Love your bike with a fit at IOG

Pain is a major reason people don’t love riding their bikes. Maybe their right hand always falls asleep, or the balls of their feet ache, or their saddle leaves them sore after a long ride. Fortunately, Niwot bike fitter Ivan O’Gorman can help novice and dedicated cyclists fall in love with their bikes all over again. O’Gorman opened the IOG Bike Fit and Consulting studio in Niwot in July, 2017 and offers a variety of cycling services which aim to make riders more comfortable and efficient on their bikes.

O’Gorman’s signature service is the 3D motion capture bike fit. Priced at $300, it includes a pre-fit consultation and a biomechanical evaluation using the Retül motion-capture system, which measures key points on a cyclist’s body while he or she is riding. No bike? No problem. O’Gorman can use the Retül Müve fit bike to determine a rider’s ideal position and then match him or her with the perfect new ride. O’Gorman also offers custom bike consulting services, walking a customer through each step of the custom bike-buying process.

According to O’Gorman, a bike fit is not just for the serious rider. Any casual rider can benefit. In addition, O’Gorman invites local cyclists with questions or small problems to pop in and say hi. “As we’re coming into this biking season, we’re aware that lots of local people are going to do charity rides and endurance rides and they just want a little bit of advice or a tip,” O’Gorman said.

Looking around at the jerseys and memorabilia decorating the IOG studio, it’s clear O’Gorman loves cycling. An elite amateur Ironman triathlete himself, O’Gorman has always been involved in athletics. Growing up in Ireland, he raced BMX bikes and rode horses. In his late teens, he played rugby for Ireland. But after working in marketing in his twenties, he was ready for a new challenge. After examining niche aspects of his favorite sports, he zeroed in on bike fit and identified the Boulder company Retül, as the people to learn from.

In 2010 O’Gorman and his wife, Anne-Marie, took six months to travel the US so he could study bike fitting. He took classes at Retül and Serotta fit schools and eventually landed a job as a bike fitter and instructor with Retül. O’Gorman worked with the company through its acquisition by Specialized Bicycles, then took the leap of faith to start his own business.

“The mentoring that I got, and the support that I got, and the platform that they gave me, I’ll always be grateful for,” O’Gorman said of his time at Retül.

In addition to performing fits in his studio, O’Gorman contracts with cycling organizations like USA Triathlon and USA Cycling to provide fit services for their athletes. He also consults for local professional athletes, such as Tim Don, who set the Ironman world record in 2017. In fact, Don’s world-record-setting bright orange Shiv greets everyone who walks in the door.

But O’Gorman doesn’t want his services to be seen as something for elite athletes only.

“I get as much satisfaction, if not more, out of just helping people get comfortable on their bike. It’s no lesser goal if someone wants to ride a bike for an hour and drink a cup of coffee afterward and they just want to be comfortable for that,” he said. “I’m as focused on those athletes just as much as I am someone who wants to find five seconds to win a medal.”

The IOG studio is located on Franklin Street, across from Colterra.