A buddy of mine rode my SaltyDog cruiser from BikesDirect and liked it so much he ordered one for himself. He called me yesterday and said he's happy with his bike but the steering was kind of wonky. I had him bring it over this morning so I could see what he was talking about.

Yes, the steering was wonky so we pulled the front wheel and it spun smoothly and needed only minor truing. So we adjusted the headset but the problem remained. Next, we removed the handlebars and dropped the fork out to inspect the bearings. Well, half of the bearings....top bearings were there but NO BEARINGS ON THE BOTTOM!!!! Fortunately, the lower headtube race and crown race seemed unscathed. After a quick trip to the bike shop for some bearings and reassembly, all is well.

I like BikesDirect and I know one of the negatives about them is that usually the bearings in their bikes are thin on lubrication. But no bearings at all? This is a new low even for them.