Retul fitting last night...

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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Citizenfox
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by Citizenfox

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So had a Retul fitting. Last night at Bespoke in San Fran.

1) my lame attempts at souplesse were creating some less then optimal ankle and knee angles. Need to drop the heel. Appearently I'm pretty good at the biofeedback thing and had a good feel for it by the end, so I should be able to work on it on the bike.

2) imbalances between my right and left sides - need to work back in walking lunges, Bulgarian split squats and swings to strengthen and balance

3) stem was way too long, which I kind of knew, but was so lost trying different lengths I'm happy to know now.

My knee tracking was almost perfect so I can safely use Dara Ace and he suggested that I could go with the red no float cleats for a few more watts.

Besides that the shop is pure bike porn. Definitely worth it since it gives me solid things to work on that will both motive efficiancy and prevent injury. Looking forward to this weekends training.

by Weenie


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Marin
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by Marin

Bulgarian split squats? That sounds kinky/nasty.

Citizenfox
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by Citizenfox

Not kinky but very nasty.

KWalker
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by KWalker

Fancy shop, never known anyone that has gotten fit there but they carry a nice run of products.
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Citizenfox
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by Citizenfox

The fit was very through and Aribhas a broad and deep athletic background. Also I could see there around 300 people in the data base so he's done enough of them to have some context. I was skeptical and still really pleased at the end.

Dodger747
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by Dodger747

Imbalance between left and right is perfectly normal, what benefit do you gain by spending time trying to 'correct' this?

Genuine question as to what their advice was.
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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

I'd be surprised if a swap of cleats yields any power gain. At all. Like not a single one.

And power balance is a tricky thing. Most people will have a degree of asymmetry. "Correcting" it may help some problems, or it may cause other problems that weren't there to start with. There is (to my knowledge) no evidence that shows that an "imperfect" power balance, once corrected yields a performance benefit unless there were gross biomechanical issues.
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KWalker
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by KWalker

Amen^

any time some kind of fitter or "coach" that does not actually hold some formal academic and/or applied training makes these claims I cringe, then run.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
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liam7020
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by liam7020

I had a fitting done by my local Retul "specialist" a couple of years ago. It was complete nonsense - bike fitting by joining the dots. It may or may not be a good system but it certainly requires a knowledgeable and experienced fitter to interpret the data correctly.
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KWalker
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by KWalker

Tools are tools. I see this all the time in my profession when really smart people employ all the right models, but fail to ask the right questions or look for the appropriate clues in the data.

Doesn't mean CitizenFox got a bad fit. FWIW I have an asymmetry and one that actually can cause pain and discomfort. So for me fixing it will actually help from a piece of mind perspective.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
Gramz
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Citizenfox
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by Citizenfox

Mostly my fault for not being detailed.

There was really no talk of "correcting" and we discussed the imbalance being minor and pretty normal. That said I've neglected functional strength training while in weight lose mode and this reminded to get back on that horse.

I put the Dura Ace pedals back in the bike with blue cleats today and it felt way "more efficient" and clearly was better out of the saddle. I might have been able to adjust my speedplays and got most of the way there, but subjectively this worked.

Took off the 130 stem and put on a 110 and used the rise as opposed to flipping it. Zero doubt I was in much better position overall.

I've coached many hundreds of athletes so I wasn't born some naïf soaking in the wisdom of the guru and he was aware of my background from our conversation.

I always think if I get 2-3 little things to work on I got what I payed for and that keeps me motivated and disciplined until the next tweak.

Citizenfox
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by Citizenfox

I'm thinking my fitting worked - I rode this same route 6 days ago

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KWalker
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by KWalker

Sigh, I'm glad you're not a data analyst.

On a more serious note I'm glad you're happy with the improvements. I've had 6 different Retul fitters botch the fit hence my comments about it being a tool more than anything. 3 of them are multiple time national champions and masters champions. Another a former world tour pro. None had any applied kinesiology training or physical therapy background of any sort. Not an analysis of what you had done, but more a comment on how Bespoke and Retul are not magic.
Don't take me too seriously. The only person that doesn't hate Froome.
Gramz
Failed Custom Bike

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Calnago
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by Calnago

@Kwalker, I don't get why a cyclist with as much riding experience as you seem to have would go for a Retul fit no less than 6 times, each with unsatisfactory results. At some point there is no better judge of proper fit than yourself, via experiment, trial and error, and knowledge gained over the years.
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motdoc
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by motdoc

I am a bit of a noob and went to a respected bike fitter in the UK, bike science in Bristol. He flipped my stem, shimmed my shoes and the knee pain I went to try and resolve lasted the next 9 months. Until I started listening to my body and just experimenting with my own fit. Now better. It all worked out as I flipped my stem back!
Glad it worked for you though.

by Weenie


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