so i've been looking through the forums trying to gather info about fixie parts and wheelsets since i'm about to build/buy my first one, and while this site has been a great resource, there's one thing that bugs me...

this site kinda seems like a giant advertisement for bikesdirect.com at times.

i realize they're a sponsor of this site, but somehow they seem to come up in almost every single thread, and buying a bd bike is offered as a solution to newbie questions quite frequently, imo.

an example that sticks out in my mind was someone asking for pointers about building their first bike, and it seemed like every other response was "you could build your own fixie, or you could buy a cheapie off bd and get more value!" while it's true that they are a good price, the question of the OP seemed to be ignored so bd could be pushed on people.

personally, i've never owned a bd bike, but i've known quite a few people who have bought bd bikes, and some of them were happy with it, others had big issues with crappy parts (especially wheels). usually the difference maker seemed to be that the people who only rode occasionally and casually didn't have issues, but anyone who actually rode them hard or daily thrashed the bike pretty quick.

i realize that they are "discount" bikes, intended to capture a booming fixie market with lots of people looking to get into the currently hip scene and not meant for hardcore riders. but at the same time, there's a lot of cheap intro fixed/ss bikes out there, but the bd bikes are the only ones mentioned regularly on this site.

so what i'm wondering is this... why do i never seem to find anyone criticizing the bd bikes? why aren't the other cheap bikes (se, schwinn, old conversions, etc...) mentioned as often?

as a closing note, i would like to say that i realize it might be hard to say something on here and not start a flame war, but i have tried my best to phrase my questions politely. i'm not trying insult anyone who loves their bd bike. quite the opposite, actually, if you have a bike you love i'm totally stoked for you. i would really appreciate honest opinions from other people who have been watching this site longer than i have.

thanks.

The BD bikes are an amazing deal IF you want to deal with putting a bike together, securing your cog/ lockring/ truing wheels out the box, etc.

If you're brand new to bikes, I think you should definitely go to a shop, get sized up, and pick up a Madison/ Lager/ etc. Have them show you how the cog works, swap the stem for a proper fit, get them to swap out to the bars you want for a discount, get a follow-up wheel true in a month, go back for any questions you might have. All this is worth the $100 that BD saves, if you don't have the skills/ knowledge yet to do it.

As far as it goes, I think people offer the BD advice because they've learned the hard way that doing a conversion gets kind of expensive pretty quick, to the point where it makes way more sense to buy something with all brand new parts that are built to work together, even if they're not the highest quality. And at the end of the day the conversion will be an old frame that doesn't have track geometry.

I ride a conversion, but I've worked at bike co-ops and bike shops.

I would have said that the true-believers on this sub-forum more typically look down their noses at BD bikes.

But, as in every corner of the bike world, bikes cost less than bike parts. So, in good faith, we do often recommend that. And if the person is not looking to drop big coin, places like BD make sense (duly noting the limitations that come with them).

jim

There's a reason for it - a lot of us started on conversions (or atleast I did) and they just_aren't_worth_it. The geometry is not right, in my case, parts were hard to come by.... I could go on and on.

So for a newb who has just stumbled across this fixed gear trend, I would 99.99% of the time steer them towards BikesDirect. For the money and time invested, you just cannot beat the prices. Later on down the road, when this newb is ready to upgrade, they'll have a better idea of what they did and did not like about the BikesDirect bike, and maybe they'll end up on something a step up like an IRO or Surly.

I'm never going to rec a conversion because I almost always think the pre-converted bike was better than the conversion. BD bikes are cheap and available for people looking to join the scene. I've never bought a bike from them, but if I had $400 to spare, I'd consider a BD MTB or SS. The prices are far more justifiable for me than those at bike shops.

thanks for the replies. good points all around. personally, i've had enough experience with cheap bikes (usually picked up off craigslist) that i'm always willing to save up until i've got enough to ensure i'm getting a quality frame and parts, and i love wrenching on my own bikes as a sort of therapy, so bd isn't really for me.

thanks again, and if anybody was interested, i'm going with a surly steamroller. always a fan of surlys, but last years brown just wasn't doing it for me. but the new one, when i saw that creamy white in person... hoo boy, did i ever get excited.

You guys just suck at converting bikes/finding good deals. If you buy a complete road bike, strip it and hang brand new parts on it then of course you're going to take a hit in the wallet but that would be a stupid thing to do anyway. My conversion has better parts and is more versatile than other people's stock BD track bikes that I've ridden, and cost about $150 less than a kilo. Geometry is a personal preference thing and someone just getting into bikes might be better off riding road geometry than some twitchy track frame anyway. If you are impatient and want/need a bike NOW or don't know anything about bikes and are too lazy to take the time to educate yourself then a BD bike is probably a good idea, but personally I'm glad I took the time to find good deals on CL/ebay/bike-coop parts bins and build my own bike.

A sentiment that often bothers me about this forum is how much everyone is into buying from the internet to save a little bit of cash over an LBS. Often people talk about how they would never buy anything from an LBS. I think that's kinda ****ed. We should be supporting our LBSs that foster a bike community (a real - not cyber one). And don't get me wrong -- I definitely will order parts off the internet sometime, but I don't mind paying an extra 5 bucks for a part at the store that can give me quality advice and help grow a cycling scene in my area.

I agree and not only that but I get the feeling from many people on this site that if you are not riding the same kind of bike that they are then you must be riding a two wheeled turd. For some reason many fixie riders seem to categorize people by their bike. The riders on conversions hate any lowlife on a Pista. On the other hand one on a Pista seems to think anyone on a conversion must be homeless.

