July 26, 2010
I was a bit nervous. I’d only entered the shop a few times and I always felt wildly out of place. I just never felt worthy. My wrenching skills were suspect to say the least and this was a shop where anyone could wander in and work on their own bike. These were all experts and I was a relative novice. Sure I probably own more tools that the average biker but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m adept at using them all. The reason I was doing this work at Kraynick’s and not at my house was that I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing and I hoped to get a bit of assistance. I wasn’t disappointed.
It was a Friday afternoon. The temperature outside was right around 90 degrees. Two hipster looking girls were just leaving as I walked in to see if there were any available stands. There was a guy and a gal working on their bikes when I glanced in back.
“There’s always plenty of room,” said Gerry, the owner, with a smile.
As I was walking out the front door a young woman was bringing in her bike to work on her rear wheel. It could have just been a flat but it may have been more. There’s another spot gone I thought. I helped her in through the front door and she made her way past me which was no small task in the tight corners. By the time I wheeled my Redline Monocog Flight 29er in through the door the original girl in back was leaving. That left 3 of us working at supposedly 6 separate work stations. Quarters were tight. The fan helped a bit, but not much. The lighting wasn’t especially good either. Tools littered the work stations. Old frames and parts hung from the ceiling and covered virtually every area of space. Welcome to Kraynick’s!
I really wasn’t sure where to start. My goal was the get the derailleur cables installed and the chain put on the bike, and if I got to the brakes that would be gravy. I snipped off the barrels at the end of the cables and just started threading and plotting their path. By this time an older gentleman had wandered into the rear of the work area and the girl left. I walked up to Gerry and told him that I think I’m at the point where I’d just like someone’s opinion as to whether or not I’d done an OK job.
“Ask Robert back there. He’s one of the best bike mechanics in the city,” he said.
I walked back down the little ramp to the wrench area and asked Robert for his opinion. He told me it looked good as far as he could tell and he gave me a tip about making sure the cable housing is cut the same length. I plowed onward and gained confidence as I went. I figured there wasn’t a better place in the world to screw up as Kraynick’s had every imaginable little bit and part needed. The more I worked the more I realized that I was getting it done. My bike was coming to life. As the chrome colored cables made their way down the frame I was impressed with how great the bike looked. Robert told me a couple of times how sharp looking it was.
Next up was the chain. Another veteran “Krayniak” offered his assistance. His name was John. Based on how he and Robert joked around I can only surmise that he also spends a considerable amount of time in the shop. Now, I never had the pleasure of meeting Sheldon Brown but I assume that THIS was what he sounded like. John uttered comments regarding the Zen factor of proper derailleur configurations and the nuances of a particular chain tool. I’m also fairly positive that he was impressed with the fact that there are only 8 gears on my new/old cassette. He said something to the fact that God had decreed that “There shall be no more than 8 gears.”
After first shortening and then re-lengthening the SRAM chain, I was all set. It took me two and a half hours in a cramped, stuffy workspace but the drive-train was up and operational. A couple of different people had come and gone while I worked on my bike and the place was crowded when I left. Robert and John had offered me some amazingly useful advice and at times had taken a tool out of my hand and showed me the proper way.
Kraynick’s Bike Shop can simply not be described. Imagine working on your car in a small bedroom. Imagine every bit of space being occupied by…something.
I got it close but I wasn’t fully satisfied. I stopped in today to ask him if he ever gets to work on bikes. I wanted him to work on mine to fine tune it. He told me that it would be a shame to stop when I’d done so much so far. Keep at it a bit more he said. I think I will. I’ve waited this long.