Frankenstein Bike Worx

I went in today to get new tires for my bike, i spoke with the owner about options, he told me he could put new tubes and treads on some older rims, and i agreed to the purchase. At check out, he charged me $ 85, handed me a bag with two inner tubes in it and told me the rims would be another hundred. I almost called the police, he finally issued me a refund. It was a racial thing, he called me a «filthy guacamole Mexican»…Im Portuguese. Buyer be ware.

Truly useless. I came in with my registration, my receipt, and my keys because my u-​lock was jammed less than a block away. The owner was rude and dismissive and then refused to even loan me a flat-​head screwdriver because I hadn’t purchased the bike from him. Wish I could give zero reviews really.

Jeff is amazing! First of all, I’m a newbie to cycling. I have a used bike that is constantly making noises because of the gears. I’ve taken it to another store before that didn’t completely fix the problem. Jeff took a look at the bike, played with the gear switches, turned some screws, and it was fixed! The whole process took 5 seconds and zero dollar! Yeah, his shop is cluttered and in the basement, but he is experienced and gets the job done, without charging the customer (especially someone who knows very little about bikes) for unnecessary «tune ups». I’ll definitely go back again if I need to get work done on my bike.

I rented to bikes from Jeff last weekend and I did so for two reasons
A) closest bike shop to downtown that I could find on Unilocal
B) lowest 24 hour rental rate, just under $ 1.00/hour
We spent $ 54.00 for two bikes for 24 hours with tax, the next closest shop wanted to charge almost $ 50 per bike for 24 hours, so this was the clear choice. He gave us two cruisers that had the nice padded butt seats, which were great for long term riding.
Yes this place is kind hard to find because it is hidden under a large building and in the basement and yes the owner is a bit quirky and opinionated, however he came across like an average Philly guy to me.
He loses one star for the pain in the ass it is to get the bikes out of his little door-​way and up the narrow staircase to the street. The same one star lost is also for the low bridge in the store, I had to duck to make sure I did not hit my head.
The other star is gone because I think he could do a bit better job of keeping his store clean and less cluttered.
I do not know anything about his retail prices on bikes and hardware, nor do I know anything about the quality of the bikes he builds; this review is mainly on the owner and the rental experience.
After all said and done, I enjoyed my experience in the store and Jeff was very nice to us and even gave us several suggestions of places to bike to and eat at. He did a great job adjusting our bikes to fit us without us asking, which I thought was nice.
I would rent from him again!

Little dungeon of a bike shop. Prices way over priced. I bought a bike lock there because mine was stolen. The cost of the lock was $ 60 at Frankensteins and $ 25 at Dicks Sporting goods. He sold me a used bike for $ 150 that was in rough shape. I had no choice but to buy because mine was stolen.

Jeff is a riot, and Greg knows his stuff when it comes to bikes. I built a custom hardtail mountain bike through Frankenstein. They were incredibly kind even though it took me over a year to complete. They can answer any questions and help through any process. 5 stars.

Frankenstein’s Bike Worx has been my go to place for years.
Jeff is always incredibly entertaining, and takes good care of me and my friends.
Eccentric in the best of ways — he provides excellent service and actually cares about his customers, and he’s creative as all get out.
He’s building some of the sweetest bikes I have seen.
HIghly recommended!!!

These people run the Philadelphia Stolen Bike facebook page. They blocked my request to join and post about my stolen bike citing their disagreement with my NRA affiliation. They sent me an email saying they hoped the thief enjoyed my bike.

Jeff is definitely hard work and the various stories about on Unilocal and elsewhere all seem plausible. I will freely admit that I’ve stopped going there because i got tired listening to his questionable political theories. That said, he is a knowledgeable, extremely experienced guy who knows his trade very well. Its also worth pointing out that he is very loyal to his regular customers and doesn’t overprice things. Depending on your patience threshold, he’ll be one of the best or worst bike guys you’ll ever deal with.

In the past I’ve been really hard on bikes. Snap the gears right off. That’s what being a fat bastard gets ya. But I’ve gotten bikes fixed, tuned up here for years. This is a legit repair store at reasonable prices. Jeff the owner is a stand up dude and i still ride the bike he built for me a decade ago on one of his frames. Jeff is one of a kind Philadelphia character. Yes his cave can be dingy and he’s surly and mean, but i find it entertaining when he does it to others.

Overpriced, terrible service.
I went here because it was very near my house, but would now go across town to go elsewhere. Selection is very limited and overpriced.
Old guy there will talk your ear off for ages without actually listening to what you want. Keep you waiting for a really long time, not very helpful.

