By Rich Bockmann
Innovations in bicycle technology have come and gone in the past hundred or so years, but the basic idea — two pedals, two wheels and something to hold on to — remains.
The same could be said of Bellitte Bicycles, where old-school-type service has kept the shop in business pedaling wheels in Jamaica for nearly 100 years.
“People kept coming in and paying to have us fix the less expensive bikes they bought at other places,” said Peter Frouws, who runs the shop his business partner’s grandfather, Sam Bellitte, opened on Jamaica Avenue near 170th Street in 1918. “Some of them would spend so much on repairs it would have been cheaper to buy a better bike. You get what you pay for.”
And Frouws can certainly expound on what you get for your money.
Are you looking for a road, mountain, or commuter bike? Steel frame or aluminum? If you are planning on veering from the beaten path, you will probably want 26-inch tires, but if your need is for speed, 28-inchers are the way to go.
Frouws said the store — the oldest, continuously owned bike shop in the country — caters to the needs of beginners and pros alike, from tiny tots on training wheels to hardcore cyclists with high standards.
“When it comes to the higher-end stuff, with custom sizing and all that, we can special order that stuff,” he said.
For rides in Queens, the gear-head guru suggested heading to Cunningham Park, where the Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists — otherwise known as CLIMB — have built and continue to maintain 6 1/2 miles of off-road trails. Flushing Meadows Corona Park has a 1-mile-long biking path and the Cross Island Parkway offers scenic views as it hugs Little Neck Bay, Frouws added.
He also suggested checking out ridethecity.com, a website that maps the safe, safer and most-direct riding routes around the five boroughs.
Bellitte Bicycles offers service warranties on all of its rides and the staff is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about everything with two wheels.
Whether you are looking for a new bike, bringing one in for a tune-up or just shopping around for a cycling accessory, plan on spending some time talking shop with Frouws or third- and fourth-generation Bellittes who have nearly a century of biking in their blood.
Hanging in one corner of the shop is an 1893 Pierce Arrow bicycle with wooden rims that was given to the shop on its 50th anniversary.
“I wouldn’t ride it, though,” Frouws said.
Bellitte Bikes is at 169-20 Jamaica Ave. For more information, call 718-739-3795 or visit bellbikes.com.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
