I just visited the bikesdirect track bike page, and noticed that the Dawes SST (steel frame with bullhorns) is no longer listed, and in its place is a new model, the Gravity Attack, which has the same $299.95 price but a totally different design. The frame is aluminum and the fork is carbon like the Dawes SST AL, but it appears to have a more relaxed riding position with a taller head tube and sloping top tube in even the larger sizes. It comes with both a fixed cog and single freewheel, 2 sets of bottle mounts, platform pedals and a chainring guard. Clearly, it's intended for casual riding in normal clothing.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/trackbikes.htm

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rack_bikes.htm

Oh darn and I really wanted the dawes sst to death.... o well, I guess it's nice to see some changes to BD stock...

Seems pretty good for 300.

I wonder how many QC issues that one will have.

Looks alot like my langster frame.

cousions has this road frame for commuting, It came with a scratch on the TT and the rear drop outs where pretty bad.

Idk about this years model. He got it early 2010. Around feburay?

Awesome.

I just found out that the Gravity Attack is also sold on the chicabike (Mrs. BikesDirect) eBay store for the same price, but shipping is an additional $39, whereas it is free from bd.

https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ALUMINUM-CAR...420979#vi-desc

The name is kind of stupid.

Kind of.

i thought someones dawes broke in half cuz of gravity

Like the frame snapping in half?

lol that's a good one~

They should change it to Gravity Bong, imo.

It doesn't seem too bad, I wonder what the quality is like on it.

Probably similar to the other $300 bd bikes. I have a Moto Messenger, which has the same wheels, cranks, brakes etc as the Gravity Attack, and they are ok. Expect the welds to be sloppy but adequate and the paint to be fair. I've had no durability or reliability problems with mine, but discarded the stock pedals, which are crap.

i've been out of the loop and looking at a gravity attack, what's the deal with gravity and QC ?

PS you can still get to the SST by clicking here:

https://bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/sst.htm

There have been some QC issues with some bd bikes (bad forks on Kilo TTs), but not all of them, so it's idle speculation as to whether there might be any with this new model. The main issue IME has been many cases of errors in specifications and poor build quality that can lead to failures such as stripped hubs due to improperly tightened cogs from the factory. For the most part, the bd bikes are reliable, durable and safe, provided the owner assembles, tightens and adjusts them properly. I am not aware of any catastrophic failures, except maybe the PK Ripper, which I believe occured prior to their being sold by bd. The Dawes SST AL frame has a good reputation for durability.

Looking at BD's BBB rating and complaints, I would say it's safe to assume that BD bikes don't have any real QC issues. All the ads say have the bike assembled and checked by a professional before riding.

oh good, i was wondering if the QC issues were specifically with the gravity bikes. I've had several BD bikes and i've been happy with all my purchases so far. Sold all of them to fund my move to LA, and now it looks like i'll be buying a gravity attack.

The gravity bikes seem to be pretty popular. I see a lot of them around campus. I really like that they seem a little more modern than BD's other lines.

oooooh and it is sized for people up to 6'6''. I am in the green light, no doubt about it, mmmhmmm

Just saw a black one on campus today. Rode past the guy going to take pictures of my leader; recognized the headtube logos and the giant headtube.. meh no frills.

annoyed that they don't seem to have a geometry chart - anyone have a 54 who can tell me the head tube length, seat tube length center to top, and virtual/horizontal top tube length (all in cm)?

thanks in advance if so....