ISOTUNED Suspension aka drakethomas (threads merged)

I look forward to meeting Drake & seeing the new shop he just opened more & more, the more I hear. Stuff happens. Every so often it happens all at once, and people you do value and care about fall through the cracks. Sucks, and we all try to minimize it, but it happens. The difference is, do you run like a coward and hide, or get in your jeep and drive a hundred miles in person to follow through? I can't tell you how many times over the years I've lost parts & even a couple entire frames because the people behind the brands were of less character.

 

I'm timing the amount of time it takes me to type a sample message that might adequately serve as an example to explain how my life could have been hit by a perfect storm of business and/or personal problems that might prevent me from upholding a previous agreed upon delivery of services and that I fully intend to make it up to all those who are inconvenienced as a result (i.e. drive 100 miles to deliver a fork). I would go on to explain that I take my reputation and the trust of my customers very seriously and appreciate their patience in these trying times.

Phew - 45 seconds but I'm a fast typist so let's call it 1 minute. You can't tell me your reputation isn't worth a 1-minute post on a forum that will probably reach 99% of your client base. Who knows, it might even deserve it's own thread.

 

Move along people. Nothing to see here...

 

Maybe not...but based on what seems to be a reasonable, serious, well-documented critique, I would not consider using ISO for any work on my bike at this time. I'm sure I am not alone in this regard. A simple statement of explanation/assurance could go a long way to alleviate the concerns of myself, and hundreds (?) of other potential future customers. We all make mistakes, and, overall, folks are pretty forgiving when you own up to your mistakes. He promoted his new business heavily and openly here, leveraging testimonials from others on this board. Personally, I feel that if he still wants my business, he should also explain what happened here. Based on his explanation, I could then make a fair decision to patronize his shop, or not. In the end, it's his choice, but it seems the risks of silence far outweigh the risks of a mea culpa.

 

I am a Satisfied Customer

Hello everyone. I just recently got back from seeing Drake to pick up my bike. Prior to this transaction with him, I had no ties to him. I drove a long distance to give his service a try (over 200 miles round trip) because from my initial phone conversation with him, I got the impression he knew his stuff. Also, I read the feedback from some of his other customers.

I took a chance on him to work on my bike. I asked him to disassemble my bike, get it powder coated and reassembled. His prices were very competitive. Prior to disassemble, he went over my bike and pointed out to me any problems he found and he found some issues I was not aware of and have overlooked. I had him change some of the parts prior to reassembly as well. To make a long story short, my bike looks awesome in white and rides a lot better than when I first got it brand new. It's like a new bike.

Drake rushed to get my bike back to me prior to my trip out of the country. I stayed until after 10:30 PM. He tuned the bike for me and adjusted my suspension settings. He explained and showed me how to go about setting up my suspension and answered all my questions. I really learned a lot. I also met SimonMTB and JamisJake who were there to check up on Drake and lend a hand if needed. It was a pleasure meeting them. They were friendly and knowledgeable with the bike as well.

The shop is nice and clean. He has all the tools needed to service the various brands of forks and shocks. From my conversation with Drake and what I have seen it sounds like he has been very busy and even more so since the Grand Opening. He has been working late working on other clients' shocks and forks.

As for me, I will be doing more business with him in the future and will refer my family and friends to him when they need their suspensions serviced. I found him to be friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. His shop is new and there were and will be unforeseen setbacks . I for one wish him success. He really does know his stuff. I will post pics of my bike hopefully prior to my trip.

 

another satisfied customer...

I have no history with Drake or ISO, but he did recently help me get my DH race bikes' suspension dialed. I'm really happy with his work and turn around time and am impressed by his knowledge of suspensions and bikes in general.

I have had nothing but positive experiences with Drake so far. The service he has provided me is top notch and is far beyond my expectations.

He has gone out of his way for my business and that I can appreciate. For my convenience he has driven to meet up with me (at odd hours) and was willing to work with me after normal business hours to get my bike set up properly. What surprised me most was the post support I received. I got calls from Drake following up asking how the suspension testing/adjustments were working out.

...Try and get service like that from any other shop or company.:bang:

I have had no problems recommending his work to my riding mates and they have also been happy with ISO service and support.

