Re: [Classicrendezvous] Re: Kraynick's in Pittsburgh

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

From: <CYCLESTORE@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2000 23:14:39 EST
Subject: Re: [Classicrendezvous] Re: Kraynick's in Pittsburgh
To: losborn2@wvu.edu, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Greetings fellow Rendezvouser's,

Our own store has been described as below however I think we are half a time warp forward to a modern store and a bit more user friendly than what is described below. We actually tag every salable item with a tag size and if appropriate compatibility! We spend most of our spare hours looking for telephone or E-mail requests rather than having a rummage mill. The store is still quite cluttered however, so if like a jumble you will find one. There are however thousands of items not yet for sale to the chagrin of rendezvous pal Ken Wallace never fails to mention you can't stay in business if nothing is for sale. Upon my reply is simply "Ken, if I sell everything, I'll have nothing to sell." I often plead the 5th like Mr. Curtis Anthony at Via Bike Shop in Philly. When you ask permission to buy something, he politely informs you that "You know I only have one of those; you must understand.............".

There must be other treasure troves besides the Pittsburgh and Philly shops. Mr. Ken informs me there is an a terrific fire trap bike shop combo in Radford (and Blacksburg as well, same owner) Virginia downtown. I don't know the name but I peaked into the window years ago and was impressed then, but now it must be better (or worse).

I mean broken glass on the floor, bare small gauge wires powering computers, light bulbs along with major home appliances; hints to a certain ambiance and style that otherwise would be lost. The shop is of course a possible franchise with two locations but perhaps the Pittsburgh shop is also affiliated (and others no doubt) with such a similar business plan aimed at attracting a select, unsuspecting, discriminating, and knowledgeable few (like the classic crowd ).

Let's post any shop of similar configuration to spot a scheme developing, please!

Gilbert" Our clutter is like any utter, just butter" Anderson

Bicycle Outfitter 519 W. North St. Raleigh, NC 27603 voice:919/828-8999 toll free: 800/321-5511 email: cyclestore@aol.com

In a message dated 10/30/00 4:56:48 PM, losborn2@wvu.edu writes:

<< At 12:37 PM 10/29/00 EST, you wrote:
>HI I'm Anthony Mezzatesta, a frame builder . I'm new to the site. I want
>hope in a shop I know in Pittsburg Pa called Kraynick's Bikes. The phone
>number is 412-621-6160. This guy has stuffed stacked, and I do mean piled
>high, through out 4 floors of his bike shop. He has things from the old
>Stuyvesant Importers in NY, who no longer exist. All names from Campy on up.
>(I don't think there's any Zeus because I always ask for that). I tried to
>see if he had an email address, but I didn't find one and haven't been in his
>shop in quite a while. I hope this helps some of you out there.

Greetings campers:

Just a bit more on Kraynick's in Pittsburgh, which was mentioned recently by Anthony Mezzatesta. Don't get your hopes up too high. It is indeed a whacky place, but not the Lost Dutchman Bike-Mine we all hope to find someday. It's been a couple years since my last pilgrimage, so anything I remember may have changed. But probably not too much. Don't expect to find a NR/SR gruppo. The best of the Stuyvesant inventory had been skimmed long before Kraynick got to any of it. However, I distinctly remember a pile of early Campy mountain bike brakes (Euclid?), a mountain of chainrings with oddball bolt circles, and a room full of medium level 80s vintage Schwinn frames on my last visit. Just received a message from Anthony saying that there was a bunch of Gippiemme stuff on his last visit. Inventory subject to change without notice.

I can best describe the place as almost total mayhem. Three or four floors of the sort of clutter your spousal unit/spousal equivalent would divorce/ditch you over if she/he ever discovered that YOU owned the building. With an inverse relationship between which floor items are stored on, and the probability that he will ever need them. Or maybe it was an inverse relationship with gross weight. A map would help, but discovering what was behind Door Number Three was part of the fun. I don't know if he does mailorder, but would be astounded if he did. Most of what I saw in any quantity was medium to low level stuff, with a few stray high end things if I dug deep enough. Drawers and drawers full of new and used little odds and ends if you have time to go through them yourself. I've had far better luck at the swaps, but must admit that it's probably time for a return visit.

Not my favorite neighborhood in PGH, and Jerry's personality can easily put him in the same league with the Lickton brothers and Crazy Dave when they get wound up (Oh, that's great. Personality commentary from a guy who puts the crank in "cranky"). Or maybe I just always caught him on a good day. I just make a point to not waste his time with chit chat. He's not a vintage bike buff. He doesn't even sell new bikes except maybe an occaisional recumbent. It's a one man band and he's just trying to keep the repair jobs moving out the door and sell whatever stuff he accidentally purchased at the last auction. If you're in the neighborhood, and he happens to be open, it's a fun place to rummage through. Store hours subject to the whims of the proprietor. Definitely self-serve. Definitely pot-luck. Watch your head! Watch where you step! Bring a flashlight. Every trip is an adventure.

Larry "shattering your fragile, crystalline dreams on the hard rocks of reality" Osborn Miles from Nowhere, WV >>