Cycle Loft & Diet.com: What's the Right Size?

A few weeks ago, we were approached by Diet.com to make a video to show people a little more about the process of selecting the correct bicycle--how to find the right size, and what it meant to get the right "fit." Take a look at the video here of the Cycle Loft's own Anthony Laskaris and Diet.com's host Sarah Dussault helping her find a new ride. Please feel free to contact Anthony about any fit questions, at anthony@cycleloft.com.

Cycle Loft Velo @ Atlantic Masters Regionals

On July 25 & 26th, the annual Atlantic Masters Regional Track Championships were held at the Valley Preffered Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA. Kurt Begemann and myself were there for the previous night's racing--which as has been the case down there this summer--was rained out. Under the tent all day long to ride in 4 events was a long day, but one well worth the experience. It was my first big event, so I didn't know what to expect, but with Kurt's coaching expertise, the day went off really well. Holding only a Cat 4 Track license meant I could only do the timed events, whereas with a Cat 3 and higher, one can race in the bunch events, such as the Scratch race which was the last event of the day.


Proudly wearing our new Cycle Loft Velo team strip, by Capo Forma, and riding the new Tiemeyer custom Signature bike fitted w/ the TT bar set up [pic to come] I entered the Masters 40-44 Kilo (1km TT,), 40-44 3km Pursuit, 40+ Team Sprint, and 40+ Team Pursuit. I was a bit rushed to the line for the Kilo, but ended up doing well with a time of 1.18.14, good enough for a 3rd place Bronze Medal. I then rode the Individual 3km Pursuit, another TT on aero bars, and missed another 3rd place by just .79 seconds, with a final time of 4.05.72. The 3rd event was a team event, that myself, Kurt, Steve Gauthier, and Mike Bergstrom, both guys from MA and the NEBC all participated in. This was a 4km TT, which is 12 laps of the T-Town track--Kurt did the first lap to get us up to speed, then I followed, then Steve, and Mike, with each of us taking 1/2 lap pulls. At the beginning of the race, we (all) frankly thought I would get popped off the group by the end, and considering you only need 3 riders to finish, that would have been ok--but once it got going, I knew I wasn't going to let go of the wheel in front of me, and in the end, it was Steve that popped off. Irregardless, we finished with a team time of 5.16.44, good enough for 2nd place Silver medal. That's 2 out of 3, this was fun stuff!



My last event was the Team Sprint, which I rode with Steve and Mike. Our plan was for me to ride the first lap, then Steve the second, then Mike to anchor the third. If I may say, I had a great start off the line, kicking out of the saddle through turn 2, it was so strong that afterwards, Mike had to admit that he was caught a bit unaware and had a bit of time getting onto the wheel. We rode well as a team, even though we hadn't practiced, and with a time of 1.1.15 we rode to a 2nd place Silver medal. Kurt rode quite well with multiple medals, one from each of his races. You can see all of the results here on bikereg.


All in all, a fantastic day of racing and an enormous learing experience. We've got a bit of video of our two Kilo races and will endeavor to figure out how to upload that. Up next is the New England Regional Track Championships to be held in Londonderry, NH at the New England Velodrome & Cycling Park. Hope to see you there.

Check out these short video clips to see a bit of the Kilo TT efforts.

Tandemonium 2009: Cycle Loft Team Results

We had high hopes and high expectations of defending National Sprint Champion, Kurt "Chopper" Begemann, riding the 2009 National Sprint Championships with stoker, Thom Norton going into Friday August 31, 2009 at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA. Unfortunately, as has been somewhat of a trend this summer in TTown, Mother Nature had something to say about the racing schedule, with Friday night's event being postponed until Saturday due to the threat of severe thunderstorms.

