BikesDirect? Caveat Emptor...
#76
personally I have had great sucess with my Ti Le Champion Motobecane from them. Been checked over by a couple of shops and they were impressed. I guess it is related to the amount of money spent on the bike.
#77
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,952
Likes: 2
This reasonable, objective, evidence-based review is very helpful in terms of critiquing a bike. I'm not a BD-hater (I don't own a BD bike) and in fact, I'm one of those that strongly feels that the BD-hatred on this forums is really out of control and unjustified, but these sort of critiques at least let the reader get through the emotional BS and start to judge what's legit and not.
I still would emphasize though, that a problem with the review isn't it's content, but the actual title. The thread title clearly aims to imply uncategorically that ALL BD sales/products are of questionable quality and value. While I would overall agree with the critiques of this low-end bike (I actually think most low-end bikes would fail the criteria you've set forth), what would be the title of your post had it been an Immortal Pro or Ti Fly that you were reviewing? I think the vast majority of people who take the time to post on roadbikeforums wouldn't even consider the Wellington as an option for their stable, but for sure, many people would give a seriously look at their Immortal, Ti Fly, or Ti roadbikes (sold out).
The review itself is a good one, and even though it's obvious you're not a BD-fan by any means, I felt that you've been reasonable in the text about commenting that other bikes may in fact be a good deal.
If you do get your hands on a $1000-$2000 BD bike like the Immortal though, PLEASE put up a review! That type of review would be singlehandedly more valuable than all the "shill" and "love/hate" posts that we keep seeing here on BD.
I still would emphasize though, that a problem with the review isn't it's content, but the actual title. The thread title clearly aims to imply uncategorically that ALL BD sales/products are of questionable quality and value. While I would overall agree with the critiques of this low-end bike (I actually think most low-end bikes would fail the criteria you've set forth), what would be the title of your post had it been an Immortal Pro or Ti Fly that you were reviewing? I think the vast majority of people who take the time to post on roadbikeforums wouldn't even consider the Wellington as an option for their stable, but for sure, many people would give a seriously look at their Immortal, Ti Fly, or Ti roadbikes (sold out).
The review itself is a good one, and even though it's obvious you're not a BD-fan by any means, I felt that you've been reasonable in the text about commenting that other bikes may in fact be a good deal.
If you do get your hands on a $1000-$2000 BD bike like the Immortal though, PLEASE put up a review! That type of review would be singlehandedly more valuable than all the "shill" and "love/hate" posts that we keep seeing here on BD.
#78
Peloton Shelter Dog
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 90,508
Likes: 32
From: Chester, NY
Bikes: 2017 Scott Foil, 2016 Scott Addict SL, 2018 Santa Cruz Blur CC MTB
WhatEVER.
#79
South Carolina Ed

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 320
From: Greer, SC
Bikes: Holdsworth custom, Macario Pro, Ciocc San Cristobal, Viner Nemo, Cyfac Le Mythique, Giant TCR, Tommasso Mondial, Cyfac Etoile
There are quite a few BD bike reviews on BF. They're generally pretty favorable, but the threads are heavily interlaced with hating posts. The hating used to assert that the bikes were trash, the support was non-existent, and the marketing is immoral. The trash bike posts are pretty much gone but the support and morals -related posts persist. As others have said, if a person doesn't like BD for whatever reason they don't have to buy a bike from them nor read threads that are in any way related. The hating posts are a weird and stalking-like phenomena that infer something unflattering about human nature.
Last edited by sced; 04-30-09 at 06:05 AM.
#80
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 782
Likes: 4
From: Southwest MO
Bikes: (2) 1994 Cannondale R900, red, Silver Trek hybrid
The thread title clearly aims to imply uncategorically that ALL BD sales/products are of questionable quality and value
WRONG!! Read the original post. Thats not what it said. If people aren't gonna like READ the first post in the thread, they can go on assuming all they want to and make stuff up. Wont make it true. Even the title alone (to me) says that there are SOME issues with BD, not with every bike.
WRONG!! Read the original post. Thats not what it said. If people aren't gonna like READ the first post in the thread, they can go on assuming all they want to and make stuff up. Wont make it true. Even the title alone (to me) says that there are SOME issues with BD, not with every bike.
#81
..............I'm not a BD-hater (I don't own a BD bike) and in fact, I'm one of those that strongly feels that the BD-hatred on this forums is really out of control and unjustified, ..........
..... That type of review would be singlehandedly more valuable than all the "shill" and "love/hate" posts that we keep seeing here on BD.
In psychology, Sigmund Freud defined hate as an ego state that wishes to destroy the source of its unhappiness.[2] In a more contemporary definition, the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology defines hate as a "deep, enduring, intense emotion expressing animosity, anger, and hostility towards a person, group, or object."[3] Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more of an attitude or disposition than a (temporary) emotional state.
-Wiki
I cannot speak for the other BF'ers but I certainly don’t hate BD Company or anyone or anything associated with it.
I do not like being lied to (mislead) or to see others being lied to (mislead) over and over and over again.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully discourage others from buying products I do not believe are a good value or have questionable business practices.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully encourage others to buy products I believe are a good value and have good business practices.
Continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products have resulted in reducing the amount of time I spend reading BF and thus being available to view other paid advertisers ads/products.
Its my opinion these continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are the cause of problems on BF and I also believe that these problems would go away if these went away.
It's my opinion that the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...out of control..." on BF
It's my opinion that BF'ers reactions to the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...justified..."
Last edited by RichinPeoria; 04-30-09 at 07:11 AM.
#82
#83
South Carolina Ed

