Fifty Plus (50+) - Retul fit on Saturday

I've read positive things about these fits, so I thought I would try one. Its been a couple years since I had a bike fit so, its about time for a check-up. Age has a way of changing us (in ways we generally don't like). The Retul is more of a dynamic fit and, hopefully will provide insight as to why my knees tend to wander in and out while pedaling (though this doesn't appear to have any effect on my performance).

If anyone has had this type fit, I would be interested in your comments.

I had one and the result was moving my seat back about 1/4 inch. My knees were in line while pedaling which is one of the dynamic measurements it provides. In general, my fit was really close going in. Your knees wandering may be a hip issue. According to our PT person, cyclists over develop certain muscles at the expense of others. There are a couple of good but easy exercises to help with hips. One is to take a large rubber band and put it over both knees. While standing, you walk sideways stretching the rubber band. Then lay on our side and spread your knees like a clam opening.

The other one is to get on the floor on all fours with a rubber band or long rubber tube connecting your opposite arm and leg. The goal is to push your leg back in a straight line. Since it is not longer constrained by the pedals and saddle, your hip must control your leg movement.

I never had that fit, but if you get in the drops and do some fast spinning you may correct your knee swing. If you knees keep hitting your elbows, you'll start bringing them in where they are suppose to be. Good luck with the fit.

I had one two years ago. Here's a link to the rather lengthy post I made about it then. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/500368-Retul-Fitting-Report-long?highlight=retul

I forgot to add that I used the figures from the Retul fitting as a starting place for the fitting done for my custom built Indy Fab. The fitter for this process was impressed with how spot on my current set up seemed to be. The two major limits that Indy Fab addressed was building a bike with a taller head tube and one with a shorter seat tube to accomodate my rather short legs and longer torso. Bottom line is that with these types of measurements and a custom built frame, I've never been happier with my fit.

Are you getting it done in Raleigh?

Thanks for the comments and that is a good report NOS88. The fit notwithstanding, I will make note of some of these comments especially the exercises.

I'm getting the fit at Studio Velo in Mooresville, Joe. He ran a winter special on anther forum and I decided to give it a try. I don't know anything about the place but the fitter seems to have good credentials. I'm not expecting a lot since I'm pretty happy with my current position. Its just time for a check-up and get some advice on a couple things (eg., I don't seem to be able to find the perfect saddle, should I keep trying them; I don't seem to find the perfect shoe, should I just bite the bullet and go D2; my knees seem to wander at times, should I make an adjustment to help keep them in alignment, etc).

Thanks for the comments and that is a good report NOS88. The fit notwithstanding, I will make note of some of these comments especially the exercises.

I'm getting the fit at Studio Velo in Mooresville, Joe. He ran a winter special on anther forum and I decided to give it a try. I don't know anything about the place but the fitter seems to have good credentials. I'm not expecting a lot since I'm pretty happy with my current position. Its just time for a check-up and get some advice on a couple things (eg., I don't seem to be able to find the perfect saddle, should I keep trying them; I don't seem to find the perfect shoe, should I just bite the bullet and go D2; my knees seem to wander at times, should I make an adjustment to help keep them in alignment, etc).

Oh yeah--that's Bruce that used to own Cool Breeze. He is very good. I think you'll like him. He was one of the speakers at our TT seminar we did a couple years ago. I will have him take a look at me on my TT bike if and when I can get back on it.

BTW the Polar Bear ride by Rocky River is tomorrow morning out of Davidson just a couple miles away!!! But you might already be signed up. I used to ride over from my house, do the ride and veer off near the end making it a 80+ mile day.....

Oh yeah--that's Bruce that used to own Cool Breeze. He is very good. I think you'll like him. He was one of the speakers at our TT seminar we did a couple years ago. I will have him take a look at me on my TT bike if and when I can get back on it.

BTW the Polar Bear ride by Rocky River is tomorrow morning out of Davidson just a couple miles away!!! But you might already be signed up. I used to ride over from my house, do the ride and veer off near the end making it a 80+ mile day.....

Going to miss you tomorrow, but you may have the last laugh...gonna be REALLY chilly for North Carolina tomorrow AM with nice 10-15 mph West wind. That wide open stretch of Hall Road will be fun. :twitchy:

Darn, I didn't know about the Polar Bear ride. Can't make it tomorrow but, will make note of it for next year. We used to have a Frostbite Tour event near Clayton in early February but, this has not happened the past couple years. Wish I had known about that PB event. Palt, hope you don't have to battle any black ice out there tomorrow. Have a great ride.

