Retül Fit - Initial Impressions

Warning... this will be a long one.

Today was the big day, after having my bike exactly how I wanted it, I was able to go in with for a fitting. The Retül system is what I consider one of the better fit systems on the market since it uses live capture to see exactly what you're doing right or wrong. The other fit systems work, but a lot is missed using static measurements. The other thing is, you can see how changes affect the total fit almost instantaneously. With the traditional fit system you might adjust something and make it better but miss the fact is also changed something else for the worse. With the Retül system you see every part of your pedal stroke and fit on the screen after each 15-second effort.

We had this done at EBP Cycle Lab in South Miami, by Gunter and Carlos. The guys were really helpful and seem to care that the person they’re fitting gets the most out of it. They do all the local rides and personally know most of the riders in the city so they’re not out to rip anyone off.

My fit didn’t really change much because I spend a lot of time messing with my fit at home and tweaking things to my liking. I mostly went in for piece of mind and to make sure I didn’t have anything totally out of whack. My friend Danny that also came to get fitted was another story all together. He had just bought a bike a month ago and hadn’t adjusted much on it other the saddle height and you could tell just by looking at him he didn’t feel comfortable on it.

They strapped all the sensors on to him, 2 on the shoes, 1 on the ankle, hip, shoulder, elbow and wrist. You feel like a robot by the time they’re done. I believe the sensors are actually LEDs that the computer captures/reads while in motion. They put him on the bike and let him warm up a bit but if anybody knows Danny, they know it takes him a bit over an hour to warm up. Immediately you could see that he wasn’t comfortable, his knees would swing out, he didn’t sound very smooth, and when he would relax a bit he’d come off the hoods. That was the biggest thing, he never rides in the hoods, and even while in the fitting he would constantly come off them.

First they got some baseline measurements and video. When I say measurements, I don’t mean a tape measure and a protractor, this is all handled by the sensors and computer. At the start of the session he had a back angle of 55 degrees on the hoods and arms locked straight.

First they went to work on saddle height. I believe it came up 10mm! Not to mention while riding we had already raised it about that much. That by its self seriously smoothed him out. Next they adjusted the fore-aft adjustment and let him ride some more. After that they raised it some more, 5 more MM I think for a total of 15 mm. 1.5 cm in saddle adjustment is big and can definitely make a lot more power.

Next they dropped his bars a few mm, nothing crazy, but they did come down. This is where they lost me. At the start he wasn’t comfortable on the hoods and had his arms locked which would make it seem like the reach is too long but now they raised his saddle up 15mm, dropped the bars about 5mm which should lengthen the reach yet now he’s happy on the hoods? I should have asked why this was. I’m guessing that having the bars lower requires him to bend over further which should move this arms further forward than why sitting upright.

By the end of the process his back angle had gone from a 55 to a 40 and his power numbers at the PES (perceived exertion scale) where about 40 watts higher. The more aero position and the free power should really add to his performance on the road.

Now onto my fit, this is much more boring. And I’m sure the first half was pretty boring already. After all the preliminary stuff they took my baseline. At this point my back angle was 40 degrees, and my pedal stroke was dead straight with 0 degrees of lateral motion. The one big thing in my fit was that I point my ankles down. It’s partially habit and partially saddle position.

They moved my saddle a bit down, and back. The back seemed to be helping at first but soon we noticed it wasn’t. The saddle came forward now, and my ankles started leveling off, at this point if I’m pointing them, it’s my fault and not the fit. I also had a little bit of taint discomfort from pressure, a couple of degrees down and my taint felt much better, but now my wrists were hurting. A little bit up and now I have no discomfort in either my taint or wrists. Perfect.

They did a few tweaks to my cleats, which also helped smooth things out, and recommended I get some insoles for my Sidis since I overpronate heavily. Once I get them, I can go back for a follow up to make sure they’re helping me. Beyond that, they rotated my bars up a few degrees because the ends of my drops were too far back and interfering with my sprint.

In the end, I finished up with a 38-degree back angle, a more comfortable saddle position and the piece of mind my bike is fit properly. At this point it’s not about the bike anymore, it’s all about the rider.

Tomorrow we’re going to try to go on a 4 or 5-hour ride to see how the fits feel. Here’s praying for the best!