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JoyFitting Guide · AI

AI Bike Fitting

Upload one photo of yourself on your current bike and JoyVelo's computer vision model extracts your body geometry, identifies fit issues, and recommends frame size, saddle, stem, and bar changes — in under 60 seconds.

5 min readBeginnerReviewed by JoyVelo Performance Lab

§What AI Fitting is (and is not)

AI Fitting is a fast, low-cost starting point. It uses computer vision to estimate your body's proportions from a single side-view photo, then cross-references those proportions against our database of 200+ frame geometries and component specs.

It is not a replacement for a professional bike fit. A good human fitter uses 3D motion capture, dynamic video, pressure mapping, and years of experience. AI Fitting gives you 70–80% of the value of a fitting at zero cost, in seconds.

Best use case

Use AI Fitting when you're shopping for a new bike and need a starting frame size and component spec. Then take those numbers to a professional fitter for the final 5–10 mm adjustments.

§How it works

  1. Photo capture. Take a side-view photo of yourself on your current bike, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock. Natural lighting helps.
  2. Pose detection. Our model identifies 17 key body points: shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and the bike's bottom bracket, saddle, and handlebar.
  3. Geometry extraction. From the key points we compute your effective reach, drop, knee angle, hip angle, and torso angle.
  4. Reference matching. We compare your angles against ideal ranges for your discipline (road, gravel, MTB) and recommend target stack, reach, stem length, saddle height, and setback.
  5. Frame & component matching. We search our database of 200+ current model-year frames and find the size that best matches your target geometry.
  6. Report delivery. You get a PDF report with measurements, recommendations, and 3–5 specific frame and component candidates.

§What you need to provide

  • One side-view photo of you on your bike, in cycling kit
  • Your height, weight, and approximate inseam (cm)
  • Your discipline (road, gravel, MTB, commuter)
  • Your flexibility level (low / medium / high) — sit and reach test
  • Any current pain points (knees, back, hands, sit bones)

Photo quality matters

The model needs to see your full body and the bike's key points. Photos taken at angles, in poor light, or with obstructions (helmets, gloves, etc.) will reduce accuracy. Use the in-app guide for best results.

§What you get back

A personalized report covering:

  • Target stack and reach for your discipline (matched against your current bike)
  • Saddle height and setback recommendations
  • Stem length recommendation
  • Saddle width estimate based on your hip measurements
  • 3–5 frame candidates with model, size, and price (with affiliate links where applicable)
  • Fit issue flags — e.g., "your current stem is 20 mm too long for your torso length"

§How accurate is it?

Validation against a sample of 200 professional fitter recommendations shows our AI Fit is within ±5 mm on stack and reach, ±10 mm on saddle height, and ±5° on joint angles. For most riders, this is more than enough to pick a frame size and order components confidently.

The model is less accurate for:

  • Extreme body proportions (very tall / very short)
  • Significant limb-length discrepancies
  • Adaptive athletes (amputees, para-cyclists)
  • Custom or hand-built frames outside our database

§When to see a human fitter

Go to a professional fitter when:

  • You have persistent pain that AI recommendations didn't solve
  • You're spending $5,000+ on a new bike or components
  • You race and every watt matters
  • You have a complex medical history (injuries, surgeries)
  • You're new to cycling and have no baseline measurements

AI Fitting is the free first step. A professional fitting is the $200–$500 second step. Both have value.

Want to try a quick calculation first?

Fitting Report Generator →

AI Fitting is in private beta. Email hi@joyvelo.com for early access.