Glad to hear good comments about Bruce.

Oh Mooresville, somehow I read Morrisville. So you have a bit of a drive in the morning. I have 5" of snow here at the house. No riding up this way.

Hi,

I got a Retul fit about 1-1/2 years ago. I was very happy with the experience. I did my road bike and my TT bike. I was pretty confident that my road bike was good and the fitter confirmed that. I knew my TT bike was way off and the fitting was great for me. Since that fitting I've set PRs at every TT course on which I compete. The real kicker was going under an hour for a 40K TT. I had been wanting to do this since the 1970s. I'd been very close in the 1980s but I did it last year by going way under, 58:30.

The Retul system by itself does not guarantee a good fit. The fitter needs to be competent. I was pretty happy with mine. He also used a Computrainer system in conjunction with the Retul. That way we could see how changes were affecting my pedaling efficiency and power. For reference, the fitting for two bikes and cleats on two pairs of shoes took 7 hours.

Hope this helps.

I had a Retul fit in May of '09 and a refit in May of 10 when I changed saddles. Fit is critical, and these were the best investments I've made in my bike. Retul is a great system but the fitter is critical too. John at Racer's Edge in Boca Raton is great. He's done thousands of fits.

I've written a few posts about my experience. Search my name and retul.

So how did the fit go? What changes did you make?

Here's a link to the local writeup of the Polar Bear ride. The folks on the tandem are part of my regular T/T ridiing group. The lady competed in Nationals this past year and finished 6th I think.

Pretty good turnout of 300+ riders on a chilly, windy snowy day.

http://davidsonnews.net/2011/01/09/for-cyclists-snowy-polar-bear-ride-was-epic/

Good write up on the Polar Bear ride, and its nice to see a healthy turnout. I hated missing it but, its on the list for next year.

The fit went very well. Bruce Guild (Studio Velo) seems very knowledgable and skilled. I was very comfortable with the process. The bottom line is handlebars up 1.5cm (drop is now 5cm), saddle forward 1.5cm, stem 1cm longer, two shims under each cleat to correct for my severe pronation (I'm severely flat footed), and a slight saddle tilt adjustment. Seems like the adjustments were not all that much given the 3+ hours it took. But the process is slow, comprehensive and methodical. I feel very good on the bike now. Just need some decent weather here so I can get in some road miles. It won't happen this weekend since I'm out of town but, perhaps the following weekend. I slipped on ice today and fell hard on my shoulder so, I also nursing a sore shoulder and arm right now. It will need some time to recover. At least it isn't broken - I don't think. We are having some terrible weather here in the South East.

Thanks for the update Neal. I guess I'll have to save some money for a fit myself.

Any feedback regarding Cynthia Stewart in Houston?

Any feedback regarding Cynthia Stewart in Houston?

I heard she was good, but that was the guys from the Bike Barn, that said that.

Good write up on the Polar Bear ride, and its nice to see a healthy turnout. I hated missing it but, its on the list for next year.

The fit went very well. Bruce Guild (Studio Velo) seems very knowledgable and skilled. I was very comfortable with the process. The bottom line is handlebars up 1.5cm (drop is now 5cm), saddle forward 1.5cm, stem 1cm longer, two shims under each cleat to correct for my severe pronation (I'm severely flat footed), and a slight saddle tilt adjustment. Seems like the adjustments were not all that much given the 3+ hours it took. But the process is slow, comprehensive and methodical. I feel very good on the bike now. Just need some decent weather here so I can get in some road miles. It won't happen this weekend since I'm out of town but, perhaps the following weekend. I slipped on ice today and fell hard on my shoulder so, I also nursing a sore shoulder and arm right now. It will need some time to recover. At least it isn't broken - I don't think. We are having some terrible weather here in the South East.

I would agree that Bruce is very knowledgeable and is able to adapt specs to your needs. I hope he does well with his new venture. I had tried to set up some appts with him this past summer but he was still working on his new digs. Expect the shoulder to be sore for a bit. Hopefully there aren't any hairline cracks in the collarbone???