The difference between a truly cheap bike and a decent bike is that a decent bike will stay basically at the same performance indefinitely with proper maintenance, and a cheap bike like the Denali is basically unmaintainable, and will slowly spiral into uselessness. I'm speaking from experience here. I rode a $100 Walmart bike for transportation several years ago because it was all I could afford, and it didn't last me a year before it was unusable, and probably not even a month before it was frustrating to use. By contrast, a $500 commuter I picked up as a treat is still going strong even if it has moved on to it's second rider. It just needs occasional tune-ups, and a person who cares enough to not leave it out in the weather.