I have worked in the cycling industry since September 2013, and I have run my own bike fitting company since May 2018.
In 2006, I entered university, and spent seven years in Xi’an, the capital city of Shaanxi province. I rode a bike for many thousands of kilometers, including many, many weekend rides and some long-distance holiday rides. After I got my master’s degree in engineering, I started my career in the bicycle industry in September 2013. In the first three years, I worked in a big distributor company in Shenzhen as a salesman. In 2016, I changed my job to Beijing, working for two companies selling bike parts online. In 2018, I started to run my own business to focus on bike fitting.
I have a great passion for cycling. Every time, I am very glad to increase my knowledge about bikes and cycling, no matter whether I read a good article or finish a new training program. Experience is the best teacher, so I enjoy the time when I am working.
Bike fitting is not an easy task because you have to keep learning new knowledge, and sometimes it’s not easy and you will spend a lot of time to figure out one problem, so the process is torturous. However, bike fitting is a great job if you want to be a real bike fitter. The learning process is full of satisfaction. It is like you peel the layers of an onion, bit by bit, until you reach the heart of the matter, leaving you with a sense of accomplishment.
Many times, I asked myself, what do I want to accomplish in my career?
Building great bikes and making people happy on bikes are the answers from the bottom of my heart. Bike fitting is the foundation of the two goals.
I offer a comprehensive bike fitting service using Steve Hogg’s method in China. I have my own studios in Beijing and Jinan, and I can also go to other cities to fit people if we can reach an agreement.
Beijing, China
Haidian District.
Jinan, Shandong Province, China
Tianqiao District.
Phone: +86 186 0076 1074
WeChat: 186 0076 1074
Email: paulbicycle@foxmail.com
Before I came to Canberra to train with Steve in July 2022, I had already been bike fitting independently for four years, beginning from May 2018. And, I had spent the last three years preparing for this trip. Below is the story:
At the beginning, I used a 3-D motion capture system and a fit bike to perform bike fits. I visited the United States twice, during 2017 and 2018, to learn bike fitting skills with Dan Empfield from slowtwitch.com and Paraic McGlynn from Cyclologic, in Los Angeles and Phoenix, respectively. At that time, I still planned to go overseas to take part in more training courses and get more certificates in the future.
(I have to say that, in my current view, the motion capture systems, video capture systems, pressure mapping systems and fit-related-equipment-oriented education courses teach how you use tools, rather than teaching you how to actually fit people.)
But, I had more and more questions about the validity of the “system” I was using after half a year in business. Like how to decide a precise position for a specific client or body in a wide scope of motion capture data that all indicate “correct” in the software?
Why do people display different left and right shoulder height on their bike?
Why do different people display differing trunk curves on their bikes?
Over time, I also noticed that people would complain of various discomforts like left knee pain, left hand numbness, right lateral knee pain, lower back pain and so on after I had fitted them ‘correctly’ according to my software. Sometimes a follow up tweak worked, sometimes not and I had to try and try again.
Sometimes I could do nothing more, so I asked myself time and time again; Why?
What elements influence a person’s bike position?
What is the boundary between a bad position and a great position?
What’s the connection between body assessment and the bike position I give to people?
What’s the standard of body assessment?
What do I need to find and why?
I was confused and frustrated.
In 2019, I made a tour around my country to communicate with other bike fitters, but made no progress as they were all using similar software to me.
After searching on the internet about the questions mentioned before, I suddenly found the articles I often read are from one website – stevehoggbikefitting.com. I started to pay more attention to this website and began to understand Steve Hogg and his bike fitting philosophy. I read many of the articles and comments Steve had written, and I believed that I had found the right direction.
Near the end of 2019, I decided that I wanted to train with Steve. I wanted to give my clients a much better service through solving my unanswered questions about bike fitting.
But firstly, I have to meet the requirements Steve presents on his website, most important of which is KNOWLEDGE.
I spent another two and half years learning about functional anatomy and Applied Movement Neurology, all of which are based on online English-version courses. I have no background in these areas and had to learn every single terminology.
As you know, English is not my first language, so it was tough but I enjoyed it, seeing the process as a step forward closer to training with Steve. At the same time, I tried to find every resource related to Steve and went over them again and again, just in order to learn more deeply about him. I watched every video and listened to every podcast that included Steve as well as keeping track of the people who trained there before me. Special thanks to Garry and Martin’s Instagram posts, Colby’s Cycling in Alignment podcast, Neill and Jerry’s podcasts on BikeFit. Each piece of information gave me valuable guidance so that I could be better prepared.
I was very lucky that Steve accepted my application the first time I sent him an email. (Note from Steve – Luck played no part. Paul is highly intelligent and had quickly realised the severe limitations of the process work / fit by numbers approach that he’d been taught and was looking for ‘more.’)
As you know, lots of people want to train with Steve, but only a tiny part will be accepted and much less can pass the final exam. That was the end of 2021. And, I spent another five months getting my new passport and visa, a very difficult and unforgettable experience because of strict Covid-19 containment policies. But finally, I could go to Australia, so I was lucky again.
I arrived in Canberra at the end of June 2022, and spent six weeks with Steve and Margaret. I worked with Steve during the workday, observing and practicing. Steve gave me a lot of material to read, which really helped me a lot as my ability to read English is much better than my ability to speak English. Muscle testing was the most difficult part, as you have to perceive the specific difference in every individual’s response to test correctly.
Steve is a great mentor, and always gave me confidence and patience when I was in trouble. So many times, he told me “You will be ok, Paul, relax.”
Besides training, Steve tried his best to make my time in Canberra enjoyable. We spent a lot of time touring this city and enjoying the food and beer during the weekend. Margaret took good care of my diet and she and I talked a lot, not only about bike fitting but also how to be a good person to clients, family and ourselves.
I completed training and passed Steve’s exam. Most importantly, I accomplished my goal and by training with Steve, answered the questions that had bothered me for a long time. I gained a complete and comprehensive perspective on bike fitting and know what to do next to improve more. I have to say, training with Steve was the best and most valuable experience that I ever had in my career.
Training with Steve is not an easy task. There were many times when I felt lost and defeated. However, if you prepare well before you go there, give deserved respect for training, be patient, take advantage of the time, you have a better chance to pass the test.
Thank you, Steve and Margaret, and thanks to the friends I met in Canberra, Paul Kelly, Lynn, Bill, Ben, and the other great guys at Pushys. They gave me a lot of genuine kindness and made my experience so much sweeter.
