Originally Posted by
Rogue Leader
I don't get the equation of bike building, setup, and prep to rocket science. In this forum alone there are tons of people who have that ability. Heck a year and a half ago I knew nothing about bikes, but I bought a BD bike, got a book, did it myself, and off I rode. Admittedly I am mechnically inclined, but there is no hocus pocus to bike mechanics, and the bike is shipped 90% built. As the OP said, regular LBS bikes come in the same way. And he said nothing to indicate the quality of the bike or parts was anything less, he even equated it with a higher priced bike his store offers.
Wrong.
Any moron can assemble a bike. Assembling it completely and properly is a completely different matter. I was fortunate enough to work in a shop where this was one of our main selling points. If I have to train newbie mechanics for several months before they're good enough to do complete builds on their own without missing anything, joe off the street isn't going to be doing proper builds and neither will the majority of joe home mechanic. There's a huge difference in assembling a bike that works and one that a reputable shop would allow out the door.
I see plenty of mechanics whos arrogance is not mathced by their mechanical ability. You're probably one of these people.
Finally the difference between a Wally World bike and an entry level LBS bike (and/or a BD bike) is far more than assembly. Wal Mart bikes have no name parts (or ultra low end Shimano), heavy frames, nearly fake suspension pieces, and heavy wheels. As repeated in thsi forum before, you can properly adjust them all you want, they will ride well for a while but they are still crap.
Wrong.
Take a KHS brentwood. Quality of parts is equivalent to or the same as some walmart bikes that are advertised, if not worse. The only reason we could sell this bike for $100+ more than they could is because we properly assembled the bike and provided after sales warranty support. It was our loss leader and we didn't care, but every single one went out properly built.