ShadowGray

So I hear all these things about bikesdirect... and it seems to be a small internet bike manufacturer?

But apparently there's a huge controversy over it? I get mixed results when I search for bikesdirect... are their bikes worth the money? They seem to be a great bargain, cheap with free shipping... are they good to order from? I've grown up with the idea that you get what you pay for..

deraltekluge

You've been misinformed. You seldom get more than you pay for, but you often get less...sometimes much less.

envane

The reason bikesdirect gets so much flak is because they bought some defunct brand names (notably Motobecane) and slapped them on some generic frames. Its cheesy but doesn't really affect quality.

They are a good value with the following caveats:

1) They come partially pre-assembled, so you have to know how to finish putting it together, and check over to see if the pre-assembly was done correctly.
2) You can't test ride any one them, and have to be pretty sure of your frame size.

dynodonn 

Another thing to watch out for is damaged parts. I've puchased two bikes from BD so far, and both bikes either had damaged or poorly installed components that I believe was done at the factory. None of the damage components are going to deter me from puchasing more bikes from BD since all of the damage done was realitively easy for me to fix , but the novice rider who has little or no mechanical skills, I feel, is going to have a bad experience buying from BD.

carlton

They make a lot of inexpensive frame/fork sets also. Seems like the singlespeed/fix gear forums love them and the roadie forum hates them. Bike Island is the same company or same owners.

ShadowGray

Why the hate from the roadie section... esp since I was looking at road bikes there?

mrjhmm

I bought my road bike from them. No problems at all.

redneckwes

#1 Deceptive marketing, They want you to believe that they are Motobecane, Bottecchia, Mercier..ect, and they are, or are just as good as the real thing.

#2 Crappy, stupid looking e-bay ads, all in bold, full of more deceptive marketing. All their websites are just as bad.

#3 Cheesy, dumb looking decals on every bike.

#4 Owner turns every post into an ad, encourages his own little cult of personality, ignores all constructive suggestions that are not 100% positive and in agreement with their viewpoint.

#5 Every post with the slightest anti-BD tone, will quickly be attacked by multiple posters with repetitive arguments.

As positives, they put a lot of people on wheels, which is always good, and the LBS gets the service work. The Bikes themselves are clones of every other generic import.

A new marketing campaign, and some original brand names of their own, (And retirement of the old names) would change a lot of minds about them. But they seem to be doing well enough not to care much about the opinion of folks like me who are not likely customers anyhow.

RonH

Support your local bike shop.

dynodonn 

That I do as much as possible, it's just that the two bikes that I purchased from BD, BD had the right combination of color schemes, components and style of bikes that I happen to be looking for at the time, where as the LBS did not. Even then, the closest match at the LBS to the combinations I happen to be looking for were hundreds of dollars more.

ShadowGray

Yeah, they have like Tiagra bikes at normal sora prices and ultegra at tiagra prices... but then I really like the LBS guy.

I hate the decals on all of the bikes though... an original nice looking decal would definitely win me over. Do the frames come pre-decalled or can you keep them off?

akatsuki

Under the clearcoat from what I understand.... Prices are good, decals are ugly, some people will look down on you, marketing is over the top, a lot of the bikes are the same as other commercial models so if you can figure out which one you can go try for fit, and I kind of wish they had more SRAM... Some people have problems with the assembly, but you are basically getting a bike directly from the factory and bike shops often deal with similar problems. Make sure whomever is assembling it doesn't have a huge attitude about doing assembly from a mail-order bike shop as LBS's sometimes see it as a threat to their business.

ShadowGray

Well, I talked to the LBS guy and he said he'll do the assembly and fit for $100... which then puts the price of a mercier corvus steel at $850... compare to Jamis Satellite $785? Is having the 105 system worth the $70 over a Tiagra system?

Paul L.

The one that charged me twice what the Genuine Innovations second wind pump was worth? That one? Or the local bike shop which installed my handlebars crooked? Support your GOOD bike shop and if there isn't one nearby, the gloves are off baby.

I ride a bikes direct bike. I do all my own work too. I have 20000 miles on mine. Works fo me.

Paul L.

If you are willing to believe these 20 year old defunct bicycle companies are suddenly successful and active again I have bridge to sell you. I don't think it is deceptive marketing any more than the VW bugs they are producing today which really are nothing like the old bugs. Personally I had never even heard of Mercier when I bought my corvus, I didn't care. I was looking for a good value for a good bike. The Corvus fit the bill. Heck, Walmart even sells Schwins and Diamondbacks now. You'd have to be an utter idiot to think they were the same bikes as the ones you used to buy.

redneckwes

Thanks, No, As far as I know, I'm not an idiot, but I will be sure to double check later.

