“I guess sometimes we get used to something that doesn’t feel good,” Andreas said casually.  This is not a guy talking about a bad relationship, this German guy was talking about Slider, my Cannondale Slice Triathlon bike.

The funny thing is that I LOVE Slider.  I got it from TriathlonMami’s first sponsor in May, and it set off a life-changing path for me.  So if you know or have followed me, you would know I think my bike is amazing.  Slider is a quantum leap from what I rode previously so to think that I was getting used to something that didn’t feel good seemed, well, ludicrous.

Slider getting evaluated

I’ve had bike fits in the past but they were usually done at the bike store, with someone measuring distances and angles with a ruler-like contraption.  I had never had an experience like this, and honestly, I am not sure what was more impressive: the RETÜL fit or Andreas.Yet here I was, at Ultrabikex Studio in Key Biscayne, Florida doing a RETÜL bike fit because I had heard that Andreas was the bike whisperer.  That is what my teammates called him and I had to find out for myself if it was true.

“To have a good fit, I need to know more about you and your goals,” Andreas explained.  So I shared with him my lofty IronMan goals, my limited experience, and my suspicion that I can probably ride faster than I do I just don’t know how.   Since my goals are long hauls, then Andrea’s main goal is to help me be comfortable on Slider so that when 112 miles are done, I can still feel like I have energy for a marathon. HA!

He “drew” my bike by placing some electronic wand on the saddle, crank and aerobars and all of a sudden, a picture of the bike was on the screen.  I later learned that was called the “zing” –  a handheld digitizer. He then checked my flexibility, my joints, my leg length (and told me one was shorter than the other), he checked how I walked, the sole of my running shoes (and recommended to change the type of shoe), he checked my bike shoe (another problem area) and then checked how the clip was put on (finally, one thing had been done right!).  He then entered a slew of information on a computer and I got on the bike, staring at said computer.

The next thing he did was place Velcro dots on eight separate points on my wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, heel, and toe. These would serve as place holders where he would then attach sensors.  The bike was on a heavy gear and he asked me to pedal for about 15 seconds.  That’s it.  He then spun the platform where Slider and I were, and did the same thing on the other side of my body.

30+ measurements taken

Then, he showed me the results on the large computer screen . WOW.  There were about 30 different measurements taken all telling Andreas how I ride, and he patiently explained one by one to me.  He could tell I wasn’t pulling my leg up and instead concentrating all my effort on the pushing down, he told me my knees did not hug the bike but flapped out instead, he explained the incline of my seat was causing me to sit towards the back and making the aerobars seem just out of reach.  And he mentioned my saddle, often, as in disbelief that I insist on using it (I took the saddle from my old dilapidated bike and put it on Slider).

Retül, both the equipment and the process is a tool.  But Andreas has to be able to interpret it and then transform his knowledge into changes that will make those numbers better.  In my case, he had to get me to feel more comfortable and stable.  When I rode long distance, I eventually ended with a pain in the neck from being in my aerobars.  Now that he had plugged and unplugged me, measured, bent, looked and prodded he made some of the changes he wanted to do on my bike.  He titled the seat down so that I would sit more to the front, and moved the handlebars up and all of a sudden, I could reach the gear changer.  He also wanted to raise my stem but did not have the part so I will have to come back for that piece of my fitting.

So what was the final result?  It so happened that the weekend following my Retül fitting I rode a century ride for the first time.  Even though Andreas does not understand how I like my saddle, it worked for me. But it worked even better than before … I didn’t have to think about my saddle or any pain at all!  And the rest? I can positively say that after 100 miles my legs were getting a little sore but mostly because I hadn’t trained to ride that long.  I was comfortable, with no pain in my neck so as far as Andrea’s goals were concerned: mission accomplished.   Even if I loved my bike before, I guess I was getting used to something that wasn’t great just because it was so much better than what I had before. Given that process, I wonder what it will feel like when Andreas replaces the stem and gets Slider to be exactly what he thinks it should be.

The 411:
Andreas Heuser
RETÜL Certified Fitter
Ultrabikex studio
907 Crandon Blvd.
Key Biscayne, FL 33149
Tel: 786-953-7876
Facebook: facebook.com/ultrabikexstudioKeyBiscayne