A Special Look Behind the Scenes: SRAM & Zipp

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Paul Levine

Paul’s report from SRAM & Zipp’s Product Advisory Board, February 2012.

Seeing and playing with cool bike stuff before it gets released is fun. Having an influence on what great products come next in the bike industry is a privilege. I sat on the SRAM / Zipp Advisory Board with seven other retailers last week. Our group was eclectic in their business models, from arguably the most successful bicycle mail-order owner to owners of tri and road shops from around the country with both single and multiple sites. The common thread that ran through the group was that we challenge ourselves, our staff and our businesses to be on the cutting edge of bicycle technology. We don’t stay stagnant and we expect our manufacturers to give us intelligent, well thought out and executed products that will enhance our clients’ cycling experiences. This group would chew up and spit out any pretenders. The “powers that be” at SRAM did their homework and truly wanted to know how they can be the preeminent player in their market. Our group was not short on giving comments and advice.
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Functional Hip Mobility for Cyclists with Michael Conlon

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Soren Klingsporn

Tuesday, March 6th, 6:30 pm
Signature Cycles of Manhattan
RSVP to Blake Bedoya:
blake@signaturecycles.com or (212) 706-0025

Physical therapist Michael Conlon, owner of Finish Line Physical Therapy and a three-time Ironman triathlete, will join Signature Cycles for a special presentation on “Functional” hip mobility for cyclists. Michael will discuss the benefits of three-dimensional functional flexibility, and how building and maintaining proper mobility and stability in your hips will help in overall performance enhancement, injury prevention, and rehabilitation if injury does occur.

Dr. Max Testa on Muscle Coordination Training

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Soren Klingsporn

Here is part four of our series of videos from Dr. Max Testa’s talk at our Greenwich Studio’s Passoni Bicycles introduction event. In this portion of Dr. Testa’s talk, he covers muscle coordination and pedaling efficiency, and how outright muscular strength is not such a great thing if those muscles are not coordinated in their firing sequence.

Dr. Max Testa on Muscle Coordination Training from Signature Cycles on Vimeo.

Dream Cycle

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Paul Levine

I have been a cycling wannabe before clipless pedals were a mainstay in road cycling. I would show up with the other twelve or so wannabes in Florida, NY every Saturday to play on our bikes and pretend to be fast. The Orange County Bicycle Club was created because we thought a club name would bring us closer to our dream of making our play relevant.

This tradition has developed over the past twenty years and it is not unusual to have 100+ cyclists show up for a Saturday ride. Like all clubs, we break up into smaller groups, so within your group you can always feel like you are still fast amongst your peers. No matter how fast we think we are, in the back of our brains we know that we are playing little league. We dream of beating our buddies up the hill, racing for the town line and just once taking the field sprint. We hold on to those dreams. It brings us out every weekend, year after year.

Dream cycling goes on all over the world. We shot this video of our Double A group playing on a beautiful fall Saturday in Orange County. I am the wannabe with the Rockstar kit and Team Rockstar Parlee. Because as all pretenders know, looking fast is better than being fast, even though it is best to be both.

Produced by the Cavallaro Group

Owner’s Survey: Zipp Firecrest Wheels

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Signature

As we mentioned in our recent review of Shimano’s new Ultegra wheelset, more so than any other component, upgrading your wheels can make a huge difference in the performance and ride quality of your bike. Wheel manufacturers are constantly striving to create the smoothest riding, lightest, most aerodynamic wheel for professional racers and recreational enthusiasts alike.

Zipp Speed Weaponry has been pushing the boundaries of bicycle wheel aerodynamics since their inception in the late 1980’s. Their design goal is stated right in their name: Speed Weaponry, tools to make you faster. The development of carbon fiber technology has taken the bicycle wheel into new realms of performance, with Zipp leading the industry.

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Dr. Max Testa: Debunking the Myths of Lactic Acid

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Soren Klingsporn

Dr. Max Testa speaks at Signature Cycles in Greenwich about the myths of lactic acid and training, how it’s actually very good for you, and the implications of his sports medicine research for masters/veteran racers.

Review: Shimano Ultegra 6700 Tubeless Wheelset

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Signature

If we deconstruct the bicycle as a machine down to it’s most basic elements, we are left with two wheels and a frame to connect them. When we examine the physical effort required to move a bicycle forward, air resistance, rolling resistance, weight of the bicycle and the rider, and the incline of the ground are all variables. The force required to spin the wheels is constant. So it comes as little surprise that cycling enthusiasts frequently look to their wheels when trying to extract greater performance out of themselves and their bike.

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Dr. Max Testa: Behind the Scenes of the 7-11 Team

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Soren Klingsporn

This is the second video in our series from Dr. Max Testa’s visit to our Greenwich studio. Andy Hampsten, ’88 Giro d’Italia, early sports science in the Pro Peloton … this is all great stuff!