ISOTUNED Suspension aka drakethomas (threads merged)

I met Drake a while back when I went out (after 7pm, all the bike shops were closed) to prep my bike for a race the next morning and realized I needed new brake pads. I posted something on STR and he PM'ed me letting me know he had a set he would sell me. We planned to meet up the morning before the race and he even drove and met me halfway, then sold me the pads for well under what any shop (including Jenson) would sell them to me at.

I think it is time I take in one of my bikes and have him tune the fork and the rear shock.

 

You wont regret it man. Good guy if you can deal with him and if he hasnt done any suspension of yours you havent even experienced what he is good at yet.

 

...

 

Ok, Drake.
My suspension will be at your shop in a day or two. Lets see what you've got.
I will give a full report / review after the set up and break in period..........
I will be riding A-Line in Turnbull since it was the last trail I rode on my bike yesterday.

 

I sent off a 40, 36, dhx 5.0, and Manitou Revox to ISO.

The forks feel great, and the DHX is acceptable too.

Here's the timeline and notes of my experience. I though I should put this up as part of the reason I chose to go with this shop was the glowing reviews on this board...


1/25: sent suspension off (supposed to be done in two weeks)

2/24: rx’d suspension back from Drake
-didn’t have new 36 stickers as I was told it would.
-36 hose clamp broken off and missing.
-safety wire marks on eyelette of dhx from being clamped before removing. Safety wire was put on by me to hold reducers to shock so they wouldn't get lost.

3/13: sent email describing issues with shock after trying it out on bike. Also mentioned the stickers/hose clamp.

3/24 sent second email describing clunk in shock after not hearing from Drake

3/24 replied and said to send it in.

3/28: sent back to iso due to “Clunk” issue that I initially had.

Requested if shock rx’d and if he could detect issue I described for clunk. He said it was almost impossible to miss.

Told shock would be send off by Friday (date??)
On Monday told the shock was going out when I requested update if it shipped on Friday... something about the ups guy delivering it back to him.

Received shock back, missing shock reducer HW. Also sent the 36 stickers.

Bought new reducer HW

5/25: tried to install shock, noticed high speed compression knob just rotates either direction never hitting a stop, both low and high speed compression have no effect on shock. Rebound appears to work as expected.

5/25: txt to drake describing the issue.


5/31: received response from Drake: request to “send back pos, gonna send me a brand new revox”

6/1: sent out shock

6/7: inquired if received via txt, no response

6/10: requested update via txt, no response

6/12: email, mentioning sent txt and no responses, requesting update.

6/13: call, no response

6/14: call, no response

6/15: call, no response

6/16: received email saying he’s not blowing me off. Doesn’t have new valve, Manitou has them on backorder for the last two weeks. Has two ISX-6 he can take the valves out and they are the same as the revox. Said if that doesn’t fix the problem he has no problem returning the money for the rebuild.

6/16: replied to above email saying I would not have sent back shock if I knew he was just going to try and piece it back together… His text asking me to send it in (5/31) said to send it in and he’ll send me a brand-new revox. If I knew another attempt (that probably won’t even be checked from past experience) was going to happen I would have just cut my losses and got another shock.

6/22: Received back old shock. HS Comp clicker now has stop at both ends of the range. Makes zero difference in shock behavior and, now, rebound has zero effect as well –surprise, surprise. At least before I sent it in for the last fix (which was really supposed to be a replacement!) I had the ability to control rebound…

Cutting my losses at this point.

 

I had my Magura Wotan "Isotuned" a couple of months ago. Fork feels nice. Communication could have been a bit better. The fork was done on time and I'm happy with the how it's performing.

 

Friend said he called and left message but was never called back. I'll pass thanks.

 

Sorry to read about your situation. That sounds very frustrating.

Sadly, I think the writing was on the wall for this type of service from Drake. I remember way back when he was trying real hard to get business, and he was slamming many of the local bike shops who did suspension service for customers, saying how great he would treat people. Apparently now that Drake has learned about business in the real world, it's not as easy as he thought. But ever since he actually opened a shop, it sounds like he is still shooting himself in the foot.

 

I had contacted IsoTuned about a fork i had purchased from a member here which had been described as "tuned by Isotuned". Fork had an Isotuned sticker on each fork leg. Fork was leaking from around the MoCo adjuster knob. Luckily, after that contact with IsoTuned (3-4 days after i sent the email) it was suggested that the Motion Control damper was the issue. After taking the fork apart, all seals were good and the last possible issue was the damper. Why it wasn't caught before (or maybe the owner didn't disclose all correct information), i don't know. I do know that it works fine now and i serviced it myself. If the owner or the tuner didn't address the leak, i'm not sure who's problem that was. I do know the leak was obvious and a 15 minute fix.

