Zachanonymous

Curious as to what kind of quality brands are on BikesDirect - hoping to be in the market for a new bike within the next month or 2, looking for a little insight.

Thanks Guys and Girls

corrado33

Bikes direct bikes are good if you know how to assemble and tune a bike yourself well. I've had mine for 4+ years now and it rides great. They're certainly not top of the line, but they're not bad bikes either. Most people place them between a wal-mart bike and a bike store bike, being much closer to the bike store bike. However, if you buy a super cheap bike on bikesdirect, you get what you pay for. I bought a ~$500 sora equipped motobecane. It is certainly a decent bike and I will keep it for a long time. If I would have known better I would have sprung for the 105/Tiagra. I probably wouldn't buy a Claris equipped bike if I could avoid it. (I'm assuming you're talking about road bikes, I've never bought a mountain bike from them.

CliffordK

Based on specs, BD bikes seem to run the gambit from expensive to cheap bikes.

Everything is always on sale. So if it says you're buying a $2000 bike for $1000, it is really just a $1000 bike for $1000. They have taken over other brand names (not necessarily licensed), and just sell "house brands" made in Asia.

Expect a difference in the quality components and weight of their $300 bikes vs their $2500 bikes.

You may find a complete Titanium bike for less than most other brands.

GeoKrpan

Bikesdirect is awesome. If you know nothing about bikes then the local bike shop may be a better option but if you're a competent mechanic then it's the best place to buy a bike.

lost_in_endicot

I've had my Gravity for about a year, no complaints. I agree with the above posters, if you aren't too familiar with bike assembly, I would go to a shop first.

NYMXer

BD has a certain niche in the market and most people can find what they are looking for, providing they know what they want and need. You will need to know your size and what each component brings to the table, then decide what your budget is and search through the dozens of bikes they have. If in doubt, buy the best that you can afford. I am a happy BD customer and when I had issues, their service dept took good care of me. I would recommend them for sure to anyone but a serious racer.

Over the years, I bought two Mtb's and a road bike from BD and have them all to this day. One Mtb is almost 10 years old and still going strong. The othe Mtb is a higher end BD bike and definitely is competitive against bike costing almost double. My other is my Mercier AL ($400), which still amazes me with it's durability, speed and comfort. I have close to 3,000 miles on it and have no issues at all. I am very good at maintaining my rides though.

no1mad 

Assuming you know what size of bike you need and have the necessary tools/skills, BD can be a decent deal.* If you're totally new and lack the tools/skills (or lack friends/family with said tools/skills), then you'll be paying the LBS for every little adjustment.

*Downside is that it is mail order- if there is something damaged or missing, you have to contact them and either get an RMA or wait for them to ship the needed part(s). then there is that disclaimer that parts/colors are subject to change with or without notice...

ypsetihw

I would put BD at or about the level of Nashbar, with my preference going to Nashbar. Either way you can get a similarly equipped bike for about half of retail at an LBS, but as noted above, you will need to do final assembly, adjustment, and fitting yourself. If you are not comfortable with these steps, you could end up in a world of hurt. Great bang for the buck if you know what you are getting into.

jefnvk

If you learn their house brand names, you'll quickly realize there are many riding around you every day. For the ire that the site draws on here, it never ceases to amuse me how many bike of theirs I see at every organized ride I do, seemingly going down the road just fine.

indyfabz

****

AlmostTrick

The quality is there, but they lack snob appeal... if that matters to you.

bikernew

WTF?!

AlmostTrick

Agreed.

I also always considered it pointless to post "****" without any other comment(s), even if a thread is destined to be locked. Why bother?

indyfabz

BD threads often have a way of going south.

techsensei

I see DB bikes come into the co-op from time to time. Either someone brings in a bike to work on, or someone brings in a boxed bike to get assembled. The better ones with all name-brand components are fine. However, after having assembled quite a few budget BD bikes (mostly Windsors), in my opinion the generic components are a bit crude, and the overall quality of those is wanting.

bikernew

I just didnt get the acronym!

Wheever

I've heard enough good things from experienced cyclists about BD bikes that I'm going to be equipping the whole family with BD fatbikes later this spring. (Looking over on Mtbr, the BD fatbikes are pretty well regarded, provided you buy at a level where you get the good components.) BD is PERFECT for this situation because we'll be buying bikes for two 'tweens and my girlfriend, none of whom are avid riders, and really don't care what they ride, but will enjoy something functional and rugged, like the BD fatbikes, that will last a while. (so big-box is right out, since I'll be doing the servicing. )

I'll either be getting a more upmarket fatbike from BD or perhaps something "brand name" if it goes on great sale by the time we're ready to buy. (I'm a roadie, so getting something super high end and expensive to ride around with the fam isn't that important. Plus, I'm poor!)

