Vilano bikes any good?
 

Found this Vilano "Diverse 4.0" on the internet recently.


Is this a decent bike or just another dept store brand?

It looks perfect for commuting, I see pros and cons with the belt drive, the con being that I don't think you can easily change the "base" gear ratio by simply swapping out a cog or chainring. Maybe this will change if belt drives catch on more.


The pricing is awesome because I found a similar Giant (Seek1) for about double the price with a chain (not necessarily a bad thing, the belt isn't the sole selling point to me)

You get what you pay for. Vilano bikes look worse than department store bikes. OK, maybe they're not worse, but they're just as bad.

Bike = a frame + stuff attached to it.. interchangeable parts.. I doubt any Vilano factory exists..

contract manufacturing rules these days . order enough bikes from a company and you can have your name on it.

You can buy better brakes after you own it, they buy the brakes from someone else, in bulk ..


Not a Gates carbon belt , those parts alone are about $500.




....

Point well taken. Thoughts on the Giant "Seek 1"? Also seeing a lot of Motobecane bikes which look like they're in my wheelhouse, I have never heard of them either thoughts?

So interchangeable parts are not NECESSARILY a bad thing... Is your overarching point that it's probably an OK buy with maybe some cheap components (Hey! Like my FUJI that I am currently replacing every component on) or that it's a hunk of junk and to save my $$ to by the Giant "Seek 1" that I also like? Also seeing a lot of Motobecane bikes which look like they're in my wheelhouse, I have never heard of them either thoughts?

I looked up the Seek 1. It looks fantastic. I love the idea of the stainless top tube protector. The whole bike looks great.

https://giantcdn-qu2qwwv2de7wv85rz.s...&bgcolor=white

Here are the boxes it checks for me:


1) 1x Crank


2) Disc brakes (rainy state + in ground sprinklers hit the trail I ride on in the am when it's dry out, causing puddles.)


3) 8sp IGH - I may just be a little disenchanted with my derailleur situation right now but have nothing but good things about IGHs


4) Straight bars/Flexibility in tire choice (the tires which come stock look neat as well)


I take it as a compliment from you that you agree with my idea of what's a cool bike to aspire toward!

It's not a good strategy to buy a bike you know is crappy with the plan to replace the crap with good stuff. Unless you really know what you're doing. There is a lot to go wrong with that plan.

I have worked on a couple Vilanos. The frames are heavy and the welds are rough. The components are the absolute cheapest available and fail quickly.

The Giant looks like a great bike. Buy one from your LBS if it's in your budget.

Some day! if I don't build one to my specs 1st!


About the LBS comment- You can't even buy the Giant online without having it shipped to a LBS!

Most frames will be made in similar factories. Unless you get a handmade (in Germany!) frame, which is somewhat common.

The components looks very solid on the Vilano ... the rear IGH and shimano hydro brakes are good.

What's the price difference. I personally wouldn't pay for the mark-up to have GIANT written on my bike.

Bulls (a German company) is online only and would most likely beat the GIANT at every price point.

http://int.bulls.de/en/

As far as welds being "crappy" as pointed out above, it won't matter. I buy my bikes to use and not to look at. I've only seen 6061 bikes crack under very heavy usage in the Alps, and I doubt you'll be doing that ... a frame cracking on a commute is unheard of.

It's not unheard of.

There is more difference between Vilano and Giant than the decals. Much more.

The fact that some bikes are available only in shops is not a bad thing. Working on bikes and doing it right isn't hard, but it's even easier to mess it up. There are many, many small details to get wrong, and they add up. Most customer-assembled bikes I have seen are not assembled well. Some people are competent. Some people are not competent and know it. Some people are not competent but think they are.

I'm not saying the Vilano frame will fail. It probably won't, but the little things add up to form your overall level of satisfaction. If, for example, the headset goes out of adjustment and the seat binder bolt breaks, and various other things happen, it's not a good experience. The inexpensive bikes are that way because of skimping.

There are some gems, and Bulls is probably one of them, and I bet it costs a lot more than Vilano.

So I followed your link and ... I think I am in love!


However, their 8sp commuter is priced about the same as the Giant only w/o the disc brakes; not a deal breaker for me b

19% of that cost (German tax) will be removed if it's shipped outside the EU and then you'll have some shipping costs incurred

From posts in 2016, duty taxes for overseas purchases must be paid for items over $800.