You want to buy a new bike because you want to be faster. Your body position on the bike has a major influence on your speed and performance. At Playtri our 20+ years of coaching and bike fitting have taught us one bike can be the fastest under one rider and the quite slow under another. Human beings are built uniquely - even two riders of the same height and weight can have very different proportions, strengths and weaknesses. One may have a longer torso while the other has longer femurs, one longer arms and the other a less mobile shoulder due to surgery. These seemingly subtle differences can have major impacts on how these athletes should be fit on the bike to optimize their performance.
The cycling industry has seen major changes as the focus on aerodynamics has grown and this can be seen in the trickle down of fully integrated bikes with proprietary parts. Some bikes require you to use their parts to adjust the fit, which results in some limitations. Your perfect fit may call for a longer stem or lower stack than what the proprietary cockpit allows. So, you can only get a “good” fit at best and not your perfect fit.
Other bikes allow you to replace the proprietary parts at the cost of optimized aerodynamics. If you can make the bike fit, you may not be getting the aerodynamic advantage that you were expecting based on product reviews and testing. The bike was designed with those parts in mind so any data you saw about its performance in the wind tunnel may not be reproduced by you with a replacement cockpit.
All this means that finding a bike built to your proportions and strengths/limitations is a critical component of getting the most out of your new bike purchase. RETUL Fit First at Playtri can help you find that perfect bike for you. You start on the RETUL Fitbike that is infinitely adjustable, meaning the effective top tube can be shortened, crank arms can be lengthened, stem angle and length can be changed. Saddles, pedals, and bars can be swapped out. Every variable in the fit can be adjusted. As you ride, the fitter analyzes your position with the help of RETUL software that provides the values of the critical skeletal angles of your body throughout the entire pedal stroke.
However, using our Retul software is only the first step as fit is not all about the software and numbers. At Playtri our fitters use their coaching and industry experience to understand your goals and limitations. A triathlete interested in winning an Olympic distance race may even benefit from a different fit when they want to win an Ironman. Even though this is the same athlete with the same limitations, their goals change, and this should be considered in the fit.
Once you and the fitter have agreed to the fit, the fitter will use the measurements from the Fitbike to determine which bike models and sizes are best for you (and your budget). Unlike many fit studios that require you to go search for recommended models, at Playtri we have bikes on the floor ready for you to test ride, meaning in most cases you get to ride the model(s) you are interested in purchasing, in the correct size, with any major fit adjustments necessary. Why does this matter if the fit is perfect? Because different frame materials, builds and geometries can dramatically impact how a bike feels and rides – meaning two bikes that fit you perfectly can still feel drastically different on the road. With RETUL Fit First at Playtri, like Goldilocks, you will find the bike that is just right.
Finally, when you buy the bike from Playtri, the RETUL Fit First service is FREE*.
Coach Ryan Siebert is a Level 2 Playtri Coach and a USAT Level I Coach with Long Course Area of Focus. He coaches juniors and adult athletes of all levels and is a bike fitter and performance tester at Playtri Dallas.
Schedule your RETUL fit at https://www.playtri.com/bikefits
*Some exclusions apply