Anybody have any experience with a retul bike fit?
Yup. Not terribly impressed with it. As most will say, it the fitter, not the process. I feel I wasted my money, and can do better with listening to my body on a trainer.
Anybody have any experience with a retul bike fit?
I have seen 2 Retul fittings. One I would gladly pay $500 and the other I wouldn’t give a dime. Its all in the fitter.
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=4920822;search_string=retul;#4920822
Not trying to be snarky, here’s the last thread on the same subject. I had great luck with mine, however, I also had a great fitter who paid attention to more than the numbers. That being said, the numbers helped him get really close.
I had a great experience. I believe it depends of the person providing the fit. Retul is only as good as the person using it and there understanding of Retul as a tool in there overall understanding of fit. Just my $.02…
Glad others had a good experience. As I said, mine was a waste of money, but I chalk that up to the fitter, not the system. I have to say that the best fits I’ve ever had were by people that knew what they were doing without the devices, and they knew to look for my flexibility, age, distance, etc when they did the fit. It’s an art, and I suppose the science helps, but every body is different. My Retul guy sent me the number for me, but not the ranges until I asked for them. Hopefully he’s better now. The best fit I ever got was from Dano in Encinitas at Mark Allen’s brother’s shop. Talented guy, so look for the talent, not the system they use.
Just had one done on Friday. Was very happy with the fit after - felt really comfortable and I was immediately able to see that all the angles etc. were about where I wanted them.
Only thing is…when the fitter scanned the frame afterwards he told me my stack and reach was 561 and 373. Which is basically impossible. I’m fairly short and currently ride a 53cm road frame. No ways I have a stack of 561. Also if you try and match those to frames I cant find any frame which has even close to that geometry so I guess fitter will have to go back and rescan the frame to get the correct numbers
What the fitter probably meant was your ‘fit stack’ is 561 and your ‘frame stack’ was 521. Let’s just say, and I’m guessing here, you have 40mm of spacers and risers from the top of head tube to the top of pad. Now the 521 seems to be more aligned with other frames that you can explore in the future if you do in fact change.
Thanks. Will definitely ask about that when he sends through the complete file with all my measurements.
I’m guessing I’d generally be a small frame, maybe medium, depending on the manufacturer so 521 would be more in the ball park
Are there any standards in place for the retul accreditation process? Seems like there is a wide variance.
All the retul fits I’ve seen over here have been appalling. With the athletes nearly falling off the ends of their saddle in presumably a desperate attempt to open the hip angle.
Edit. I have seen a few not so bad ones, from a chap who was based in MK and now Newcastle. As others have said its all about the fitter.
What is retuls criteria for graduation following training? Do they have to actually prove they can actually do the job?
Whats the training like? Is there a need for a background in physiotherapy etc. to be able to do the training?
As others have said, it is all about the fitter and not about the system. I have been using Retul for a few years now and I have been out to Boulder to Retul HQ for 3 or 4 different training and information sessions over that time.
Retul does not require that anyone buying the system becomes certified in its proper use. There is a guy less than 2 miles from me who has a system and has had it for a while now and he says he can’t afford to go out for a training session. I personally don’t get it, he can invest in a system that cost him somewhere between $10-$20k but he can’t spare a few days and spend another $1k on travel. I’m sure that there are other stories like it everywhere.
Retul is an extremely powerful tool in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. If you are serious about getting a fitting with a fitter who uses Retul you should check out their website and filter the results of fitters in your area based on the amount of training they have done.
Retul does offer a basic certification and more advanced levels. They also require a recertification annually from their certified fitters which is more than just sending them a check, they do actually audit some of your work. Their certification system isn’t perfect but it is far better than any other bike fit schools certification process that I know of.
“Retul is an extremely powerful tool in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.”
you probably know everything i’m going to write, jon.
first question, which retul tool is the extremely powerful tool? i think you mean the motion capture tool. but were i to ask you what is the most important tool in your fit studio, i’d be shocked if you named anything made by retul.
and that is not to denigrate any of retul’s tools. i was filmed for a little documentary last week, it was specific to the fitting we teach, and i was asked in an interview, “what is the thing that sets F.I.S.T. apart from the other systems?” my reply was, “less and less as time goes on, if things go as they should.”
i firmly believe that both RETUL and F.I.S.T. should continue forward as important places fitters go to, to learn how to fit. but both “brands” should recede in time. unless you’re interested in going in for some harvard surgery - unless you raise your shirt and show off the scar from you penn state appendectomy - it is beyond silly to continue to refer to a RETUL or F.I.S.T. fit. but it’s going to take a long time for this to sink in to consumers.
