Inpd

I've been really impressed with a Nashbar flat bar road bike I've put together.

Nashbar Flat Bar Road Bike

Not only are the parts well sourced (cheap but good) , also everything works extremely well toether. When I tore it down I was amazed by how well lubricated the parts were: everything from RD to crank arms. The tensions on all the parts were also perfect according to my torque spanner. Most important the bike functions extremely well for what it is.

In all the bikes I work on I typically have to do some maintenance work and upgrades with this bike just new tires.

PepeM

Yes, that one is the best. No doubt.

indyfabz

The site's description of the bike made me chuckle.

"featuring a comfy saddle and other lighter weight goodies"

One problem with the bike is that it's not red.

WalksOn2Wheels

That bike appears to split the difference between a box store bike and an entry level hybrid from Trek, Specialized, etc. The price is right there and the components seem a step above the cut-to-the-bone margin stuff at wally world vs. decent stuff on low end major brand bikes.

I did assemble a Nashbar MTB for a family member and it was really junky. not that much better than a box store bike, really. I think it was actually around the same price. But even from the pictures on that one, I could tell it was going to suck.

DrIsotope

+1. This is the bike you buy for your girlfriend who "doesn't really care about bikes," but you still want to try to get her out riding on a Saturday. Then when that experiment fails, you're not out too much cash.

Inpd

Your not far off. The bike handles weirdly in that its diffucult to do sharp turns but ibguess this is a feature if these style of hybrid bikes.

But i was impressed Nashbar did not cut any performance corners.

The cranks are prowheel which is cheap but they weigh 950grams.
The BB is a Shimano UN55 and the wheelset weighs 2000 grams.

RollCNY

I bought one of those for my son, and he has ridden it for the two years it took to outgrow it. Previously, I had owned a Diamondback Insight hybrid, and I would say that the two are at least comparable. With sale and shipping, the Nashbar was $240ish, and the Diamondback was $350ish, so definitely good value.

In a surprising note, I normally hate cheap bike wheels, and the Diamondback wheels were the weak link, and on a much more expensive Specialized Sirrus, the wheels were the weak link. On the Nashbar, the wheels have been much better quality than I expected.

As to out of the box presentation, and readiness to ride, the Nashbar was ok, but no where near as well put together as a Competitive Cyclist build. Those are my only two data points for internet order complete builds, and CC builds rock right out of the box.

Inpd

Good to know. Competitive Cyclist and Backcountry are the same company right? My experience with backcountry support was great.

RollCNY

IIRC, Backcountry bought CC, and they show identical inventory. I would guess that a Backcountry order is built by the CC crew, but have no way of knowing with certainty.

WalksOn2Wheels

I tend to think (but do not know for certain because I have not seen one first hand) that they pre-assemble the bikes at CC and then repackage them for shipping. I've built fresh road bikes out of the box and some (but not all) of them needed bar tape, saddles installed on the seatpost, etc. If a good builder properly sets up a bike, tunes the gears, checks wheels for true, etc. and then repackages it, it should be as simple as install front wheel, insert seat post, put bars into stem/install stem with attached bars to steerer tube, add pedals and air to tires, and you're ready to roll. Basically as if someone shipped you a pre-owned bike. Most of the stuff from Nashbar and BD and the like is packaged just like any other bike comes to the dealer. That's where it can get hairy when people get suckered into buying an expensive (to them) bike online and end up with a pile of garbage because they don't have the skills to make the thing rideable.

EDIT: A quick glance at their website seems to indicate they do a good bit of prep on new bikes before shipping them to customers.

RollCNY

Yes. The CC bike had been fully built up, adjusted, and then disassembled minimally for shipment. Bars turned and rolled down, wheels removed, seat post removed. The Nashbar bike as essentially as boxed by the importer. Back in the '80's, unboxing a bike meant taping bars, mounting brakes and derailleurs, and doing all of the cabling. I think modern boxes are closer to done, but still not built up, test ridden and prepped like the CC unit.

tiiger

I have one data point: Competitive Cyclist. This was my experience with my Wilier GTS. Slap the wheels, saddle and handlebars on, and I was good to go. Might have topped up the air pressure in the tires, but that was it. Accommodated my shipping schedule, too. They were great.