Hrm, the one I saw was 14-spd, IIRC. Thought I noted that.

The girlfriend doesn't want it. So if anyone wants to buy it in the Tampa area shoot me a PM $150. New Bonrager Gel Handlebar tape, Sigma BC1606L computer, Presta valved tubes with rim collars installed, and rim tape replaced. So it's ready to ride.

seems like the denali is about the same bike, kent was right the rest is window dressing, but why make them then? Well the yukon does look like a decent bike for 200..hm...as does the denali pro..ugh..if this thing dies I'm going to have issues choosing between the bikesdirect bikes or another kent.

Because window dressing sells to people who don't know better.

Its all about the bling!

well, I tried pumping up the tires to around 100 and that does help (though I still cant seem to get the same speed as my other road bike...) but at least its getting dialed in to me and I have about 56 miles on it now.

It seems that the sweet spot gear for me is L2xR6-R7. Unfortunately, that does cause some "rattling" noise (but to be fair, it was the same with my Trek 7100...).

If you check the chain in the high gears, you'll see that the chain is rubbing on the front deraileur. That's because it is set way to high by Kent when the bike is put together. So move the deraileur down to were it well just clear the big chainring when you down shift. That will stop the "rattling sound" and keep the chain from wearing out so fast.

I movied mine down about 3/8 of a inch down.

- i'm just the opposite... i have 700x27s that will go up to 125, but i usually run 'em at 110/115... softer, easier on this old man's knees (*especially* when doing runs out Park Blvd., curb-hopping, etc.)...

p.s. CigTech: good posts! keep on riding and i'll see you on the trail!

You other road bike has a bigger Chainring and lower thooth count on the rear gears. So it will out run your top speed on the Denali. The Denali has a top gear ratio of 3.41. Most road bikes have a top gear ratio of 4.1 to 4.8 ratio. So that is way the Denali is slower then most road bikes.

ok, so I'll have to deal with it being a little slower until I build some more "strength". Not terrible and the bike is pretty comfortable with the stock seat, handlebars and frame... I am actually kind of impressed with the bike as it is so inexpensive... I am a bit jealous of cig though with the speed he is able to push on the bike...

Hey cig, great thread man. I've been reading it after stumbling on it yesterday trying to find out some info on the quality of the seat on my denali road bike.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one to take the leap of faith. For me it was about getting a road bike for riding my local paved bike trail (24 miles one way currently) called the Chief Ladiga Trail for burning calories as I lose weight. My LBS doesn't have any inexpensive road bikes (sub $700), my local craigs list and so on ... I have no clue about ... but without knowing a thing about what to avoid in a used bike I figured getting either this bike or the Shwinn Varsity (199@walmart) was for me.

I got mine about a month ago. I'm using it for mountain road climbing near my house (850+/- foot climb in 2.4 miles... a pretty serious climb), plus the bike trail.

Here's a pic from near the top of the mountain:


So I'm not on it daily for commuting, but I'd at some point like to try and find a good path to work that keeps me off the really busy streets. It's only 17miles each way, and i know i can do the distance.

Top speed for me?

You may think I'm out of my mind, and I probably was, but...

53.1mph


This was going down the mountain road by my house and despite a few key turns much of it is pretty straight.

Finding this thread has been great help. I've taken a lot of the tips and thoughs and created a little text file to read through as I get my bike properly dialed in and do maintenance on it. My LBS also charges a lot for servicing anything not bought there. So if I just use them from time to time for parts, it should work out good.

As for my average speeds on it? I've progressed some in these last few weeks. My first big ride on it was 34 miles and took 2.5 hours for an average speed around 13.4~13.6mph. Yesterday a co-worker friend and I rode 30 miles on the trail and my average speed was 15.4 mph. So I'm getting stronger though i realized yesterday just how low the seat is and how wrong it's setup. So i haven't been using my leg muscles too efficiently.

Anyway this has been a great bike thus far. I haven't had a flat yet so I don't know about the rim tape. I have been keeping the tires inflated to 80psi... but i'm thinking I'll try 90 or 100 after reading views here.

Thanks for the thread. It's interesting to see how it's viewed amongst more serious cyclist. I was told on another forum I'd be laughed out of any bicyling club if I intended to join using this bike... personally that's not my goal, though my co-worker friend is in the local club and he was pretty impress by the bike, my average speed on our ride yesterday (I'm still a beginner, I weigh about 15 pounds more than this guy and my denali weighs a lot more than his cannondale road bike).

Here's one more pic... this is the view downhill where I ride on the road near my house that winds it's way up the mountain:


The Denai handled the high speed very well. My second run is where i hit 53.1mph... previous to that I just had gotten over 40mph on it, but I really let lose one time just to see what the bike could do.

Well worth the $150+8% sales tax locally. What a great entry level way into road bikes

that might be true... until you could prove you could keep up.
By the way, I like the cycle computer.... (I bought the same one for my bike and I am really happy with it...)

I love the kickstand on nightc1's bike. Pimp points + 1,000!

Lol... I understand I'd be a rarity amongst the regular club riders. Most sacrifice near everything possible for lighter weight. My friend's cannondale of course is minus a kickstand but also minus any kind of deflectors even. He said he nearly got hit one day when riding in the evening because people couldn't see him on the road.

The only mods to my bike...

