Anyone else having a problem with Biseagal?

I'm only getting this second hand.

I've been told by mechanic friends that Biseagal is often tardy with his work, but that he does a good job when it finally gets done. I also heard that he's more concerned about doing a good job rather than making money on it. So you may be able to trust Malcolm in terms of the end result but not trust him with the deadlines he gives himself.

Maybe ask at Urbane to see what they think.

Thank you! That's good news. I keep having these worries that I'm being scammed. Strange things keep happening when I call. Like, for example, when I'm talking with one of his employees and have a conversation as follows:

Me: May I speak with Malcolm please?
Him: He's not in.
Me: When is he expected in?
Him: He was expected in when the shop opened up two hours ago.

I don't know what is more disturbing. The owner not showing up when the employees are expecting him to, or the employees not covering for him. If I owned a business and something came up that delayed me coming in, rest assured that I would make a phone call to whoever was covering the shop. And employees that dissed me to customers would soon be looking for another job.

Last year I broke the downtube on my frame, and Biseagal was recommended to me as a good place to get it fixed. I went down there to get a quote and they took a quick look at it and quoted me something like $140. One problem though, that price was simply for the downtube replacement...

Since I have some knowledge in the framing business, I know generally braze-ons are not done for free, and there were a bunch of them on the downtube, so I asked. Whoops, actually when you include braze-ons the price would actually be twice that.

I don't think they were trying to scam me, but a mistake like that shows a complete lack of professionalism. I may have been being a bit anal, but it is my bike. After that incident I wouldn't give them my business.

Cpt_Sunshine wrote about Biseagal's:
"... lack of professionalism."

Kevin's comment:
That may be it. It may be that this started as Malcolm's hobby that he turned into a business. But he's still treating it as a hobby and not a business.

A hobby is something that you do when you feel like it, and if you arrive at the workplace two hours late and get things done "eventually" its no big deal.

A business has to worry about customer satisfaction and meeting its on-time commitments to customers. Right now I'm a profoundly dissatisfied customer who has had seven broken promises of delivery and is vowing to never again do business there.

I have had two frames aligned by Biseagal and found their work excellent. I don't know anyplace else in town that does the kind of frame work that they do. I found their prices reasonable for saving frames that would otherwise be garbage.

I just got off the telephone with Malcolm. He is telling me that he's getting a part from Mississauga tomorrow morning and my Pashley will be ready for me to pick up tomorrow evening. Needless to say, I've had so many broken promises that I'm a little skeptical, but we'll see what happens.

Well, my bike was not ready when I talked with Malcolm at Biseagal at 8:00 PM last night. Another broken promise. Surprise, surprise.

He did say that he would work late and finish my bike. We'll see. Right now, I am not believing anything that he says.

I finally got my bike back. When I called Biseagal, I was told me to come around in an hour. So I did. The bike still wasn't ready!!!

I stayed in the shop for two hours, breathing down Malcolm's neck, while he finally finished my bike. That's definitely two hours of my life that I'll never get back.

But at least I got my bike. Malcolm seems to have done a good job. He was showing me the old vs. new fork and the one he made is definitely a lot more heavy-duty. The work looks good, but the hell Malcolm put me through is definitely not worth it.

So chalk me up as a profoundly dissatisfied customer.

most serious cyclists in toronto would agree that malcom is one of the best problem solvers in the city; he will figure out a bike that most mechanics would write off. However, the price to pay is that he is very tardy. I've left a bike with him for a year to get fixed. After it was done i was very satisfied with his craftsmanship -the man is an artist- but it does take time. **** ****

The employee's reaction is indicative of the fact that the owner is late regularly, to the detriment of the employee's ability to conduct business. It's a show of frustration. The man clearly has a long standing bad habit.

In this circumstance, I'd still trust his work, but I'd personally pull my bike on principal.

I had Biseagal fix my frame a couple of years ago. I was really happy with the experience, but in retrospect, I did experience a few of the kinds of things outlined here.

The job did end up being a bit more complicated than anticipated and did take a little longer (though neither were hugely off the original cost and time estimates IIRC).

