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Anyone dealt with Lewis @ Unreal Cycles?

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
Just noticed Unreal Cycles is a sponsor of this board...maybe I'll reach Lewis here.

I ordered some parts through the shopping cart / paypal feature at Unreal Cycles on 12/23/07. My money was charged right away. The note on his site said they were closed through 1/2/08 - OK fine Happy Holidays and thank you for that notice. It also said that orders placed during their downtime would ship as soon as they got back. I have gotten no contact now almost a week later. Someone had the time to update the website, remove the holiday note and also coincidentally raise the price on one of the items I purchased. I sent a follow up email 1/5/08 (which was delivery-confirned by AT&T to his Blackberry) and also called and left a voicemail the morning of 1/7/08. Still nothing. Maybe he's busy catching up and it's just poor C.S. - but more often than not when this happens someone is being taken. Anyone deal with Unreal Cycles or talk to Lewis lately? I want my parts! :)
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
3rd attempt at contact - another email sent and confirmed by his AT&T Blackberry. We'll see what happens.
 

v-digit

Turbo Monkey
Apr 3, 2006
1,218
0
Brooklyn, NY
yea, thats annoying - one would think its because its a tiny online business, but no - i've dealt with plenty of tiny online gigs and they communicated perfectly. dropnzone comes to mind - supreme service and deals
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
Well Lewis got back to me with an apology for the delay and the not-so-surprising news that the brakes I ordered could not be shipped. Brakes still posted on his site, but now at twice the price! That deal on the brakes was the whole reason I ordered from Unreal, and during this delay I got that bait-n-switch feeling, especially after I saw the price increase. I hope that's not the case. I'll post the resolution when I hear back from Lewis again.
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
CLOSING thread. Lewis got back to me quickly. Comes down to the terrible weather out West damaging some product (my brakes) and the delay that came with sorting out the mess. I'm ok with that, and Lewis, and Unreal Cycles. Peace out!
 

jasride

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2006
1,069
5
PA
I have delt with unreal a few times. Every time has been great. Ben used to be there but not for at least a year and a half. Hope it works out for you.
 

sayndesyn

Turbo Monkey
This is not some sort of random occasion with Unreal sucking balls. If you search you will find some other stories most likely. They have a website claiming everything in stock, yet they have very very little actually there. Wishful thinking or crooked business, you be the judge.
 

mosplat

Monkey
Mar 25, 2003
177
0
Brooklyn <-> Oakland
ben sold the business a while back.
but he made a point to pass it on to someone he trusts.
at least that's what i remember reading on the site.

it's a bummer there's no more gallery.
also a bummer that unreal doesn't really fill the hardcore hardtail e-store needs anymore...
 

jasride

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2006
1,069
5
PA
Yeah, I do make sure I call and order over the phone and get as much info as possible. Even when Ben was there, I remember one time wanting to order a pair of bars, he said he had to look to see if he had them in stock, I could here him on the other end of the phone rumenging through what sounded like a huge pile metal. I had a funny mental picture of all these bike parts clumped together in like a 4ft x 4ft room lit with a 40watt light bulb. But still, Ben handled it great, and this new dude although is hard to get a hold of sometimes, when I did talk to him, things got done.
 

v-digit

Turbo Monkey
Apr 3, 2006
1,218
0
Brooklyn, NY
yea, that bike gallery was neat. i bet it brought alot of business their way.

someone should do another site like that, where bikes can be rated by hundreds of people....
 

scag

Monkey
Nov 19, 2004
104
0
I once ordered a wheelset in january and didnt recieve them until the last day of march. It was rediculous. Tried to deal with them once since the biz was sold and they didnt have the **** i wanted in stock. Won't deal with them again.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
Damn, all this online stuff is getting crazy... this is why i only deal with bike shops. i hate ordering stuff online...
 

skatetokil

Turbo Monkey
Jan 2, 2005
2,383
-1
DC/Bluemont VA
Just noticed Unreal Cycles is a sponsor of this board...maybe I'll reach Lewis here.

