Real Rider Stories: Reece Gets Ready to Shred

Meet Reece. He’s an avid mountain biker growing up riding on the trails of South Africa. We found Reece through the wonderful world of social media where he had posted about his Retül Fit experience, so we reached out to learn more about Reece and why he chose to get a Retül bike fit.

Reece has some big goals on the bike and he tells us how Retül is helping him through his rider journey.

When did you get into the sport of cycling, and how did that lead you to where you are today?

Having grown up on a big property on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, I spent the majority of my childhood on two wheels. When I wasn't riding my motocross bike I was building ramps to jump on my bicycle. This carried on for a few years until my father started mountain biking, one weekend he took me along to the trail park and I was hooked! That was about twelve years ago and I have been cycling pretty religiously since then, having moved to Stellenbosch - a mecca for mountain biking makes hitting the trails extremely easy.

Now, I am currently training for the 2021 Munga Mountain Bike Race which takes place in December 2021. The race is described as one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world. It is a single stage mountain bike race that starts in Bloemfontein and ends in Paarl, riders have 120 hours to complete the 1100km route that crosses through the Karoo in the middle of Summer [super hardcore!].

What made you decide to get a Retül bike fit with Waylon at Specialized Stellenbosch?

I had never really experienced any major discomforts while cycling; However, having committed to a few ultra distance events towards the end of the year and a sudden increase in my training volume I started to develop a niggle on my right knee.

Knowing that I had never been properly fitted on my bicycle, I decided that a bike fit was the first thing for me to do. During my research and chatting to my cycling buddies, one name kept on popping up and that was [Retül fitter] Waylon [Woolcock] at Specialized Stellenbosch. The amount of people who recommended Retül made it an easy decision.

What are your overall goals on the bike and how do you think a Retül fit would help you reach those goals?

Currently my cycling goals are focused around long distance events which take days to complete, I do not take part to win but I do want to do well and I want to be able to push my body's limits. For me to be able to do this it is extremely important to be comfortable on the bike. There is a difference between pushing through sore legs and a tired body after multiple hours of riding with limited sleep and pushing through avoidable pain that is a result of a poor fit and that is where Retül comes in.

What were the changes made to your bike and how did those changes affect your position?

I feel like a big element of the Retül fit is the initial information you give the fitter about your cycling goals and the type of riding that you are planning on doing. I told Waylon about the Munga and he used this information, together with the data from the Retül system to fit me. Because I am spending long hours on the bicycle, Waylon fitted me less aggressively than he would an XC racer.

The main changes that Waylon made was slightly changing my saddle height and saddle offset. I was also recommended a set of inner soles to provide additional arch support as Waylon was convinced that my knee pain was being caused by the lack of arch support offered by my shoes which caused my knee to collapse in while pedaling.

How does the fit feel now that you have had a chance to try it out?

I took to my new fit like a fish to water and it immediately felt good. After three weeks of riding my bike post-fit I can happily say that the pain that I was developing is a thing of the past.

How was your Retül fit experience overall and would you recommend a Retül fit to other athletes/ riders?

I had an extremely positive experience with Retül and my fitter Waylon. Waylon took his time to understand my needs and as we progressed through the fit he explained every aspect of what he did, why he made these changes and how it would differ if my riding goals differed.

I had booked the Stage 3 fit which was scheduled to take 2.5 hours, I walked out after three hours feeling like I had not only gotten a bike fit, but like I had been educated on the art of bicycle fitting.

After my experience I would definitely recommend a Retül fit to anyone remotely interested in cycling and I will not make the same mistake of waiting for a niggle to pop up before getting a fit done. The next time I purchase a bicycle, Retül will be my first stop.

Anything else you would like riders to know about your experience?

Nothing more, just go and get the fit done!

We wish you the best of luck Reece in your journey to crushing at this year’s Munga mountain bike race!

You can follow Reece’s journey to Munga on Instagram here