Testimonials
A red carpet bike fitting service … I was hooked up to a multipoint harness measuring joint angles and any lateral movements, most importantly in the ankle, knee and hips. It became apparent that the bike I had been riding was by no means perfect and I was cramped in the hips and leg, too long and too low! Translating these measurements to my new bike John had a starting point from which to make me super efficient and more importantly comfortable for a swift post-bike run with an increased level of comfort. Not the normal stooped shuffle that I get for the first 20mins off the bike when racing!!!
After attaching various monitors to various bits of my body…ankles, knees, hip, shoulder etc, I was able to see exactly how I am riding. Are my knees going straight up and down? Are my hip flexors too closed at the top of the pedal stroke? How does my left differ from my right? It was a revelation to see what was happening. Tightness around my right hip translated itself into some funny action on my right foot and knee. John also noted that there was room to put my saddle up a notch or two, which would make me more efficient. After making a couple of adjustments, John scanned my bike with the ‘Zin’ so I have all my measurements to hand and can set up any new bike I get to the exact set up of my existing bike. An interesting morning’s work – putting my saddle up feels loads better, and made riding the same power feel easier. I’m all for free watts!!! In addition, the information from Retul (translated by John!) has definitely given me some things to think about and I will be gradually trying out some of the suggested changes in the next few weeks.
I think we often forget how important it is to have the right position on our bikes. Not just for racing and aero purposes but to help prevent injury.
When John first set me up on the multipoint harness and I began pedelling, it was stupidly obvious that my seat was way too low. Once we played around and made some adjustments, my position felt hundred times better! I felt less cramped up on my bike and felt like my hip flexors could really open up. We had a good play around, changing stem lengths, moving the seat back and forth, we were really going for position perfection! It did take time to find my perfect position, but it was worth it! I've felt a lot more comfier on the bike both in training and racing since I went to see john. I reckon it's made a big difference with how I feel running off the bike too - my hip flexors feel less locked up and I feel I can get into my run pace quicker from coming straight off the bike.
Having suffered a fair few injuries last year, quite a few athletes I've spoken to suggested getting a professional bike fit. I'd heard loads of positive stuff about the Retul system (as used by Stadler and Crowie, among others) so before going out to Lanza I spent a couple of hours with John Dennis and the lads at Velomotion in Milton Keynes. What can I say? Two hours extremely well spent. Quite a few changes were made, but I've never felt so comfortable on a bike as I do now and as someone who usually has an aversion to climbing, I felt totally dialled in after the week in Lanza and was able to climb better than ever. Very impressed. I'll be taking the TT bike back soon.
