The bikesdirect bike, the Motobecane Elite Adventure is a nice bike. My brother actually has one, and I helped put it together. VERY impressed with build quality, and its a darn nice looking bike, too!
That said, I would NOT get that for someone of his size, due to the suspension fork. My brother is all of 140 at most, and its soft enough for him, meaning it would likely be too squishy even for me, at 220. For road and flat trail, I am a fan of a rigid fork. No loss of energy!