Hi all,
This is Dani from Foffa Bikes and I just wanted to clarify a couple of points:
We have been in the industry for 3 years but recently set up our shop front & website under the name of Foffa Bikes. We provide a service for those that don't have the time or the knowledge to build up a single speed bike or fixie themselves. We take care of everything, from going through the different options with the customers, supplying the parts and building bespoke bikes up to the desired standard. We all have Cytech certificates here and always try to give a few maintenance tips before the customer takes the bike away with them.
A second hand single speed bike may be cheaper outside of London. But our bikes are bespoke, our vintage frames are thoroughly refurbished and powder-coated (which by the way tends to cost around £70 in London), most of the parts we use are new, and we include a 12 months warranty. We can obviously supply more expensive components depending on your budget. Our standard parts are based on the feedback we have received after building over 500 bikes and we have made a lot of customers happy.
Issues can arise due to the mechanical nature of bikes, but we have always tried our best to provide excellent post-sale service. We are even known to go to the customer's place to get things sorted (once I rode to this guy's flat at 11.30 at night cause he had to go to work in the morning!).
For those new to the ss community & reading this post, a rough breakdown of how much the industry would charge for a newly refurbished ss bike is:
- vintage frame + powder-coating job £120 - £150
- lightweight wheelset + puncture proof racing tires £100 - £120
- sealed bb + crank + chain + pedals + sprocket £60 - £100
- calipers + levers + cables + handlebars + stem + grips £50 - £70
- saddle + seatpost £30 - £50
This doesn’t include labour, the one year warranty and the service we supply after the purchase.
We are very passionate about what we do but obviously we are also a business and would ideally try to make a little profit, but I think you can appreciate that we are not a money churning machine unlike some of the online bike companies out there.
As for the magic gear, I have thoroughly adjusted the vertical dropouts so that there is enough clearance to pull the wheel back when the chain gets loose.
We are always open to feedback & would welcome you to swing by Foffa Bikes for a coffee & a chat of how we can do things better for you. If you feel that your matter is not resolved you can always speak with me directly on 07946 772457. We are always willing to listen & act on issues or advise on any queries you might have.
We look forward to hearing back from you or seeing you at our workshop in East London.
Dani Foffa