That being said, Saturday was a beautiful, albeit quite humid day in the Lehigh Valley, and the race's Flying Lap (333m) TT, to seed the sprint brackets, was set for 5.30pm. Riding the ominous looking Tiemeyer Tandem, aptly dubbed, the "Widowmaker," Kurt and Thom set the 7th fatest time going into the Championship. They ran up against a formidable looking team from California, and almost pulled off the win, but simply ran out of track in the home straight. In the next round, Team Cycle Loft rode to a convincing win over Team Gorman, which brought them to a match up with Team Espinoza who just had too much gas and would be the eventual National Champs. The 2nd repacharge would be a 4-up round for 3rd place with the team from California, another American team and the Australian team. Kurt and Thom rode a great tactical race, having gone to a 103.8 inch gear, only to be narrowly caught at at the line by the Califonians by a 1/4 of a wheel--leaving them as the 4th best placed American team and 6th overall. Click here for results.

After the podium cermony, Kurt and Thom were determined to make a good showing in the 15 lap Tandemonium Scratch Race--during which they literally did make the race by riding away from the group on the opening lap and staying away for nearly 13 laps--including the race's only 2 preems--only to be caught by the 3 international teams from New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina (defending champs.) Kurt and Thom had the entire velodrome pulling for them, willing them to stay clear for the race, but that wasn't to be, as they finished as the 1st American team, and 4th overall in the Scratch race. I'll tell you, it was quite a site to see 10, yes TEN tandems, on the track at once racing, quite an exciting night of racing. Bottom line, great efforts, very close racing, and the seeds of motivation have been sown for a return to Tandemonium and Tandem Sprint Nationals for 2010!

PMC Supported by the Cycle Loft

We're pleased to support the 2009 PMC on its journey from Western Massachusetss, all the way to Cape Cod. Ryan Deroche, Cycle Loft's Service Manager, will support the ride all weekend from the Cycle Loft's truck, resolving mechanical issues both big and small. This will mark the 4th year in a row that Ryan has helped this great ride, which helps support such a great cause. Keeping our fingers crossed for good weather. Best to everyone that is participating in the ride!

Cycle Loft & Tiemeyer Cycles Introduce the "Widowmaker"

The Cycle Loft, together with Tiemeyer Cycles has paired up to build the latest, state of the art Track Sprint Tandem. The retailer, from Burlington, MA, paired up with several industry manufacturers to assemble the new ride for defending National Champion, Kurt “Chopper” Begemann.

Saturday August 1, 2009 sees the return of the U.S. National Tandem Sprint Championships to the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, PA. In 2008, Begemann partnered with Mike “Speedy” Beers, who has since retired from the track, so the pressure was on to find a new partner, and a new Tandem. Along came the Cycle Loft, Tiemeyer and seasoned trackie, Thom Norton.

“We wanted to build something stout and strong, that practically begged to be tested to its limits,” said Jeff Palter, owner of the Cycle Loft. “Tiemeyer is well known for his incredibly strong and very aerodynamic track frames; we asked Dave if he could build us a track tandem, and he said, ‘Certainly.’”

The frame uses aerodynamically shaped, custom Reynolds 6061 Aluminum tubing and a Reynolds Carbon Pro Tandem fork. The spacing of the rear drop outs on the frame was extended to 130mm to accommodate the wider flanged Phil Wood track hub for maximum strength. These 36 hole hubs were built with tied and soldered straight gauge spokes, in a 4 cross pattern, onto Velocity Pro Elite 30 mm tubular rims. “Master wheel builder Anthony Laskaris built the wheels to be as strong as possible for 36-hole wheels,” said Palter, “These things are unbelievably stiff.” Continental Tempo 22mm tubular tires complete the wheels.

The drive train uses Sugino 75 track cranks and bottom brackets (144BCD / 165mm), and three Izumi Super V NJS Track Chains. The timing chain rings are both 44 tooth to facilitate clearance of the chain on the wider spaced chain stays. With both Begemann and Norton weighing about 160 pounds each, the riders have opted for a 51 x 14 gear (98.4 inch) choosing to spin a higher cadence, rather than pushing the 100 inch gear that most Tandem Sprinters use. Bars are the Deda Velocity steel track bars with an inverted Deda Pista stem for the stoker. The captain’s stem is the Nitto steel NJS stem in 120mm length. Seat posts are the tried and tested Thomson Elites, while Fizik Arione saddles, with coordinating Microtex handlebar tape, complete the cock-pit. Speedplay supplied their Track Specific Z Pedals and were incredibly helpful in swapping out body and pedal axles to accommodate the three “odd” crank arms. Namely, the two left side pedals being right axles with left bodies, and the captain’s right pedal being a left axles with a right body. Confusing, but correct!

