Winterizing Your Road Bike

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Signature

With cold-weather fast approaching, snow, rain, salt, and mud covered roads aren’t too far behind. Winterizing your bike is an important step and one that only takes a few minutes. Good tires are a must for winter riding and no matter what climate you live, thinking about changing out your carbon Lightweight, Enve or Zipp wheels will be of most importance when preparing for winter riding. Let Signature help find the right wheel for you and your bike so your cold weather training does not suffer from winter weather blues.

One wheel that is a versatile and reliable everyday wheel for winter is the Shimano C35 Carbon Clincher. The C35 is made for power transfer and with an extra wide hub, it helps maximize lateral rigidity. The set weighs in at only 1530 grams yet is still light enough that you will not feel the added weight. It has an alloy braking surface for better stopping-power on wet, slushy roads, and its new OptBal rear-wheel spoke system features 21 spokes: 14 on the drive side and 7 on the non-drive side. This enhances rigidity and strength, making a more durable wheel. These Shimano wheels not only achieve exceptional lightness, durability and stiffness, but also have an unmistakably super ride quality.

Winterizing your wheels will help protect your baby (let’s face it…it is a part of your family!) as well as allow for comfortable and safe riding throughout these dark, cold months and will aid the longevity of your full carbon wheels. So, let’s get ready for Old Man Winter so we can get out there and ride!

Signature Greenwich welcomes Abraham Soler

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Signature

It’s not just the leaves that are changing in Greenwich! We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new team member, Abraham Soler. Abraham, who brings 10 years experience in the cycling industry, will be working in our Greenwich Studio. We asked Abraham to tell you something about himself. In his own words:

“I was born in Bogota, Colombia and I have been around bicycle wheels and frames since I was a baby in my crib. My father was a professional cyclist who raced in the 1986 Tour de France with the “Cafe de Colombia” Team.

I moved to the US after I finished school, looking for a better future. When I arrived in 2003, I started working in a bike shop as a mechanic and then moved into sales, all while learning English the hard way. At the same time I started competing in the road racing scene in NYC. My goal was to work my way up to be a Category 1 and one day return to Colombia and do a local race, just like my father. In 2009, I was ranked number 1 Category 3 road racer in the US and in 2013, I achieved my upgrade to Category 1. This allowed me to compete in my first UCI event in Bucks County, PA with the top professionals in the US and get invited to Trinidad to participate in my first international race.

I have been part of Foundation’s Elite Cycling Team in NYC Elite Team for the past 5 years. I currently live in Manhattan with my wife Karen. I am very happy to be part of the Signature Cycles team!”

Please stop by the Greenwich Studio to meet Abraham, or join our 9am Saturday Ride and chase him up a few hills!

Dream Prizes on Offer to Help Build Children’s Dreams in Africa

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Signature

Signature Cycles has been delivering dream bikes to cyclists for the last fifteen years. To many of us, a bicycle is a recreational tool we use to train, race, or commute. We search for the perfect, high-performance bike to chase our dreams and goals. Yet, for many more people around the world, a bicycle is a basic, sustainable form of mobility when mobility can mean the difference between seeing a doctor, getting to school, or making a living.

Signature Cycles has partnered with World Bicycle Relief and set a goal to provide 100 or more specifically engineered, culturally appropriate bikes to a school in Zambia.

The path to this goal involves you – our clients and friends – and a few different approaches to raising funds in order to build and deliver “Buffalo Bikes” to students and workers in a rural region of Zambia.

— The Raffle —

The highlight of our fundraising effort will be raffle drawings for one complete Parlee bicycle, one complete Seven bicycle, and one dream cycling trip to Signature’s 2014 Majorca Spring Training Camp.

Tickets for the raffle are available any time at our Manhattan and Greenwich studios, online at our WBR fundraising site, or at each of our evening events (event details below). This raffle is open to any and all, and you do not need to be present at the drawing to claim your prize. Each entry in the raffle is $134, the cost of a single Buffalo Bike. For every five raffle tickets you purchase, we will better your odds in the drawings by putting a complimentary sixth ticket in the hat as a thank you for helping us meet our goal. As of November 1st, all donations to World Bicycle Relief (i.e. your raffle tickets) will be matched dollar-for-dollar to create double the impact.

Parlee Cycles, SRAM, and Zipp have generously donated one complete Parlee bicycle for the drawing at our Manhattan studio’s event.

Seven Cycles, SRAM, and Zipp have generously donated a complete Seven bicycle for the drawing at our Greenwich studio’s event.

