consider the tools to enhance our training. We love our bikes; for us bikes are more than just a means to an end. They are of a certain brand, color, and build, all of which express individualism in and passion for the sport of cycling. But, the bottom line is, you can build your dream bike, and if it doesn’t fit well, it won’t ride like a dream.

Sara Krause, M.Ed. holds a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and is the Owner of Krause Sports Performance based in Austin, Texas.