As pretty much everyone else has said, BD is a good--or even great--value, if you know what you're doing, understand the geometries and the groupsets, brake types, etc. I wouldn't buy from them as a first-timer, and I wouldn't buy an expensive roadie from them, because in both of those cases actually trying out a bike and being sure on the frame size, etc., is so important.

jefnvk

And now I've gone on there to see that a double butted steel road bike with carbon fork is being released for $449, or $799 for the full 105 equipped model.

I've long wondered how long it took me to stop being happy with my vintage bikes, and order something off there...

DarKris

I have considered buying from BD but I was hesitant. After building up a Nashbar bike if I were to ever pick up a new bike in the future I will definitely keep BD on my list of options. The great thing about them is if you know what you are looking for it's rather easy to get something that can rival big name bikes.

I would caution you: If you have little or no knowledge of bike maintenance I would stick with what your local bike shops can offer. Most of the time they will have complimentary tune ups and services that will be helpful for newer cyclists.

vinfix

The problem I have with mail order bikes is you can't try them before you buy, and if you have a problem it's harder to get it resolved. BD also tends to skimp on some parts, and I have to wonder about resale value, too. I personally wouldn't spend a lot of money on one. I've tried enough bikes to know that I might not like the ride, even if it's expensive. That said, I did mail order 2 bikes (based on good reviews and closeout prices), just not from BD.

kcjc

First part is true but not necessary the second. The discount is not as steep as they advertise but likely closer to ~50% to ~75% of their advertised discount rate. Basically the buyer is the LBS but without the volume discount on top of the wholesale prices. If lucky, a LBS might net $300-$500 on a $2,000 bike.

Majority of the frames are made in Asia, unless you are ready to fork over serious cash. Nothing wrong with "house brands" and ain't all branded bikes, "house brands"? If that term is some how inferring to the quality, I haven't found that applicable on my 2k steed (priced paid) but true as far as meeting the lasted trends in frame aesthetics/bells and whistles.

CliffordK

A lot of companies sell House Brands. Nashbar or Ribble will sell their house brand bikes.

The difference. Say you find an old Motobecane, Dawes, Windsor, or Mercier on Craigslist. Those old companies have essentially no relationship with the BikesDirect branded bikes.

The company producing Schwinn bikes bought the rights/license to use that name.

BikesDirect simply chose old (defunct) brand names and put them on their bikes, largely to build on he publicity and name recognition built up by the former companies.

SouthFLpix

My experience with buying a BD bike is that they are 'ok'. It's not really the same as getting a $1500 bike for $600, or a $2000 bike for $1000, as they claim. For example, with my touring bike the rear wheel was never as strong as I thought it should be. I would sporadically get broken spokes, and eventually I replaced the entire wheelset (after a few years). The saddle was also not very comfortable, so I replaced that as well. I also replaced the stem to a longer one for a better fit. As for the frame, I found the rear to be extremely stiff, more so than any other bike I've ridden. Ok, you can work around that with the right saddle or seatpost, but on bumpy roads I can definitely feel it.

My advice is, yeah get a BD bike if you are on a budget. They work. They are not terrible. Having said that, if you have the money, I think you would ultimately be happier buying from a bike shop, building something up yourself, or even buying from a 'big box' bike retailer like Performance Bike.

Maelochs

Myself and another poster her both bought bargain-basement BD Dawes bikes and between us have racked up thousands of trouble-free miles. I think he gave his away after like 5 K miles ... I rode mine a few hours ago.

I did some upgrades---put the wheels on another bike where they work fine, put the shifters on a different bike, where they also work fine---and I always expect to change the saddle on any bike I buy. Changed the seat post because I found a ridiculously cheap NOS carbon Bontrager on EBay. The stock stuff worked fine, I just had money to burn and shopping and building are both fun for me.

You can get a $700 bike for $500, or a $1300 bike for $1000 ... you don't get dealer service and you don't get a name with any cachet on the downtube. However, some bike shops offer a boxed-bike assembly deal which might be good for a beginner, because they cannot complain much if you bring a bike they assembled, in for a tune-up or something.

EDIT: Bike Nashbar and Performance Bike both sell pretty much the same sorts of bikes for slightly more money, but also with a much safer return policy. That's about the only difference if you mail-order. Perf Bike does have some brick-and-mortar stores somewhere, but I've never seen one.

jefnvk

To be fair, I doubt many people buying a BD bike today are innately familiar with those brands. I see original Motobecanes on a somewhat regular basis, but I can count the number of original Dawes, Merciers and Windsors combined I've seen on CL on one hand, and in person on no hands. Until I started frequenting C&V, I just thought they were made up names.