I'm a little late seeing this thread. I bought my first non-English-3-speed-coaster-brake bike from Stuyvesant in 1970 and it was branded Corso. It was yellow, had 10 speeds, drop handlebars, Simplex derailleurs. It was not high end at all, but they told me it was made by Atala for the shop and called a Corso because of the large volume of bikes they could sell. I've never seen another one. Is anyone on the list familiar with these?
Tom Sacco, Oakland CA
From: James Swan <jswan@optonline.net> Subject: Re: [CR] Stuyvesant Bike Shop To: "Michael Allison" <cyclo_one@verizon.net> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, andy@strawberrybicycle.com Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009, 9:34 AM
The original location of Toga was on Avenue B.
Jamie Swan Northport, NY, USA jswan@webb-institute.edu http://www.jamieswan.net http://www.limws.org http://www.liatca.org
On Aug 20, 2009, at 11:31 AM, Michael Allison wrote:
> Joe,
>
> I think you're right about the 13th St. location. My neurons don't fire like they used to. Perhaps I'm confusing the Ave. A location with Toga Bike shop which was also in the area. Now there is another shop that was very responsive to the lightweight bike crowd. Dale can you give more on Toga??
>
> Michael Allison
> New York, NY
>
>
> On Aug 19, 2009, at 6:54 PM, Joseph LaTassa wrote:
>
>> Hi Mike,
>> ... after the Ave A and 12th location you mentioned, there was also a stint at 8 East 13th, I thought....
>>
>> Joe LaTassa
>> Hellertown, PA 18055
>>
>> --- On Wed, 8/19/09, Michael Allison <cyclo_one@verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> From: Michael Allison <cyclo_one@verizon.net>
>> Subject: [CR] Stuyvesant Bike Shop
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Cc: andy@strawberrybicycle.com
>> Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 10:34 AM
>>
>>
>> "What happened to Sal and Stuyvesant Cycle Shop?"
>>
>> Sal Corso is still with us but retired. His old shop has gone through several incarnations. The very first Stuyvesant was on Ave. A and 12th Street. It next moved to First Avenue, and sometime in the 1980s, moved to West 14th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. With that move came a new name-"A Bike Shop," which took up two store fronts. But by the 1990s, Sal closed one side and the shop shrunk. In the early 2000, it moved to West 26th St. and 7th Ave. Then about two years ago it moved yet again.
>>
>> All these moves show how difficult it is to make it in the bike business in NYC. In its day, Stuyvesant was a great resource for the lightweight racing bikes and equipment we all love. Today the shop is a shadow of its past. I don't know the particulars of its demise. But I'm sure Sal Corso was a powerful force in making the shop standout. He always had a booth at the New York Bike Show.
>>
>> Another bike shop from those days, Toga, has expanded to 5 stores. Though one of them recently closed after only a year in business. The economy and a big rent increase put the shop out of business.
>>
>> Michael Allison
>> New York, NY