Via Bicycle is Hiring!

Via Bicycle is hiring!
      We are looking for an experienced bicycle shop sales person and mechanic to work full time (5 days a week). Applicants must have 1 year shop experience. Applicants must be good with co-workers and be comfortable talking to customers. You must be able to multi-task efficiently. We are very busy when the weather is nice!
      We are not your cookie-cutter type bike shop and you must be able to adapt to the way we do things here at Via. We work on everything and primarily sell and service used bikes. You will NOT be polishing Colnagos! That being said, if this sounds good to you, please stop by with your resume' and have a chat with us. We look forward to the conversation!
     Our hours are: Tuesday 10-5, Wednesday 1-9, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10-5
     We are located at: 606 S. 9th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147

 

Awesome Customer's Bike: 1940's Carlton

     This is a bike we recently put together for one of our customers. It is a 1940's Carlton that belonged to his father. I always love it when bikes are passed down from one generation to the next and are put back into service. He had it painted a nice forest green color and brought in some of the original parts and we assembled it for him. It is a bit of a mix.
      We used the original Campagnolo Record rear derailleur and shifter (shifter is closed "C" , so it is newer). It also has the original Brampton Alatet head set. We had to get a custom BB made for it as it took the oversize Chater Lea type (Whitworth threaded). The customer wanted to use more modern  (cotterless) cranks. Our solution was to use a Shimano cartridge bearing BB spindle of appropriate length and bearings, and have oversize Whitworth threaded BB cups and a spacer sleeve made. The solution, after a bit of tinkering, worked like a charm, buttery smooth and tight. So, the bike retains the original threading in the BB shell with a more modern cartridge bearing assembly and cotterless crank set. it has modern alloy wheels (27" double wall machined sidewall rims). it also has the original bar and stem, GB Maes (sleeved) bars with really cool stem of unknown make. It also has the original GB Hiduminium brake calipers with modern pads.Unfortunately, the paint is a bit thick on the underside of the BB shell, obscuring some serial numbers / factory codes. (see photos).
     The end result is an updated classic that hopefully will be ridden for many years to come and hopefully goes further down the generational line of the family.  Thanks for trusting us with its care!

Awesome Customer's Bike: Cecil Behringer Pista

     This is a really cool frame and fork we sold a little while back to a loyal customer of the shop. It was built by Cecil Behringer, who was a famous American midwest builder / velodrome designer / ex racer who collaborated with the likes of Pino Morroni. Here is a link to the Classic Rendezvous page about him. Behringer It has unique features like the un-capped seat stays and the elaborate head lugs. The bottom bracket is stamped with the serial number, and his signature cast into the shell itself (see photo). Pretty rare machine from an American master at a time when there were not a lot of people building bikes like this in the USA. We look forward to the finished project!

Sage advice, both on and off the bike.

Another East Coast artifact

     If you were a messenger in NYC in you know the patch on this bag. This is an original De Martini messenger bag. De Martini is the original messenger bag. It was started as Globe Canvas by sailmaker Frank DeMartini in the 1950’s. For many years DeMartini was the only messenger bag maker in the world and he supplied most messenger companies in New York. He passed away in 2000 but the bags live on and original ones from when he was still alive are very tough to come by. Here is a link to the modern day website where they are still being made.  De Martini  We used to sell these bags here at Via back in the early 1990's.

RARE! First Generation Campagnolo Record front derailleur 1960.

     I found this very rare item while going through a drawer the other day. It is the first generation Campagnolo Record front derailleur from 1960! You can tell by the chrome plated brass pivot arms that are held to the clamp body by the plated flat head screws and the unslotted cable stop. The arms were later changed to aluminum and were held in place with either a circlip or press fit. Very cool item.