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OUR PHILOSOPHY
FOR THE FITTING PROCESS:
The fitting process is just as important as
the theory behind the fitting technology. The process is the
actual application of the principles of bike fitting. You may
have all the best knowledge and tools in the world, but if you
don't apply them correctly and execute consistently, the results
will leave to desire. Only the
correct execution can achieve the correct results.
The pre-fit analysis provides us with all the
relevant information of you as athlete and human being. Your
history is crucial, as it leads to who you are today in terms of
health, range of motion, flexibility, injuries and any
limitations or special assets to drive your fit.
Once we have the necessary information from
the pre-fit knowledge, we can begin the process of the
Retül
3D motion capture to test your
current fit on the bicycle. Before doing any changes to your
position, we need to see your current interaction with the
equipment. This helps determining the factors that are holding
you back in your performance or that are causing you
pain/injuries and/or discomfort.
In particular, for athletes seeking a bike
fit for remediating injuries and discomfort, this is a very
important step in breaking down the elements of the fit
and coming to the source of the problem.
How you do a
Retül
data capture is also very important.
A meaningful data capture must be done at a specific level of
intensity. It is our position that a data capture done at medium
to low intensity efforts is a non-valid data capture. Everyone
pedals pretty when they are comfortable. There is no knowledge
to be gained from this. We need to put the rider outside the
area of comfort to see all the good and bad habits that may have
developed over time. Then, we can build upon the good habits and
remedy the factors causing the bad ones.
To do that, it's necessary to have the right
equipment, simulating the correct load - a regular home trainer,
no matter of fancy, it's not up to the job. That's why we employ
Racermate Computrainer. Computrainer has been at the leading
edge of power testing and pedaling mechanics analytics
technology for decades and it's still the reference tool for
everyone in the industry. This state-of-the art trainer allows
us to simulate very realistic loads, as close to real-life as we
get. The specific loads at which we work with our customers are
very individual and a bit of a trade secret.
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The Computrainer also aids us in doing the
pedal ID and power analysis. By breaking down the pedal stroke
in 15 deg increments throughout the revolution, each
individual's pedaling style and technique can be identified.
This is vital in determining certain key parameters for your
fit.
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Multiple Retül data captures must be done to
keep honing into the right position.
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Each Retül data capture
yields an incremental step towards your final
position. This
step-by-step process allows to focus on
individual key areas and address specific issues
while aware of the relationships with other key
parameters of your fit.
And that's the challenge
that often eludes the do-it-yourselfers and even
many fitters: how addressing one bike fitting parameter
affects all the others. Move one thing on your
bike and
everything else seems to go out of position.
The
cascading effects of each key bike
fitting parameter is the
most challenging part of a fitter's book of
knowledge.
For Pro-level fit,
Fit
For Injuries fit and Fit For Weight
Management Fit we test various
positions within your personal fit range, until we arrive at the best combination of
comfort and power, while protecting you from potential injuries,
or helping you recover from them.
The sheer amount of data
(8 sensors transmitting 16 data points per
second)
and accuracy (1mm) of the Retül 3D fitting technology
empowers us to engage you and your bicycle in a
dialog that leads to harmony. |
Additional to this, there are
a few trade secrets that we accumulated from our own research
and experimentations over the years.
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We learned how to make your core part of the
pedaling stroke, increasing significantly your efficiency.
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We learned how to de-activate key muscle
groups for Tri-athletes to save for running and for endurance riders
to go the distance.
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We learned how to place your cleats so your
feet won't hurt and will transfer max power to the pedals.
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And we learned how to help out with the many
typical pains associated with cycling (hands, back, feet, etc.).
The knowledge of the fitter remains the key
asset of a bicycle fitting service provider. Technology means
nothing without an expert operator, but the right technology is
everything in the hands of a skilled bike fitter.
We made it a point of learning in-depth our tools of
the trade (and even inventing them when needed) so that we can provide the best service possible.
We look forward to sharing that knowledge
with you in our fitting studio and helping you become the best
you can be with your bike.
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