Ben's Cycle

although i'm not from mileaukee, whenever i'm there, i love checking out the store(s). most other bike stores don't have nearly as much inventory that you can see and touch. when i do order online, they have a huge selection with pictures of just about everything. it even tells you what's in stock and ordering is easy.

My husband and I have visited the store and shopped online as well. I'm a bit surprised by the other reviews. We have placed numerous online orders. On some occasions, I placed orders as late as 2pm CST, and the orders still were mailed the same day. I have found the shipping speed and remote customer service to be smashing.
With regard to in-store experiences, I visited the store to see Milwaukee Bicycle Co. frames. I then worked with a salesperson over the phone over the course of a few weeks, picking powder-coat colors and components. He was knowledgeable, friendly and even told me when I was buying components above my needs. I highly recommend Ben's Cycle as both a local bike ship, custom bike build or random component purchases. Nothing but good here.

I ordered three items from Ben's Cycle. The order process was smooth and the products arrived fairly quickly. Unfortunately that’s where the good experience ends.



The problems arose once I opened the package. Two of the three items were deformed/damaged/not in new condition.



The first was a set of severely deformed fenders. When I questioned Ben's Cycle about them I was told that this was normal and that they would straighten out once installed. I installed them, but it did nothing to straighten them out. They were so badly bent that they dug into the tire, preventing the wheel from turning. I contacted Ben's cycle again, this time providing them with pictures. They told me to send the fenders back, but didn’t offer any assistance with shipping. When I asked for assistance with the shipping costs, the customer service rep quit responding. I inquired 4 more times, over a period of 2 weeks. I never received a response. Shipping costs to return the defective fenders was over $35.00, so in the end my “return” netted roughly $10.00 back in my pocket.



The second item in question was a Brooks Brooks B67 saddle. It didn't quite look right when I took it out of the box, but I know that there can be slight deformities in the leather, so I didn't think much of it. While installing it on my wife’s bike I noticed that the leather was very loose. I tightend the tensioning bolt until it was tight enough to sit on. This used up ¾ of the tensioning bolt adjustment. I've had enough new brooks saddles to know that there was something wrong with this. After closer inspection of the leather and tensioning bolt, it became apparent that the saddle had previously been severely over tensioned. Over tensioning a leather saddle can greatly reduce the life of the saddle and can damage the leather. We now have a saddle with a greatly reduced life span.



I find it hard to believe that a company with a reputation such as Ben’s Cycle would have such poor customer service and quality control. The damaged brooks saddle should have never made it out the door. And any reputable company would have immediately sent a return shipping label for the deformed/damaged goods. Unfortunately, because of Ben’s Cycle, we’re out almost the entire cost of the fenders, and we’re stuck with a damaged/used Brooks B67 saddle. Needless to say, we will not be using Ben’s Cycle again.