I say get over it and be glad one is not contributing to pollution no matter what bicycle they are riding. I make it a practice to wave at other cyclists. I dont care if they are riding a Colnago or a Next. I dont care if they are riding a fixed or a 30 speed touring bike. They are riding a bicycle. That is a step above anyone in a cage.

The BD bikes have no character at all. **** Em'!

BD bikes are _not_ "bad bikes" . Granted, they are cheap entry level bikes, but they are in no way bad. They are a good deal and I would sooner recommend one than recommend someone build up a conversion on a varsity that they can buy for $150

this thread = FAIL

Character like a bone stock Pista Concept,cause those are original.

I feel little allegiance to LBSes; they're businesses, not buddies. I frequent one because I bought my first bike there, but if I can find something cheaper elsewhere (like online), I'll go there first. Generally, the only time I visit the shop is when something breaks that I can't fix myself, and they're quite happy to take my money in the repairs. Besides that, the internet's by far my first choice for accessories like lights, computers, and other things I'm capable of using and installing on my own.

I have no plans to buy another bike from a physical store unless I find myself rolling in money; the Forge I bought online at Target cost less than $400 for a nice road bike to ride about. The same bike, spec-wise, would have cost about $700-800 at the local store. I don't have that kind of budget to throw away needlessly. I did take the bike to the store and have them tweak the gears and brakes, and paid for that. Using the same store for such repairs is enough support for me. My next bike will probably come from BD or Craigslist, and if I can't tweak the gears or brakes again, I'll probably head to the store.

I have to admit that after looking at the specs on the Forge.....it is a damn good entry level bike.But like comunism,just because it looks good on paper doesnt mean it is. Worth a try though.

www.bikesdirect.com

^Trendy, unexplained, moronic, unhelpful in any way comment=
idiot.

As someone who just this last summer got back into hard, daily biking, I have a few ideas.
I was riding a trek mountain bike. I have had it for 8 years. Taken it out to utah, colorado, and local trails. Never have had to do any parts replacements on it. Great, tough bike.
Moved to the city and realized that I needed a road bike for daily transport. The MTB is now my winter beater. I decided I wanted a fixed gear or single speed simply because it would be easier to maintain, and there are NO hills in chicago.
I looked and looked and finally bought an SE draft off craigslist pretty cheap. Started looking at components at LBS, bike coops, and online. I wanted to build this bike up with nice, durable, quality parts.
Then I stumbled onto these forums and bikesdirect was recommended over and over.
I soon realized that I could buy an entry level road bike with decent components complete for less than I was looking on spending on building this hiten POS frame.
I know that you pay for what you get. I always buy the more expensive tools, more expensive boots, more expensive parts for my computers and cameras. I understand quality.
So I bought a kilo after reading many many reviews here (and elsewhere), and I am really happy with it. I was able to get some good long riding in before the hard winter hit.
I understand that I could spend some more $$ and get a much nicer ride, which I will probably do when (and if) this thing wears out. But by buying a complete kit I was on the road in a week instead of slowly building one and probably having to wait until spring to be able to get some miles on it.
I think that is the real appeal of bikesdirect. Mid quality bikes at a great price NOW.

I could have built this bike, I know how to wrench. I wanted to support a local bike shop. My girlfriend and a friend had just bought bikes from Rapid Transit here in chitown, but they didn't have anything that I liked. So I threw them some cash in having them tear the kilo apart, lube, adjust and assemble everything. This gave me a 30 day warranty. I also spent the xtra 5$ or 10$ here and there by buying parts (pedals, straps, better lockring, fenders) from them instead of the internet.

I have no idea why some knock the kilos and messengers. They are great middle of the road quality bikes. Elitism, I suppose. But whatever, like what your ride, ride what you like and enjoy.
It's about having fun on a bike, not what kind of bike you ride. Any REAL bicyclist will agree. Trendy snobs will not.

I have and ride the bike daily (well, I did until it started snowing and icing; I've kept it in since last Saturday). It's pretty sweet.



I bought it some months after reading someone else's experiences with it in the road forums.

Is that the only frame size for the Forge? I'm 6'1" and I am considering that bike.

I just started getting back into daily riding, most commuting. During the summer I started riding my old beat up next mtb. Once I got to school and started really riding it atleast 5miles a day the cog broke in half on the cassette. So I broke down and got a Windsor Hour from BD, I'm having fun with it and have not had any problems with it other than the pedals and straps. Which are starting to break. where the screw into the pedal. This bike also gives me a medium for me to learn the most advanced teqniques of bike repair and assembly. I'm going to have to buy the tools to learn how to take apart the bottom bracket and take of the cranks this winter break. I can't wait for the summer!

hai gai's i jus bot a bike off a website for really cheap! it was from bikesdirect.com!

-> I actually do have a bike from bikesdirect.com *tee hee*

when i got the chance to build my fixie it cost me a bit more because the frame i'd been riding and wanted to use had vert dropouts, but i found another hybrid on cl, some wheels built on some rims i'd already purchased from nashbar or performance by fixie lbs, bb and tape and tubes from another... if i can't wait to have it and can't afford a large enough order i figure lbs and community could use the money transfers... after all isn't all this online outta town and country purchasing why our economy is in the can...

but i digress

what about all that drama with bd shill posts? were they even real?