That's not me in the picture...Im sure I eat much better than he does...

My Messenger was a blast to ride. I actually was eventually able to engage the gears at 40+mph for short bursts.

^ Why the past tense? You sell it?

yep - wasn't using it. kinda regret it now.

The bike arrived yesterday, put it together, threw the front brake and an Aliante on, checked all the bolts were tight and took it for a spin.

So far, so good.

I need to replace the tires and bars, both of which appear to made of some plastic-like material.
Maybe a 17T cog.
Other than that, for $350 I can't really complain.

Taking it out for a 30 miler today.

31 miles went without a hitch.

Which bike did you end up buying?

Is that the complete warranty period?

I don't know where is all this hatred toward BD coming from...don't like it, don't buy it.

I have 29er from BD since May and can't be happier. Tried Specialized, Trek, Giant and I'm glad i didn't buy any of those overpriced bikes. BTW, BD is not a place to buy for noobs but for people who knows what they want. LBS is for noobs and people who cannot service their own bikes or don't have time to do it.

The shillage is strong in this thread.

*****

Mercier Kilo TT


You can buy it here
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/kilott.htm

Lifetime warranty on frame or parts failure.

Thank you

So what was wrong with the handlebars? I know you said they seemed plasticy, BD says they should be "Butted 6061 Aluminum Road". Are they not alum?

They seem to be coated in a plastic type material, they may be alloy but they're super light and cheesy feeling.
I doubt they'd endure much abuse, plus they're too narrow for me.

If you just want to tool around town they're fine but I'd plan on replacing them with something stronger for hard efforts.

I feel like i'm going to snap stem and bars when i'm hauling on the kilo, I plan on replacing both, just don't know with what yet.

nice gif