My Retul bike fit by Bike Science

As you're all probably awre I’m doing IM Regensburg this year, and I wanted to be sure I had all bases covered, so I decided to head down to Bristol on Wednesday to see Andy Sexton at Bike Science for a bike fit. I’d used Andy in the past, I’d purchased a PlanetX Stealth a few years back from him and I’ve also hired a bike box from him recently, so I was more than pleased to see what he could do with my position on the TT bike.

I’ll try to keep this short, to stop from boring you all, but here goes. I arrive at the studio, and after a quick chat (and a coffee) I fill in a quick form and jump on the bike (fitted to a Cycleops PowerBeam turbo trainer) to do a calibration test. Then a few flexibility tests on the massage table and it’s back on the turbo. Andy then puts some velcro stickers all over you and before you know it you’re wired up and ready to start the real bike fit!

This is the fun part, you now feel like Norman Stadler (too much glue!) as we get down to the nitty gritty of a Retul bike fit. You start pedalling and a 15 second recording is made, now Andy does his stuff! He analyses the data on the screen (hip angle, foot angle, etc, etc, etc) in conjunction with what he has seen visually. Straight away he noticed I was sitting on one side of the saddle more than the other, a few questions later I was on the massage table as Andy was sticking his elbow in my glute (piriformis to be exact) to try to free it up. I did have tight glutes on the right hand side and this was obviously my problem (note to self: do more stretching, especially my glutes!). Nice work Andy!

Back onto the bike, more analysis and more 15 second recordings later, we were slowly but surely tweaking my position. It took a long time! I was feeling sorry for Andy, but being such a professional he wasn’t happy until it was spot on.

We made several changes to my position:

New saddle
Saddle down and forward (he had to cut my seat post too, thanks!)
New longer stem
Tri bars lower and armrests further apart

But it wasn’t just the adjustments that Andy made that was impressive, it was the pedalling action technique tips, the advice on stretching and his overall cycling and triathlon (Ironman) knowledge that stood out.

I guess the proof is in the eating (as they say, do they?), so I took the Stealth out for a 3 hour ride yesterday to try out my new position. I’m pleased to report it felt great. I was able to put out some decent power (for me anyway) in the aero position, which can only stand me in good stead for my Ironman in August.

I can definitely recommend Andy’s Retul bike fit, it is well worth the money (especially if 2 of you go, as you then get it at a reduced rate), the time and effort Andy puts into each bike fit is great value for money. Thanks Andy, much appreciated!

You can find Andy at www.bike-science.com