Jeff, the owner, is a good guy. He knows what he’s doing.
Don’t drink the hator-​ade. I bought my «Street Cred» bike here (and while I think the brand name is horrible), it was awesome. Solid as a rock. Super light. Super fast. Very nimble. I would take it out for rides and keep up with bikers on $ 2000 carbon bikes, no problem.
The shop can also fix stuff super fast.
Worth your time. And your money.

I really wish the guy here would not blab to me about politics every time I went in to buy a bike tube. He’s like a propaganda machine.

Bike shop? Maybe. Located in the basement of a multi-​story house, this might be more like a workshop, but it is still awesome. They don’t carry much in the way of inventory but they do have the essentials. Stop in if you need the usuals, heck just stop by because you feel like chatting with the owner; he is down to earth and will guide you in the right direction.

I stopped by here during my lunch break to pick up a cable cutter and a tensioner. After looking a Breakaway bikes (which is my favorite bike shop in the city) and online, I knew I didn’t want to pay $ 45 for a tensioner that I’d use infrequently.
The owner was outside on the steps and greeted me immediately. I was the only one in the shop, so he talked with me throughout my purchase and browsing. He’s clearly very opinionated about each item that he carries, but I personally think that’s a good thing because he carries certain brands for a reason and is clearly knowledgeable.
One of the first things he said to me was that hipsters hate him (it’s probably a good thing I was in my business casual work attire), and he dogged other bike shops in the city. Although this is a general bad practice and I probably wouldn’t hang out with him in my spare time, he was very nice about my purchase and offered to help if I messed up with my cable exchange process.
All in all, the owner is quirky. But he had a $ 15 tensioner that was exactly the price and quality I was looking for. Their prices in general seemed pretty competitive, and he had a good selection of used and affordable bikes.

I can’t believe some of the reviews on here about this place. In terms of product, value, and service, I think this is _​the best_​or one of the best bike shops in the Philly area.
I won’t comment about the owners’ personality/​demeanor, but I can see how it would rub some reviewers the wrong way. However, I’ve been coming here for about 10 years now. The prices are competitive, for bikes. For accessories, you might want to go elsewhere, as they are a bit more than some other, larger places. He does know his bike mechanics, which is why I go to a bike shop. I’m not going to a bike shop for a café latte and crumpets … so I don’t really care about the atmosphere so much.
If you have a bike you want good, reliable, cost-​effective work done on, or are looking for a good, quality bike, come here. If you want to schmooze with «bike yuppies», there’s plenty of those in the ‘burbs.

I came in for a rear fix-​flat and it NEARLY COSTED ME MY LIFE.
I was stupid to not check the chain tension when I left (it took 20 mins for him to change a flat mind you, with no other customers ahead of me) and a few blocks later VIOLA the chain jumped off and i ted-​shredded my shoes to save my life.
Pick your bike mechanic like you pick a car mechanic, reliable and thorough. This shop is neither of those and I will never go back nor will I recommend anyone else does if they value their life.

There are a lot of bike places in this city. Don’t go to this one.
The guy who runs it is and old, curmugeonly bastard who is an asshole, plain and simple. He is sarcastic and unhelpful. Why would anyone go to a guy like that.
Try Bicycle Therapy on South Street. The guys there are professional, friendly and most of them are avid riders.

Here’s the deal: I know fuck-​all about bikes. I know I ride one every day as my means of transportation, I know that upgrading to better parts is always a good idea, I know that lighter frames are way more comfortable to ride, but that’s seriously about it. I also could really care less about brands of bikes as long as what I’m riding gets me to and from my destinations in a comfortable matter. That’s how I found myself at FBW.
At the recommendation of a friend, I popped into FBW in hopes of finding a lighter bike than my super old yet reliable Raleigh. I was almost dismayed because the place is a hole in the ground with very litle selection. He really only sells one brand of bike, and while it’s probably not as «cool» or as «hip» as the Masi’s or Bianchi’s sold in some other bike shops, I’m basically broke all the time so the road bike I bought was well within my price range AND it had the light frame that I wanted. Plus he took the time to kind of customize it for me: I walked out with thicker tubes and pink wheels: D
The only thing I have to say about this place though is that the owner is definitely a character. I get the feeling that he’s lonely because what should’ve been a 30-​minute job turned into an hour’s work because he kept stopping to talk to me about his music selections. Which was fine, although I was a bit late to meet a friend, but slightly unnecessary. He seems to keep it on the real side despite clearly having an obvious ego about what he does.
This place probably doesn’t have the street cred that most of the other bike shops in the city have but really, who am I trying to impress when I’m sweaty and gross from biking to Temple from South Philly? It got me exactly what I wanted at a price that was well within my budget. I can certainly get down with that: D

I rolled in here with my work clothes on and my mother’s ancient bright turquoise rust roller and was amazingly not treated like a naieve nerd. It took maybe 10 minutes to change my flat, and it cost eleven dollars.
I’ll be back.