I am considering this bikehttps://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/lt1200.htm as being my next bike, and wanted to get valid opinions, include why so many people seem to hate bikes direct in the first place.

I like that one because of it's features, and price. (I hope the kind of shifters it has is better on my arthritis. I shouldn't have that problem at my age, yet I do)

I do have two local bike shops in town, and being a small town I can walk to either of them. The problem is that for this town, they both basically sell mostly mountain bikes, which isn't what I want. One of them could order a road bike for me, but it would be a few hundred more than BikesDirect, but add in that his store is only open random hours (he also runs a electric wheelchair repair service, and is often on calls) it makes it a less attractive option. He would probably assemble it cheaply, but unless there is something I need a special tool to do, I *Should* be able to do it myself.

The other dealer in town specialises in Schwinn, and while I do like the Le Tours, I am not sure they are a better option, and there is a bit more in their cost. (He hasn't switched to the new model year, so prices are still higher with him.) My main problem with his store is that while I am a second generation customer (actually, I am second generation at both, as well as the one in the next town over...) is that when he is alone in the store, it is great. If he has an employee however.... (Last year I bought my wife an old Murray at a garage sale, and had to replace both tubes and both sets of brake pads, I had trouble getting the front ones set correctly, spent 3 days trying to figure out what I was missing, and ran past that LBS. I was told that it would be $15 bucks and 3 days, and they wouldn't actually find what my problem was, they would just redo the whole thing. I did figure it out later that day, and since then my wife ordered me a Pedro's cable puller for Yule.)

The reason against the bike shop in the town to the north is more a matter of ease of getting there. The owner is nice, and I have gotten a few things from him before, and I remember going there with my dad when he volentered at a 'childrens home' mostly by fixing their bikes. He did make me a nice offer on a Le Tour (yeah, 2 Schwinn dealers w/i 15 miles.) but the price he gave last year is still out of my range. I do actually plan on checking with both before I order to see if there might be a better price, but I strongly doubt it.

I am currently riding (mostly) a Schwinn Voyageur ('07 I believe, bought it in 08) that I had the tires replaced with blue 25's which really helped, but it isn't enough. It's a great bike, but not quite a perfect match for me. It was about $250 when I bought it, give or take, and all told I've put close to $600 into it.

My other bike is a Royce Union I bought at the LBS that isn't the Schwinn dealer for about $100 used. (In the pic it is behind my wife's bike, which she has ridden a total of 1 time.) I currently use that for pulling a bike trailer, but I plan on moving the trailer mount to the Schwinn) The biggest problem with that bike is that the frame is about an inch or so too big for me, but I needed a cheap cheap bike that year, and I sure as hell wasn't going to get another POS from Walmart. (Which is all I could get after my Mongoose Transport folding bike got stolen from my 2nd story balcony in MI, which they had to want pretty badly, since it was locked up and around a lot of other bikes that were not locked up. Happened the same day my dad died and the great blackout of 03.)

So anyways, I want real opinions about the bike from Bikes Direct, not a bunch of hate talk about the place. Even if I had the money, I wouldn't be going to the Trek dealer or the place two towns south, the guy running the Trek place is kinda rude, and even though it is the largest store in the county, by far, it doesn't carry much of the random stuff that one might want. The other one in the county.... run by elitist. (Bikesdirect did have a Le Tour listed, sold out in my size, for a small bit more than the Dawes one.)

Don't let people tell you Bikes Direct Bikes are trash. So far this year 3 of my friends have bought bikes from there (wellington 2.0, dawes lightning 1500, and schwinn letour legacy) and they were all great. They didnt know what they were doing so i helped them put it together. Its not hard to put together but you will have to tune it, just like a LBS does when they build em. The bikes are holding up well, all have over 400 miles with no issues. Part of the reason they have their prices is if you look closely there are some parts that are switched out for cheaper parts than it originally comes with. (Like shimano 105 group with a lower level FSA crank) They disclose all of this too in their spec breakdowns. In my opinion the frames could very well be rebadged older frames from a few years ago (the lightning 1500 looks very similar to my Fuji Newest 3.0)

It is always good to support local business, but some people don't feel the extra few hundred is worth it. I bought a Fuji from a LBS, although I feel good that I supported local business, I could have gotten more bike for the money from Bikes Direct.

theres nothing wrong w/ bikes direct so long as you can assemble it yourself. some people complain that the wheels that come w/their bd bike were tensioned incorrectly and needed to be brought to the lbs for trueing fresh out of the box ($20 a wheel).
although that dawes your looking at may be a capable enough bike Id suggest the mercier aquilia for an extra $150 https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...r/aquila_x.htm (I know its more money) the frame and fork will be comparable but the components are superior which translates to more enjoyable time in the saddle and less on the workstand.

If I were in your situation I think bikes direct may be a good option too.
However for me, I would get at least 105 components. Just me saying.

due to budget, i wound up not getting one at all. I had to replace the bb of the schwinn, and I'm having the gripshift switched to pushbutton shifters/brakes. I took the panniers off the bike, and dang, i forgot what it was like to do that. I might eventually get the gears notched up, but it will work for now.