> The star of the show at Stuyvesant's was the Atala? > Stuyvesant was known I thought for selling quite a > few Cinelli bikes. > > And I guess this article predates Conrads? I was > in NYC in the late 70's and Conrad's was quite the > boutique (and its still their under different > ownership I believe). Mike, Stuyvesant was an importer of Atala. Their wholesale operation was called Corso Distributors. Perhaps the "Distributors" part is incorrect but the operation, like the family that owned both Stuyvesant Bicycle and the importer/wholesaler operations was named Corso. Perhaps they also sold other bikes but their prices on Atala were so low that the "regular" racer or serious touring rider would feel nuts to buy a Cinelli. I mean, in 1968 they gave you a choice of 2 or 3 different models from Columbus tubing with Nuovo Record derailleurs and hubs, the least expensive of which (i.e. the old style Gran Prix) was something like $90. That bike would have a Magistroni cottered crank and Weinmann center pull brakes but the extra expense for tubulars, sidepull brakes and a cottered crankset was actually minimal. Perhaps some rich characters from Yorkville, the upper West Side or Great Neck (I hope I'm not insulting anyone here) were buying Cinellis but all I remember were Atala, Frejus, Peugeot and of course the Schwinn Paramounts. The Frejus bikes came from the other great NYC shop of that era, Tommy Avenia's. The Peugeots could be purchased anywhere, of course, but I recall a small shop near Sheridan Square that, in addition to the Peugeots, also sold more exotic French stuff. Perhaps some of the other list members who resided in NYC at that time remember this shop? Now, it could be that my recollections of the era are more biased towards the 1960s, since I started attending college in upstate New York in 1969. Also, I must admit that, despite living in a great cosmopolitan city, New Yorkers wcould be a really parochial bunch. So once once you developed an affinity for a certain shop or bicycle, you would disdain al others. It happens that Gene's 14th Street shop was just around the corner from my high school but by then I had developed a firm allegance for Atala and Frejus. (After all, Stuvesant was also just a couple of blocks from school and they were there first.) So perhaps those other bikes were out there and I just didn't see them. Then again, if this article was indeed originally written for the New Yorker Magazine, it certainly would exhibit a bias of it's own. For sure, the writer would not deign to acknowledge a shop in the "outer boroughs" of Brooklyn and Queens (like Kissena Bicycles who sold Zeus and were located something like 6 blocks from the velodrome). I hope my recollections help - if not, I apologize - but either way, best regards, Fred Rednor - ex-denizen of both Manhattan and Flushing, Queens but currently ensconced in Arlington, Virginia
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