I ordered some parts through the shopping cart / paypal feature at Unreal Cycles on 12/23/07. My money was charged right away. The note on his site said they were closed through 1/2/08 - OK fine Happy Holidays and thank you for that notice. It also said that orders placed during their downtime would ship as soon as they got back. I have gotten no contact now almost a week later. Someone had the time to update the website, remove the holiday note and also coincidentally raise the price on one of the items I purchased. I sent a follow up email 1/5/08 (which was delivery-confirned by AT&T to his Blackberry) and also called and left a voicemail the morning of 1/7/08. Still nothing. Maybe he's busy catching up and it's just poor C.S. - but more often than not when this happens someone is being taken. Anyone deal with Unreal Cycles or talk to Lewis lately? I want my parts! :)
I suspect I ordered the same brakes and got screwed over as well. No mention of delays when I placed my order. Finally got worried and called and he tells me they accidentally posted the price of a single brake as the price for a set. No they don't have them any more. Offers to give me a deal on another set of brakes, I get no paypal request and call back. No, they don't have the other brakes I wanted either. At least he refunded promptly after that.

Sounds like a good guy, and I don't think that it's on purpose, but I would have a hard time doing business with them again just because I end up wasting too much time chasing him around. I'd rather pay the extra $10 somewhere else and have my **** arrive. Also, their shipping is exorbitant.
 
...this is why i only deal with bike shops. i loved to be overcharged for everything......
to each his own. most of you people act like the dudes in your LBS never screw up...

99.9% of LBS's are just out for another buck like the online shops, but stocked full of idiots who don't know a thing about bikes who will just work for cheap as long as there is a check. at least 99.9% of online shops are run by people who are actually knowledgeable and ride bikes too...
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
They have a website claiming everything in stock, yet they have very very little actually there.

He did have to order my tire in from Maxxis - a 24"x2.4 HolyRoller which would seem like a popular one to stock but maybe he was out or it got damaged also. But more importantly to me he has yet to refund the rest of my money or give me a tracking number for the tire. We'll see how it goes.
 

mosplat

Monkey
Mar 25, 2003
177
0
Brooklyn <-> Oakland
to each his own. most of you people act like the dudes in your LBS never screw up...

99.9% of LBS's are just out for another buck like the online shops, but stocked full of idiots who don't know a thing about bikes who will just work for cheap as long as there is a check. at least 99.9% of online shops are run by people who are actually knowledgeable and ride bikes too...
LBS's can definitely screw up, there's no doubt about that. but i feel it's a little easier to spot the ones you don't want to be going to. whether it's a bunch of bad attitudes or serious lack of knowledge. not to mention ridiculous prices.

but oftentimes with online shops you can never know what you're getting into if you or your friends have never ordered from them.

and when something is in stock at an LBS, you can see it with your own eyes before you take any money out your pocket.
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
Haven't heard from him again in a week. Haven't gotten my tire and haven't gotten my money for the brakes and shipping back in Paypal either. Just sent him a second email since then. Told him if he has a legitimate reason for terrible customer service that he may want to post a note on his website to set people's expectations and save him some heat online (like here - the forum he sponsors :)). He took the time to negotiate a deal with me last week, now I just want him to see it through and be done with it.
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
Call him up. I could never get him to respond to emails but 2 phone calls later my order was canceled.
Phone wasn't working either last week, left a few voicemails. Been shooting off emails before or after work. I'll have to call on a lunch break. Trying to walk the line between giving him a break for his bad luck and just wanting to see my order completed. Optimism has never been my strong suit. :)
 

Bulldog

Turbo Monkey
Sep 11, 2001
1,009
0
Wisconsin
Strange how when I post here I get email responses. :) "Tire has shipped and refund in processing". Hope his cleanup goes fast so he can avoid turning off more customers.
 

Tread head

Chimp
Dec 19, 2015
1
0
Ben never owned unreal cycles, he apparently was a liar. He was shady from the stories I heard. Peter and Lewis have owned unreal since they founded in the Bay Area years ago. They are people just like us and have family. Sometimes family is more important than running your business. They are great people, so unless you know them, don't jump to conclusions about how bad of a person Lewis is.

Red
 

PNWMTB123

Chimp
Sep 23, 2016
1
0
Actually, that is the lie..and they are not. Plenty of facts and witnesses here in the PNW to prove it as well.