Real Rider Stories: Cindy-Louise Gets a Mountain Bike Fit

Like many riders who are just getting into the sport of cycling, Cindy-Louise had no idea what a proper bike fit could do for her. “She just positioned the saddle where she thought it should be and rode it.” explains Retül fitter Wessel Jacobsz of Cycle Solutions in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Cindy is an avid adventure racer where the disciplines include riding, running and canoeing. She is also an ambassador for the CHOC foundation (Childhood Cancer Foundation) where she races and participates in various competitions to raise awareness for kids with cancer. She is just a normal fit mom that loves to rider her bike and be active.

“As a newcomer, she did not have the knowledge to correctly position herself on the bike. Her saddle was very low and her extension was way out and we could see that she needed some assistance with her position.” Which is definitely something our fitter’s see here at the Retül Boulder office all too often. These types of riders just have no idea about bike fit or the benefits of a proper position.

“She thought that bike setups were mainly for the pro’s, but we convinced her that a setup is actually for anybody, especially newcomers, who wish to improve their riding experience and comfort on the bike.” stated Jacobsz. Yes! we cannot emphasize this enough people!!

Wessel is also the owner of a mountain biking skills coaching company aptly named Ride Like A Girl which encourages women to build confidence and strength in their mountain biking skills. “[Cindy] came to us for assistance with her MTB skills, and when we saw how her bike was setup we encouraged her to do a Retül fit with us. Her position on the bike was not ideal, and as a newcomer to mountain biking we advised her to get the fit done to improve her experience and overall comfort on the bike.”

So, you’re probably asking yourself, how did the fit go? What were the changes that they made?? The suspense is killing us!!

Wessel was very gracious to fill us in on those details, “After setting Cindy up on her bike she almost immediately felt more comfortable. Her saddle was correctly adjusted to the required height. We raised her saddle to ensure the correct extension of her legs through the pedal stroke. She no longer felt like her legs were too long for the bike. We also slightly lowered her handlebars by a few spacers to ensure that her saddle was supporting her weight correctly and also to get her back angle within the required range. Lastly, we focused on her pedal stroke technique using the Retül 3D knee tracking to assist her getting her hips, knees and ankles in line. Cindy still rides flat pedals, and once she is ready we will then re-visit her position on the bike with her cleats.”

Sounds like a winning position to us. We think Cindy would also agree…

Wessel informed us that Cindy is now riding with her new setup and she is looking forward to her follow up fit where any micro adjustments might be made in order to get her even more comfortable once she has allowed her body to adjust.

We can’t wait to hear how Cindy’s new position on the bike transfers to the trails. Stay tuned!