Corsa Concepts on the TK1

One of my sponsors, Corsa Concepts, wrote a nice article on my track machine: the Felt TK1. I choose my equipment carefully. No compromises. Read below, or visit the original version.

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Dan Harm's Felt TK1

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of babysitting Dan's bike while he was racing the Cascade Classic in Bend, OR. While he was here, we sat down to talk about his new track wheels and decide if any changes were in order. One of the great things about working with Dan, besides his pure racing abilities, and the fact that he's a really great guy, is that he's able to provide detailed feedback based on his technical knowledge, feel and race performance. From our conversation we were quickly able to identify a few things that we all thought would help him meet his goals.

Dan's specialty is going really fast for long periods of time as an endurance rider, who rarely gets out of the saddle to sprint. For a guy as big as Dan is, he's relatively easy on his wheels and doesn't have a lot of lateral movement while racing. So while Dan was racing on the road in Bend we rebuilt his wheels with CX Ray spokes. Instead of using our typical 2-cross lacing pattern on the front wheel we went with radial lacing. In terms of overall stiffness, with an 88mm rim and a high flange hub, there won't be much of a change. As a custom wheel system it's great to be able to dial-in ride qualities for specific riders.

It didn't take long and the wheels were back on the bike with nothing to do. I thought about taking it for coffee, but it was way too big. Instead we decided to get some good pictures of the bike and took a good look at his selection of parts for the rest of the bike. It's seriously hot!

Bike: Felt TK1 57CM

Headset: Felt Bayonet 1 1/8 Integrated

Stem: Felt Bayonet 2 Adjustable Stem (and lengthener Dan's too tall for standard stem on their largest
size)

Seat Post: Felt TK1-Aero Carbon Fiber

Seat Post Clamp: Aero 2-piece Stainless Stell Clamp

Saddle: SMP Evolution

Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace 177.5

Chainrings: Dura-Ace 50-55t

Bottom Bracket: Dura-Ace Track

Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace 7810

Handlbars: FSA Alloy Aero-bend

Handlebar Tape: Cinelli Cork White

Chain: Izumi ESH

Cog: Euro-Asia

Wheels: Corsa Concepts Proto3.3

Tires: Vittoria Corsa Evo CX 23 w/70mm Corsa Concepts Valve Extender

Tubular Glue: Vittoria Mastik One

PS. More stories to come...

-dharm