Originally Posted by
Severian
...If a review was truly the intent I would have preferred that the reviewer put the bike through a year of riding under actual commuting conditions and then return a review that answers concerns about the bike as a viable commuting rig. This should include discussion of the addition of accessories such as racks, fenders, and lights and how well the bike as a system held up. As well as how well the component choices made by the OEM held up and whether the frame handled an actual winter or not.
Then I'll take you seriously.
I actually own a bikesdirect Windsor Tourist and have put 1200 miles commuting on it. My bike makes a great commuter in my opinion, but it costs more than the Dawes Lightning. However, I ended up having to sink a good bit of additional money in tools, parts, and accessories that I wouldn't have if I had purchased at a bike shop. I was talking to a friend recently who is a triathlete. He gets free work done on his bike often because he is a regular customer who bought a high end racing bike from the shop. In my case, I ended up with all the tools and learned to do all adjustments and repairs myself because I got my bike through mail order. I know how to do a lot more mechanical work than my triathlete friend, so that is an advantage I guess. I would only encourage someone to buy from bikesdirect if they are interested in learning to work on their own bike. Otherwise, you are better off buying from a reputable local shop where you can get service.
As for the quality of my bike, it has held up OK so far. The tires that came with it weren't great, but OK. I replaced them recently with Schwalbe Marathon tires because I started getting regular flats after 1000 miles. The brake pads weren't great either, but OK. I recently replaced them with Koolstop salmon pads. The paint job on the frame chipped when the bike fell over onto a bike rack, but I think overall the paint job is good. My bottom bracket failed quite early, after only about 600 km of riding in fair weather. The bottom bracket was a Chin Haur model, and I replaced it with a Shimano UN54 that has held up fine. I would caution anyone looking a bikesdirect specs to note where component specs are not shown, or are listed as "Windsor" or "Dawes" brands, etc. Those are the places where components are generic. On my bike, the headset and bottom bracket specs aren't shown by bikesdirect because they are both Chin Haur models. The wheel hub specs aren't shown for my bike because they are Joytech, and I have no idea who made my rims. Competing bikes from Surly, Jamis, REI, etc. list complete specs.