The Northern Ireland Thread. *Warning* May include cake

seanorawe

This sounds like it would be a good laugh

http://velocafemagasin.com/Blog/goldsprints/

t.m.h.n.e.t

Out last night and forgot to take the batteries out of my lights.

Sitting watching two red lights on the lipo charger instead of being out riding


#muckingfuppet

dw300

velocafe is the little door on the left hand side of the front of Spring & Airbrake building (Ormeau Av) .. the sign is smaller than a credit card. I think it's only open on Monday and Friday evenings after 4:30pm if you dont have an appointment.

They have a Facebook page .. https://www.facebook.com/vcafemagasin?fref=ts

The Retul fitting includes a frame geometry suggestion, which is good if you are considering a custom frame.

I havent ridden outdoors in about 6 weeks .. o_O

kingofthetailwind

Yeah I'd defintely recommend NI Biomechanics for a bike fit. I'm a total beginner but he seems to know his stuff. He did video analysis and calculated all the angles. Then modified pretty much everything on the bike. Increased seat height drastically, moved the seat back, moved two spacers above the stem, flipped the stem to point down again (I had flipped it up), angled the bars up a bit, and modified my cleat position. Seems to have fixed the lower back problems I was having.

£60 and took about an hour and a half.

It's in the Spring & Airbrake building as well. Don't think it's anything to do with Velocafe though? The guy's called Leo Neenan. He's a physio as well, but does bike fittings.

kingofthetailwind

He provided a report as well, including all the bike measurements.

A lot of the report was generic information but there is a few paragraphs on my own set up.

seanorawe

Stupot101 wrote:

Yeah I'd defintely recommend NI Biomechanics for a bike fit. I'm a total beginner but he seems to know his stuff. He did video analysis and calculated all the angles. Then modified pretty much everything on the bike. Increased seat height drastically, moved the seat back, moved two spacers above the stem, flipped the stem to point down again (I had flipped it up), angled the bars up a bit, and modified my cleat position. Seems to have fixed the lower back problems I was having.

£60 and took about an hour and a half.

It's in the Spring & Airbrake building as well. Don't think it's anything to do with Velocafe though? The guy's called Leo Neenan. He's a physio as well, but does bike fittings.

£60 is cheap. Ill defo give it some thought as I get lower pain on my road bike. Why is the retul so much more expensive? Is it because it uses state of the art equipment and measurments for the exact angle changes? or is style over substance and leo could do the same thing without the retul machine?

Food for thought

t.m.h.n.e.t

seanorawe wrote:

Stupot101 wrote:

Yeah I'd defintely recommend NI Biomechanics for a bike fit. I'm a total beginner but he seems to know his stuff. He did video analysis and calculated all the angles. Then modified pretty much everything on the bike. Increased seat height drastically, moved the seat back, moved two spacers above the stem, flipped the stem to point down again (I had flipped it up), angled the bars up a bit, and modified my cleat position. Seems to have fixed the lower back problems I was having.

£60 and took about an hour and a half.

It's in the Spring & Airbrake building as well. Don't think it's anything to do with Velocafe though? The guy's called Leo Neenan. He's a physio as well, but does bike fittings.

£60 is cheap. Ill defo give it some thought as I get lower pain on my road bike. Why is the retul so much more expensive? Is it because it uses state of the art equipment and measurments for the exact angle changes? or is style over substance and leo could do the same thing without the retul machine?

Food for thought

Could also find that the results of a retul fit leave you a bit sore whereas the £60 may be just the job. More food for thought

kingofthetailwind

His set up is fairly basic - he mounts his phone on a tripod, records from the side and front, and then connects to his laptop. Not sure what software he uses. But it looks very accurate to me.

seanorawe

Got a reply from leo at NI Biomechanics. I asked him pretty much the same questioni had in my last reply re the Retul vs His fit. Here is his reply:

My basic premise on bike fitting is to improve your ability, posture, comfort and basically how well you cycle.

Its different from the Retul in that i look more at the body movement and not position. The Retul is based on elite position and while very good it is somewhat aggressive in its positioning so if you are not ready for that it may not solve your comfort issues

I'm a physio so I based my fit from that perspective so its just a different take on things.

Im gonna go with this dude

t.m.h.n.e.t

seanorawe wrote:

Got a reply from leo at NI Biomechanics. I asked him pretty much the same questioni had in my last reply re the Retul vs His fit. Here is his reply:

My basic premise on bike fitting is to improve your ability, posture, comfort and basically how well you cycle.

Its different from the Retul in that i look more at the body movement and not position. The Retul is based on elite position and while very good it is somewhat aggressive in its positioning so if you are not ready for that it may not solve your comfort issues

I'm a physio so I based my fit from that perspective so its just a different take on things.

Im gonna go with this dude

Wonder would he have any interest in a future group session, maybe Feb/March when we all blow the winter cobwebs off. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he also does fitting for Podium4Sport on Montgomery Rd :?:

Or something

seanorawe

Feb/March suits me perfect. It's my Birthday in Feb so Thats a present from the wife sorted.

Now to pick presents the kids will be getting me

t.m.h.n.e.t

seanorawe wrote:

Feb/March suits me perfect. It's my Birthday in Feb so Thats a present from the wife sorted.

Now to pick presents the kids will be getting me

If you remember nearer the time, remind me please and I'll make some enquiries.

madden2011

I had the Retul 3D fit, he certainly focused on body movement. He also made sure the riding position I was in was comfortable and asked what type of cycling I was doing i.e. racing, recreation/club runs or communting. I really enjoyed the fit and thought it was worth it even at £175. Theres been no aches and pains since I got it done in August and I'm finding cycling alot more enjoyable than I did before the fit.

