Philly’s famous frame builder Bilenky behind the ‘Boris Bike’

Steve Bilenky of North Philadelphia’s Bilenky Bicycle Works has suddenly become one of the best-known frame builders in all the land after one of his builds was presented by President Joe Biden as a gift to Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom during the recent G7 conference.

The bicycle was an enhanced version of Bilenky’s original Sterling Metro 5 model.

Boris Johnson is an avid cyclist, and is often photographed biking about town in London, England.

According to a post by Philly Bike Expo, the so-called “Boris Bike” is a bit of a full-circle situation for Bilenky, who first developed his frame-building skills alongside Jim Gittins, an English builder from Birmingham.

The Boris Bike is a lightweight roadster with AXS shifting— “fillet brazed, hand-finished and constructed with a mix of Columbus and Dedacciai tubing.”

According to an article in Bike Rumor, Bilenky was approached in May for the project, and the State Department only had a budget of $1,500 for the project.

“According to Bilenky, ([the Department of State] gave a good sales pitch on the zoom meeting. Later when I asked, she said they found us by doing an internet search of American-built bikes,” the article read. “I guess my name started with B, so I was ahead of Chapman and Weigle. Maybe I was the only one that would agree to a June 4th deadline. Or work for $1500….”

The bike used components from many American brands including Ahearne, Selle Anatomica, Velocity USA, White Industries, Spurcycle, King Cage, Thomson, Jen Green, and derailleurs and shifters from SRAM.