Well, some of you have certainly hijacked this thread... As a reminder, here's what the OP asked to begin with. DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE dealing with BD? Not what is your opinion of marketing practices.

Very few of the classic bike companies, or factories, exist any more. Currently Schwinn, Raleigh and many other bike names are in the same boat as Motobecane & Windsor. They are names bought from the copyright holder by companies that bear no relationship to the original manufacturer.

The feeling I got from the OP's post was that he wanted to make sure he was dealing with a reputable company. IMO how they represent themselves matters. It may not to others. The OP (or anyone else) is free to ignore my posts if they find them irrelevant.

On last night's shop ride there was a guy riding a Motobecane Immortal Spirit. I mentioned this thread, and we both had a good laugh about it.
He's been very happy with his purchase and the service he received from the company. Same as anyone else I've met and asked about their BD bike. Even if there was a shipping issue (1 guy had a dinged frame upon receipt, apparently a packing problem), BD seems pretty quick at resolving issues.

meh, bike mechanics gotta eat too.

i do most of my own bike maintenance and repair, but there are some things i'll still let a professional handle, things like wheel truing. i could get a truing stand and ask god for the patience to soldier through the learning curve of the art of wheel truing, but my wheels go out of true so infrequently that for the few and far between times i need a wheel trued up, it's just not that big of deal to me to pay some money to let a mechanic handle it.

Getting back to the OP's original question.

I bought the Mercier Kilo OS from BD and a set of S3X IGH wheels from their associated company Bike Island. Both items arrived promptly and with no damage other than some minor scrapes in the black spoke finish on the wheelset. Both the items I bought were made in Taiwan rather than in China per the markings on the shipping boxes.

The front wheel on the Bike Island wheelset was slightly misdished. All four of the wheels received needed minor trueing. Overall the bike assembly was good though there are few things to mess up on a FG bike.

I bought the Kilo OS from BD because I liked the dual top tube frame styling and I could not find anything similar anywhere else. Some of the offerings from BD such as the Mercier Kilo OS and Mercier Kilo WT 5 Speed are not available configurations from other sources other than as custom builds at much higher prices.

BTW I am a supporter of buying from a good LBS if possible and have bought 3 new LBS bikes in the last two years.

dynodonn seems to have had a different experience.

If it were me, I wouldn't have bothered sending the wheel back and just replaced the spoke myself figuring I was still ahead in terms of money. It's still a crappy policy though. Dynodonn shouldn't have to ship the wheel back at his cost.

It may come down to the fact that some people are willing to put up with less than ideal service. In the end they're happy because they saved some money. That's fine. But it helps to know that going in.

I'm fairly confident that my LeChampion SL Ti from BD.com is more than a cut or two above the best Walmart Schwinn. The only thing my bike lacks is snob appeal.

I'm positive that Surly is in Minnesota, and I would not be shocked if Civia was too. So we definitely are in agreement. Origin-8, aka Sun bikes (they actually have a third branding too) was either purchased by QBP as an independent "business" unit too, or they were already there and its just a bit of confusion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the OP, no, I haven't purchased a BD bike. I've almost pulled the trigger a few times, but ultimately, I've gone with what I consider the acceptable "brand" of bike for me.

What I can say, without any empirical evidence to back it, is this:

He's selling bikes, and people are clearly buying. Otherwise he would not be offering anything but a good laugh on the site. I've often wondered how, or what the components are because that is where you are spending MOST of your money.

So when you look at it, you're getting (my assumption - NOT FACT) offspec, or offmodel OEM bike parts from vendors that probably are giving him a substantial deal. But it is my theory that for his business model to work, they're not the newest model, in so much as they are new.

An example:
You're buying a frame made "at the same shop," but that probably did NOT meet the quality control specs associated with the major bike vendor. They still want to get their production cost covered. Bikedirect negotiates a deal to buy these frames. They probably aren't 'factory seconds' but then again - this is all just an elaborate conspiracy theory I'm positing.

Parts are probably good, but 1-3 years out of spec for current models. Then again, I'm seeing Shimano dura-ace shifters on some generic model bikes with sora-grade components. So I don't know what business deal is connected with this.

Bottom line, he's filling a niche for clientele that understand that the super-heavy Xmart bikes may not meet their needs, but they gasp and balk at the idea of paying for a boutique-quality bike.

Before people chime in about how I'm underselling the Xmart bikes, I can only say this:

I could put all my gear, clothing and other necessities for school/work each day into a wheelbarrow with a flat tire and push that thing around all day for 'commuting' too - doesn't mean I'm not just being stubborn/passive-aggressive/dasunderhund just for the sake of it.

BD may have changed their policy in dealing with damaged products since my last purchase with them, but I get the impression that the level of service is proportional to the price of the bike. One might get the same treatment at the LBS, but I can't be as easily ignored standing in person at the LBS as I can be via email with an online vendor.

I did fix the wheel myself, I just kept hearing how BD replaces defective parts, and I was merely following through on that notion, only to receive a different answer than what I was reading from other BD customers' experiences.

I think it's pretty much the Dell business model with other shortcuts. You can have high quality and lower quality frames built in the same factory so I don't assume that "built in the same factories" means much.

