The warranty provided by BikesDirect under the twenty or thirty names it uses (CycleSpectrum, Windsor, Motobecane, etc.) is essentially worthless. They are based in Houston, Texas, and the Houston Better Business Bureau has drawers full of unresolved complaints against them.

They sell lots of bikes to students in the University of Houston and Rice University. When a brake caliper or seatpost breaks on a two month old bike, Cycle Spectrum says "No parts are available...the bike is beyond repair...we can sell you a new bike". The owners then take the defective bikes to a REAL bike shop and dig into their own pocket to pay for the repair.

Have your wheel checked by a REAL bike shop. Some wheel problems can be fixed fairly easily. If the rim is of decent quality, a good bike shop could also put in a better quality hub. Also, Nashbar has "sales" on pairs of wheels that are often very cheap...cheaper than what local bike shops would pay for the rims and hubs alone.