Bilenky Cycle Works and the Philly Bike Expo
Stephen Belinky - founder, designer, frame builder, LEGEND.
There are a few key players that stay top of mind when talking about the cycling community that exists in Philadelphia. There is the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Bike Messenger Association, the Philadelphia Mountain Bike Association, and of course the local frame builders. Among some of the best regional builders is Bilenky Cycle Works. Located in North Philly, Bilenky opened up for business in 1983 and has been serving Philly Cyclists with exceptionally handcrafted steel frame Touring, Tandem, Mountain, Road, and City bikes, just to name a few! Bilenky also does anything from frame alterations, repairs, and painting, but to easily sum it all up, Bilenky is short for Handcrafted, Cycling Artistry.
Bilenky not only delivers some of the best hand built frames throughout the country and across seas, but also has inspired and to a certain extent reformed the cycling community in Philadelphia. Their passion for the lifestyle is prevalent in their work within the 
community hosting the Bilenky Junkyard Cross (YouTube it!!!!), being one of the few builders supporting the worldly cyclist by offering SS Coupling work, and of course hosting, organizing, and managing the Philly Bike Expo. In my opinion, having lived in Philly and worked within the cycling industry there for a few years, they have taken the elitist cycling mentality and replaced it with an everyday, way-of-life cycling movement. From advocacy to rocking good times, from education to service, Stephen Bilenky and his team, including his own daughter Bina, have taken the City of Brotherly Love by the Hubs.
On October 29th and 30th, if you happen to be within the Philadelphia area you should make it a point to swing into the city for Bilenky’s second annual Philly Bike Expo. Held at the 23rd Street Armory, the P.B.E. brings in various frame builders, parts and accessory manufactures, apparel and bag designers, advocacy groups, educational groups, plus much more into the Philly cycling community. If you have ever thrown a leg over a bike, even if it was 40+ years ago, you will find yourself transfixed by the two-wheel culture.
A scene from the 2010 Philly Bike Expo
You may also find yourself engaged in one of the many bicycling education and advocacy seminars hosted by many of the exhibitors, including the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. If you’re ready to ride, make sure to join in on one of the many group rides over the weekend. Bina tells me there will be a Gentlemen’s Ride hosted by Rapha, an Urban Philly Mountain Bike Tour led by Pro Mountain Biker Harlan Price. And if you don’t mind getting a little spooked, sign up for the Zombie Cat, inspired by the courier Ally Cat race scene, “Don’t Shoot the Messenger!” Don’t fret, like most great times in Philly there will be plenty of award winning street food vendors.
The Philly Bike Expo is your chance to see the latest bikes and cycling gear from 65 top-notch exhibitors
Outside of all the great exhibitors, seminars, and rides, the Philly Bike Expo is all about bringing together the greater cycling community. As Stephen Bilenky sums up…
“Bike infatuation is the underlying glue that brings together a great group of people to produce and participate in the Philly Bike Expo. We want those who attend to obsess and absorb all things cycling – to expand the cycle-consciousness of those already nuts about bikes and spread the love to those just discovering the bike universe. The goal is to crown Philadelphia the east coast’s bicycle-friendly capital.”
If you are interested in going to the Philly Bike Expo, check out their web-site: www.phillybikeexpo.com, or stop into our UPenn, Warrington, or Collegeville stores for tickets.
Right you are, Dan – links are working now. Thanks for the heads up!
The links in the first paragraph do not work. My guess: they need to start with http://