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| Uncle Happy Tan |
Things happen. Sometimes, they just happen. Today was a bloody hot day. After dropping off my little girl for her Sat Violin class, I went in search of old shop recommended by Chris Wee which might have the extinct 1" ultra short ahead threadless stem I was looking for. Reaching the shop, I met an elderly figure by the name of Mr Tan. He listened patiently to my needs and went fumbling around his shop. The place is a treasure trove of old parts and bits of history every where. Surprisingly, he came up with a few close alternatives but nothing caught my fancy. If this was another shop, I think I would be given the ..."wah lau..what u want..." look but he was just cool about it. Gave me his number and told me to call him in a couple of days to check if he can find a closer match. Wahh... I was so touched. I just looking for a cheapo stem ... now that's called service!
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| quietly toiling along.. |
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| Something from Italy |
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| no flashy tools ... it just works |
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| I true wheels. That's what I do. |
Chatting with him, it turns out Mr Tan has been in operation for 30 over years. . His motto is "just be happy, u happy, I am happy" In a quiet dusty corner, I spotted a faded photo frame of a short european with Mr Tan in his younger days. And he just quietly smiled.. "oh that's Mr Colnago himself... I used to sell lots of colagno and he came to my shop lah...." Talking to him was like taking a lesson on life. Be happy and be nice to others and nice to urself. I know I am in the presence of a Giant in the SG bicycle biz... a gentle giant who is big enough to be nice to all.
Thank you Uncle Happy Tan for the wonderful chat and I will be back for my funny stem soon!
More photos on Uncle Happy Tan shop here
