Retul Fit

I did a Retul fit on my Specialized Transition today.  When you think of all the hours spent on the bike, all the millions of revolutions of the pedals, and the conformation of bodies to saddles, pedals and bars... well, even the tiniest of adjustments can translate into huge differences on the bike.

I went to see Noa Deutsch at PT Performance Training.  Noa is a former ITU speedster who now coaches, works with the Canadian National Team and local pros, lectures at the Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence (PISE) at Camosun College in Victoria, etc etc.  She has done lots of bike fits for Olympians, pros, elites, and regular athletes like myself.  She's also super nice and incredibly knowledgeable.

The Retul system is pretty cool.  It uses a camera and a series of sensors that feed into some software.  It analyzes the dynamic motion of a cyclist through a 3D sensor (rather than static positions that most fitters use) so you get a super-realistic picture of the cyclist, their motion, and most importantly any imbalances and their actual pedal stroke.  You can also get a digital measurement of your complete bike, so you can replicate your position if anything changes or you get a new bike.

Noa hooking me up to the 3D motion sensor. 

The LED markers and wiring harness.

After being hooked up and being monitored spinning on a trainer, Noa first raised my saddle a bit and moved it forward.  She also lowered my bars a tiny bit (seemed like a tiny adjustment but I really noticed the lower position when riding with Jason later - my neck really noticed it I should say).  She leveled my forearms through that adjustment as well.

Computer screen of me turned into a stick figure.

She says the "gold standard" for hip angles is 90 degrees, and she got me to 92 which she was really happy with.  Keeping your hips open allows no loss of power in the TT position - so it's not about simply getting low, but not pinching your hips to do so.  

I have been having some problems with my left knee lately, so I was really interested in what she would say about my knees.  My right knee tracks straight with a couple of adjustments - moved my cleats a bit, but my left knee is at an angle.  This could be part of my knee issue.  So she put different insoles in my shoes, and I'm supposed to get a new spindle for my left pedal which will move my knee out a bit, she thinks that will help.

Differences in my knee tracking.

Data generated after the fit.

At the end of the fit, you get printouts with a bunch of information about your position, fit, geometry, and anatomy.  It was fun to compare bike set up with Jason - my saddle is a bit higher, his bars are a bit lower, he has more reach, and his effective seattube angle is a bit steeper.  Cool to be so individualized!  I'm really looking forward to riding my bike customized to fit exactly me.