Bike Fitting

As previously mentioned, when I signed up for the Rocky Mountain Tri Club we ended up having a deal with Retul for a bike fitting and I jumped on it! I just got done with a very informative and thorough fitting session of almost 2 hours with Mat over at Retul in Boulder. This is the same studio that fit Carfrae, Dibbins, Reed and Deboom before some of their major wins in 2010.


Since im in the market for, and have not yet acquired a TT/Tri bike I had my fitting on the adjustable fit bike made by Exit, but first we went through a history and goals interview. I consider myself a power runner, I bring my knees up, I open up my hips. I have strong hamstrings, quads and calfs which have a better then average flexibility and are incredibly balanced (this is key for a smooth peddle stroke, or a great runway run up in pole vault). Right off the bat we had a problem. My inexperience, lack of bike knowledge...I didn't even know some of the answers to what I was riding, and what brands I like. I guess gone are the days when you just get on your bike and ride. A TT bike is not a bike, its a masterpiece of carbon technology! It ended up that I had old style Look cleats and we had to change those out (mud still on my Pearl Tri Fly III's from my last race in Sept.) because they didn't even have those pedals. No biggy.

I mounted the Exit bike and we got to work. First starting out on seat positioning. This is where we almost immediately changed out the stock Felt seat (Felt SL Tri/TT Saddle). What can I say? I guess im just a little too tender in my undercarriage region. We changed that seat out for an Adamo saddle and it was like night and day (it will be an additional cost to my big purchase but a very important one). Comfortable, I could now attempt some very aggressive aero positioning. I couldn't believe how different this position was from the one I set myself up with on the road bike. After spinning some varying intensity for 20 mins with adjustments along the way I was surprised that my quads weren't burning, and my calfs weren't ready to go into lock down mode. The goal of a TT bike and optimal aero position is for better running off the bike. I didn't know the exact definition of this until this point. I now know why so many have passed me on the bike... my domination it seems is soon to come.


Retul Fitting
Mat took a few recordings of me spinning which then made a 2D computer model of yours truly and was complete with a readout of positions, and angle data. When we were sure we had the sweet spot I dismounted and various coordinates of seat, bar, and frame were surveyed to form the Zin.

The Zin coordinates were then uploaded to a frame finder software that Retul is in the process of completing (ya that's how cutting edge this place is, they give you access to their software before its even finished). It turned out that my best fit bike will be in the ball park of a Felt size 56 or Cervelo size 54 both bikes I've had on my list since they are for short legged, long torso-ed individuals like myself. I got a lot of questions answered. Sorry for not having any pictures but I wanted to keep Mat and myself focused on the task at hand..its pretty important to get it right.

Let the bike search begin...


Felt