Well worth a fit no matter who you go with I reckon

dw300

From what I understand .. Retul uses sensors on your body to determine the movement of joints when you are actually pedalling, rather than calculating things from still images. This is presumably more accurate as there is little or no interpolation of data, as there could be from a visual assessment .. it knows exactly where your bodyparts are in 3D space during each point on the pedal stroke, rather than relying on an experienced eye.

So there's perhaps slightly more chance of picking up very subtle problems, and more chance of getting a good fit.

madden2011

dw300 wrote:

From what I understand .. Retul uses sensors on your body to determine the movement of joints when you are actually pedalling, rather than calculating things from still images. This is presumably more accurate as there is little or no interpolation of data, as there could be from a visual assessment .. it knows exactly where your bodyparts are in 3D space during each point on the pedal stroke, rather than relying on an experienced eye.

So there's perhaps slightly more chance of picking up very subtle problems, and more chance of getting a good fit.

You are spot on with all that.

Ive got my measurements and Ive been told to contact the guy whenever im buying a new bike and he will give me suggestions that will suit my position etc.

LiamW

Don't think i'd be too happy with a bloke using his phone and connecting it to a computer to be honest, but each to their own i suppose. I enquired about the retul system from Roe Valley Cycles up in Limavady, but at £150 and having to travel up there i decided against it. In the end i went to McConveys and got it done there, they use the Specialized bodyfit system which is quite hands on. The whole fitting took around 2 hours if i remember rightly, they recommended narrower bars (42 to 40), shorter stem (100 to 80mm), cranks(175 to 170mm), and raised my saddle by a good 2 inches.

Major changes indeed, especially as i was so used to riding the same bike and components for the last 5 years. I did indeed suffer from back pain but i put that down to a few dodgy disks i had and needing a hip replacement, though my hip wasn't as bad then as it is now. Anyway i got it done, took on board the recommendations and changed the stem, bars and cranks. In my opinion it made a hell of a difference, i felt a lot more comfortable on the bike no more lower back pain or indeed legs cramps that i suffered badly from as well. I was also told that it take around 4/5 weeks for your muscles to settle after a fit mainly due to the new positioning on the bike, i did have a few twinges but nothing major.

That was April/May 2011 and in the end it lasted me well until April of this year, i went out and bought the Venge frame and Force groupset albeit in a size down (49cm with a 51cm TT). It's currently sitting at the bottom of my bed as i await my hip replacement (sad face).

kingofthetailwind

Anyone know of a local bike maintenance course?

Diamant49

Stupot101 wrote:

Anyone know of a local bike maintenance course?

Chain reaction do them - no idea if they are any good. Scroll down a bit on this link.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Help.aspx?HelpTopicID=49#belfast

Anonymous

Well my new bike has arrived so I may well be going for a fit soon. I'm simply too tight to spend £170 on such a thing so will be looking into cheaper alternatives!

kingofthetailwind

Diamant49 wrote:

Stupot101 wrote:

Anyone know of a local bike maintenance course?

Chain reaction do them - no idea if they are any good. Scroll down a bit on this link.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Help.aspx?HelpTopicID=49#belfast

Cheers, that seems ideal.

seanorawe

Bikedock do a one off morning to afternoon class for £50. Its on ravenhill road. I put my name down for a spot on their next course about 4 months though, and have not heard anything back.

LiamW

Do what i did away back in 1987, borrow a book from the library and forget to bring it back. Teaching yourself is a lot easier and cheaper than doing other peoples courses and learning their bad habits.

It got me a job in 2 local bike shops in Belfast. There are loads of bicycle repair books out there, certainly cheaper as well. The other good thing is that they're always at your finger tips should you ever need to consult them again.

antlaff

LiamW wrote:

...enquired about the retul system from Roe Valley Cycles up in Limavady, but at £150 and having to travel up there i decided against it.

just to say Roe Valley advertising on their Facebook page that the Retul Fit was down to £100 for limited period.

madden2011

hutchy_belfast wrote:

Well my new bike has arrived so I may well be going for a fit soon. I'm simply too tight to spend £170 on such a thing so will be looking into cheaper alternatives!

What did you treat yourself to?

Anonymous

A basso Astra with ultegra, haven't been out on it yet just a few turbo miles!

dw300

antlaff wrote:

LiamW wrote:

...enquired about the retul system from Roe Valley Cycles up in Limavady, but at £150 and having to travel up there i decided against it.

just to say Roe Valley advertising on their Facebook page that the Retul Fit was down to £100 for limited period.

Fark, might have to have a look at that! Thx.

kingofthetailwind

Seems I have a bit more work to do getting my position/technique right. Rode Belfast-Comber-Ards and back on Saturday. Including the climb from just past the Duck Pond up Craigantlet. The climb was tough but good fun, the descent was great! But an hour or two after finishing my lower back started seizing up. Still very sore today.

I think everything he did in the bike fitting was right - stretching me out on the bike. I wonder if I'm stretched too much though. Ordered a shorter 90mm stem to see if that helps.

seanorawe

What cycling goodies did Santa bring you all? I got a set of mudguards. Thats it. Im 30 in Feb though so I am hoping the wife is saving for it.

paul_mck

pair of these babies

grifterveteran

what cycling clubs are there in greater belfast?

i'm aware of phoenix and castlereagh


recovering from a hip operation, been told my long distance running days are behind me gutted, but cycling should be ok long term, just considering options.

happy new year!