Star of YouTube’s Bike fit Tuesdays, James Thomas, of Richmond Cycles, London, braves the hot seat in our latest IBFI fitter profile.
How untidy is your fit studio? Ask my staff…
Describe an average working day for you I
Very! But only in the places customers can't see.
wake up, ride my bike to my shop, have a shower/
Image is key.
breakfast, do some email, first fit, lunch over
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met
email, second fit, another hour of email, ride
in your job? Over the years I've fitted Richard
home, ditch bike collapse on sofa and do the
Branson, Gordon Ramsey and most recently Tao
same again the next day. Bike fitting, it's rock and
Geoghegan-Hart just before his Giro victory. You
roll.
choose who you think is most famous!
How did you get to where you are today?
Tell us something not many people know about
Working bloody hard for people who don't get it.
you I used to teach scuba diving on the Great
I'm lucky enough to be my own boss now and am
Barrier Reef.
able to do things exactly the way I want do them
If you had to get a job outside of cycling, what
— fit first, buy later!
would it be? Beer taster, nuff said.
What’s your favourite event in the cycling
What’s the best thing about what you do? - How
calendar? - Paris-Roubaix! Cobbles, dirt0p and
rewarding it is. A rider comes to me with pain,
beer!
sometimes so debilitating that it impacts their daily
What’s the weirdest thing a fit customer has
life and being able to help them achieve their goals
ever said to you? Can we have a picture?
is hugely rewarding.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in bike fit? Go on as many courses as you can to learn as many different points of
Espresso time Twitter or Facebook? Instagram! [James posts as @bikefitJames and has over 40,000 followers] How do you take your coffee? Strong and black What pedals do you ride? Road, SPD-SL, MTB SPD What saddle do you use? Several, as I have several bikes! Favourite road saddle at the moment is the Selle Italia SLR Boost S3 Favourite place to cycle? Spain
view.
https://favpng.com/
IBFI cafe stop: James Thomas