Hypercat Racing

Phil Casanta, at HR, supported the HITS Championship Tri in Palm Springs. His services, and banter with local customers and participants from outside area are fabulous. If I lived in the area or came upon a race that HR supported, he is worth your time.

This review is based on a phone call. Im from northern california about half hour from san francisco. I had family in Ventura who was coming up north and wanted to have them pick up some gear for me. I called in and got to talk to Rachel who was extremely welcoming and just very easy to talk to. I called about 6 – 7 other shops to ask about Adamo Saddles and about 90% of those shops seriously acted like they never heard Adamo or ISM but tried to play it off like they did. Although Rachel couldn’t do much for me as far as inventory (she did find certain products i wanted WHILE we were talking about triathlons and their journey from here to Ventura and so forth) she told me to shoot an email to Phil. I have yet to hear from Phil as it has only some number of minutes since i sent an email but if they run Hypercat together I can only imagine that he is as nice as her. The 5 stars goes to my chit chat with Rachel
She was very sweet and helpful. it was great just chatting it up about the sport of triathlons. 5 stars service. 5 stars personality. 5 stars for just being awesome and down to earth. Thank you Rachel for helping and also just for the nice talk. Good luck with everything.

Hypercat racing is an awesome bike shop. Phil and Rachel understand the needs of not only cyclists but athletes of all types. I’ve had the pleasure of having Phil do fits on three bikes of which one he also built for me. I can say without a doubt that having Phil fit me on my road bikes made a huge difference in comfort and efficiency. My new BH GC Aero TT bike is no exception. He consulted with me prior to making the leap to a TT bike, did a pre-​fit to determine what frames would work for my build and then assisted me with the bike build and finally did a fit on the bike. It rides like a dream and I’m plenty comfortable and efficient. I will never ride a bike that hasn’t been dialed in by Phil at Hypercat. Highly recommend.

I’ve had a bike fitting and many parts upgraded on my bike from Phil. I have a serious sciatica problem and biking before the fit would lead to hours of discomfort once the ride was over. Now that I’ve had everything adjusted, I can get off the bike and I’m pain free. That is the best part about a fit, because Phil puts everything in proper alignment when the ride is over you feel as good as when it began. I have told many friends that their next upgrade should come from Phil in the form of a bike fit, worth every penny!

Coach Rachel is awesome. She’s not only an accomplished athlete herself, but she can train athletes at a huge range of experience. I learned about her through my colleague at work who has been a triathlete for years, and started to work with her.
For someone who is a total newbie at triathlons, Rachel has been extraordinarily patient and an awesome trainer. While she’s really encouraging — she doesn’t plant false hope and also has given me excellent guidance on what the next focus is going to be in training.
Whether you are on your 15^th Ironman, you’re just getting started with triathlons, or just want better skills on the bike, running or swimming — Rachel is fantastic.

I have never been so comfortable on a bike before! Phil was able to make adjustments and put my in the most comfortable position I have ever been in while riding a bike. Thank you, Phil!

Hypercat helped me determine if a potential new bike was a good fit They did a Mechanical rebuild, then made all kinds of micro adjustments that resulted in the best cycling of my career.
Proper bike fit fixed two bio-​mechanical motions that were leading to injuries, no more pain, more stable, comfortable ride, and more power.

Rachel and Phil are two fantastic coaches and elite athletes. Rachel often represents United States in different international Elite races. I went to Rachel to get a plan in prep for 2010 Escape From Alcatraz triathlon. After an initial face to face meeting, Rachel put a very reasonable plan together. She was often available to answer my questions about the training per my plan level agreements. She always send words and emails of encouragement before any race. She also quickly understood my work is often takes me on road domestically or internationally (Currently 1K status on United airline). After EFA, I continued working with her on a plan which covered following races from July — Oct of 2010 (16 weeks): Treasure Island Sprint Triathlon, Marin Century, Vineman Aquabike, Santa Barbara Triathlon, Big Kahuna Half IM, Levi’s King Ridge GranFondo and Nike Women’s half marathon. I highly recommend Coach Rachel as a single or multi-​sports coach.

Excellent fitting experience. Phil is one of the few in the industry that is using retul, a state of art fitting system.
He is honest. He will take as much as time needed for absolute fitting of your bike.
I found him in the bayarea through a detailed search and high recommendation that found to be absolutely true.
Very reasonably priced. His intention is get you comfortable/​fit on your bike first, then making money. He is also very accommodating to address/​fix any subsequent request or issues.
I hope you will be here in the bayarea when we need you Phil!