Sram did suggest the damper was bad as well, so, thnx Sram and IsoTuned for pointing out the bad part.

 

Isotuned seems like too much of a hit and miss for me. I think I'll look elsewhere until customer service/communication improves.

 

There's always Push Industries if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

I haven't worked with Drake before, but I just Push'd my rear shock on my Enduro. Process was painless. Shipped in and got it back in the timeframe stated. I called them and was able to get all my questions answered too. Now for the shock...it completely transformed the way my Enduro rides and the rear tracks like glue. I couldn't be more happy with it.

 

I've said it from way back when......I'll stick with Push for my suspension mods. There is absolutely no excuse for someone running a professional business to not return phone calls, e-mails, texts etc for days on end. Not acceptable at all.

 

ISO Tuned Remedy all the work was done by Drake and Rob. 29lbs

 

I took my blown up fox 40 to him a couple years ago. He convinced me that there was no way fox would have warrantied the fork. He told me it might blow up again so I should get it revalved. I ended up paying him close to $400 for everything. I also ordered a headset that he promised me would arrive on time for my north star trip. I never got the headset and went up there without one. I luckily found a shop with what I needed. The fork blew up again on the second day. My north star trip was ruined so I went home and sent it back to fox. They warrantied the fork and told me whoever had worked on it did a horrible job. They said the internals had been trashed and mishandled with vice grips. I got the damaged parts back and the damage from the vice grips were clear.I called him about the headset and he refunded my money. He didn't even ask any questions I doubt he ever sent it. His excuse was that it got lost in the mail. Thanks asshole

Edit: I forgot to mention that the first time I asked for the refund for the headset he agreed but didnt give me the refund. I checked my account 4 months later and still nothing. I had to call him back and he finally returned the money.

 

my dhx air blew on the 4th ride after leaving his shop and i still havent received all the parts i paid for, ill never deal with this asshat again

 

Iso

So I don't know what those guys are talking about, I'm a RETURNING customer of iso and I won't take my bike any where else for service on my suspension(resorts and small local shops don't have the right tools or parts for the job) or anything else for that matter. Drake has always been honest and fair with his buisness with me and friendly, every time I'm in here I learn something new about my suspension and the tuning of my mountain bike. Drake really knows what he's talking about and has always made the extra effort to make sure I'm satisfied with my bike. My 888 ti was just serviced and I can't wait to abuse it and put his work to the test once again! Another satisfied customer thanks again ISO. if you haven't been to ISO I recomend you give your suspension to them and let them custom tune it to your body type and riding style, IT MAKES A DIFFRENCE trust me.

 

Your typing in caps doesn't change the fact that there are many ppl who have had issues with ISO Tuned. And considering you just joined to make this your first post seems a bit like a troll waiting to bite our ankles. Stay away from my ankles...

 

I have never had work done by ISO. So to stay objective, I dont have a personal opinion. But based on feedback alone, not someone I would chance doing buisness with. As a mechanic, 50 % good work will not get me hired or a good customer base. You want premium work, you pay for it, You want 50/50 ya pay less. In my line of work, mechanics are bashed left and right. Its not always an indivdual, but a company as a whole. There are great mechanics who have their hands tied by a company and the way things are run. Seems maybe the knowledge is there, but the buisness aspect is lacking.

 

Well I've been a repeat customer too and I have never had a problem him either. And if I had any issue with anything he always took care of it. He has always been really helpful and if he has the parts on hand his turnaround is pretty quick. He hooked me up with a DH dampner upgrade on my Lyrik for a great price. Then after Incycle tried to blow smoke up my a$$ by telling me the sticker kit for my Revelation is unavailable even though I just got off the phone with Sram which told me they have plenty and to just order it through Incycle. So I asked Drake if he could get it. He said , "Sure, no problem". He called me a few days later and told me it was in. He didn't just get me one color, he got me four different colored sticker kits. When I asked him what I owed him, he said, "Eh, it's on the house" So I handed him a $20. which he tried to give back. So I said, "No, go buy your guys some beer" and he agreed.

I know he can be a little hard to get ahold of some times but I think it is because he's spreading himself too thin. He's trying to do too many things at once.