I am a fan of Bikes Direct. But I'm also a really good and experienced mechanic. I've assembled several of them over the years. Last Friday night, I built up a Vent Noir 9-speed flat bar road bike that was drop shipped to a neighbor. Reynolds 520 frame with a carbon fork. I opened the hubs, they were greased properly, and adjustment was originally acceptable. Cassette/freehub splines were greased properly from the factory. Front derailleur was right on. Rear derailleur need the cable re-seated. Overall, I was impressed by the condition of the bike on arrival.

Things that needed work - no grease on the seatpost (it came packaged separately). Front and rear rims needed attention, hand stressing and re-truing. Pedals were inexpensive cage/toeclip things, and the spindles/bearings were a bit rough (probably the worst thing on the bike). I shortened the rear brake cable housing.

It took two concentrated hours to get it re-assembled and set up correctly for him. I didn't putz around either, but worked straight through.