Anyone know what's up with Engin Cycles?

[EB]

I'm a huge fan of Engin Cycles, particularly the components that he has been making the last few years.

Unfortunately Drew seems to have fallen off the radar completely. Reports were that he was not at Philly Bike Expo and people did not know his whereabouts. I have heard that his bike shop closed down. The Engin website still appears to be operating, but he is so far unresponsive on email. The last instagram post from him was around Thanksgiving 2023.

Anyone know if he is OK and what happened? The pandemic was hard on small entrepreneurs like Drew, so it not surprising to hear that the shop closed down, but I hope he is OK and I would hate to see Engin Cycles vanish from the world.

[NHAero]

I also sent him an email a couple of weeks ago and haven't received a response. This is not at all what I experienced previously, he was very quick to respond to any email question about his products. Hope he is OK!

[AngryScientist]

hmm, good question. He had one of the more impressive machine shops, especially for the bike business and he was forever innovating.

I think there is a real slow down in the bike industry now, probably magnified in the higher end niche corners too. Hope he's doing OK and stays in the bike biz.

[tylernol]

I've gotten a few bikes from him. And I just ordered another crankset about 10 days ago from the Engin website but have not gotten a shipment notification or any follow-up emails other than the purchase confirmation. So .. not sounding good.

[EB]

Originally Posted by tylernol

I've gotten a few bikes from him. And I just ordered another crankset about 10 days ago from the Engin website but have not gotten a shipment notification or any follow-up emails other than the purchase confirmation. So .. not sounding good.

Yeah, he also didn't respond to my check-ins. It's a bummer.

[AngryScientist]

Clicking through his web site to the bike shop yields the following note. Sounds like things did not go well. Hopefully it was not a real estate issue, as that's where his main shop was also. Hopefully he resurfaces soon.

Wissahickon Cyclery

After 26 years of serving the community it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to the retail end of our business. I thank everyone over the years who helped build this business. I poured my heart and soul into this place and it is a shame it had to go the way it did. We hope everyone is safe and thanks again. -Drew Guldalian

[tylernol]

cranks just shipped!

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by tylernol

cranks just shipped!

ah, thanks for the follow-up!

that is good news and a good sign.

[nmrt]

When I bought my Engin from Drew in 2021, he was about to close his bike shop. I would not draw any conclusions from the bike shop closure as he continued his Engin business over the years after the bike shop closed. I hope all is well with Drew.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Clicking through his web site to the bike shop yields the following note. Sounds like things did not go well. Hopefully it was not a real estate issue, as that's where his main shop was also. Hopefully he resurfaces soon.

[EB]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

ah, thanks for the follow-up!

that is good news and a good sign.

That is indeed good news.

[Mikej]

I admire Drew’s “Enginuity” not many guys out there doing what he does. His frames and components were always incredibly well thought out and meticulously executed.

[EB]

Originally Posted by Mikej

I admire Drew’s “Enginuity” not many guys out there doing what he does. His frames and components were always incredibly well thought out and meticulously executed.

His seat collars are the best ones I've ever owned and the Port Royal crankset is so good that I bought two of them.

[Gabe77]

Does this mean the subcompact Engin spiders will never come out in 8-bolt SRAM fitting? I have a Force crankset I stupidly bought as a bargain not realising they changed from that 3-bolt spline system.

As a wider question - why isn't anyone doing this? There seems to be a few crappy ones like Stone but I'm waiting for someone to sell a subcompact double spider that fits the 8-hole.

[EB]

Originally Posted by Gabe77

Does this mean the subcompact Engin spiders will never come out in 8-bolt SRAM fitting? I have a Force crankset I stupidly bought as a bargain not realising they changed from that 3-bolt spline system.

As a wider question - why isn't anyone doing this? There seems to be a few crappy ones like Stone but I'm waiting for someone to sell a subcompact double spider that fits the 8-hole.

The 8 hole thing just makes me mad and I’m trying to pretend it doesn’t exist.

Your wider question is legit. It also applied to tbe 3 bolt version - why is this only something a solo entrepreneur makes?

[nmrt]

Apart from the Youtube video alleging that the Stone spider is crappy, I have not heard from anyone else regarding the lack of quality on the Stone.

Do you have any first hand experience on the Stone? I know there is the Croder spider but I am looking for first hand experience with Stone.

Originally Posted by Gabe77

Does this mean the subcompact Engin spiders will never come out in 8-bolt SRAM fitting? I have a Force crankset I stupidly bought as a bargain not realising they changed from that 3-bolt spline system.

As a wider question - why isn't anyone doing this? There seems to be a few crappy ones like Stone but I'm waiting for someone to sell a subcompact double spider that fits the 8-hole.