Even if I got the good price on the Defy 5, the components would be of a lower quality. Is it not better to pick the bike with the better components? The Liberty 3 and Liberty X are both $600 shipped/taxed and have much better components than the 2300 which the Defy 5 would come with; the 3 comes with Tiagra parts while the X comes with Apex. I'll have to see what my local shop says though. Maybe they'll have something in my price range. I'd much prefer to buy from them, but the value seems impossible to beat from bikesdirect even if I pay a LBS to put it together.