Bilenky Cycle Works

My wife and I just received custom Ti bike builds from Bilenky Cycle Works. I would highly recommend them. Steve and Tom were excellent during the design process, measuring us, listening to our wishes, and working through iterations.
We picked up the bikes last week. They ride like dreams. Mine was a perfect fit and my wife’s needed some minor tweaks.
I would definitely return there to get additional bikes made if/​when the time comes.
The one thing I would change is I would communicate more. We hit some design snags in making my wife’s bike (she is very short) that lengthened our build process that I could have expedited.

Excellent experience at Bilinkys.
A crack had developed in the top tube of my 1992 Pinerello. At Biliniky they replaced the top tube and had it repainted and redecaled. The price was fair and they did the work ahead of schedule. When done I had an essentially new 1992 Pinerello.
Its a little hard to find and there is no neon sign. But its worth the effort.
Excellent craftsmanship and work.
I was fortunate that they were available.

I have had a good experience with Bilenky cycles. I have one of their really special custom viewpoint tandems and it is a fantastic piece of machinery. I had Bilenky make the frame in the US and supply some of the specialist cycle parts and send the whole lot to me in the UK where I had the tandem assembled. This attracted a lot less import duty than a complete bike. Some of the parts were bought over the internet to get the best deals I could.
Since I got the viewpoint ten years ago I have needed to contact Bilenky a couple of times for information and help with getting unusual parts to maintain it and they have been excellent, even sending me a specific grease which they recommended and couldn’t get locally.
So, my cycle was a custom build and everything was done to a high standard. The only thing that wasn’t great was that everything did take longer than estimated.

I ran into the review for Bilenky Cycle Works and decided I needed to add another review myself.
Some time back, I commissioned Stephen to build my wife and I our dream tandem. We talked on the phone, via email, shared concepts and we finally came to agreement on the details and I paid a down-​payment for him to get started.
I had very specific items I wanted to use for components and boxed them up and sent them away to BCW — including wheels built by Peter Jon White.
A month or two later, I got a message from Stephen stating that they have used up my deposit funds and needed additional money to continue — I obliged he charged my credit card again.
A month or two later, I again received a message from Stephen asking for more money as he once again has gone through the funds I had sent. This time I asked for status on the build — he said that they were still working and he had trouble with the plating, but he would catch up shortly and be back on track. He ended up charging my card again.
A month or two later, I again received a message asking for more money. This time I had asked for pictures of the progress he has made — he couldn’t provide any.
Frustrated already, I demanded to see something he has done to make me feel comfortable with the build process. He then finally admitted that he had not made any progress on the build, but he needed money to keep his shop open.
I am now furious with Stephen and decide to move on and get my money back as there was no telling how long it would be before I receive our tandem. I ask for my money back — he replies that he doesn’t have it to give to me.
OK — now I’m beside myself with anger. Not only do I not have our tandem after more than 6 months waiting, but he is telling me I cannot get my money back either.
I then remembered that payment was always made by my credit card. I tell Stephen that I will file a claim with my CC company and get my money back that way. He asks that I do not do that, that I should just wait until he has more money to reimburse me.
No way am I going to trust this guy any longer, and I also am way behind on my custom tandem build. I decide to file the claim anyhow and get my money back from them that way.
I can only imagine what his issues are, but I wouldn’t trust this guy considering my experience and lies from Stephen.
Oh, in the end, I did get my parts back — I was surprised as I thought they were long gone.

Two years ago (Fall 2009), I began a new bike project with Bilenky. The bike was a custom tandem, with all the extras to make it a true traveler’s bicycle. I was promised to have the bike by summer 2010. Several phone calls and MANY e-​mails later, I just took receipt of the frame and parts.
Over these 2 years, Mr. Bilenky has been attentive to helping me with the details of the bike. But, his guesstimates on when he would deliver the product have been consistently off. But, frame building is an art, and I understand that good things take time.
What troubles me is the lack of attention to detail. I’m doing the initial build now and am finding several parts missing, and at least one serious error in the frame build which will require a major part of the frame to be replaced.
The conceptual design, brazing, and painting are all very good to excellent. But, there does not seem to be much in the way of process and quality control at BCW. I do not have extensive experience with frame builders. I have worked with Rivendell Bicycle Works on several occasions over the last 11 years, and they have been much better than BCW was on this project. I have also worked with Bike Friday, and found them to be more organized and clear about what to expect from them.
The innovative frame design continues to make this project worthwhile, but the process has been more difficult than I anticipated when we began.