Bike fit
greenamex2
Posts: 272
Hi all
Thought I would share my experiences with the Bike fit I had yesterday evening.
This was a full blown "Retul"/video etc bike fit taking over two hours (and costing £150 plus out of hours excess).
So what happens...
First of all I did some basic movements to determine flexibility and posture related issues.
I then laid down and got 'manipulated' when relaxed to determine joint flexibility.
Then onto the bike which was mounted on an indoor trainer thingy (never been on one before). I got a load of LED transmitters stuck on me that allowed the sensor to monitor the position of my feet/legs/arms etc.
A seat pressure pad was stuck on my saddle to measure my seat pressure points.
Did a warm up and then the first recorded run. On completion we talked through the figures (didn't make much sense) and then highlighted them by looking at the video (made more sense). Note that the video and sensors viewed from all sides.
Based mostly on the pressure pad data and also my hip swiveling data we agreed my seat was awful and so repeated the test with another one...from his collection of over 50! Test a lot better (could feel it) and hip swiveling reduced.
Repeated the analysis and the next step was to raise the seat and repeat. Again a visible improvement in the video and, apparently, the numbers.
Finally did some more off the bike analysis with another system to confirm my issues and then talked through options to improve my main problems (right hip, natural balance with eyes closed).
Got given some contacts for further assistance plus a copy of the main data/photos.
Results -
The seat pressure analysis was invaluable. I was going to spend a fortune on saddles/posts with no guarantee of a correct and comfortable fit. This got it right first time...and with a relatively cheap saddle (even though I ordered the lighter more expensive titanium railed version!).
Confirmation that most of the bikes settings was useful. I had spent 6 months fine tuning it, mostly against the stopwatch.
I knew about my right hip issue but didn't realise that it would impact cycling. Can start working on this after seeing the evidence on video.
The balance issue was a shock. With my eyes open I can stand on one bent leg for ages, trying it with my eyes closed was embarrassing! Can work on this.
Will it make a difference to my riding? I expect so, time and some exercising/stretching will tell.
Was it worth the money? Just about. I was fortunate that my fit was about right, and am unfortunate that some of the things that are wrong can't be corrected due to a variety of reasons. Someone taller than me (5'6") would have more options, as would having a bike with a longer wheelbase!
On the plus side I was going to spend a bunch of money on some bits to test, the bike fit proved this would have been wasted money. Those bits would easily have equaled the cost of the bike fit.
I guess the final point is...why have a bike fit? In my case I have a lot of health issues and wanted make sure they didn't get any worse, plus of course I also want to go faster for longer on my "commute" (which most people would probably consider more of a training run...150PM+ for one hour straight twice in one day for an asthmatic 47 year old with a heart issue).
Hope this of use/interest to someone.
Thought I would share my experiences with the Bike fit I had yesterday evening.
This was a full blown "Retul"/video etc bike fit taking over two hours (and costing £150 plus out of hours excess).
So what happens...
First of all I did some basic movements to determine flexibility and posture related issues.
I then laid down and got 'manipulated' when relaxed to determine joint flexibility.
Then onto the bike which was mounted on an indoor trainer thingy (never been on one before). I got a load of LED transmitters stuck on me that allowed the sensor to monitor the position of my feet/legs/arms etc.
A seat pressure pad was stuck on my saddle to measure my seat pressure points.
Did a warm up and then the first recorded run. On completion we talked through the figures (didn't make much sense) and then highlighted them by looking at the video (made more sense). Note that the video and sensors viewed from all sides.
Based mostly on the pressure pad data and also my hip swiveling data we agreed my seat was awful and so repeated the test with another one...from his collection of over 50! Test a lot better (could feel it) and hip swiveling reduced.
Repeated the analysis and the next step was to raise the seat and repeat. Again a visible improvement in the video and, apparently, the numbers.
Finally did some more off the bike analysis with another system to confirm my issues and then talked through options to improve my main problems (right hip, natural balance with eyes closed).
Got given some contacts for further assistance plus a copy of the main data/photos.
Results -
The seat pressure analysis was invaluable. I was going to spend a fortune on saddles/posts with no guarantee of a correct and comfortable fit. This got it right first time...and with a relatively cheap saddle (even though I ordered the lighter more expensive titanium railed version!).
