Re: [CR] Tom Avenia & Frejus bikes

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

From: <Stronglight49@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:48:32 -0400
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Cc: cyclo_one@verizon.net
Subject: Re: [CR] Tom Avenia & Frejus bikes


By the late 1960s a good friend had stopped racing, so I was left with his Frejus Track bike on indefinite loan, and for a few years was my ONLY bike. I rode it on the roads all over southern CT (naturally without brakes). Fortunately for me, it was a delightfully comfortable ride, without the twitchy handling one might expect from a Pista racing bike.

Growing up in Connecticut, there were few local bike shops with a decent stock of serious racing bikes or components. During the late 1960s and early 1970s I made a few pilgrimages to Tom's shop. It was a breathtaking Mecca for cyclists in the know. On one expedition I rode down to The City on my friend's track bike... a stunning bike to behold in full-chrome with blue chromovelato panels.

Tom saw the bike and walked over. When I mentioned where I rode in from and the name of the owner he quickly remembered, and even recalled that it was part of a matched pair of Road and Track bikes which he had sold several years earlier.

As usual, I left the shop with the small item I had come in for... and a few extra tubular tires wrapped over my shoulders like a 1930s Grand Tour racer. And I returned home appropriately covered with city soot and road grime from the long ride.

During my brief visits to Tom's shop, I watched as he matter of factly and hastily but still expertly fitted cyclists for a bike. I was surprised when he would sometimes down-sell a selection to more suitably meet the riders' real needs rather than trying to push the highest quality more expensive models.

When fitting new components or cables he worked with a speed and efficiency which I had rarely seen either then or later, and everything was set up just perfectly. It is really beautiful to watch a skilled mechanic with years of experience quickly and nimbly moving his fingers like a talented musician.

Word of his shop in the outlying areas was simply passed on by knowledgeable riders. I don't know if he had even advertised in any local publications; he really never needed to. His shop was like a taste of a classic old world bike shops found in many European cities, but seldom seen in the US - even back then. Nothing fancy or trendy about it, just great bikes and parts jammed everywhere. A real enthusiast's delight.

Here is the New Yorker Cover which Michael Allison referred to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stronglight/3811876952/

This image, and any old photos remotely resembling it, always remind me of Toms old shop.

Thanks to awla yous guys for the fond memories.

BOB HANSON, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA