I just returned from a bike industry education conference in San Antonio, Texas and of course I was seeking vintage lightweight vibes wherever I found them.
I hoped to see Scott McCaskill there but he couldn't make it. Scott, in case ya didn't know, is an energetic collector and manager of a big shop in Texas ( and they have BIG shops in Texas!) .....he has just taken over the CABE web site which is predominately a balloon tire deal but he loves lightweight vintage bikes too so he has expanded the features to include those. Take a look....
Anyway, that left the two musketeers, Larry Black, the super energetic bike maniac from Mt. Airy Cycles in Maryland and a longtime buddy, and myself to jaw about old bikes most of the weekend.. We did discover some neat stuff though....
We drove around visiting a few bike shops and didn't see much older stuff until we drove out to the "Old Texas" hamlet of Helotes... there, nestled under wind shaped old trees, next to the country store (a real one too!) was a mildly dilapidated building literally surrounded by stacked up bicycles. This 50 or more group of bikes obviously never made it inside, no matter the season, but the mild weather and low humidity made that not as bad as I might have imagined.... Even among this pack, Larry was quick to spot some interesting fat tire and antique models (among them I recall a 1900s rear steer tandem frame. I know from nothing about ballooners!) I in turn spotted a Mercier and other kinda cool mid range Euro lightweights.
There was a small and unobtrusive sign stating we had happened upon "Helotes Bicycle Shop".. It was a blast from the past already!
As we opened the screen door, we were greeted by the shop cats, all fat and friendly, and we entered the cluttered but absorbing world of Hank Cunningham! It turns out that smiling and hospital Hank once worked at Campagnolo USA in Houston area, had been a rider/racer/connoisseur for 30 years or more. Hank was a complete kindred spirit ...we looked at his bikes collection and talked incessantly for at least an hour.
Amazingly enough Hank had two or three customers pop in while we clogged up his already clogged shop. I say amazing in that it seemed like this shop was so totally out "in the boonies" that I would have thought they got monthly deliveries by helicopter!
Anyway, Hank has some way cool stuff! Maybe another 50-100 bikes were stuffed inside this (small!) building to the extent that walking was tough! I could never attempt to list all the cool bikes and parts but here is a quick, no-detail, stream of conscious memory blast; - two identical color (burgundy & cream) Mercian Vincitores, one touring, one sport! - two almost identical colored and equipped Emilio Bozzi bikes, one Legnano,one Frejus! - a neat old Jack Taylor tandem - a neat old Jack Taylor Tour of Britain - at least two prime Masis. - Exxon Graftek (spelling?) - a beautiful maybe early-mid 1960s Olmo. - a whole line up of original Black Phantoms (and one repro) - early 1970s Raleigh Pro track frame - Geez, the picture is fading but for sure Paramounts, and more that my aging mind can't recall..
And then parts and gears and tools and cranksets everywhere! Larry spotted and was quick to show me a HUGE 1" pitch 35 tooth Campagnolo chainring (= 70 teeth!) which I was told was for motor pacing!!
So if you are cruising the San Antonio area, Hank's place is a MUST!
After returning to the bike conference, Larry and I had less vintage bike stimili, except, as it hapens, there was also in attendance the legendary Peter Rich, from VeloSport Shop in Berkley, California. Pete regaled us with stories "from the old days" when he organized the Tour of California, when he imported the earliest of Colnagos and other exotics. He also set up Albert Eisentraut in his first frame building shop and had Maynard Hershon as an early"shop rat" employee. All the now-famous California cycling folks from the 1960s and 70s paths were interwoven with Pete's bike store...Peter is a bit grumpy now but a fascinating person as he sketches out his role in the early days of USA cycling culture. Good stuff!
That's about it.. Maybe Larry can add some tidbits to this recollection!
Dale
Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc. 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, North Carolina USA 27408 336-274-5959 Fax 336-274-6360 <A HREF="http://www.cyclesdeoro.com">cyclesdeORO.com</A> <A HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com/main.htm">Classic Rendezvous</A>