Wissahickon Cyclery owner Drew Guldalian (left) and service manager Sam Ebert with a mountain bike Guldalian designed and built for him. (Photo by Jeremy Jones)

by Jeremy Jones

In the world of cycling, Drew Guldalian is an internationally renowned master builder of bicycles, but in the midst of all the accolades and acclaim, Guldalian insists the real star is Wissahickon Cyclery, the bike shop he created at 7837 Germantown Ave. 20 years ago.

It was his original passion-statement for the sport and remains a testament of his desire to provide a source for people whose interests range from purchasing a balance-bike for a 3-year-old child to a super high-end racing machine. It is a gathering place for a community of cycling enthusiasts who not only receive top-of-the-line service and repair but have a place to meet-up, share and learn from each other.

The store offers a wide selection of bicycles, including mountain bikes, bikes suited for commuters and recreational bikes – all come with a one-year service warranty, which includes a free tune up after one month and one year. Women will like the lightweight aluminum bike with a step-through frame by “Liv,” listed at $360. It’s great for running errands, shopping at the shore or just personal breakaway time.

In addition to top-brand competitively priced apparel, footwear and an abundance of cycling accessories, there is also a wide variety of tires that perform in the surrounding terrain or on the off-road.

Assisting Guldalian in the shop and in the service department are service manager Sam Ebert and certified bike mechanic Brandon Buller.

The modest and compact bike shop is an overture to a work in three-part harmony that is music to cyclists’ ears, composed by the bike shop, the service and repair shop and Guldalian’s “machine shop,” an inner sanctum of sorts, better known as Engin Cycles, where Guldalian handcrafts tailor-made titanium bicycles.

“A love of the bicycle is at the heart and soul of Engin Cycles,” Guldalian said.

Guldalian graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1995 with a degree in applied science and technology. Prior to this, he spent years honing his culinary skills cooking in various restaurants preparing for a career as a chef, but while in college he fell more and more in love with cycling, especially after he purchased his own mountain bike.

“No bike was as euphoric as the bike I bought for myself,” Guldalian said. “At 23 years-old, I was not in a position to open a restaurant. I didn’t think I would fail if I opened a bike shop. The cooking industry was not for me, but my passion for cycling runs so deep it’s not even funny.”

So, the same year he graduated, Guldalian started his new venture at 7837 Germantown Ave. in a vacant storefront that sported a 7,000 square-foot warehouse in the back, which had been built by his grandfather in the 1950s. The property has been in Guldalian’s family for more than 70 years and for decades served as his grandparents’ Oriental rug shop, originally known as Basmajian.

“This space was where I always knew I would build bicycles,” Guldalian posted in August of 2010 on the online forum Velocipede Salon, recounting the evolution of Engin Cycles which he launched in 2005.

Experiencing this space, this production house where bike magic happens is like observing an otherworldly event.

The assembly line of machines – Guldalian calls them “tools,” and the glisten of aluminum shavings create an ongoing conversation in code between raw materials and industrial integrity. All in incredibly good condition, the machines were made in an era where they worked 24/7, the oldest built in 1941.

This is a state-of-the art fabricating facility laid out in production-style format, starting with parts. It is because of what Guldalian calls the “intellectual license” he has on certain parts he makes himself that he can attest: “No one else has this in the world or can replicate it.”

On average, it will take Guldalian 10 days to build a bike. The frame without components sells for $3,500. Once components are added, the price ranges from $6,000 to $12,000. Remember, these bikes are tailor-made for the customer – literally one of a kind.

This tailor-made construction for which the term “custom fit” is an understatement is born of a customer “interview” process which is imbued with Guldalian’s intuition.

“I get a vibe – physically, mentally,” he said.” I want to know their aspirations, what they want to improve upon – anything that can enhance their experience of riding the bike. I need a visual of what it is I want to do, an image. As opposed to mass production, you get to see, feel, touch before you own. It’s made for the actual end-user. They have to trust that you know what you’re doing because what they’re getting is a product that’s made for them that’s never been made before. No two bikes are ever alike.

“At the end of the day,” Guldalian explained in Nick Vadala’s Philly.com Lifestyle Blog in 2014, “I have a better client base because of the interview process. That and I end up with 35 or 40 new friends every year,”

As service manager Ebert puts it: “Drew is an interpreter of bike geometry. He’s the best in the world. No one can do what he does.”

“I set high standards for myself,” Guldalian said. “I don’t aspire to be like anybody else. I’d consider that a failure. Do it the best you can do it. ‘Innovate or die.’”