LOL, I started this post because of all the “nay sayres” on the GMC Denali that are in this forum and on other forums. And to give it a proper review. I was tired of hearing that it just sucked. So I went out and got one because: 1. I use looking for a project frame and 2. needed a commuter now. I don't like flat bars and wanted a cheap road bike with a new frame. So I found the Denali and liked the frame.

I have received 37 messages from people on this forum that have bought the Denali and have asked about the fixes I have done to it right off the bat. I have also had 19 e-mails from people that found the review and wanted more info on the bike because they had bought a Denali as well. So I know of 56 people that have "ponyed up" for the Denali. And that's just the one that said they bought the bike. I have received over 160 e-mails message due to this review.

Me I don't care if any one bought the Denali. I just wanted to get a fair review out here on the net of the Denali. The only thing I really did not like about the Denali was the break hood covers. There are made of a soft rubber that ripped right at the end of the 2000 miles. I have not changed any part out yet, but will at least put some Shifter/Break leavers on it to get the MTB shifters off the Bike. I have been thinking of change out the chainring for some 50/40/30 or 52/42/30 with a longer crank. But that's not because they don't work. It is just to slow for me. On a few fast days I have had to Denail upto 32 mph.

So take this review for what you want. I know why and have said why I was doing it from the start.

You hear the same arguments/opinions at cyclingforums about the Schwinn Varsity...only 13 pages though compared to this thread.

Cig,

i hate to sound prickish but i must.

i don't think this has been the proper review you think it has, and i think that in all probability you have embelished the facts.

i have no doubts that with a major overhaul from day one that this bike could last a couple thousand miles, although i don't believe that it would be a smooth riding machine.
but mostly it is your claims of average speeds close to thirty mph and the supposed praise you and this bike receive wherever you go that are so over the top that i must assume your mechanical review of the bike is skewed as well.

i have a midrange bike that gets a few compliments every now and then... and i am willing to bet that it would be more of a headturner than your GMC, but never have i had people coming to my workplace just to visit it, nor could i claim that sales improve when i ride to work.
nor do people buy more of the model after inspecting mine.

then with the average speeds.... i always have finished respectably on century rides and are most often passing others as opposed to being passed, but never have i had an average speed of twenty+ mph riding solo... at least not the distances you are claiming unless their was a real good tailwind... and then to claim thirty is just goofy.

reading the later posts of this thread it seems as if the local GMC support team think the lack of disagreement with the posted results would be because the "nay sayers" might be embarassed that they were wrong... they are probably much like myself, i quit reading or responding because i find the review so riddled with inaccuracy and ego that my responses are difficult to make while keeping a genuine tone.
maybe i shouldn't have read up on this, but i had to see why it was still going... and now that i see what people will perpetuate i feel a need to respond.

a proper review would have had a much more scientific approach and would not reflect at all the views that others have of you and to an extent their views of the bike you are reviewing. i think you started okay, but then the smallest criticism of your review caused you to polarize your findings and soon you were preaching to a choir of thrifty cyclists. even those things you found problematic in design were minimized to the point of nonexistance by page ten.

i also have major disputes with your belief that you can report a faulty condition on your bike and explain the actions needed to fix the problem and in doing so enable others to purchase the same model without the worry of faulty construction. a mechanically savvy individual should see where this logic fails.
this is just one area of your review that works to invalidate your findings as a whole.


i truly hope i am wrong about everything and that your bike is every bit the steal you claim it to be.
i regret that i am driven to be so frank but i see no other way to respond in a respectful manner.

i have not seent he bike in person but i would advise any one of the purported hundreds of prospective buyers that are reading this thread to either be prepared to make arrangements for a competent mechanic to perform an inspection of the bike or to have the brass to ride it with knowledge that it could fail in an awkward moment.
also keep in mind that nothing is free and in respect to walmart this truism applies double.

well then, i guess that is all... sorry again for the bluntness.

cheers.

I have to agree with you. The entire concept of his review is fundamentally flawed. How can you make a proper review, let alone a positive one, of a product in which you have to replace half the parts?

Cig, the moment you touched the bike with a wrench it was no longer a Denali. What do people pay for at a LBS? Assurance of quality and quality assembly. If we take a look at the $350 GMC Yukon for example (the one with 7 speed STI), it would be a terrible, terrible piece of advice not to pony up the extra $150 for a proper entry level bike from a bike shop. The amount of time and money someone needs to put into the Denali is just absurd for anyone, especially the majority who know nothing about wrenching. It's just an unrealistic idea that the Denali could be worth it.

*rides away on $200, used, mint condition road bike*

So as soon as you put a wrench to a $7,000 Serotta, it's no longer a Serotta? Not everyone can afford to pick up a bike at the LBS. Cigtech showed w/ some basic knowledge of bike maintenance, you could ride a Denali w/o it exploding underneath you. Last year at the 5BBT, I saw a guy wearing jeans and a leather jacket on a Denali shut down a lycra clad yuppie on a Litespeed. It's all about the engine.

i have a buddy that used to regularly spank fellow triatheletes on a MTB... but that doesn't mean he isn't faster on his new roadbike.

it isn't all about the engine.