“The bike is first class,” said Begemann, “We wanted something so over-built…so stout that there would be no compromises and no surprises. Because the last thing you want going through your mind when you’re doing 45 mph in turn 3 is….what if?”
Begemann and Norton take to the banking this Saturday night with a dozen or so other Tandems, all vying for the US National Sprint Title. Also up for grabs is the popular, internationally contested Tandemonium 5km scratch race, last year won by the Argentineans, Leandro Bottaso and Demis Aleman.

Photo Credits: Thoma Photography, LLC

Detroit UIV 3-Day International

Cycle Loft Supports Detroit UIV 3-Day International Winners:

Jackie Simes IV and Eric Barlevav

Just one week after arriving back from their first European Pro Six Day, Jackie Simes IV and Eric Barlevav of the Mountain Khakis Pro Cycling Team take the win in the Detroit UIV 3- Day International.



Just as their rocky start in Fiorenzuola,where their bikes arrived one day late and they had to start on borrowed equipment, their fortunes in Detroit, or at least on their way to Detroit, had potentially gone from bad to worse. Driving on their way to Michigan from Pennsylvania a piece of sheet metal kicked up by a truck in front of them smashed through the windshield of their car. Fortunately neither Simes or Barlevav were hurt, but the mishap certainly delayed their journey as they had to replace the wind shield, and ultimately had an effect on their preparation for the opening days racing.

However, after the first night of racing at the Bloomer Park Velodrome, the duo lead by 8 points over the Canadian Team of Daniele DeFranceschi (also recently back from the Fiorenzuola Six) and Steven Meyer. In third place more than 11 points back were the team of Iggy Silva and Lanell Rockmore riding under the Team USA banner.

As Day Two unfolded, it was clear that the racing would be aggressive from the start as all but the team in last position remained on equal laps. While the Canadians instigated the attacks by winning the first two short scratch races of the night, it was the 120 lap Madison chase that saw Barlevav and Simes take two laps on the field with Silva and Rockmore trailing behind them by one.

Rockmore opened up the third day of racing by adding some points to Team USA's tally as he won the 200meter TT in 11.66 seconds narrowly missing the track record set by local rider Terry Palmer. But laps were needed over points, if any teams were to topple the lead of the Mountain Khakis duo of Simes and Barlevav. Race promoter Dale Hughes commented that, "Jackie Simes and Eric Barlavav dominated the sprints but more importantly powered their way to laps over the field. They were just having a great 3 Days of serious Madison racing success!"

Final standings.
1st Team Mountain Khaki's, Jackie Simes & Eric Barlevav +5 Laps 1 pts

2nd Team USA, Iggy Silva & Lanell Rockmore +3 Laps 31 pts

3rd Team Canada, Daniele DeFranceschi & Steven Meyer +1 Lap 32 pts


The Detroit UIV 3 Day International is the only American Track Event that complies with and is supported by the UIV(Union Internationale des Velodromes), the body that governs the International Six Day Circuit. The win here should bode Simes and Barlevav well as they look to the winter Six Day season beginning in October, to expand on their European experience gained in Fiorenzuola.

Please credit Dale Hughes when using attached pictures.

July 4th Holiday

We were shut for the 4th of July holiday, hope everyone took advantage of the absolutely spectacular weather we had. Riding outside for the first time in a week, I remember saying to myself, "Oh, this is what wind is," 'cause I've got to tell you that riding rollers in my garage, even with the door open, is no substitutue for the open road--that being said, if you want to keep riding, you've got to get a set of these E-Motion Rollers by Inside Ride--we've got a set in the store to demo anytime, and a couple of pairs in stock. We can also drop ship them directly to you--if you don't want to miss riding any more this uniquely rainly "Summer," then I firmly believe they are well worth the investment--come on in and see!