Hi everybody!

welcome to an exclusive little post i have been meaning to post in the past four frecking months.

Last October, i got the opportunity to visit one of the most amazing bicycle wholesaler while Visiting the United States of America with my beloved girlfriend Sarah.

I mention Sarah because while i was doing my little visit i had lost track of time and spent 3 hours taking photos and getting my mind blown away by the sheer amount of cycling history that those dry californian walls are hiding.

Anyway, the whole visit is all thanks to Twhites Bikes and our ‘amazing’ communications skills and professionalism. Actually, we just asked them if i could come check the place out and they said yes.

It took a while to find the place as it was so inconspicuous and bare of any big signage. For all you bike nerds out there, that’s how you recognize quality in the business industry, not via tons of hype and colours and showmanship, except the japanese, they can do whatever they want. i’m talking crap right now.

So! let’s get going with this visit. i’ll keep it short and succinct in order to appreciate the images. they’re not really in good chronological order but bare with me.

their offices are sitting above a chiropractor ( just in case you guys try to look it up on google maps)

that’s their main entrance door. minimalistic to the bone

The man in charge: Dave Lundegard

He showed me around and made sure i got to have a view of every tiny corners of the place.

the view when entering

they still use punch cards, crazy cool!

Memorabilia everywhere!
sweet shwinnn clock (not for sale)
This is the view of one the 3-4 warehouses they have filled with New Old Stock parts. they also have a couple of containers sitting outside packed to the rafters because they needed more space. the amount of stock was acquired sometimes via bike distributor closing down and getting rid of their old stock.  EAI would get told and they would just buy it.
the way it works is that the office has a small warehouse with most of the parts. the other warehouses are like ‘back-up pantries’. if the main warehouse run of an item, they just waltz to the other building and re-stock the main one. you wouldn’t believe the quantity i’m talking about.

Hubset especially made for Eddy Merckx when he was destroying the hour record. Dave believes that there are only about 6 or 12 pairs ever made of those and euro-asia has 3 deadstock of them! stilll in box with seals still on. be prepared to pay the right price for those.

Yes people! i did get close to their gold pro chainring. still in production but good things take time. the finish on them is insanity.

Oh! that? it’s the office tarantula. no big deal

and his leftover skin

You want Cinelli lazer? they might have a few NOS frames lying around getting built up.

How about a track Lazer? those were just pristine to the max. drooling material indeed. 

couple of panorama shots for the sake of it.

Lunch time in the warehouse.

Drawers full of cogs

just plain cool

anyone for a campy 60t track?

or maybe a taste of the ultra rare campy -i don’t know what they’re called- chainring. double pitch? skip teeth? i should ask Dave Benson.

EAI were the 1st campagnolo distributor in the USA in the 70s and they have kept a super strong relationship with the italian brand over the years.

Anyway, nothing beats a tequila shot while visiting the warehouses

it’s a fax machine.

If you want to see more mind-blowing stuff click on this link. it’s my flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_tchong