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 320
From: Greer, SC
Bikes: Holdsworth custom, Macario Pro, Ciocc San Cristobal, Viner Nemo, Cyfac Le Mythique, Giant TCR, Tommasso Mondial, Cyfac Etoile
I cannot speak for the other BF'ers but I certainly don’t hate BD Company or anyone or anything associated with it.
I do not like being lied to (mislead) or to see others being lied to (mislead) over and over and over again.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully discourage others from buying products I do not believe are a good value or have questionable business practices.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully encourage others to buy products I believe are a good value and have good business practices.
Continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products have resulted in reducing the amount of time I spend reading BF and thus being available to view other paid advertisers ads/products.
Its my opinion these continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are the cause of problems on BF and I also believe that these problems would go away if these went away.
It's my opinion that the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...out of control..." on BF
It's my opinion that BF'ers reactions to the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...justified..."
I do not like being lied to (mislead) or to see others being lied to (mislead) over and over and over again.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully discourage others from buying products I do not believe are a good value or have questionable business practices.
I will give my opinion in a professional manner and truthfully encourage others to buy products I believe are a good value and have good business practices.
Continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products have resulted in reducing the amount of time I spend reading BF and thus being available to view other paid advertisers ads/products.
Its my opinion these continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are the cause of problems on BF and I also believe that these problems would go away if these went away.
It's my opinion that the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...out of control..." on BF
It's my opinion that BF'ers reactions to the continued and seemingly never ending BD posts discussing BD products are "...justified..."
#84
bulletproof tiger
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,934
Likes: 0
From: Portland, OR
Bikes: Waterford 2200, Litespeed Tuscany, Salsa La Cruz, Kona Fire Mountain
There are quite a few BD bike reviews on BF. They're generally pretty favorable, but the threads are heavily interlaced with hating posts. The hating used to assert that the bikes were trash, the support was non-existent, and the marketing is immoral. The trash bike posts are pretty much gone but the support and morals -related posts persist. As others have said, if a person doesn't like BD for whatever reason they don't have to buy a bike from them nor read threads that are in any way related. The hating posts are a weird and stalking-like phenomena that infer something unflattering about human nature.
Sorry, pet peeve.
#85
South Carolina Ed

