Crank It Cycles opened its doors in Woodside, N.Y., in 2004. Shop owner Waxy Scanlon, formerly of Ireland, moved to the U.S. to build fighters professionally, after years of building them in his garage. With nothing but a toolbox and a computer, he found a space to rent. Then, splitting time between his construction company and the new shop, he devoted himself to his first Crank It Cycles build, a 900RR. He sold it to someone in Ireland, who spotted the bike online and arranged to have it shipped over.

After about six months trying to be in two places at once, frustrated that things weren’t moving more quickly, Waxy decided it was time to enlist qualified help. Fellow biker Sandy Frayman, who lived nearby, joined the Crank It team after meeting Waxy through a friend. Sandy, involved with bikes all his life, had been following the fighter scene for several years, but had never actually built a fighter — until he began working for Crank It Cycles. His background as a mechanic, welder, fabricator and all-around “MacGyver” was a great asset; even when he didn’t know how to do something, he could damn well figure out how! “We don’t call Sandy ‘the bracket man’ for nothing,” Waxy says.
Read the rest of this entry »