Awesome coaching and awesome fitting. I had spent a couple of years racing triathlons and thought I could improve but I wasn’t making any progress. In my last 2 races since Rachel started coaching me, I’ve beat my PRs (overall and for ever single discipline). Rachel is not only really skilled at knowing what to have me work on, she knows how to adjust my training to bring out the best in me… and she’s really encouraging and supportive (not really what I expected from a pro athlete coaching me as an amateur).
Phil’s bike fitting skills are renowned. Not only does he know bikes (and the whole industry) like the back of his hand, his focus is on making sure you perform well on your bike not selling you a bunch of expensive stuff that won’t really give you meaningful improvements. He was able to suggest a couple of inexpensive components that have really made my riding more comfortable, efficient, and fast. Maybe the best thing is that he was able to understand where my body was aching and not feeling comfortable on the bike, make changes, and now I can put in the big mileage again without any pain. He even spent extra time with me helping me understand my bike and making sure it was really set up right (using computers, lazers, and other gadgets to get things perfectly dialed in). I’ve been fit before, but never by someone who knew so much and had such a sophisticated and scientific approach. I guess this is why so many pros have him fit them.

I found Hypercat while searching the web for professional bicycle fitting. There were good things to say here on Unilocal,and I liked what their website had to say, as well as Coach Phil’s experience and training.
I had gotten a bike fit in the past at a local bike shop, which was very inexpensive, and did help a little, but was very, very basic.
That was a few years ago, and I was needing to reduce certain cycling pains that I had developed (numb hands, numb toes, occasional knee pain.) I was also keen to improve my efficiency on the bike, if there were any gains to made there.
I had already made all the adjustments to my bike to the best of my ability, but it was time for a pro’s help.
All I can say is that it was worth every penny. Coach Phil is an extremely personable and knowledgeable individual. You can tell that he not only loves what he does, but also has –a lot– of knowledge about bike fit and training. But coupled with his knowledge is an intrinsic «feel» or intuition on what would be best to tailor the bike to you and your goals.
As it turns out, all I needed was a slightly shorter stem, wedges for my cleats, and minor saddle adjustments. All of this would have been hit or miss for me to dial-​in, as it wasn’t far off from where I was. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about bike over the years is that a millimeter or two in either direction often has a huge impact.
My first ride up the hill after the fit session was absolutely easier; showing that I was more efficient on the bike. But of course afterwards my leg muscles hurt in places they never had before! Both of these things show that Phil’s adjustments had definitely brought more of my leg muscles into play that had previously only been along for the ride. Thanks Phil!
Other things worthy of note: Phil has had the opportunity to use a lot of different gear over the years, so he can give lots of good advice on the tech front.
Also, if you pay close attention and listen, you’ll likely pick-​up some good, free training tips!
If you’re a cyclist, and you’re considering what to spend money on for a bicycle component upgrade, for less that what some people spend on a set of handlebars or a seatpost, you can tailor your bike to fit you the best it can, and see real results out on the road.
He was also just opening a San Francisco location, so if you’re on that side of the bridge, you have no excuses!

Before I went to Phil for a bike fit, I was deathly afraid of riding my bike. After three years of triathlon training, I still felt ridiculously off-​balance, and it scared me to no end to go down hills or turn corners. I avoided riding my bike whenever I could, getting in the bare minimum of training for a race (making the race that much more painful). It took everything in me to drink from my water bottle during a race because I was too afraid to let go of the handlebars. Every time I managed to drag myself out for a ride, I would come home stressed and mentally exhausted, with cramps in my hands and forearms and pain in my lower back.
I’m happy to report, that after a couple of hours spent with Phil in a bike fitting, I am now in love with my bike! Narrower handlebars and a few other minor adjustments made a world of difference for me. I went on my first long ride this past weekend, and without even realizing it, I was comfortably riding one-​handed and drinking from my water bottle. While I still need some work, my bike handling skills and downhills have improved by leaps and bounds, solely due to the changes in my bike. Guess I’ll have to try one of Phil’s bike handling clinics everyone else seems to be raving about! In short, with Phil’s help, I actually WANT to get on my bike, and I’m really excited to see how my triathlon times improve this season!

Hypercat Racing is an amazing outfit. My husband and I went to a few of Coach Phil’s bike handling and cornering clinics three years ago and it made a HUGE difference when riding these East Bay hills! We were so impressed that when I upgraded to a new bike and was having problems with numbing fingers, we instantly thought of Coach Phil for a fitting. I am so happy with all that he changed! He suggested narrower handle bars and just a few tweaks here and there and it has made a world of difference! Not only do I not feel numbness or pain anymore, I am much faster and more confident because of the fit! He would have spent as much time with me as necessary to make sure everything was perfect. If you have a new bike or are having problems with your old bike, go and see Coach Phil for a fitting!

Hypercat Racing is a five star outfit. Coach Rachel helped me get to goal of finishing my first Ironman with a smile on my face. She knows how to balance a full time work schedule, a family, and training all while keeping it fun.
Coach Phil helped me get the right bike fit dialed in which improved my comfort and power on my bike.
I would highly recommend Hypercat Racing to first time triathlete trying to finish their first event or to the seasoned veteran trying to shave time and finish with a new PR.
These guys rock!