Hey everybody, this just came in from Yelp. We thought everybody should read and enjoy. Whats your favorite line? Here goes: This is very hard to write as I am going to present an accurate picture of what I went through to have a Custom Bike made by Joe Bike aside from the jewel that I received. It was the process that made the experience terrible not the end product. What Im going to present is just the tip of the Ice Berg in a 9 week docu-drama of upsets from the Customer Service Side of the Equation. I know that the people at Joe Bike are well intended, are passionate about Bikes and Bike building but yet, lack the sophistication to deal with people who expect exactitude and nothing less than great or excellent customer service. This I did not receive and yet, I promised Joe to tender him 5 Stars. You can read my review with a grain of salt or take it at face value. Ultimately the choice is yours. Here goes: Listen. Im either a Narcissist or a Solipsist but the fact of the matter is...is that Ive got two months of work, oversight, frustration and almost ripping someones head off upset over the design and manufacturing of my new Bike. When it came in yesterday and I took it to Patrick of Wheelman Bikes just south of my Fortress of Solitude in Gardena, the Bike was in the 95 percentile, which for me is an near failure. Again and for the last time I was mildly hoodwinked by a young, chatty and witless near idiot savant named Tess who informed me AFTER THE FACT that there was a problem with the Brakes which she told me in an eMail after it arrived in Los Angeles via Amtrak Express. After the fact? WTF... After Patrick made the proper adjustments so the Brakes were actually usable and not a death trap hazard waiting to happen, I took the new object of my affection out for its first ride and I was severely let down...damned near disappointed and so angry with myself and blaming nobody else BUT ME that I actually pondered selling the Bike at a loss. Fact of the matter is that I scored an A in Design, Components and Color and a D in Ride-ability, comfort and trust. Again and most probably not for the last time, I had been hoist by my own petard. Given that I had Polio as a 3 year old, I have a triple curvature of the spine and though I have very long legs for a man of my size, I have a very compact Torso such that my final Ribs touch my Pelvis. Well, geometrically, this presents a problem with my Bike as I need to jack the Saddle (seat) way up high so I get full extension of my legs in the down-stroke thereby being problematic when I lean forward in my attempt to hold on to the Drop Bars of the Road-style handle bars. It feels like Im falling forward and compressing my Torso in the process. I was so angry that I could only see one color and that was red. I just wasted two months, countless hours trolling for the perfect parts, endless Status Update Conversations with the people at Joe Bike in Portland, with the good folks at Spotbrand Bikes in Denver Colorado, especially Adam, who coincidentally share an office with the Gates Belt Drive Company and finally with Gene Powell of RAD Finishes also of Portland, Oregon who tendered that beautiful White Pearl Custom Paint Job. You cannot believe how many times I was on the verge of cancelling the Order and demanding my money back or contemplated flying up to Portland to intervene in what I considered to be a cluster-f*ck of lies, obfuscation and lack of performance at best or suing their collective sorry asses at worst. What was promised to me in three weeks by Tess when she took my money (of course)...who actually sounded believable, competent and able in the beginning of our courtship, turned out to be a 9 week fiasco which only ended less than an hour ago. Now to the good part. It seems that only a few minor adjustments needed to be effected to make the Bike an absolute dream to Ride. Move the Seat forward. Lower the Seat. That was all. I am sure that the stench of the process will wear off in a day or two or more accurately in about 20 to 30 miles of riding time and Im eventually going to be in love with everyone involved. Even Tess. Maybe. And maybe...just maybe, in a month or two, theyll think well of me as well.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 21:55:02 +0000