The winner of each bicycle will receive a fitting at Signature Cycles for their new Parlee or Seven.

The drawing for the trip to Majorca will be held at our second evening event in Greenwich, with tickets collected from both events, both studios, and online entries.

All online raffle entries will be evenly and randomly split between our evening events for the Parlee and Seven bicycle drawings.

— The Events and Silent Auctions —

Our Manhattan and Greenwich studios will each host an evening event with representatives of World Bicycle Relief, including their Founder, FK Day.

Manhattan: Wednesday, November 20, 6pm – 9pm

Greenwich: Thursday, November 21, 6pm – 9pm

At each of these two evenings will be a silent auction comprised of items generously donated by many of our bicycle industry partners, and others:

Parlee Cycles — Seven Cycles — SRAM — Movado
Assos — Enve Composites — Rapha — Shimano
Osmo Nutrition — Arundel — Chris King — Fizik

The list of items for auction currently totals $35,000 and the list of donors continues to grow. 100% of silent auction proceeds will be donated to World Bicycle Relief. Many thanks to our donors and partners for working with us to help better the lives of others.

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Signature Cycles Partners with World Bicycle Relief

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Signature

$134 Buys A Dream Bike!

Signature Cycles is proud to partner with World Bicycle Relief, a not for profit organization that makes transportation available by providing dependable, durable bicycles to the people of Zambia.
Through the power of the bicycle, those living in the rural villages of Zambia have access to healthcare, education and economic opportunities. $134 is all it takes to purchase a “Buffalo Bike” which is designed to carry loads up to 200lbs and navigate the rugged terrain.

Join us on Wednesday, November 20th (NY studio) and Thursday, November 21 (CT studio) for an Extraordinary Evening of Making Dreams Come True – a fundraiser to support the efforts of World Bicycle Relief. Signature Cycles has created the goal of buying 100 bicycles and providing an entire village school with viable, dependable transportation. The events will run 6pm – 8pm.

Your generosity will be rewarded with opportunities to participate in a silent auction with various premium items including a Spring Training Camp in Majorca, Spain and a custom frame from Seven Cycles. SRAM will be providing the complete build kit for this beautiful bike. More exciting auction items will be added as the event approaches!

If you are unable to attend our events you can make a donation by stopping by the Manhattan or CT studios.

Learn more about WBR here.

Signature Cycles NYC Winter Body Maintenance Clinic

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Signature

Signature Cycles Manhattan
Thursday, October 17, 2013 from 6-8pm

Signature Cycles’ Jim Cooper, (NASM (CPT/CES), NCSF (CPT) Functional Movement Screen, USA Cycling) will host a Functional Movement and Simple Stretches presentation with Q&A. By identifying the often overlooked key cyclists’ muscle groups, Jim will help you discover some of your weaknesses, and more importantly help you get ready for a healthy and injury free spring. Please note, this is an interactive clinic. Athletic apparel is advised.

Please RSVP by October 10 to stacy@signaturecycles.com

*Event is limited to 12 participants

Hector Picard Round Two

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Signature

In July of 2011 we had the pleasure of working with the I Will Foundation athlete, Hector Picard. Designing a bicycle for a double arm amputee presented some interesting challenges that we were excited to tackle. A blog post detailing the unique solutions to overcome these challenges for his first bike can be found here. This past May, misfortune struck Hector when his custom bicycle was stolen from the back of his car in Florida.

A collaborative effort between Signature Cycles, the I Will Foundation, and generous industry partners got Hector back on the road as soon as possible.

Thanks to Seven Cycles, Shimano, Zipp Speed Weaponry, and the I Will Foundation, Hector was able to get a replacement bike made so that he could get get back to riding.

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Fall Foliage Ride 2013

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Signature

Sunday October 20th at 7:30AM
Signature Cycles Greenwich

Time sure does fly!!! This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Signature Cycles Fall Foliage Ride.

Our favorite ride of the year will be held Sunday, October 20.

This scenic 40-mile ride through Fairfield and Westchester counties will begin at Signature Cycles’ Greenwich location and will wind its way up to Armonk, NY on some of the best cycling roads available. After a brief refueling and puppy petting at our rest stop located at Adopt A Dog, riders will ride back to Greenwich on equally scenic and cycling friendly terrain.

Ride leaders will accompany various groups accommodating paces starting at 14mph and up. Road bikes are required for all group riders. Cue sheets will be available for any riders wishing the tackle the route on their own.

