Alright, another update...it looks like I'm really enjoying this bike, enough to the point where it's worth investing in to make it perfect.

To that end, I'm fixing a 'factory defect'...the grip shifters are gonna go.

I was riding today and noticed that sometimes shifting in the rear seems a little 'confused'...that is to say that it sometimes won't shift up or down, and then it will. Makes the ratcheting noise on occasion and even shifted back and forth once on me during a shift.

I know that sounds horrible, but it didn't happen frequently, just enough for me to take notice. Shifts in general are extremely smooth, the smoothest I've ever felt on a bike. Up or down. But sometimes the shifts aren't as quick, quiet, or straightforward as I would like.

So I started shopping for derailleurs. Looked around a bit and then got to thinking...it's not the derailleur that has an issue (things are extremely smooth when everything lines up back there) it's the shifters. They're just not precise enough and generally make things difficult as well as get in the way of my handlebar accessories.

STI shifters, as nice as they would be, just simply don't make sense on a bike of this price. Downtube shifters won't work due to the fat tube on the Denali, plus I'm not sure how I'd feel about having to reach down to shift. Then I came across this nice set of Suntour stem-mount friction shifters with cables:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...#ht_500wt_1156

I looked the Denali over and it looks like removal and installation of the new shifters will be extremely straightforward. So for $10 I'll be correcting one of the Denali's biggest drawbacks. It'll take some getting used to as I've never used friction shifters before, but I understand how they work. I'm anticipating faster, more precise smooth shifts.

The ride today was great, aside from the few shifting inaccuracies. I have the bike perfectly adjusted for me now and it just feels great. I still think this is a good bike at it's core but it does need a little help. I suppose my overall opinion is that it really doesn't make sense to buy one over a used bike unless you really want new and shiny but just because it's a Wal-Mart bike doesn't automatically mean it's total junk and can't ever be a good bike. I feel like it has a lot of potential, but not a tremendous amount of value unless you don't ride often or you aren't very picky.

So far I'm really glad I ended up with the Denali. It wasn't perfect out of the box but I'm getting it there, while learning a lot and losing weight along the way! Next weekend I plan on trying to go on a group ride with the local bike club. They may scoff at the Denali but I think with the addition of the friction shifters I'll have eliminated the vast majority of the Denali's shortcomings, and it might surprise them a bit.
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