With that said, and I do agree for the most part, they DO have some good bikes. I've already mentioned the Vent Noir. It currently sells for $699 with 105/Tiagra. A bike shop bike at that price will likely have Tiagra and Sora. The frames are made by Kinesis, one of the largest aluminum frame manufacturers. Raleigh frames are made by Kinesis, and look suspiciously the same (minus a few model years ie: the Vent Noir looks like a 3-4 year old Raleigh frame).

BD's steel frames look to be decent from what I've seen. To be honest though, I haven't seen very many "bad" steel frames in the past 10-20 years. Some of the bikes aren't that much of a "deal". The Kestrel Talon, for instance. They're selling the Talon for the same price we do. And we assemble it. The lesson there is, if you're going to buy a BD bike, buy a BD bike. Don't buy a Kestrel/Fuji thinking you're going to get a great deal. You aren't. You're only going to get a good deal on the Motobecane/Dawes/Windsor/Mercier bikes. And you're only getting a good deal when you spend over $600 for a road bike. Probably over $400 for a mountain bike. All of the SS/Fixies seem to be good deals, really, although I haven't seen all of them personally; only a couple.

So, the title of this topic was appropriate, despite the whining from those who see BD HATERZZZ!!1 everywhere. The buyer SHOULD beware when buying a bike from BD (or anywhere, for that matter). Don't spend too little. Don't think it will be assembled properly. Check it over carefully. Don't be afraid to buy a $600+ road bike from them, but do be prepared for some possible issues (cross-threaded bottom brackets, for instance). Lastly, if you aren't much of a mechanic, add the cost of having your local shop disassemble and reassemble the bike into the total. Being prepared is better than being surprised in a not-so-good way.