Registration begins at 7:30am and the ride leaves at 8am sharp. A $40 cash or check donation will go directly to The Greenwich Boys and Girls Club and to Adopt A Dog to support their untiring efforts to better the lives of families, children and pets in our area.

RSVP/Questions : lori@signaturecycles.com

Life is Strange, Make the Most of It

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Signature

I have many unique and exotic experiences that I want to accomplish on my cycling bucket list, developing external iliac artery occlusion wasn’t one of them. The symptoms started on July 4th during a three hour ride with our club. I had just returned from Sweden the day before and felt great during the first half of the ride. I spontaneously lost all power in my right leg and wasn’t able to recover for the second half of the ride, barely being able to pedal back to my van. The power meter was my base line monitor for quantifying my output based on effort. The first half of the ride I was putting out 275-300 watts with moderate effort, the second half I couldn’t put out more than 120 watts without going anaerobic. I justified the sudden loss of power with jet lag.

I came home that day, felt tired and discovered that I couldn’t walk more than fifty yards without going anaerobic, creating a limp with my right leg and I needed to stop walking until my leg recovered. Fast forward past my ten days of visiting eight specialists trying to determine the cause of my sudden weakness. The conclusion to the cause of the intermittent claudication was an occluded right external iliac artery . I needed a bypass of the artery. I vetted out Dr. Ken Cherry , vascular surgeon at UVA who has done more of these external iliac artery bypass operations than any other surgeon in the country, most likely the world. He was quick to accommodate my request to have him do the operation and we scheduled surgery August 1st.

The plan was to take the Amtrak down to UVA on Tuesday July 31st, meet the doctor and his team and get the pre-op tests Wednesday, surgery on Thursday and back home on Sunday. A nice tight schedule to get what typically is a routine operation, from the best in his field, done with time to spare for a short recovery and check over period before we headed home.

Things went sideways quickly. I won’t bore you with all of the details, and can’t remember most of them anyway because I spent the next ten days in either a drug induced state or was in so much pain my endorphins didn’t have time or detail on their priority list. I spent most of that period in what I would consider survival mode. My baseline thought was if any human being could deal with this pain, I should be able to endure it. I have many clients and friends who have gone through much worse than what I went through and was drawing strength from them. Thank you Matty Long for being run over by a bus, I thought of you often.

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Signature Cycles Hosting Auction to Support Mountain2Mountain

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Signature

Signature Cycles Greenwich

Thursday July 20th from 6:00 until 7:30

Come join us for an auction to raise money for Mountain2Mountain, a nonprofit dedicated to creating voice and opportunity for women and children in conflict zones. The two projects running in 2013 include Mountain2Mountain’s ongoing work supporting women who dare to ride bikes in Afghanistan, and Strength in Numbers, a project that launch this summer with its first mountain biking camp in Breckenridge for young women that have survived gender violence.

In 2014, the documentary film Afghan Cycles will premiere covering the fight for Afghan women, and the courage that they’ve shown in daring to race bikes. The film was shot in Afghanistan with Let Media and proceeds will benefit Mountain2Mountain and its continued work to support the development of women’s cycling in Afghanistan. Strength in Numbers will also extend its reach to several more camps in more locations to build an army of women that can change the world!

The goal of our auction at Signature Cycles is to raise funds for this summer’s Strength in Numbers camp and the creation of the Afghan Cycles documentary. All of the proceeds collected will go directly to the projects. Some of the items being auctioned will come from the sponsors of Mountain2Mountain and will include goodies from Alchemy Bicycle Co., Osprey, Skratch Labs, Primal Wear, and more. As a bonus, the founder of Mountain2Mountain, Shannon Galpin, will be at the event acting as emcee, and we’ll be screening some sneak peeks of footage filmed in Afghanistan.

RSVP to Lori@signaturecycles.com

Enjoy the 2013 Bloomin’ Metric with Signature Cycles

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Signature

On Sunday, June 2nd Signature Cycles will be participating in the Bloomin’ Metric for the 5th year in a row. This event wouldn’t be the same without our community so we would like to again invite our clients and friends to join us for the 100 km ride. We will be meeting up at the Signature Cycles booth at 7:15 and then heading out for a conversational 16-18 mph average ride.

Please keep in mind that registration is limited to 2,500 riders this year and there will not be any registration on the day of the event. So don’t delay and pre-register to avoid possibly being shut out of one of bicycling magazine’s top 50 tours in the USA!

For route and registration information, please visit the official Bloomin’ Metric website here.