Retul fit
Brian1
Posts: 595
Anyone had one of these done and what are your thoughts. Considering having one done although its very expensive.Don't race or anything but think a proper bike fit might be money well spent.Seems to be a new setup here in Northern Ireland.
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I had one done at Bespoke Cycles in London and TBH didn't have a great experience. I've experienced pain behind my right knee on the two 40+ mile rides I've been on since I've had it done.
I'm thinking about going to the Bike Whisperer in Ealing.
One of the guys in my club suggested I may have a leg length discrepancy, or some other sort of bio-mechanical issue, as the pain is always behind my right knee and my left leg is fine.
I do need to get it sorted out ASAP though, it's a pain in the, well, knee
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Hi Mad was this a Retul fit?0
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They didn't check for a leg length discrepancy? They're idiots. You should ask for your money back. Both Serotta and Retul have a massage table lie down portion of the fit where they check these things. Maybe the guys who did yours were a bit lazy.The Mad Rapper wrote:I had one done at Bespoke Cycles in London and TBH didn't have a great experience. I've experienced pain behind my right knee on the two 40+ mile rides I've been on since I've had it done.
I'm thinking about going to the Bike Whisperer in Ealing.
One of the guys in my club suggested I may have a leg length discrepancy, or some other sort of bio-mechanical issue, as the pain is always behind my right knee and my left leg is fine.
I do need to get it sorted out ASAP though, it's a pain in the, well, kneeWhen a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0 -
I had one done and tbh I would not bother - it looks swanky but in reality it is rubbish. They messed about with my bike put in a god awful position as per the 'retul fit'. Ended up with some physical damage (knee and back). Went to see a good seasoned bike fit guy with a racing heritage and was put back in virtually the same position I was in before the retul fit.....
I would go to see a bike fit specialist and not bother with Retul..... just my experience though...0 -
How much did you guys pay? Mine was EUR 160 in Spain. (Fitter was British guy).
I agree, they only really concentrated on my right side and adjusted my saddle height, fore/aft and my cleats but he didn't check enough what the effects were on my left side.
The silly thing is the guy said my left side was "really good" before he did all the messing around with the right, meaning after moving me higher and back, I bet my left side wasn't "really good" any more. I pressed it but he was running out of time.
Also, shave the outside of your knee (if you don't shave). The silly stick ons things didn't adhere well b/c my legs were hairy at the time and I started to sweat a lot in the room. We spent more time sticking the velco on my knee than me riding.
It's a good system let down by the people using it. I bet only the top 2/3 guys really have the experience to know what they're doing.When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0 -
I went to Bespoke for the Retul fit about two years ago and didn't have the best experience either, unfortunately.
He did assess me lying on a massage table first, but, again, once on the bike he only looked at my right side.
I had some issues with my hip after the fit and spent a long time trying to arrange a follow-up appointment. It took longer and longer to get a reply to my emails and eventually I lost confidence and in the end didn't get to go back (should've been more tenacious given the price).
I saw the Bike Whisperer after this and had a really positive experience. He spent a long time getting the fit right. His method uses his experience and judgement rather than gizmos to do the fit and, in my case at least, it really seems to have paid off.0 -
I had a Retul fit at Bike Science (Bristol) Septemeber last year.
It was great, they did all the biometric things first off, including some core and knee strength tests etc.
Gave me an idea of my flexibility (or lack of it)
Then got hooked up to the retul system (with hairy knees no problem 8) )
Got measured both sides, looked at the data, made some changes, then measured again etc etc until we got the position dialed.
After the roadbike, I got my TT bike done as well.
With respect to the road bike it was excellent, prior to my bike fit I had been riding around on a secondhand bike that was setup (rightly or wrongly) for the same height guy I'd bought it off)
Prior to the bike fit I was struggling with distances over 2 hours in the saddle etc etc and had mixed messages about what to do.
The retul fit got me onto a larger frmae, with a longer stem, higher seat position and a saddle further back.
The retul fit also gave me a print out of all these new vital statistics so I could then retro fit them to my old bike so I'd have the same position.
I can ride the thing all day now with no aches or pains (well a little in the saddle, but thats just becuase I've changed it
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Also they would have done all my cleats and pedal positions etc including shims but I had only recently gone to Performance cycles near Cirencester to get this done.
