I couldn’t have asked for a better bike-buying experience than the one I had with Peter at Brooklyn Vintage Bicycles. I had been trying unsuccessfully to find a vintage Schwinn to my liking on Craigslist. I visited a few used bike stores in Manhattan, but the selection was always medicore and the prices were high. Then I saw the Yelp reviews for Brooklyn Vintage Bicycles. They sounded too good to be true and the location (way out on Gerritson Beach) seemed like a hassle for this Manhattanite.

But I called Peter and he had the bike I was interested in from his website and promised me that a few others would catch my eye if I paid him a visit. So, I texted him that next morning asking if I could come out at noon. He said he wouldn’t be there, but I could still come out and someone would open up his basement so I could look at the bikes. (Later I realized that his hours were evening hours only during the week from 5:30-8:30, he didn’t even mention that, but instead made me feel like I could come at any time) In followup texts he told me to test ride whatever I liked and then to let him know if I wanted something. He would tune it up and deliver it for free to me in Manhattan.

So, I made the surprisingly easy two-train one-bus trip to Brooklyn Vintage Bicycles and was indeed amazed at the stock of bikes Peter had on hand. The bike I was interested in was even better in person, so I decided to let him know that it was the one I wanted. Before I could text him, Peter called me to see if I had found anything I liked. I told him what I wanted and he promised next day free delivery to my door in the Financial District.

Right after picking out my bike, I visited Landmark Bicycles in the East Village and found an old Schiwnn Breeze for Kate in the exact same color. Later after researching the serial numbers, I found out that they were both mnaufactured in Chicago in 1974.

1974 Schwinn Collegiate (I named him Eugene) and 1974 Schwinn Breeze (Kate named hers Mabel)

1974 Schwinn Collegiate and 1974 Schwinn Breeze

I was even able to find these cool old ads for both bikes.

For our first bike adventure on our new wheels, check out Kate’s post at Embarrasment of Riches.

Here are a few shots from the harbor in Gerritson Beach, a few blocks down from the bicylce shop.

Harbor, Gerritson Beach, Brooklyn

Boats, Gerritson Beach Harobor, Brooklyn

Old Shack, Gerritson Beach, Brooklyn

All shots were with the Hasselblad 501cm on the new Kodak Portra 400 film.