megalowmatt

I bought a Bianchi from the lbs, a Motobecane from bikes direct and an 29er direct from the men at Airborne. None have needed any service that was beyond what I could do myself.

Don't fear your bikes.

tjspiel

Because Bianchi is an actual bike company that's been existence for a very long time. Motobacane used to be a bike company but they went out of business.

BD bought the rights to the Motobecane name and sells bikes under that brand to fool people into thinking that they are getting a brand name bike at a huge discount. In reality the list price they give is a total fabrication and the bikes have no historical connection with the Motobecanes of old other than the name.

And really that's my biggest gripe with BD. For the price I think you get a good value. But this whole business of selling under defunct brands and advertising savings of 60% is so phony. Just create some new brands and quit lying about the sale prices.

megalowmatt

^^^ I agree. It seems peoples' biggest gripes with BD is the marketing. I have one of their titanium road bikes. It's a great bike.

fietsbob

If you are up on the DIY then a bike without the dealer backup will be fine , if you need LBS help you just pay them .

-=(8)=-

Unless it's a Giant, there is a huge possibility the frames are made in the same factory as 10 other companies.
A lot of BD bikes are Fuji's and KHS, They are established companies. BD usually has step-up components than the name-brands which have different paint and decals.
In an era where everything is outsourced and Taiwanese means 'quality', the only thing different about 95% of the bikes getting into the USA today are the decals

tarwheel 

You guys are a hoot. Trust me, nobody is making counterfeit Bianchis. It is certainly a Bianchi, which made plenty of low to mid-range models. If someone is going to counterfeit an old road bike, they would probably try to pawn it off as a Colnago, Pinarello or some other high end brand.

tjspiel

Same factory doesn't mean same design, same quality control, or even the same machinery. Many Trek bikes are made in Giant factories but aren't rebadged Giants.

Again, I'm not complaining about the quality of BD bikes relative to the price you pay. But don't tell me I'm getting a 60% discount when I'm paying the same price as everybody else. I'd be fine with them saying, "Same as Fuji xxxx, with better components for $200 less".

cycle_maven

Well, it certainly is low-end, and the decals look like they were put on last week, and the frame is covered with a rather thickly applied powdercoat in a color Bianchi never shipped, and none of the frame details look remotely like Bianchi's.

I think somebody got a good deal on Bianchi decals and just put them on so the frame didn't look too bare. Not trying to make a counterfeit Bianchi so much as giving a blah low-end grey bike a little bling.

tjspiel

I think anyone who knows enough to realize that those are premium brands would also be more likely to spot a counterfeit. I'm not saying that bike couldn't be a Bianchi, but I really doubt that's the original paint. In any case, Bianchi decals are very easy to come by.

mixedfix

I can't believe this is going to be my first post but sure they would. Bianchi is literally the only European brand someone of a certain demographic (read: hipster) is aware of and the name carries a certain cachet. Besides raising the asking price, I hear that sticker actually REMOVES weight, which is handy if you're a commuter such as myself.

Ok so that last part was a joke but speaking as someone who could safely be described using the above pejorative, $10.50 investment in stickers (and probably less in spray paint) to bump the price $50 or more sounds great. It's not like CL is monitored by the BBB.

ThermionicScott 

Suspicious decals are suspicious. I wonder if we'll ever hear from the OP again.

Mark Stone

Threads like this is why I steal all my bicycles.