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 320
From: Greer, SC
Bikes: Holdsworth custom, Macario Pro, Ciocc San Cristobal, Viner Nemo, Cyfac Le Mythique, Giant TCR, Tommasso Mondial, Cyfac Etoile
#86
huge welds, normal
over the bar cables, user error
bb, someone who buys a 300$ bike isn't likely to ever have to remove it
wheel truing +1
Basically you are condeming I whole line of bicycles based on your judgement of ONE bicycle.
In comparison, I dated one brunette who was a ***** therefor all brunettes must be *****es. See the faulty logic here?
You can't fault the entire line because you had one with problems.
you can buy the low-end Fuji Newest 4.0 (with Downtube shifters...also old-school, but at least Retro) from a dealer, get a free tune up or two, and have a guy near you who will fix it if it breaks.
#87
bulletproof tiger
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,934
Likes: 0
From: Portland, OR
Bikes: Waterford 2200, Litespeed Tuscany, Salsa La Cruz, Kona Fire Mountain
Terrible example, but the first one that comes to mind:
Imply: The fact that the ground is wet this morning implies that it rained last night.
Infer: I infer from the wet ground that it rained last night.
Bookmark this: Imply vs. Infer
#89
bulletproof tiger
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,934
Likes: 0
From: Portland, OR
Bikes: Waterford 2200, Litespeed Tuscany, Salsa La Cruz, Kona Fire Mountain
It is reasonable to assume that individual examples of a given bicycle are reasonably representative of the model line.
#90
South Carolina Ed

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 3,908
Likes: 320
From: Greer, SC
Bikes: Holdsworth custom, Macario Pro, Ciocc San Cristobal, Viner Nemo, Cyfac Le Mythique, Giant TCR, Tommasso Mondial, Cyfac Etoile
Bookmark this: Imply vs. Infer
#91
I bought a Kilo TT from BD and was totally satisfied, great bike for the money.
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/491497-so-i-ordered-bd-bike.html
Last edited by MONGO!; 04-30-09 at 01:22 PM.
#92
Anyway, as an approximation.
$300 bike == $5,000 car.
$700 bike == $14,000 car.
$1000 bike == $18,000 car.
$1500 bike == $20,000 car.
$3000 bike == $40,000 car.
etc
It costs something to provide basic quality and that something is probably about $500 for bicycles.
The profit margins at the low end (and $300 is pretty low). It's almost guaranteed that you aren't going to get something worthwhile at the really low end regardless of the source.
#93
I'd take BF "advice" with a ionch of salt.
I bought a Kilo TT from BD and was totally satisfied, great bike for the money.
Despite my best efforts, no offer was forthcoming.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=491497
I bought a Kilo TT from BD and was totally satisfied, great bike for the money.
Despite my best efforts, no offer was forthcoming.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=491497
#94
Senior Member

Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,562
Likes: 603
From: DFW
I'm always amazed at the BD hatred here. It's just marketing. If you don't like it, don't buy their bikes. I never have, but I've considered buying one of their cross bikes. Looks like a pretty good deal if you know some basic wrench skills.
I do agree that BD is a bad choice for beginners. They would be better off buying at a LBS where they can test ride, and get support.
I do agree that BD is a bad choice for beginners. They would be better off buying at a LBS where they can test ride, and get support.
#95
I'm always amazed at the BD hatred here. It's just marketing. If you don't like it, don't buy their bikes. I never have, but I've considered buying one of their cross bikes. Looks like a pretty good deal if you know some basic wrench skills.
I do agree that BD is a bad choice for beginners. They would be better off buying at a LBS where they can test ride, and get support.
I do agree that BD is a bad choice for beginners. They would be better off buying at a LBS where they can test ride, and get support.
That said, I'm getting really sick of "hatred" being used for EVERYthing. One can dislike or not have respect for something without hating it. And if anyone uses "Haterz!!!1", I'll probably stick a pump in their spokes. People have turned into such cliche-ridden sycophants lately.
#97
Regardless of components, in the case ot the Kilo, ~$300 for a well made, reasonably light steel frameset is a deal.
#98
If you were referring to the OP, the post was a mixture of objective, factual observations that also included a positive recommendation for other BD models. I'd say that comes out as neutral at worst.
#99
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,198
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
Bikes: 2007 Orbea Onix, 2007 Windsor The Hour, 2008 Kona Jake
There are quite a few BD bike reviews on BF. They're generally pretty favorable, but the threads are heavily interlaced with hating posts. The hating used to assert that the bikes were trash, the support was non-existent, and the marketing is immoral. The trash bike posts are pretty much gone but the support and morals -related posts persist. As others have said, if a person doesn't like BD for whatever reason they don't have to buy a bike from them nor read threads that are in any way related. The hating posts are a weird and stalking-like phenomena that infer something unflattering about human nature.
Look up the word "objective" some time Ed.




