Who is NYC’s Fastest Mechanic?

by alex

Event on August 26th, 352 Bowery

The contestants are:
 

Jon (Signature)
Mark Purdy (Ifixbyx)
Dave (NYC Velo)

And one more to be decided by the NYC tifosi, please use the comment fields below to nominate you favorite wrench. Also argue, is fastest best?
 
26th of August at 6:30 pm at 352 bowery

Rapha Cycle Club: “Best Mechanic in NYC”

The mechanic, part artist and part magician, typically tucked
away a bit out of reach and often slightly misunderstood.
Every cyclist yearns to have the skills of the master-mechanic
but ultimately time, tools and a real working knowledge come
up short. We ask for tips, quick fixes and whenever we get
the chance to look over the mechanic’s shoulder, we do, in
amazement.

Thursday night, August 26, the Rapha Cycle Club will be the
venue for the contest to see who is the best* mechanic in
New York City. (*best as defined as fastest for this contest)
A chance for us all to watch the masters at work, party-goers
will get to mingle, watch and cajole four of New York’s best
builders as they start with parts and finish with a fully-built
bike. The winning mechanic is the first one finished with a bike
that is ride ready.

Partnering with NYVelocity.com, we want to enlist the NYC cycling and racing community to cast their vote online to determine the four mechanics that compete on the 26th. 

Event Date: Thursday, August 26
Time: 6:30PM

Location: Rapha Cycle Club, 352 Bowery (Great Jones)

NYVelocity.com "voting" for the fourth spot closes on Aug 12.

Independent Fabrication is providing four identical steel Crown Jewels and Rapha
Continental partners like Fi’zi:k, SRAM, FSA, Continental, Chris
King and Pedros will be part of the night.

 

For more information, contact:
nyc.cc@rapha.cc , 212.228.1529
 

79 Comments

Lennert Seattube

Has quietly become one of NYC best mechanics, used to work with Mark Purdy, and mark always spoke highly of him.

Ferre Steerer

Everyone knows that the six-pack of beer as a tip to the bike mechanic is the true reward for a job well done.

Daan Downtube

Not NYC…but 2 Mech’s come to mind.
1st: Piermont Connection’s got a wrench in there (I think his name is Jose). Dude is quick and to the point. Immediate service and always done right.
2nd: Westwood Cycle. In the basement you’ll find Alan Albert. One of the greatest wrenches to be found. Although not the fastest because of his love to tell stories of past events but still a superb bike mechanic.

Antoine Lube

Echelon mechanic is an artisan! builds beautiful wheels that ride amazingly! no shit!
12th and Horatio!!!

G

Nathan Plug

Have you forgot about POLLO?,on mengoni? He works at nycvelo. changed a broken cable in one minute flat.

DC

Pulla at Innovation and Bill at Piermont have done especially good work for me. Plenty fast enough, but not necessarily fastest. But then too fast can be slower in the long run!

West Coast Reader

The winner should have the shortest time to get Andy Schleck’s chain back on without losing the yellow jersey!

Or set up the Andy Schleck’s front derailure so a chain drop is impossible no matter how badly he shifts it.

700x25

Yee at Conrads is an artisan- very fine wheel builder and thorough well thought-out work.

Eric at Bike Habitat- seems like an unlikely candidate from this shop but he is really good at solving problems (from tricky cable routing to hydro brakes to seized posts) and has done some of the finest bike builds for me over the course of 5-6 years.

Jasper Lorica

Wait…is Purdy actually a Cheese head?
That elevates him to a whole new level of Zen.
Purdy FTW!!!

LR

I don’t want fast. I want good. I don’t care that my bike was fixed quickly if I have to keep bringing it back because the quick fix was not done properly. Also, most of the time folks will drop their bike off in the morning and pick them up later in the day. So speed, as long as the work is done the same day, doesn’t matter.

Elias Bearing

Purdy just wills things to happen, and they fix themselves.

He has the nicest hands, perfect nails, no callouses. It’s amazing.

West Coast Reader

The competition is for the fastest not the best. Somehow the competitors all of a sudden will realize it won’t bring more traffic in the door if they’re fast but not good, double edged sword, isn’t it.

shouldbefun

… That everyone involved knows that this is just for fun. Nobody really places value on speed, but it should be a good time watching the best in NYC “sling wrenches”

Marchionne Rim

Can’t field a group of top mechanics without Jose Medina at Sid’s. All mentioned are top wrenches but Jose’s teh Godfather of Spokes

Logan Threadlock

If the organizers had style, they’d hire Habitat Hal to sit in the window and make fun of everyone’s bike.

Mathias Brakepad

2:55 was def. written by someone who’s never worked a lick in a bike shop. “Hell – I don’t care if work is fast or not as long as I can drop it off in the morning and get it picked up the same day…you fine boys in the back take all the time you want cleaning my Pinarello drivetrain…you probably have enough time for a long lunch and a mid-afternoon movie…..not like there aren’t 180 other pricks just like me who want same-day service” LOLz.

Asshat from Jersey

Mark Purdy fathered a child with my PowerTap. I’m certain it was an immaculate conception, too.

D-E-L

Purdy is real hip hop not no phony phranchise
Winnin’ by a landslide and you know you can’t hide

Marchionne Rim

I brought Purdey my Cervelo P1 and my P3 and that afternoon he gave me back a P4…he’s that good!

Mathis Ziptie

No one diagnoses and fixes it faster. Seen him do a flat in under 2 minutes, and another time diagnose a crank problem, pull and replace a bottom barcket all in under 15 minutes from first contact to register.

Gabriel Polished

I told my bike I was taking him to Purdy and the bike was so scared sh-tless it just fixed itself

Goro Brakepad

I once saw Habitat Hal do open heart surgery on a raccoon and then yell at the raccoon for riding a Cervelo.

Mathias Ferrule

that’s why i said i think a mechanic that will speak to you in english is helpful. “will”, not “can”. maybe you should learn to speak english too.

lee3

Its true…Imbert was also the man @ Toga. Very likely that he and Pulla are equal. Imbert might edge him out cause he goes the extra 9yds and polishes your rig. I stand corrected. Imbert>Pulla>Jose.
I’d throw Zoltan in there too.

Arno Limit Screw

Yo, ima let you finish and everything but brian at sids 34th st is the best mechanic/female video of the year. smoking fast, precise, better curves than beyonce or taylor swift.

Arno Tank

Brian Pierce at the Sid’s on 34th st. Previously the Navigators Team Mechanic! He keeps the chrome shiny and the rubber side down! He is da man!

yoda

jose from sid’s, 19th street. a dark horse he is!

how long do you think it’s gonna take to build? any guesses? i bet the winner could get a bike built (sloppily) in 27 minutes.

Diego Liner

Jose from 19th Sid’s should be included as well. This contest is bogus otherwise. Plus, he dances salsa while building, how’s that not fun to watch!

gruber assist

fixed my rear derailleur with a pickle he lifted from my cubano. i was so impressed, i put the pickle back on and ate that cubano. oh how delicious it was- true story.

Joe Public (Duh!)

Not sure who won… But I’d have to throw my hat in the ring as best and fastest mechanic who works on their own bikes. (And friends bikes too.) I take my bike, put it in stand (at home) and wrench. Have over 15 years in bike biz, mostly as shop mechanic and shop manager and such. So no way is it faster for me to take my bike to some schlub downtown, or down the street for that matter, when I can do it myself. There, faster and better!

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