The upside was I'm still riding that frame and the bike came back at least as good (and probably better) than before the frame cracked.

The reality is that I couldn't find anyone else in Toronto that would do this kind of work at a price that made sense for my decades-old Miele. I was very, very happy with the work -- and the fact that my alternative would have been to simply get a new bike.

I sense that Biseagal is more of a labour of love than anything else, and I have to admit I quite like that about them!

I was referred to Malcolm to whom I took a seat post I wanted slightly altered. When i finally went back, 3 mos later, he had lost my instructions & 'phone #.

It took 3 more weeks of daily calls & each day it was "tomorrow". When I finally got it back the dimensions were wrong.

Would I ever go back? not a chance and the shop who recommended them, their word will be forever suspect.

You all are criticizing a craftsman, not a hobbyist, who puts his craft above his trade.

This seems strange to you because the dollar and your time are more important to you than the end result of Malcolm's work.

He has a history of taking longer than expected, and a history of doing what no one else will do, better than anyone else in town can. Most people know this walking in the door, for serious bike lovers only.

If you don't know that walking in, don't go. If your time is that important, buy another Pashley they are not expensive.

If you can't communicate what you want from them, expect them to subject the work to their standards, not yours, they probably have higher standards anyway.

If you drop off a seatpost for a slight bend, don't wait 3 MONTHS to check on it. That kind of span for that kind of work may well mean you get put aside and presumed never to return. It happens to lots of shops.

If you wanted your seatpost shortened, find a shop because anyone could do that. I presume you want a bend in the post modified or added because that is the only way to change the "dimensions" of a seatpost although it does not actually do that.

but really, I shouldn't try to answer any complaints on their behalf beyond repeating a simple mantra;

He cares more about the work than he does about you. He cares more about the work than he does about you.

So forget your Wal-Mart consumer sophistication of ME ME ME AND NOW NOW NOW when frequenting Biseagal, or get your ass to Wal-Mart. If you want the best, you have to accept that usually comes at a price and not all prices are in dollars. Grow up.

Seriously ? Grow up ?

This man runs a business and he runs it extremely poorly. It's fine if things take time, it's not fine if you wait months while being told that it will be ready tomorrow. That is incompetence or straight out lying. By his work ethic he is very much a hobbyist with a great skill set.

You a blaming a person her tat came in to get a service done, the business operator failed miserably, lost contact information and got the job done wrong. If he is above that he shouldn't take the job.

Sounds like a place where summer riders can store their bikes for winter, but not a place for people that use their bikes for transportation.

By all accounts here including your, this seems to be the place to avoid.

"Do or do not, there is no try" - Yoda

Malcolm never finishes a job when he says. plus he has clowns like tofu who pretend to build bikes but make brass knuckles instead.

must be one of malcolms empolyees. if a job is to be done in a week and it takes 3 months, then the guy just dont give a shit

Just thought I'd put in a good word for this shop. Malcolm is a true artisan and the shop is his atelier. He has always done first rate work on my vintage bike, always managing to source rare parts to keep the bike authentic. He's also corrected very poor work from a mainstream shop that should have known better. He is the only person you should take a bike to in this town for frame straightening. He's the best place I know for vintage bikes. I've kept my 27 year old road bike on the road for years with his help and I hope to do so for many years to come.

Yes it's true that some times in the past work has taken an inordinate amount of time to complete. But I've just had him turn around an extensive piece of work in less than a week (which I have to admit amazed me), so I think that that is changing.

But even if the next time it's a month and not a week, for me it's the price to pay for an approach to work that I imagine was common years ago, but seems to have disappeared from the modern world. He has real passion for what he does and the expertise to match. For me, slow and meticulous trumps fast and shoddy.

I’d also like to weigh in support for Malcolm & Biseagal. A braze-on (attaching the brake lever to the frame) broke off my dear 20 year-old bike likely due to salt damage caused from riding last winter. When my regular excellent bike shop informed they couldn’t repair, Biseagal was recommended to install a new braze-on. My bike was ready within the week; Malcolm attached my still-good brake lever to the newly welded braze-on.

As I didn't wish to replace my dear bike, I was pleased to receive great service. Thumbs up!