 

It was nice to meet you as well--And that bike looks so nice in white!!:bang:

 

Awesome shop & awesome service! Another satisfied customer!

Let me preface all this by saying that prior to March 10th of this year, I had no idea who Drake was. Prior to March 20th, I'd never had any contact with Drake at all and prior to April 3rd, I'd never met the man and he'd never touched any of my bikes. Also, I should mention I'm extremely finicky about who works on my bikes... After some very questionable work by some of the mechs at the lbs's in the area I wouldn't let anyone other than Diego work on my bikes prior to this...

After shoping around Push, CR1 Engineering, HippieTech, Suspension Experts, and even considered shipping my fork & shock to the UK to Mojo (before I found out freight costs, lol) before I came across Drake through Marzocchi. I wound up trying to do some oil weight/volume tuning on my own and, along with it, spending quite a bit of time on the phone with Marz's tech line getting questions answered about oil level and weight variations and such. One day talking to Ronnie, I asked him if they knew anyone they'd recommend. He said there was a local guy around San Diego who worked out of his house, "Drake". A google search found me his contact info and some positive reviews from previous customers. That Marz recommended him says a lot to me, that all the posts I could find about him were positive was even better.

I got in touch with him and, right off the bat, you can tell this is a guy who loves the technology, knows exactly what he's doing and loves doing it. Beyond just your suspension, if you just want to make your bike "better" in any way, Drake will help you find a way to do it. I was initially a bit skeptical how much of a diference suspension tuning would really make but figured it would be noticeable since I'm a big guy, about 240lb, and nothing is really tuned for people my size from the factory. After a couple emails and calls I decided to go for it and have my '09 888 RC3 WC and my '08 Roco WC tuned. Rather than just taking my cash and moving on, Drake told me if I could wait a week he was going to be doing 25% at his grand opening... bonus! Pretty awesome of him to offer that up when I otherwise wouldn't have had a clue and he'd have made more $$ for no more work.

Dropped my bike off on his grand opening on Saturday the 3rd... it was ready to go on Wednesday; fully tuned for my bike, weight, riding style and preferences. As soon as I sat on it, I could tell it felt different but man was I blown away when I got it on the trails... After seeing the difference on my DH bike, all my bikes will be making a trip to ISO just as soon as I can drop the cash! I was able to carry more speed over everything but more importantly, felt way more under control even at the faster speeds. Where my wheel used to skip and chatter, it was just planted... where my fork used to dive or deflect, it just digs in now! I honestly cant think of another upgrade that made as much of an immediate and noticeable difference in my riding experience. He's clean, careful, and very very good at what he does. To add to it, he does everything... Noticed a problem with my front brake and got Avid to warranty it... when he was swaping the brake, he noticed a wobble in my rim and tensioned & trued it... then did the back just cause.. happened to notice that my headset was running a touch too much preload and fixed that... helped me track down an annoying creak that'd been haunting me for weeks. Most bike shops, you come in for a brake job and they wont even look at the rest of the bike... just count yourself lucky if they get the brakes right in most cases. Drake, he'll treat your bike like it's his and make sure everything is solid and then go out of his way to make sure you're happy with what he's done before you leave his shop.

The short version for anyone who doesnt want to get through all that, he's as good a mechanic as you'll ever find. He can do anything that any local shop can and then everything that they cant as well! His prices are very reasonable and his customer service is outstanding... The couple negative comments in this thread are the only negative comments I've heard anyone have about him and even those are more about him having the "45 seconds" to type an email rather than his actual work... which is absolutely spot on. In a little over a month, I've gone from never hearing of the guy to being a customer for life! A couple of my close buddies have also gone to Drake and have had similarly excellent experiences without exception!

 

All you hardcore riders with hardcore bikes serviced by Drake, where you all ride at??

 

Will Drake ever return to posting on STR? His last post was 4/7/10. :?:

 

no need to post.

Dosn't matter to me if he post or not. As long as he's doing good work people will keep using his product. your only as good as your product. thanks DRAKE. Im happy with the work he did on my 36 talas and dhx 5.0 coil. Woody.

 

Yeah I'm sure he will, its just at the bottom of his priority list. I know hes been very busy with the startup of the shop and the influx of new work.

