Re: Visit to Kraynick's

On 6/22/2024 12:40 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

In Pittsburgh, Kraynick's bike shop has been a beloved institution for 70+ years. The place is famous for helping customers work on their own bikes, plus for having almost any conceivable component lying around somewhere. When I arrived, two guys were on the front sidewalk with quite nice bikes - one a fixie - mounted in the shop's loaner workstands.
 The shop is crammed into a narrow three or four story building. There are hundreds of bikes and millions of parts in heavy disarray. Bikes and components range from 1950s kids' bikes to some pretty high end, if not bleeding edge, items. Note the Kestrel and Pinarello in this photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/53808893835/in/dateposted-public/
 Everything is piled, scattered and at best loosely "organized." It's an adventure - as in, will I be injured? - climbing cluttered and unguarded stairs to the upper floors where the "good stuff" lurks, buried among much other stuff:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/53808662458/in/dateposted-public/
  Anyone interested in a classic Campy took kit, 99% complete? It's for sale:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/53808662788/in/dateposted-public/
  

That's a level of clutter some people could not abide!
At least they are in business. In the other direction from you, Fridrich's is no more:
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/04/after-141-years-a-familys-bike-shop-in-clevelands-ohio-city-is-closing.html
A real loss, they were exceptional but not exceptional enough it seems.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971