iamuwere wrote:

So to me, this is a bit backward. If this is a Retul shop, then put you on the Retul fit bike, find your optimal position, then transfer to the bike (and give you the right size bike, stem, bars, etc) right off the bat. Did you pick the bike and then get fit or did they sell you on the bike?? I am just trying to make sense of this.

I just want to see the fit report.

Thing I've noticed frequently is that some shops are using fit bikes and Retul and then, strangely, not providing a report. I see the fits - they are terrible - and when I ask the rider about a report I'm told "they wrote down a list of bikes that fit me on a post-it note".

And, of course, there's no consistency or logic in the list provided, and the bikes on the list have big variance in geometry.

The dirty secret of most shops with fit bikes and fit systems is they fall into one of two categories:

• The fit bike and fit equipment is just a charade. They are whiz-bang tools that the fitter doesn't know how to properly use, but that impress the customer, who is supposed to be baffled by the BS.
• The fitter knows they aren't skilled and withholds fit report data lest they have their work scrutinized.

I really believe the majority of shops using fit bikes fall into the first category.

PSA: If you are getting a fit, you should be getting, at a minimum:

• Side profile fit photos (preferably before and after or, alternatively, a capture from the bottom of the pedal stroke and a capture from the top of the pedal stroke)
• Body geometry measurements (one side, both sides, whatever - just measurements captured by the motion capture or by the fitter using a goniometer or dartfish or something)
• Bike measurements (specifically where the contact points are in 3d space - I don't need top tube measurements, head tube length, trail, or whatever else that has nothing to do with the rider's contact points)
• An equipment survey - if I don't know what saddle was used and what the crank length was, the bike measurements aren't very useful

A skilled fitter can properly critique (and constructively use!) a fit that contains that data.

As has been pointed out many times, using good tools doesn't make you a good fitter, but you should expect a good fitter to be using good tools. And the best tool in my arsenal, at the moment, is slow-motion video on my iphone.

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Trent Nix
Owned and operated Tri Shop
F.I.S.T. Advanced Certified Fitter | Retul Master Certified Fitter (back when those were things)