Hi,
I'll happily defer to your knowledge of the pre-70s. I was born in '52. I can only speak of the 70s, and with little authority at that. I'm sure there has always been an avid group of racers who rode fixes. Though, when I was riding, the number of racers was always very small --until the coming of Lemond. I guess my point is that the opportunities to see high-end bikes was relatively rare for me. Tommy's store on 3rd avenue was/is in an economically disadvantaged area. There weren't many tourists. Btw, he moved, he told me, because he was getting burgled on a regular basis. Yet, among non-racers in the "projects" around the area --and in the South Bronx, the Frejus is still a legend. It's a cultural-economic paradox, of a sort.
Thanks for the added info, though. I'd never heard of any of the stores you mentioned. One of the interesting questions raised in this thread was the origin of the different outbreaks of fixie fever.
Steve James
Bx, NY Usa
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:57:19 -0400 Subject: Re: [CR] Thomas Avenia Bicycles From: ealbert01@gmail.com To: sj52@hotmail.com CC: devotion_finesse@hotmail.com; andy@strawberrybicycle.com; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
There were lots of "high end " stores in Manhattan and the Bronx and in Queens. Fix gear was the norm until the early 1950's at least among the racing crowd. In fact, in most races gears were not even allowed. There was Drysdale first in Hell's Kitchen then on Canal Street, Bob Berghino (who moved to CA), Dick Power in the late 40's - early 60's, Pop Perry who built out of Queens for the Long island Wheelman, Andy Hamel, John Eiesenmann who carried Durkhop, and on and on and on. Frejus was so popular because of Tom Avenia it was a prominent shop and in the 50's guys met there on their way to the races at Flushing Meadows in Queens. They had to cross the Triborogh Bridge which was up around 125th st. so they wen by Avenia's. There are hundreds of these stories.....Ask Jamie Swan for a few. Edward Albert Chappaqua, New York, U.S.A.
There were lots of "high end " stores in Manhattan and the Bronx and in Queens. Fix gear was the norm until the early 1950's at least among the racing crowd. In fact, in most races gears were not even allowed. There was Drysdale first in Hell's Kitchen then on Canal Street, Bob Berghino (who moved to CA), Dick Power in the late 40's - early 60's, Pop Perry who built out of Queens for the Long island Wheelman, Andy Hamel, John Eiesenmann who carried Durkhop, and on and on and on. Frejus was so popular because of Tom Avenia it was a prominent shop and in the 50's guys met there on their way to the races at Flushing Meadows in Queens. They had to cross the Triborogh Bridge which was up around 125th st. so they wen by Avenia's. There are hundreds of these stories.....Ask Jamie Swan for a few. Edward Albert Chappaqua, New York, U.S.A.