I still think this is interesting! Cig, do you know how much you have spent in upgrades.

Also it seems obvious that a lot of the "maintenance" performed by the OP was more in the line of tinkering over every little squeek or noise (or dialing in for perfection) that would/could have been ignored by someone less interested or obsessed in fixing such "problems."

I also suspect the OP would be just as busy tinkering and dialing in a new $7,000 Serotta; especially one that he expected to be perfect.

Err.. you do realise that YOU are the engine... right?

Tell me, what parts did he replace?

of course... that was the whole point wasn't it?

my friend on his new road bike can easily beat his personal record times made on his old MTB... same engine different bikes, one scenario produces a faster human.. what part am i not getting?

"...37 messages from people on this forum..."
"19 e-mails from people that found the review and wanted more info on the bike because they had bought a Denali as well."
"So I know of 56 people that have "ponyed up" for the Denali."
"I have received over 160 e-mails message due to this review."

It just goes to show how prevalent the something for nothing attitude is.

I bought my g/f a weekend (short trip for breakfast and ride around the neighborhood) bike ... very similar in parts / construction to the denali, however her bike is a schwinn varsity ... (it actually has presta valves !! ) ...

This thing has no more than 100 miles on it and the hoods are already cracked and falling off... lol

The innertube on the rear tire exploded the moment i pressurized it... I had to replace both innertubes just as a precaution the next day ...

ohh well, you get what you pay for... I don't regret paying $ 200 for the schwinn, after the tube overhaul, it seems to be working ok for her once-a-month 15 mile ride.

Something for nothing how?
A $150 plus some tuning and some time for a decent road bike.
ANything that I'm not getting?

Yikes!

That your answer?

That my answer.

:rolleyes:

I only read the first 4 pages of this thread then skipped to here. I don't want to argue over wheather or not a $150 dollar bike is a good or bad deal. Probably the best person to answer that question would be some one who is tired of walking. All I want to know is wheather or not the two piece handlebar broke or is still functional? Could some one describe how it is put back together after the shifter is installed. I couldn't see how it worked by looking at the pictures posted early in the thread. If the bars do indeed work I'm suprised the internal gearhub fans haven't picked up on this. They have been clamoring for a shifter that will work with dropbars.

At the factory it was cut in half and welded back together, or that's the impression that I got anyways.
So to replace the bar you either need to destroy the current one or replace the stem also, I think.

I only read the first 3 pages of this epic and then came to this page to see if the OP was still spelling brake incorrectly. He is, I just hope his brakes don't break.

Not all of use clamor for dropbars. At least one is happy with the original equipment as furnished by manufacturers who produced the bikes (i.e. Schwinn, Raleigh and a host of others who used to sell such bikes in the U.S.) No need to always tinker and replace parts for some commuters.

That's one view.
Mine is that anyone who can't do the basic things like brake and derailer adjustment, tightening all the bolts, adjusting bearings etc. is only half a biker. Certainly, these are things one must do once in a while on any bike. A cheapo department store bike will need to have a lot of this type of work done when you roll it out of the store, while bike shops supposedly do it for you before they sell you the bike. Not that fundamental a difference.

If you know how to do it and don't mind tinkering a bit, then you'd be a fool not to save a huge chunk of cash by doing it yourself. Quality of the bike is another matter though...


Cig didn't change any major parts, did he?

First the handle bars. They cut them in half and then welded a piece of tubing into the left side. Them slid the right side bar onto the tube. Drilled a bolthole through the right side piece and the tube. Installed a bolt through the hole. Then a two-piece around shim to make it the right size for the headset. It has not failed as of yet. I took them off last week to see if they where bent at all. And they are still true and striate. But I do still think that if any part is going to fail it will be the bars.

To say that if you take a wrench to a bike that it is not a Trek, Denali, Grant, or whatever that it's not a Trek, Denali, Grant, or whatever any longer. So the first time you get a flat and have to remove the wheel to fix it, then it's no longer a whatever (Brand name bike)******************** And have you never adjust the seat or handlebars on a new bike at all.... Or adjust the Break pads********** Then you’re not a commuter or biker.

As far as replacing any parts. I have not yet changed any parts out.

And yes I am fast on any bike. I know most people ride between 10 and 15 mph. However I am not most people.
http://www.filehigh.com/viewvid.php?f=31791&i=333184
As you can see from the above video I am fast. My wife was out taking a video of the son on his new bike and I happened to go flying by. I was coming in form a 12-mile ride when She was making the video. My average speed for that ride was 23.6 mph over the 12 miles. I hope this will put to rest the speed issue.

Here is a drawing of the handlebars.

well, i am not sure what that video is supposed to be evidence of...

but your ability to go fast isn't the point, regardless of anyone's belief.
so oyu can put the "speed issue" to rest if it is a sore spot for you. i must say though that it doesn't impress me to hear how fast someone is on an internet forum... especially if that someone is seeking credential for being so.
i am impressed by verifiable facts or sound logical conclusions... of which this review is sorely lacking.