 

I'm having my fork and shock worked on by Drake right now. He is seriously working some overtime. He doesn't leave the shop til 9-10pm and he's got two little kids at home too.

 

Good Job Drake.. But hire at least a phone person to take our calls.

ShockNazi..

 

:bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang::bang:I am back and better than ever, I will have the PR statement for the fellows who need this done, as for the new customers thanks for helping out and giving work to new adventure, for the locals and regulars thanks for the free beer and hang out time.Peace out, going to work now.

 

:?:I highly doubt Down Cycle has ever seen or heard of STR, what about dudes in Idaho, or Mexico City, Portugal, 99% of cliental base I wish it was that easy, how about moving in to a new house with 3 kids, then 4 months later being told owner is selling, then move a shop, then move again, feel free to better me in this adventure if it was easy everybody would work on their own.:drunk:

 

Drake has had my buddys shock for almost a year now. Simple tuning, supposedly...apparently it is more complicated and quite extensive. I ran into an old mtn bike buddy at the courthouse yesterday and he was filing a small claims against Drake Dosenberry of ISO Tuned. My buddy had given his shock to Drake WAY before he opened his shop, before he got married, Drake always seemed to have some lame ass excuse and my buddy was more than patient.He has called him NUMEROUS times, emailed him and even had his attorney call him. Now, Drake won't return his phone calls, emails and he won't even respond to his attorney! What a freakin flake! I would NEVER take my own stuff to Drake NOR would I EVER recommend him to anyone for fear they would get ripped off like my buddy. So there you have it CONSUMERS BEWARE this guy is a weasel.

 

Middle of last week I called Drake and asked him for an appointment to have my wife's rp23 revalved and rebuilt completely, so we agreed to an appointment and he charged my card a percentage of the work to be done. Fast forward to Friday afternoon, I drive to Drake's shop to meet my appointment and as soon as I ge there Drake drops everything he is doing to get to work on my wife's rear shock. As always his shop is well kept and clean, He took the shock apart and showed me what was wrong with it and fixed it. All along we were talking bicycles and mexican food. Next day (sat) the wife and I went for a ride and she was completely impressed with the difference that the shock was making on her riding. When the bike was purchased new, it felt no where near as good as it does now. My wife and I are believers of Drake's work and all our work will be done by Drake and no other.. the shock was taken off the bike worked on and installed with in one hour and a half and I was happy on my way... Over all his expertise, cleanliness and objectivity make Drake one of the best in So Cal.
Thanks again Drake!!!!

Hey bro/gal,

If you have never dealt with Drake (ISO) I suggest you don't review him(good or bad). If your buddy has a problem with him and knows of this forum then he should make a post just like you did and explain the whole situation. If you have dealt with him and you had a bad experience then make light of it, otherwise I suggest you save your postings for another time. Also it looks like you signed on this forum to bash Drake and his shop because "your buddy" had issues with him.

 

Drake's the man. Why should anyone listen to hearsay opinions from someone who just signed on to STR just to do some bashing? From my experience, Drake has gone above and beyond, and I from now on go to him first if I need anything bike related.

 

My Turn

Alright, so I normally wouldnt give my 2 cents in any argumentative situation. But here in this instance I'd like to chime in!
I met Drake at ISO a few months back. I was very excited about having a certified suspension tech in my backyard. No more sending items across the us or back to sponsors to get satisfaction. I actually went in to the ISo Tuned shop and had face time with Drake. I found that he is one of the most technically fluent suspension tuners I have ever met. As the manager of elite racers and teams it has been very important to develop the correct suspension for each and every rider. But unless you are the suspensions guru yourself, you need an ace in the hole.
Over the past few months Drake has handled every suspension need Ive had. Believe me when I tell that I am a pain in the As_ customer as well. When I take suspension in to get worked on, I need it like yesterday! Drake has been completely professional and his work has been total quality. As a matter of fact I have invited Drake to be a vender at my upcoming races to help service the racers. My races are my livelihood and I would never do anything negative to impact their development. I feel that Drake will be a compliment and asset to the Southern California Cycling community!

These are my thoughts and experiences with IOS Tuned. I am in no way arguing or stepping on any bloggers toes. We all have bad experiences and deal with them in our own manner. My thoughts are to add my experience to the mix! Take it or leave it!

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