California brand Felt Bicycles has a number of Team USA athletes competing on its bikes in the London Olympics. Here, we take a look at the Jimmy Watkins’ TK1 Sprint bike and Sarah Hammer’s TK1 Endurance bike.
Felt’s TK1 Sprint and Endurance frames are essential the same bikes, but with different lay-ups. The Sprint features a stiffer (and slightly heavier) lay-up.
Both frames feature Felt’s Bayonet 2 fork that tucks neatly into the front end of the frame.
The TK1 is similar to the Felt DA, which Kristin Armstrong used to win the Olympic time trial. The DA also has Felt’s Bayonet fork, horizontal drop-outs, and front and rear wheel wells.
Felt has eight track athletes racing in London: Jimmy Watkins (USA) and Njisane Phillip (TRI) on the Sprint, and American endurance athletes Sarah Hammer, Jennie Reed, Dotsie Bausch and Lauren Tamayo are on the Endurance, along with Canada’s Zach Bell and Germany’s Roger Kluge.
Hammer’s Endurance bike pictured here has a carbon 3T drop bar with one of Felt’s machined aluminum stems. Felt then wrapped the bar and stem with a little carbon fiber for enhanced stiffness and a svelte look.
Watkins, who took a sabbatical from working as a firefighter to train for the Olympics, is racing his first Olympics.
Hammer's 3T drop bar
