Grant’s Last Day

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Signature

Grant Salter

After 17 years in the cycling industry, our invaluable Grant Salter is leaving Signature Cycles and heading to Nashville, TN, where he will take over management of a high-end custom car and motorcycle operation called the Greening Auto Company. Eight years and three months have passed since Grant moved from Michigan to Sloatsburg, NY, upon Paul’s job offer to help him build and fit bikes in his garage in Central Valley, NY. Grant came to help grow and shape a business that would be imitated and studied throughout the cycling industry. As of 2008, he is still one of the – if not the – most successful custom-bike consultant on the planet. With little time to spare on his last day in the office he helped build, I asked him a few questions:

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A Great Night at Our Greenwich Studio Grand Opening

Posted on December 28, 2012 by signature

Our Greenwich Studio Grand Opening party this November was a blast and we wanted to share this short video of the night with you. It’s always great to get so many friends, clients and partners together and we want to extend our thanks to everyone for coming out and celebrating with us. Reps from Seven, IF, Guru, Serotta, Parlee, Assos, Rapha, Shimano, Zipp, SRAM and Lightweight were there along with many of our clients. We gave away over $10,000 in prizes in our raffle including a Lightweight wheelset, a Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 group, and a cycling trip to Majorca! It was a great night and we want to thank everyone for showing up. If you missed it, please come by for a tour of our new Greenwich showroom soon – Happy New Year!

Behind the Scenes with Guru’s Ted Matthews

Posted on December 22, 2012 by signature

One of the reasons we work with Guru at Signature Cycles is because they are a no-compromise performance company that sweats the details. Guru is the one company that offers a state of the art custom tri bike that will match up against any manufacturers’ testing in the wind tunnel, while offering the athlete the best fit possible. We recently spoke with CEO Ted Matthews about what makes Guru tick, and what motivated him to step into a second career in the cycling industry.

Guru is based just outside of Montreal Canada, but the company was founded in 1993 by a young Italian engineering student, Tony Giannascoli. The name Guru reflected Giannascoli’s goal to create a handcrafted bicycle company that would be a leader and a guiding creative force in the industry. Though Matthews took over as CEO in September of 2009, he says Giannascoli continues to play a major role in the company and is still “the genius behind much of what we do at Guru”. Continue reading →

Dreaming of September. Thoughts on My Seven Mudhoney SL and Shimano Di2.

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Signature

by Blake Bedoya

September has always been my favorite month of the year. It’s the month of my birthday, the hot summer weather is finally gone, but best of all, September marks the start of cyclocross.

A love affair of sorts, that I’ve had since 2003 when I did my first Cyclocross race. It’s a difficult sport to explain to those who have never seen it. If you ask 5 people, “What it is cyclocross?” you will most likely get 5 different answers. I can best describe it as an off road race, held on modified road-style bikes. Now throw in some obstacles, mud, and a healthy measure of rowdy fans, and there you go; cyclocross.

Like many bike race disciplines, cyclocross is a funny thing. Have you ever found yourself speaking to another cyclist… sharing race stories, comparing notes, lines, even sizing each-other up? There have been many times when I’ve frankly stated in an exchange “my favorite race was…” or “my best ride was…”. When the fact is I don’t really remember much at all. If you were to ask me what I was wearing that day, or what tire pressure I was using, I wouldn’t have the slightest clue.

So what exactly makes these races so memorable? The weather, the gear, or perhaps the place you finished in? I haven’t been able to figure out what that exact formula is that makes a day that would normally be “just another race” into something special.

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Behind the Scenes with Seven’s Rob Vandermark

Posted on December 3, 2012 by signature

Seven’s CEO, Rob Vandermark

With a singular focus on custom built frames, Seven Cycles is a company founded on understanding the individual cyclist and delivering every rider the optimum fit, function and performance. Seven’s passion for custom, along with their mastery of materials, innovation and design, has helped them become the largest custom frame builders in the world. We recently talked with CEO Rob Vandermark about the company’s beginnings, his eclectic and passionate team, and new directions we might see from Seven in next few years.

Though switching careers every two years has become a norm these days, Vandermark says he’s basically had just two paths of focus in his life – sculpture and cycling – which it turns went very well together. While he was a sculpture major in college, Vandermark saw a job opening at Merlin Metalworks where he first learned to build titanium frames. Vandermark says, “Merlin was the innovator in titanium mountain bikes and it was an exciting time in the industry. I love working with my hands, problem solving in three dimensions, and exploring all kinds of engineering conundrums so it was very informative to learn in that environment. The work combined my love of sculpture and bikes.” Continue reading →