Ah, the beauty of the internet. Things get real interesting real fast.

First, Cig rides a lot. He's had some rough luck lately, and now is back on his feet, but all the same I don't think he had a ton of money lying around. I'm guessing this is the genesis of the Denali, but I'll let him fill that in.

Second, I believe he is wondering, really wondering, how much value you can get out of a $150 bike. I always send folks to a nice LBS when looking at bikes, but I gotta admit: could some be served OK by a WalMart bike? Dunno. There are a LOT of bikes in China that looks a lot worse than this one, and they go for years. Personally, as I stated before, if I had $150 I'd be buying off Craigslist. But I admit I'm intrigued to see what kind of mileage he can pull out of this thing.

Third, although I believe he went a little overboard with "same frame" comment, it's not a stretch to think that this one might just be made by a decent bicycle company. Ok, so it's not the same frame as a $1400 bike, but it could be made in the same factory. Now, this doesn't make it the same frame. As I stated above, my Giant Bowery was probably (frame-wise) closer in comparison to the Denali than my wife's Giant FCR. Sure, Giant made both (and makes a lot of bikes for other companies) but the frames really are quite different. Here I'm siding more with Mr. Pissed Off, really, with a small wave Cig's way for what was a little overstated but not totally off this planet.