Originally Posted by cyclezen

Given I have no specific experience with any of the stuff on this bike; I would expect the shimano stuff to be very serviceable, and reliable in reasonable use.
Things which would bug me - stem shifters, no only inconvenient, but also gets in the way of anything else mounted there, like bar bags, electronics, etc.
52/42 chainrings w/12/28 cassette - on a bike for non-race environment - just very limiting, but then I do have hills, climbing, steep pitches, etc.
Mostly, I would expect very little attention put to the components when they were put on, expect no 'chasing' of important threaded areas, like the BB. Expect wheels with poorly tensioned construction. Cheap Square taper cranks are notorious for having poor alignment with the best possible adjustment...
Will it get down the road? most likely. It's a question of what level of 'acceptance' you might have... and how much you're willing to deal with to keep it running within expectations.
Ride On
Yuri

Originally Posted by cyclezen

Rather than relying on guesswork from those of us who have no first-hand knowledge:

Short version: he doesn't love the stem shifters, but they do the job; also, he guessed wrong on the size, and it's a bit bigger than he'd have preferred. Otherwise, he's been enjoying the bike…