Hope this helps?
Dru0 -
This guy has testimonials from Philip Deighan from Cervelo and Ronan McLaughlin from An Post /Sean Kelly so he must be pretty good0
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FransJacques wrote:They didn't check for a leg length discrepancy? They're idiots. You should ask for your money back. Both Serotta and Retul have a massage table lie down portion of the fit where they check these things. Maybe the guys who did yours were a bit lazy.
They had a massage table, but it was shoved in the corner and covered with frames. The extent of my physical assessment was me standing in front of the chap with no socks on. No flexibility assessment at all, and no questions about any flexibility issues.0 -
I'll agree with Dru.
I went to VeloMotion (Milton Keynes) and was very impressed.
Firstly had the flexibility tests done and given some advice as to what excercises to do to relieve the tightness in my left side.
All the LED's attached to both sides, then thoroughly assessed from both sides.
Road and TT bikes done, then a print out given.
I then bought two new frames, based on this info, just prior to purchase I got the Retul assessor to check my choices, with which he agreed.
Built both new bikes to Retul measurements, and they were spot on.
I'd recommend John at Velomotion.
Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!0 -
Bike fitting is a scam!
Just buy whatever bike suits your budget, especially if you can find an ex-demo/used bargain and you can pretty much get it to fit with the right stem and seatpost. If it's not right your body will soon adapt. I use a 180mm stem and 40mm setback post on my 50cm frame. I'm 6'2".0 -
Sense of humour failure ^^
I've personally never had a bike fit done, for a combination of three reasons: Never had any major fitting issues, Cost and I quite enjoy fettling myself and trying new things out.
But i guess if i had £170 i'd pop over the road to Bike Science (Brizzle) and get a Retul fit. It definitely seems like it's more about the fitter than the technology with the technology only being an aid to the fitter. Albeit quite a very accurate aid.
I really can't believe some of you guys got this done on one side only. Madness. I'd be asking for my money back or another session gratuit!0 -
I think he's parodying people's expectations (any more than a few stories on this site) of people buying used bikes but neglecting the fit side of things b/c they're blinded by a good price on a good bike.The Mad Rapper wrote:NapoleonD wrote:Bike fitting is a scam!
Really? So you wasted your money going to see Adrian Timmis then?
Even a crappy bike store gets most people to within 1 size of the ideal frame size most of the time. But when a person should be on a 52cm Colnago but sees a 58cm C-59 for 25p on ebay and can't help but buy it, then complains about numb hands or numb nutz or a numb brain, we roll our collective eyes.When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0 -
Definitely too gullible 180mm stem....
It's making a fair point though. No bike is a good price if it doesn't fit you. Fit is the number one factor in terms of ride quality. The frame quality comes a very distant second.
Anyway that's a bit OT. I guess the value of this thread is to see that Retul isn't a gurantee to great fitting. It still depends on the fitters skill.0 -
Retul is based on a database of all riders which is why they can see your thigh to body measurement or your knee to foot measurement isn't within parameters of the 1000s of people they've measured the same way. I like their fit b/c they're defo a racier fit and their idea is that they want to push people into a better hypothetical fit.
They don't want you to "feel better" or be more relaxed when you walk out the door, they want to put you in a position that is as aero/efficient as you can get, and give you exercises to work on your weaker or infelxible parts.
Serotta/Cyclefit [from doing it twice in 10 years, from knowing 2 guys who work there and from seeing many other riders who've gone and ended up with custom bikes] just want you to be riding a lay-z-boy if it makes you "comfortable". They are the kings of the 50+ yo potbellied fat guy with a 25 deg rise up-turned stem and a 23cm HT on a custom Serotta. They don't push the envelope at all. They just want you to feel better. I think this does most learning-curve riders a dis-service b/c that position might be your last position if you don't have the wherewiithall to improve it, to flip down the stem, and to ride your lower back into more flexibility.
What Cyclefit themselves are great at is the foot placement. They did a great job on my shoes but they did over-wedge me just a little. Later with trial and error I took out a wedge on each side and feel more natural and powerful.
Before you go, know what you want and ask them up front what the end result should be. Ask them what their vision is after they take stock of your currnet position.When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0
