Your Experience w/ Black Sheep - riding & business

jcs7282 · #1 10-15-2024, 05:32 PM

Hey PL,

After doing some pretty deep searching and not finding too much detail, wanted to ask: do any PLers have solid experience owning/riding and/or doing business with Black Sheep bikes? Considering a ti replacement for a carbon HT and the klunker style frames have always caught my eye...

What I have learned via PL search suggests the bikes ride well and are generally well-built/crafted. But, would love to hear any hands-on experience you want to share.

Equally, if not more so, interested in any direct experience folks can share about the business side of dealing with the company. Knowing from past experience how things can go sideways with a custom frame (i.e., unresponsiveness after sending a deposit...) just trying to get a temperature check on how folks have found the business side of the experience to be...

Many thanks in advance for sharing...

jimcav · #2 10-15-2024, 05:38 PM

but I have a blacksheep northdam Ti road bike and it is an awesome bike. Rides great and impressive welds if you admire such things.
I got it here off the classifieds. It is a bit too low up front now due to my neck issues, but I've kept it in case either son wanted a bike for college. It came to me as a dingle speed, and being unpainted Ti with both Ti fork and Ti seatpost is zero worry (and hopefully utilitarian looking that thieves would not target it over the more ubiquitous e-bikes).

hokoman · #3 10-15-2024, 05:49 PM

I ordered some custom parts from James, the last being custom ti bars for my wife's bike several years ago. He was great to work with, and was shipped earlier than expected. We exchanged a couple messages regarding measurements, but everything was easy. I've never heard/read a bad thing about his operation, and I wouldn't hesitate to order a bike from him from my past interactions.

nmrt · #4 10-15-2024, 06:54 PM

I bought a 26er (Yes, 26er!) from Black Sheep in 2011 (?). Met James at his FoCo location and we hit it off. He is a nice guy. Over the years, I bought Ti handlebars and a Ti seatpost. I also bought a Ti unicrown fork from him. Each time, the transaction was pleasant. But the delivery date did move quite a bit.

But these experiences were well over 7-8 years back.

PJN · #5 10-15-2024, 09:12 PM

James is legit as it comes.

Matt92037 · #6 10-15-2024, 09:15 PM

Solid dude. It’s been a while since I have done business with him but my transaction went well.

SlowPokePete · #7 10-16-2024, 07:03 AM

I've got a Ti mountain bike handlebar I just got from James a couple of months ago. I'm also about to place my order for a fork for this bike....it's a Ti Kona Raijin.

Also, the fork, rack, and one piece bar and stem on my Lynskey gravel bike were made by James.

He's a great guy, and extremely talented builder.

SPP

jcs7282 · #8 10-16-2024, 08:49 AM

Great feedback here (as usual...), thanks all.

alastair · #9 10-16-2024, 12:17 PM

My experience is from 2008 or thereabouts, so probably not a very reliable indicator of their current state.

Anyway, I had them build me a set of titanium mustache bars. The order took almost a year to fulfil and whoever was their point of contact back then told me they had shipped several times during that period, when in fact they had not. When they arrived, they were functional and more or less what I had spec'd.

I had two associates / riding buddies with BS 29ers in the same period. This was back when Tony Pereira had won Best in Show with his Roaring 29er retro cruiser and every custom builder seemed to be jumping on the retro-cruiser bandwagon. I'd had my McClung for a few years by that point and was racing it and using it as my do-it-all bike. The BS bikes looked the part (truss fork / swoopy lines), and the welds were beautiful. But they handled like barges compared to my Don bike. In fairness, many 29ers were very sluggish back then but I always got the feeling that James was the Sketchers or Hyundai of custom builders. He'd see a design he liked from another builder and then replicate it without any thought spared for geometry or handling.

I imagine things have changed in the decade and half since then but I'm old and set in my ways. YMMV.

jcs7282 · #10 10-16-2024, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alastair

I imagine things have changed in the decade and half since then but I'm old and set in my ways. YMMV.

Fair point, but appreciate the candid feedback.

Knowing how my prior bad experience with a builder went ~7-8 years ago now, that negative interaction was enough to cause me to never want to do business with them again. Then again, my experience was far more severe than what you described...

estuche · #11 10-16-2024, 10:00 PM

I've owned a truss fork and mustache bars, and I'm currently on wait-list for a custom frame. I can't say James' business or timing is always perfect, but I can say that his craftsmanship is really unique and (to me) aesthetically pleasing.

I also like Oddity and Moon-men but not sure if they are still doing business,

KonaSS · #12 10-17-2024, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alastair

My experience is from 2008 or thereabouts, so probably not a very reliable indicator of their current state.

Anyway, I had them build me a set of titanium mustache bars. The order took almost a year to fulfil and whoever was their point of contact back then told me they had shipped several times during that period, when in fact they had not. When they arrived, they were functional and more or less what I had spec'd.

I had two associates / riding buddies with BS 29ers in the same period. This was back when Tony Pereira had won Best in Show with his Roaring 29er retro cruiser and every custom builder seemed to be jumping on the retro-cruiser bandwagon. I'd had my McClung for a few years by that point and was racing it and using it as my do-it-all bike. The BS bikes looked the part (truss fork / swoopy lines), and the welds were beautiful. But they handled like barges compared to my Don bike. In fairness, many 29ers were very sluggish back then but I always got the feeling that James was the Sketchers or Hyundai of custom builders. He'd see a design he liked from another builder and then replicate it without any thought spared for geometry or handling.

I imagine things have changed in the decade and half since then but I'm old and set in my ways. YMMV.

To support this, way back when, and it was probably around the time alastair was talking when 29ers were new and hot, especially custom ones, especially swoopy ones, Blacksheep was pretty hot on mtbr and I don't know if he just got overwhelmed with orders or what, but there was a big thread on mtbr about missed deadlines and being told it is ready but never seeing it. I imagine he cleaned up his business practices if he is still in business. But there is that.