I received my Dawes a couple days ago and have some positive and negative things to say about it. Considering the fact that I have never owned a road bike, all road bikes feel very fast to me. So I'll just comment on quality.


Neutral
RPM Crankset, Maxxis tires (subpar, but what do you expect), Alex double walls

Positives
$405 shipped! NEW
Chicabike is great and very helpful
Frame is AWESOME, the design and weld quality is exactly the same as on Fuji bikes.
Came with a carbon fiber fork

Sora rear der, STI shifters, tekro, second brake set


Negatives
Pro max brakes, actually they work great, they look awe full heavy though, although its a different type of design than on a mtn bike.
Front derailluer is 2200 series so it hasn't worked so well so far, I'll order a better Tiagra as the first upgrade.


Overall, I have mixed feelings about it. The bike itself is FANTASTIC for $400, but the design of a road bike is taking some getting used to. The STI shifters are annoying because you can't shift from the downs and from the trigger you have very little brake leverage. Also, the shifters don't seem to be as reliable and consistent as thumb shifters, the shift over is quite vague because there is little "feel" and not much of a click. Also, the shift length seems quite wide. The bike however is fast as hell (to me)

On an odd side note, the bike itself feels like its in control of me vs me being in control of it (such as on the xc) . The forward positioning it still taking time to get used to.

You spent $400. and now it needs upgrades...far from a good deal. Pray you don't have any warranty issues. I'd ride it like it is, log some serious miles, if it doesn't feel right (next time visit your local bike shop for correct fit), unload it on Craigslist.

Well, if it was ultegra I would be trying to update it.

why?

Grass is always greener on the other side ya know

Wtf?

You don't understand metaphors?

This is going to be fun!

This is my frist post, but I will mention that my girlfriend bought the same bike recently, there was some issues with the carbon fork and we emailed chicabike with pictures and we got a response in about a day and we are getting a new fork for her bike. So the customer service isnt totally nonexsistant at least in my experiance. I will say that for her the bike seems great for her needs.

I think those eBay bikes (Dawes, Motobecane, Bottechia, etc.) are a good deal, and fine for a first road bike. The upgrade to Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, etc. (paddle brake lever shifters instead of trigger) is worth it.

In the last two-three weeks I have done a simply ridiculous amount of research on these bikes and to me it seems that they are a pretty good deal for the money, but they maybe aren't the best thing for someone who is new to road biking as there is a fair amount of 'do-it-yourself' required. They seem to work best for people who know exactly what they need/want and can easily spot mechanical problems (such as incorrectly installed BB's or whacked out FD hangers). It is likely that my next bicycle will be bought from them, but I decided to buy my first road bike from the LBS to start a working relationship with them and to make sure that the size was right (and cause they give me 4 months of free resizing and threw in some free stuff with the purchase, woo hoo!).

I bought a motobecane grand record (Tiagra/105 tiagra brifters) and the only problem i've had with it thus far are with the wellgo pedals. I've only logged 50 miles on it so I can't really speak from too much experience. Most better bikes that come with wellgo pedals also find people replacing them from what I've read on this forum.
The only thing bad about the bike is the weight, it's a little over 24 lbs, but thats' with the frame pump, pedals, and cages.
I think I need to get new pedals :-(

OP - there are two paths for you: Upgrading the current bike, or riding it as-is until you want/can afford a new bike.

Upgrading is fun, teaches you a lot about bike mechanics, can be done as time and budget allow, and will give you a far better ride than you start out with - however - it is NOT the economical way to a better bike.

The alternative - riding your bike until you can replace it - gives you a chance to get all the components, etc. you want at the prices manufacturers pay, (plus markup) rather than the ala carte prices retail customers pay. Plus, when the time comes to buy that new bike, you usually have a near-perfect idea of what you want.

Either of these paths is viable - but the second one is almost always cheaper in the long run.

The pedals do suck on my bike as well, I'll think about replacing those along with getting a new front derailler for reliability purposes in the future. But, your right it is so much cheaper to buy new than to upgrade. I'll sit on this bike for a while, a year at least.