As far as deceptive marketing, it sure as heck is. There are more uninformed consumers than there are educated ones. Reputation still counts for a lot.

Consider this completely hypothetical possibility.
You know who they are marketing to right?? Kid grows up with Dad's Motobecane/Mercier/Dawes hanging from a garage wall, Dad telling stories of what the old steel machine cost new. How great it was to have one in the 70's/80's. ect
Kid grows up, want's to get into cycling, knows nothing about bikes. Remembers the decals on Dad's long discarded Steelie, google/e-bay and pow, here is Motobecane reincarnated like magic. Reputation/name recognition, even twenty years stale, counts for a lot.

The New Beetle is nostalgia marketing by the same company who made the original car.

akatsuki

So do you have the same feelings about Schwinn? Or any other company name that was sold?

Paul L.

Now, how many of these consumers that are uneducated know the Mercier, or Motobecane brand names enough to buy a bike specifically because they think it is from the same company that was opperating 20 years ago? I don't think it is enough to justify the accusation of deceptive marketing (not to mention the fact that many name brand companies from yesteryear and today are getting their bikes cheaply made in taiwan now and are in fact doing the exact same thing). If the majority of these people were seeking out a true "Mercier" bike or true "Motobecane" from the same guy that built them 20 years ago I would agree with you. Most of them have likely never heard of the older companies before they started looking at BikesDirect.

If you think the Walmart Schwinnsand Diamondbacks are the same as the old ones then you are a little deluded in my opinion. People buy brands all the time. This case is even less so since the brands have been dead so long.

I stand by my beetle comment. It is not the same car and nostalgia marketing is one step away from deceptive marketing, particularly from your rather strict interpretation. The original bug was designed as a family car that was cheap to produce, very economical, and simple. They have departed from most of what was the original "beetle".

redneckwes

Yes and no.

I'm not anti-BD, the more people riding, the better. I just wish they had come up with their own names.
Raleigh/Masi/Schwinn ect try to be their own separate identities, with good marketing, full product lines, ect. Dawes is just a decal on a few of BD's bikes on the web page. Same with Windsor, Motobecane, and Mercier. It seems pointless to use the names with such a lack of focus. If you are going to use an old name, pick one, do your homework and build upon it. Raleigh and Masi have.

A lot of people think BD is hurting the LBS, I moonlight at a shop turning a wrench, most of the business is parts/repairs, I can fix a BD bike just the same as sombody's old Trek or 40 year old Raleigh Record.
BD might just be Helping the local bike shop.

Paul L.

This I can agree with. I definitely think they have brand name confusion going on. I just disagree with the deceptive marketing. Mis-directed marketing, yes. Deceptive marketing, not really.

Grasschopper

I would love to...I called them 3 days ago to ask about Serotta pricing since they are a dealer. They didn't know and were going to check into it and call me back...no call back. Apparently they don't want to sell me a $2600 fork and frame.

TO the OP - the hate in the road bike forum comes from the general snobbishness of roadies IMO. I have a Bottecchia from BD and it is a great bike...but it isn't a Cervelo or similar. I also own a Merckx and a Cannondale and a Marin and an IRO. Every bike is fine and I do what business I can with my LBS when it makes sense...some times it doesn't make sense.

Kabloink

Almost every new bike out there has cheesy graphics and logos now.

redneckwes

I didn't say "Walmart Schwinns and Diamondbacks" were any more honest than BD.

Not deceptive??
https://cgi.ebay.com/08-SHIMANO-DURA-...QQcmdZViewItem

Or this?? 1921??
https://cgi.ebay.com/2008-ELLE-WOMEN-...QQcmdZViewItem

"MERCIER is one of the top names in the bike business -- since 1921 Mercier has meant top grade road racing bikes. Winner of the Tour de France, several world championships and numerous other titles."

More.
https://cgi.ebay.com/2009-ALUMINUM-CA...QQcmdZViewItem

I play by an older set of rules I guess, Honesty comes first, and if you don't have a good foundation, don't build your house on it.

If BD had a marketing plan with a coherent image, they would take a lot less heat.

redneckwes

There is such a fine line between Mis-directed and deceptive.

Paul L.

Yeah, I guess my problem is appraching it from an "Everybody's doing it" mentality. BD isn't necessarily any worse than Trek, Walmart, or any other person that contracts out their work and touts it as the best quality you can find since the brand we bought was started in 1921.

I personally would not claim kudos for somebody elses work even if I felt like buying their brand name somehow gave me the right. Unfortunately there is a lot of claiming kudos for other people's work in today's world, so I guess it should come as no surprise really.