Originally Posted by
dminor
^^ Stay well away from BikesDirect catalog-frame sh**. BD mountain bikes are aimed at roadies who are easily dazzled by reading down the component group list. That's not the way to chose a mountain bike; you chose one by fit, geometry, handling and braking.
There, I can say that now that I'm not a moderator and don't have to worry about dissing a site sponsor any more.
So you are calling me roadie who is easily dazzled.?
One I have never ridden a road bike in my life. I actually built my first mountain bike in the 70s before any manufacturer made them.
Two not all BD bikes are bad, and I know this because there are BD stores, it is not online mail order only.
We have a store right here in town and I just bought a 529 HT this year. I went in, looked over their stock, test road, and took one home, very nice bike for the price. Actually nicer than the comparably priced Giant or Specialized, which I also went to the shop and looked at. I now have three bikes in my garage the Motobecane and two Giants, one full suspension.