1. The computer. Nice, plenty of functions like speed, top speed, average speed, time riding, time, ..etc. I had to modify the mount to fit where I put it. A little bit of black velcro and a black twistie... it hasn't budged.

2. Flashing Tail light. This is mounted on the left side rail going from the pedals to the back wheel. I had to shim up the mount a bit to get it to fit.

3. Under the seat storage bag. Good fit for a fix-a-flat, marathon bar, couple tools, cell phone, keys, etc. It's actually in the picture but you can't make it out too well for the background.

4. 2nd bottle holder. Actually homebrew style with two velcro strips. It holds a second bottle nicely till I can properly mount a real second holder on there. This isnt' pictured. I only use it for longer than 30 mile rides.


The only mods I have planned left?

1. Frontlight. I'll take the front deflector off and modify a bike lite onto a home-made bracket to go there. This should help on evening rides. No need for separate battery compartment like cig.

Hmm... that's really it for now.


In total I've put around 150 miles on the bike so far. Great fun for a starter road bike.

night and eO, yall are happy with your schwinn computers? I almost bought one last night for my old roadbike I bought a few months ago. I havent been able to bring my self to spending $30 on a Cateye computer for a $50 bike. So I probably have put less then 100 miles on this bike so far in 2 months just for the fact that I havent gotten a computer for it.

MyBikeGotStolen,

I'm perfectly happy with my $10 schwinn computer. It's a few $$ above the Bell brand computers and hey it looks pretty good. I bought it for the extra few functions. I checked it against my friends comp for speed as well as I ride the Chief Ladiga trail here locally which has each 1/2 mile marked, so I know I have it setup properly.

Thanks Nightc1,

Last Sunday I got alot of strange looks when I passed a bike club road block (23 riders). They where riding alone at 20 mph as I pass them doing 26 mph. But they cought up to me at the next light. Two of them pulled up on eighter side of me and one ask if that was a Wal-Mart Denali bike. We talked and then when the light changed one ask if they could ride with me. I said yes and we took off. About 1 1/2 mile down the road I noticed that I was leaving them behind. So I slowed down to let them catch up. We road for about 10 miles doing the lead shuffle. Then I told them I did not want to be late for work and sped away. Nice guys once they got used to the ideal that I could out ride them on a Wal-Mart bike.

As for the seat. I know who makes them but it is a OEM part and you can only get them from Kent. Kent replaced mine after the nose got riped at no cost. That reminds me I am going to order 2 set of these Kenda Kwest 26mm tires from kent. I sent a e-mail to Kenda and asked if they sale the Kwest in the 26mm size. They said to get with Kent that the 26mm is an OEM part and you can only get them from them.

To position the seat in the correct position. You need to measure your inseam and times .88. So for me it's 35*.88=30.9 inches. That is 30.9 inches from the center of the axle on the bottom bracket to the top of the seat. That's just a guideline by the way, but it will be real close to where the seat needs to be.

DOn't infalte your tires over 80 psi until you change the rim tape. The higher PSI will make your tubes crap out.

Good point jmarkley, I forgot to say that in my post. If you do infalte over 80 makes sure you have changed the rim tape frist.

I haven't upped the tire pressure yet. I think I'll just keep em at 80 for right now. Max is 85.. I figured 80 was good enough for me. I've spent enough right now, I'll break down the wheels and replace the rim tape in a couple weeks when I have time to get down to the LBS and see what they have to offer.

Any brand recommendations?

Yesterday I noticed two of these bikes at walmart. One had the same tires as mine (sort of a snake like tread on the outer edge) and then another with completely different tires... more slightly off road square mesh looking treads. Same size wheels and all.. just totally different treads. Strange. And yeah same model bikes & price.

So you may want to be sure of the tread style if you order those tires from Kent.


Oh and hey hit just over 39mph on a smaller downhill by my house today while riding around. Feels good to go fast. I may start riding my old $50 k-mart special Huffy MTB just to build up some extra strength. That sucker is a lot heavier than this bike. Oh and hey when I weighed my Denali it only hits around 26 pounds right now with empty bottles and my tail light addon.

Get something with adhesive on the back. Zefal makes adhesive rim tape. You could also try specialized. When you go to the LBS pickup Shrader collars to make the tube vavle holes smaller. Then also get some tubes 700x28c long valve presta. The reason I recommend those is that they are easy to come by.

The Zefal is the tape I use. Not One Flat after I changed them out.

NashBar has it for $3.95. Enough to do both tires.
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...%20Accessories

Rim tape is not a big issue in general; to say you never had a flat again after installing new rim tape says several things, one is that the old tape was bad, two a spoke was just a tad sticking out too far past the rim wall, three rim tape does not stop flat from entering through the tread thus you will still have flats!

Most rim tape will last the life of the rim. I use the lightest rim tape I could find which was the Velox ultralight; and I haven't had a flat related to the rim or the tape going bad since the wheels were built over 35,000 miles ago.

Froze, The Denali has deep-V rims. The spoks are set way deep into the rim. So the rim flats are not do to the spoks. The rim tape moves to one side and lets the tube expand into the deep-V of the rims. What causes the tube to expand until it pops.

Here is my ride yesterday to work. I had a 3 mph cross wind. Had the road all to myself monday morning. enjoy.