"Dawes USA" makes ZERO bikes. There is NO "Dawes USA" factory, no "Windsor" factory. BD sells Chino-cr@p bikes with decals with "famous" names. I've met people who have worked for BD/Cycle Spectrum stores here in Houston. NONE of them would have a clue how to build a bike. Most struggle to change a tire.
Gabe, when you buy a Trek from a Trek dealer, or a Cannondale from a Cannondale dealer, you are not buying just aluminum, steel, and rubber. You are buying those companies engineering expertise, their quality control, their safety testing, and a meaningful lifetime factory warranty. And, you are buying at a shop that knows how to correctly assemble a bike, true the wheels, and keep that bike running like new, year after year.
Back in 1970, when Schwinn was a REAL bike company, they set up a multi-million dollar testing facility to test parts they purchased from other companies. Schwinn testers found vast differences between two tires that LOOKED identical, or two hubs that looked identical. The words "Schwinn approved" on a part meant that it had passed rigorous testing.
And, this is what Trek and Cannondale do with EVERY part used on their bikes, test, test, and then re-test to make sure they are safe and reliable. BD is the precise opposite. Why do most bottom brackets on BD bikes fail in the first 5,000 miles of riding? Why are the hubs so "rough" spinning? Because they were the CHEAPEST bottom brackets and hubs BD can find, and they assume YOU are far too stupid to ascertain the quality of a bottom bracket or hub...yet they are the heart and soul of a bike.
In contrast, a mail order bike is a box of aluminum, steel, and rubber. There are ZERO engineers at BD. No quality control department. No safety testing. And, a very shaky warranty. As a supplier of cheapo communist-made bike parts, BD excels. But, they don't have a clue about designing, engineering, building, and testing a first-quality bicycle.
Last edited by alanbikehouston; 10-20-08 at 03:08 PM.