
Boris Johnson’s bike from Joe Biden was made in Philadelphia – Philadelphia Inquirer
Bilenky Cycle Works in Olney had less than two weeks to manufacture the bike.
Harold Brusker 11/6/21
Stephen Bilenky wasn’t sure what to think when he got an email from the U.S. State Department on May 23 asking whether he could make a bike — in less than two weeks.
That was a big request for Bilenky Cycle Works in Philadelphia’s Olney section, a small business whose customers may have to wait at least six months for a bicycle and sometimes up to 18 months, depending on how customised.
What’s more, the budget was just $1,500. Prices for the 75 or so bikes Bilenky makes annually start at $4,500.
Bilenky, 67, and his three employees pulled it off, finishing the custom frame made from Columbus steel and painting it by Memorial Day weekend. The goal was to have the bike ready as a gift from President Joe Biden to Johnson, an avid cyclist, at the G7 Summit in Cornwall, England. The summit starts Friday.