My guess is what they do is take fairly generic frames and vary the component mixes and the paint schemes. The component mixes are determined in part by what's available at a discount due to overproduction, last years models, etc.

None of this is really bad per say. I guess one question i'd have is how durable is the finish on a BD frame? Do people who buy BD frames really care about that? If they don't they might have a frame with all sorts of paint chips but still tell you they're happy.

my BD.com bike has 100% ultegra 6700 drivetrain/brakes/shifters. wheel sets are mavic ksyrium equipes. saddle, post, stem, & bars are all ritchey WCS. so i don't think they do the old mix and match from what's available on the cheap for their more expensive bikes.



my BD.com bike is titanium; finish is irrelevant in my case.

Again, that's proportional to the price of the bike, my BD mtb came with fairly low grade finish and easily scratched, but my BD Moto, costing twice as much, came with a glossier, more durable finish. The bad part, the Moto's paint finish could not correct it's poor frame design, but the BD mtb's stouter frame made up for it's poor finish.

Same with my wife's Le Champion TI. The first bike I saw with Ultegra 6700 was hers. Definitely not left over parts from previous years. And, from what I've seen of their more moderately priced bikes, they don't use left over parts there either.



Her ti frame's finish is better than my Lynskey built Litespeed.

So based on your analytical information, BD.com is the only company offering a fair price? Everybody else is ripping people off?

I couldn't be bothered to go back and forth, but to use an example: Salsa Vaya vs. BDs cross - you're saying that Salsa at wholesale is ripping off vendors by over 40 points. Add another 40 points for retail? I can't buy that.

Maybe some folks should not buy parts from ebay or amazon.com then. Instead only patronize LBS.
After all... an Ultegra STI for 75% of the same one at LBS? Come on... it must be assembled incorrectly.

Where did I say that Bikes Direct is the only company offering a fair price? I just corrected some incorrect assumptions made in other posts. Now you are making an incorrect assumption.

I just ordered a bike from Bike Friday, the 2nd bike I've purchased from them. I have 2 Surlys & a Litespeed, my wife has a Bob Jackson, a Cogswell, a Dahon, & 2 Motobecanes (1 from BD & 1 from Cycle Spectrum). There are plenty of bike companies offering great value & great products. I wouldn't hesitate buying bikes from BD, but I prefer Bike Friday's road bikes & probably won't be buying from anyone else until I need another mountain bike.

i don't know if BD.com is the only retailer offering a fair price, but their prices are ridiculous. that's why they attract so much attention.

i got a 17 lb. titanium road bike with ultegra 6700 everything, FSA IS2 headset, mavic ksyrium equipe wheel sets, and ritchey WCS bars, stem, and post for 2,000 bucks. all of that name brand componentry is a known quantity, the x-factor is the frame and fork. maybe the titanium frame is garbage and will crack in a couple years, but i can't know that right now (it does come with lifetime warranty, though). i only know that i feel like a got a tremendous deal on a great bike that fortunately fits me like a dream. it's pure joy and fun to ride.

if you're not brand conscious, BD.com has some sick deals on some damn sweet rides.

@ Steely Dan - What bike did you get from them?

I'm looking to get a Cyclocross bike mostly because I am over 200+ lbs (therefore clydesdale?) to use for commuting. I have been looking spending over $1000 simply because I want to ensure I get a good reliable bike to replace my car with.

What someone said earlier about the possibility of getting a lower end bike with lower end parts and paying a pretty penny for the name recognition version high quality parts on a lower name recognition bike makes a bit of sense but at the same time I would def. have to take this to a LBS to have them build it for me. This whole time I've been looking at the Specialized Tricross or Trek XO1/Portland or the Fisher Lane but I'm also opening my gaze to the Fuji and Giant brands. And now I'm checking out Bikesdirect.

Man this purchase is killing me. - What I hate is that I went to a LBS and asked them if they carried any of these brands and the guy didn't but instead tried to sell me on a Road bike - even after I told him I'd probably ride the bike mostly on road for commuting purpose but also off road for the fun of it.

Pisses me off that he was trying to make a quick sale. These things aren't cheap.

2010 Motobecane LeChampion SL Ti road bike.

there's a picture of it on my balcony on the first page of this thread.

In addition to cyclocross bikes, you might want to look into touring bikes. Oh, I see you want to go offroad. Maybe it depends on how much (and what kind of) offroading you want to do.

And yeah an lbs that wants to sell you want they want to get rid of rather than what you want isn't doing you any favors.

This thread is more viewer-friendly and informative than any Road Forum BD post.

I still buy some components and accessories online, usually it's only items that the LBS does not stock and has to order. On past experiences, other than a complete bicycle, I've had better luck in ordering, and getting the correct part much quicker on the first try than the LBS.

I also would have been hard pressed for luck in getting my LBS to find parts for my vintage Schwinn restore.

Am I missing something?
It seems the folks complaining about BD are NOT the ones who buy there. I'm hearing the customers defending BD.

Lets hear from anyone who has bought from them and are unhappy with the bike.

Since looking at this thread and the BD website it looks like their bikes go for about the price of the components. You could practically buy a bike from BD and stick the parts on your name brand frame!