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Which Bikes Direct would you take
I used to have this tremendous desire to go into Walmart and buy a bike, just to see how poorly it rides and how many miles I could ge before it was completely unrideable. I've never done it, but now that I've read so much about Bikes Direct in the past 5 or 6 months that I've been on this forum, I'm tempted to order one just to satisfy my own curiosity. Not that Bikes Direct bikes are total junk, like Walmart bikes. Although controversial, they clearly are somewere higher up the totem pole of quality...exactly where, I'm not certain.
Care to rank the fixed models? If you hate them all and wouldn't buy one as a matter of principle, just imagine you were getting one for free..which one would you take? Personally, I like them in this order Dawes (worst), Motobecane, Winsor, Mercier (best, especially the green). Edit: Darn...I mispelled Win(d)sor in the poll up above...I figure you know what I'm talking about. |
none.
Haha, next time I will read before I post. I like the Black Mercier the best, it's the most subtle. |
They're basically all the same.. Esteemed old bike brands bastardized by opportunistic a-holes and stamped on cookie-cutter generic frames. The odd thing is, anybody that'd be into these bikes at first glance due to knowing of the older stuff will see through the ruse instantly. Anybody that wouldn't wouldn't care about those brands anyway, since they won't have heard of them.
They might as well have called them Crap 1, 2, 3 and 4.. |
haha wasn't there just a post about BD shills posting on here? Let me get it.
Edit, found it:
Originally Posted by bbattle
Since alanbikehouston seems to be out riding these days:
There are millions of Americans who bought the REAL Motobecane's....the bikes made in France. THAT Motobecane was an actual bike company that employed engineers, designers, and skilled builders. That once great name is now owned in the USA by the semi-shady hustlers at BikesDirect. Here at the Forums there are only about twenty regular members who own the "new" Motobecane's...the bikes imported from Asia by BikesDirect. By "members" I mean those folks who post in threads unrelated to Motobecane and BikesDirect. The people who post ONLY about Motobecane and ONLY about BikesDirect products are obvious not true members, they are simply shills for BikesDirect. However, those twenty "real" members keep two or three Motobecane threads going on the front page of "Road Cycling" at all times...a lot of work, but they get help. Each month, a BikesDirect employee joins the Forum to post "I just found a bike with a list price of $3,000, on sale at BikesDirect for just $899 including free shipping. It is the bestest bike I ever saw...maybe the bestest bike in the whole world". And, the shill will provide a convenient link to BikesDirect, or to one of BikesDirect E-Bay auctions. "Bike Forums", two years ago, was a place "newbies" could come for factual, reliable information about bikes. Thanks to the hard work of BikesDirect, and about twenty helpful friends, it is rapidly becoming the "BikesDirect Bike Forums"....factual, and reliable information? No. But we CAN tell you where to go if you want a bike shipped "free", directly to your front door. Members of Bike Forums ride bikes made by over a hundred different bike companies, purchased from thousands of different retailers. The 20 or so actual owners of "new" Motobecanes represent less than 1% of the total members of Bike Forums. Yet, that tiny group continues to generate almost 100% of the threads at Bike Forums that "steer" members to just one particular bike retailer. Again, Mr. Bikes Direct...why not just start your own Bike Forum (as Schwinn, and others have done), and leave THIS Bike Forum alone? |
Not the same thing, at least I don' think.
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Originally Posted by redcurrycelt
They're basically all the same.. Esteemed old bike brands bastardized by opportunistic a-holes and stamped on cookie-cutter generic frames. The odd thing is, anybody that'd be into these bikes at first glance due to knowing of the older stuff will see through the ruse instantly.
Well Duh...I think we all recongize that by this point. Oh yeah..you caught me...I'm a big fat BD shill. |
You mean that's not the same Windsor that Eddie Merx road?
Damn.... |
Isn't the Windsor pretty similar to the Fuji Track?
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Actually the Fuji shows up on the Bikes Direct web page...this I don't get. Does the real Fuji brand still exist, or is it a faux Fuji, like the others?
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Originally Posted by thurstonboise
You mean that's not the same Windsor that Eddie Merx road?
