By Rob Brown

“What is Speed Factory?” 

I found myself asking this same question after I started working at Braun’s under the tutelage of Winston Endall.  Speed Factory is the name of a group of programs he designed for cyclists of all ages and abilities, from the weekend warrior on up to the competitive triathlete. It encompasses everything from coaching to nutrition to custom bike building to getting the proper fit on your bike (which is way more important than you may think!). The idea behind Speed Factory is to incorporate everything that make you a better rider and have more fun in one program.

My very first exposure to Speed Factory was to the magic that is bike fitting and the resident wizard, Winston. At the time, I hadn’t been doing much cycling and had recently been commuting back and forth to work a few days a week. Even on my relatively short 40 minute 14km ride, I was getting wrist soreness, shoulder and neck pain, and some bad back pain that left me sore for the rest of the day. How could all of this pain possibly be coming from such a short ride?!

On arriving to work one day after about a week or so of suffering, I finally mentioned these aches and pains to Winston. He told me to throw the bike in the trainer for a fitting. I did, climbed on, and, on his instruction, pedaled away as he walked around me while observing every movement.  In no time at all, he told me that he saw what the problems were and explained as he worked what was happening and how his adjustments would fix it. Wrist pain? Fixed by a rotation of the handlebars to bring them back a few millimeters. Shoulder pain? Fixed by adjusting the saddle back and forth to balance my weight. Lower back pain? Turns out, my saddle was too high and I was getting too much leg extension which was making my hips rock. That was what was causing that awful soreness. He fixed it with a slight adjustment of the seat post.

After my next ride, I was absolutely blown away; all the former problems I was having were completely gone! Not only that, but I was shaving a few minutes off of my ride! All it took was a keen eye, a capable hand, and some seemingly minute adjustments that made a whole world of difference in my riding experience. I asked Winston what he did. “I just made the bike an extension of your body”, he explained. “Sometimes there are small adjustments, other times there are large adjustments. It all depends on the bike and the rider.”

Since that experience, I’ve been a huge supporter of getting your bike properly fit.  Not only have I had my bike fit but now I’ve been trained to fit other people.  Without a doubt, I can say that bike fitting is important and will  give you one of the most comfortable and efficient rides you’ve ever had.  No matter if you ride casually on the Rail Trail every weekend, commute, or race , Speed Factory has something for you.