Confirmation that most of the bikes settings was useful. I had spent 6 months fine tuning it, mostly against the stopwatch.
I knew about my right hip issue but didn't realise that it would impact cycling. Can start working on this after seeing the evidence on video.
The balance issue was a shock. With my eyes open I can stand on one bent leg for ages, trying it with my eyes closed was embarrassing! Can work on this.
Will it make a difference to my riding? I expect so, time and some exercising/stretching will tell.
Was it worth the money? Just about. I was fortunate that my fit was about right, and am unfortunate that some of the things that are wrong can't be corrected due to a variety of reasons. Someone taller than me (5'6") would have more options, as would having a bike with a longer wheelbase!
On the plus side I was going to spend a bunch of money on some bits to test, the bike fit proved this would have been wasted money. Those bits would easily have equaled the cost of the bike fit.
I guess the final point is...why have a bike fit? In my case I have a lot of health issues and wanted make sure they didn't get any worse, plus of course I also want to go faster for longer on my "commute" (which most people would probably consider more of a training run...150PM+ for one hour straight twice in one day for an asthmatic 47 year old with a heart issue).
Hope this of use/interest to someone.
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Comments
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Definitely of interest to me as I'm due to get a bike fit soon. Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm trying to decide who to go with at the moment. I live in Manchester and we have pedal precision (national cycling centre) that gets good reviews. But I want to go the full whammy to ensure I get the most from my fit so retul sounds appealing.
Did you have a look at anyone else on the market before going with retul?0 -
Well, I still don't think I need one for the sort of riding I do ...... but it sounds totally fascinating and a fun 2hrs ..... Tempted for £150
nice write up, I always wondered what they did for there money0 -
onionmk wrote:Definitely of interest to me as I'm due to get a bike fit soon. Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm trying to decide who to go with at the moment. I live in Manchester and we have pedal precision (national cycling centre) that gets good reviews. But I want to go the full whammy to ensure I get the most from my fit so retul sounds appealing.
Did you have a look at anyone else on the market before going with retul?
The system doesn't matter, the person using it is the one who matters. A friend of mine went for a Retul fit, and after an hour the fitter gave up and refunded his money because he couldn't get him anywhere near comfortable on his bike.
I had a fit two years ago with Adrian Timmis (I still ride the same bike and haven't changed a single thing in those two years so I highly recommend him), he said Retul is a great system but his issue is that anybody can go on a two day course then call themselves a bike fitter.
So, go with recommendations rather than a particular system.0 -
An update...
And being a racing driver, all that really matters to me is what the stop watch says...
This mornings Strava is littered with Personal records for the first two thirds of my journey before my lungs/heart gave up. I certainly wasn't intentionally trying harder. Once my body catches up and I do some of the hip stuff I reckon I can finally start getting close to some top tens!
The changes the guy also mentioned on pedaling technique were interesting. Gained about 1MPH when I did it but couldn't keep it up for long (fitness/cars/traffic lights/bloody kids glued to their iPhones wandering around cycle paths etc). Basically at the bottom of the stroke 'drag' your foot backwards to get a more circular stroke rather than square.
The really tall athletic looking bloke doing the bike fit (rides all over Europe, pretty serious about his cycling) quoted several stories about his fat friend (his words) on a rubbish bike that goes out with him. Apparently the guy looks like the typical "cycling to a couple of miles to work slowly in his work clothes" type but has such a good pedaling technique and totally stationary hips that he completely destroys this athletic over six foot guy that has been training most of his life...including stopping for a brew half way up a hill just to let him catch up...a bit!
Interesting stuff. The more I think about it, worth considering if you have health issues or any discomfort riding. Essential if you are chasing Strava times and have hit the proverbial brick wall.0 -
greenamex2 wrote:An update...
Basically at the bottom of the stroke 'drag' your foot backwards to get a more circular stroke rather than square.
Whenever I focus on my pedaling form I always seem to find an extra 5rpm and an approx 10W for no extra perceived effort, trick it being able to maintain it for long periods. Bearing in mind I already cycle at 90rpm.0
