I just got back from 8 days of general debauchery and a certain merriment in Paris, where, I stopped at the Alex Singer store. I was sort of prepared for the store and what to expect, but nevertheless was quite impressed. For those of you that haven't been there, I have to say, that as a confirmed bike junkie and shop connoisseur, the Alex Singer experience is like no other. I remember walking through the west end of London a couple of years ago, and bumped into the window of a store that sold bespoke shotguns. Sold in pairs, made to measure, engraved and buffed to a certain sheen that only way too much time and skill can achieve. Heirloom quality. Alex Singer's storefront has that same essence. I got there at their lunchtime. Those French know how to structure working hours in my opinion: 9am to noon, then 2 to 7pm. Never too many consecutive hours to tire one out. I was reduced to pressing my nose against the glass for a few minutes, gaping at the subtly buffed chrome, paint and alloy adorning the mostly 531 and 753 bicycles within. A sometimes strange mixture of seemingly old-world frame set, complete with box-lining and full chrome, but with a spanking new Dura-Ace 10 speed kit on it. Lots of shellacked bar tape, all honey brown, all with lots of texture, made you want to reach out and feel it. Hand made stems, heavilly chromed and flawlessly polished, with hidden binder. Timewarp displays of 60's style panniers, clothing and accessories. Time for a coffee before they opened, then I came back to an empty store (it was Saturday even) and an invitation to tour the back of the shop, sniff the glue, pluck a few spokes, look like I sort of knew what I was doing. Hanging from the beams were loads of partially completed frames, lots of wheels, and a few repair jobs. Seems like if you own a Singer, even if it gets flattened by a truck, you still send it back to see if it just might be salvageable. From stateside even. Back at the front of the showroom my eye was very taken by a 61cm blue AS with exquisitely matching ppaneledaluminum fenders. Drat, it's just my size, just a little too difficult to rationalize YET another bike, so I resisted manfully. Seems like no-one could have ever really ridden it, since all the housings were about 2" too short, quite a remediation when it's Campy ergo, and shellacked in place. So, I dawdled some more, eyes darting from bike to bike, then wrenched myself back to reality. There's always a next year, always a next bike, always...
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Neill Currie
595-B E. Deering Rd
Deering
Nh 03244
tel: 603-529-6472
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I usually have classic bicycle components for sale at good prices. Please email me for a current list. A reasonably current list may be seen here:
http://www.geocities.com/
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