Damn.... Fuji still exists. You'll find a common theme at Bikesdirect. many of their road bikes are rebranded Fujis, sometimes off by a model year. e.g. The Motobecane Le Champion SL is a rebranded Fuji Team SL |
So wait, the Kilo is the same as the Fuji which is also a Soma Rush, right? Or am I way off?
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Soma Rush is Reynolds 531, correct?
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Originally Posted by hyperRevue
Soma Rush is Reynolds 531, correct?
AFIK 531 is not made anymore, and new 531 frames are made from NOS tubesets. 631 is an "air hardening" alloy more suitable to tig welding than 531 was. |
Originally Posted by jet sanchEz
So wait, the Kilo is the same as the Fuji which is also a Soma Rush, right? Or am I way off?
Kilo = KHS Flite 100 Fuji = Windsor Soma = Soma |
Originally Posted by mattface
631
AFIK 531 is not made anymore, and new 531 frames are made from NOS tubesets. 631 is an "air hardening" alloy more suitable to tig welding than 531 was. That's what I meant. |
Originally Posted by redcurrycelt
They're basically all the same.. Esteemed old bike brands bastardized by opportunistic a-holes and stamped on cookie-cutter generic frames. The odd thing is, anybody that'd be into these bikes at first glance due to knowing of the older stuff will see through the ruse instantly. Anybody that wouldn't wouldn't care about those brands anyway, since they won't have heard of them.
They might as well have called them Crap 1, 2, 3 and 4.. |
*I don't work for BD, but if they'd like to pay me they can go ahead. PM for account details.
What's wrong with those bikes? **** components? None of this stuff will break under normal use and maintenance within the next 5 years, and would work fine for the majority of bike riders. The geometry is fine, materials are good. Who cares if the names are bastardized, history is the bastardization of one object/idea by another until the current state. In conclusion, let's ride bikes. |
Originally Posted by DonPenguino
What's wrong with those bikes? **** components? None of this stuff will break under normal use and maintenance within the next 5 years, and would work fine for the majority of bike riders. The geometry is fine, materials are good.
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Originally Posted by baxtefer
way off
Kilo = KHS Flite 100 Fuji = Windsor Soma = Soma |
Originally Posted by jet sanchEz
Ah, thanks. Forget it then, I find the KSH Flite to be super-heavy, I'll keep looking for something better than my Colnago Sport conversion.
the seatpost alone, I swear, weighs a pound. |
Originally Posted by hyperRevue
Soma Rush is Reynolds 531, correct?
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Originally Posted by hyperRevue
You mind telling that to my friend who stripped his Windsor hub on the first ride?
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I knew someone was gonna say that.
This was not his first bike, he had built many before buying the Windsor for a "kick around" bike and upon receiving it he made sure to double check cog/lockring tightness, etc... Not user error on this one. |
Actually, I wasn't trying to place the blame on your friend. I've read that BD ships bikes that have been very poorly assembled. I would assume that most of the problems associated with these bikes stem from poor assembly.
The sad truth is that most of these bikes are being shipped to folks who know very little about bikes, or maintenence. For me personally, I could care less how shoddily its been assembled, because I'd want to redo all of it myself anyway. Most of us on this forum could order one understanding that we would be getting a semi-decent frame with some acceptable parts, and some junk components (especially hubs, probably). But most folks don't see a bike by its individual components, like we do. They just want to know if "its a good bike". |
Originally Posted by mihlbach
Actually, I wasn't trying to place the blame on your friend. I've read that BD ships bikes that have been very poorly assembled. I would assume that most of the problems associated with these bikes stem from poor assembly.
The sad truth is that most of these bikes are being shipped to folks who know very little about bikes, or maintenence. For me personally, I could care less how shoddily its been assembled, because I'd want to redo all of it myself anyway. Most of us on this forum could order one understanding that we would be getting a semi-decent frame with some acceptable parts, and some junk components (especially hubs, probably). But most folks don't see a bike by its individual components, like we do. Didn't mean to be defensive, it's just that "user error" is always the main justification for BD bikes failure by many. |
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