it is a coincidence that tool makers and fit schools are one and the same. retul did not intend to be a system. it became a system only because not enough people would demand the tool unless it was wrapped in a system. but the system is just a fitting protocol that either is or isn’t efficient, taught in a school that either is or isn’t a good school. retul was correct initially when it said, “we’re just a tool.” the market demanded that retul dumb itself down and retul obliged out of necessity. i don’t mean that as a knock on retul. it is allowing itself to be touted a system because that’s what consumers understand (see the original post). retul has no recourse but to maintain that myth.
in time, the education provided by these schools will raise in importance, but the “brand” that is the system will recede in favor of the “brand” that is the fitter. the olympics is ongoing, and every serious skier in need of orthopedic surgery has heard of dr. steadman’s vail clinic. but what is dr. steadman’s “system?” anybody know? anybody care?
the more we can champion the excellence the fitter achieves in real, measurable, ways the more consumers will know with confidence which fitters to patronize.
Hi Dan,
I’m sure your list is of top equipment is similar, but in priority order mine would be:
Guru DFURetul Motion Capture SystemDremelRubber Mallet
I am in a unique position though. These tools require a very large amount of cash to purchase and there really aren’t all that many fit studios, and even fewer bike shops around, who will have purchased both a Retul Motion Capture system and a Guru DFU. I purchased my DFU right before the Dorel acquisition when the price and the terms changed drastically. If I had not purchased mine when I did, there is no way that I would have been able to afford it or that I would have been agreeable to the terms, but that is another story.
Both the DFU and Retul motion capture are extremely capable when functioning independently but they really do work in perfect harmony with each other, especially now with Retul V7 software. While I completely agree with you that a fitting bike is the absolute most important tool that a bike fitter can have, there are many fitters out there who are still performing fits on their clients bikes. Unfortunately they haven’t listed to us, and for them, Retul is a great thing to have.
I learned a ton from you at the FIST certification years ago and I still practice a good amount of it here but with my own twist. When I was first starting out though, I would have been completely lost without it. Since then, I have a bunch of years of experience and have also been through a bunch of courses with Retul, my exact process is some sort of a combination of both schools mixed with a bunch that I learned along the way, so yes the exact schools are a little less important now then they were earlier in my career. I think most other top notch fitters out there will have a similar story.
I agree that the community needs to continue to endorse the fitters and not the schools or the tools but this has proven to be a pretty tall order.
Had one when I just bought my new tri bike because it was only a $75 upgrade to a basic fit. Happy with the results/ price/ information but feel I could have achieved the same or close with a trainer and a mirror. I wouldn’t pay full price for one unless I had some issue I couldn’t figure out.
I was thinking the same thing when I saw the title of this thread. When I started out to purchase a tri bike I had at least read enough on ST to know that I needed a fit prior to purchase. What I didn’t really know was anything about fit systems, fit bikes, etc so the only thing I had was that I knew I needed a fitter.
I had my road and tri fittings done by Jim Manton of what is now ERO Sports. I had done research to find the best fitter I could in the LA area and his name kept showing up so that was my choice.
It turns out he was using Retul motion capture, I had no idea what that even was at the time, but in the end it was really all about Jim. My fit was perfect and remains so today.
In my opinion, anyone wanting to get a fit done should be starting a thread titled “anyone have a good fitter in ____?”
one of the best things about getting fit through a retul fitter was that they were able to tell me which brands of bikes fit my geometry best. I was looking at 2 bikes that this particular shop didn’t carry (this shop was a few hours away but the closest retul fitter) but that my local bike shop did. They told me DO NOT get one of the brands based upon my geometry but that the other would be a great option (as well as a few that they had too). It was totally worth the money for me. Was also nice to have a print out of everything to show my coach.
one of the best things about getting fit through a retul fitter was that they were able to tell me which brands of bikes fit my geometry best. I was looking at 2 bikes that this particular shop didn’t carry (this shop was a few hours away but the closest retul fitter) but that my local bike shop did. They told me DO NOT get one of the brands based upon my geometry but that the other would be a great option (as well as a few that they had too). It was totally worth the money for me. Was also nice to have a print out of everything to show my coach.
Exact reason I went for one. Been riding a road bike with clip ons for the past year and looking to get a tri bike. Wanted to get a fit first so I knew which frames to look at.
one of the best things about getting fit through a retul fitter was that they were able to tell me which brands of bikes fit my geometry best.
This should be a requirement of any bike fitter. It’s still the fitter who is guiding you to the proper fit coordinates to select which bike(s) work best for you. Poor fit = Poor bike choices.