Ok, long story short...I have a good friend who hit me up about helping him get a new mountain bike. He said he wanted to spend about $500. I carefully explained to him that wasn't a very realistic pricepoint but I would see what I could do. Cruised the internet and a few local LBS's and at $795 (no tax/shipping incld.) this seems like it might be a good option. Components are fairly solid, the fork is ok (much better apparently than the Darts that you see on cheaper bikes) and the frame seems to have good reviews. Here's the link for all the specs. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom29pro_08.htm Well, any of your opinions/ ideas are appreciated. Specifically, if you have had any experience with Bikesdirect.com or Motobecanes. Thanks.
Since this site is the voice of The Path don't expect too many positive reviews. With that said, I ride a Motobecane:wave:. If you can work on your own bike, it's a great deal.
I don't know how far from Wheel World you are, but they have the best bike deals on the web, hands down. (wheelworld.com)
29er or go 29er Better brakes and $100 less http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/windsor_cliff29pro.htm I think the Windors are made by Fuji.
Mail order and complete bikes dont always mix...... What I see as a problem with this company is, warranty. Most manf's will void the bikes warranty if it is not assembled and inspected before delivery to a customer. As in, thats why bike shops dont sell you a bike still in the box, they have to assemble it first. Youll find alot of bike shop selling older to current stuff online.... its usually something that was assembled, put on the floor, and didnt move at the speed it was intended... so it gets sold at a discount, and reboxed. Any supplier that sells the bike without ever taking it out of the box, obviously never intended on dealing with warranty in any way, specially seeing how when you call trek or speccy direct, one of the first questions they ask is..... who put the bike together.... Just my thoughts.
I had a Motobecane Outcast 29 and it was more flexy that I liked for a single speed. My tire was coming super close to rubbin when cranking on it. It was a solid bike and felt super solid otherwise. No major problems until it was stolen 3 months after I got it. BikesDirect were nice since they email to see how the bike is. I told them the rotor was super bent and he/they just said that it sometimes happens in shipping and just to bend it straight which i am aware of.
I've helped a few people put together Bikesdirect bikes at Bikerowave. They're great if you put them together at a co-op, or have a friend with lots of tools. They generally need a couple things done with special tools, ie facing BB shells and head tubes. I've seen a couple with headsets installed poorly. Of course I've also seen bikes from local shops with poorly installed headsets, and hardly anybody faces BB shells, even with external BBs.
jeepr, this is just inaccurate. Wheel World has two retail shops that I know of. If he's close to the one in Culver City, your buddy can walk in and purchase the bike at their web listed price. I've purchased two bikes from them and have had a minor issue resolved through mfg. warranty. This problem had to do with cable routing by Giant, and they replaced the damaged brake cables. Wheel World is a reputable bicycle dealer supported by the manufacturers of the bikes they sell. Now tell your friend to go and spend!
Its not innacurate, speccy trek and giant will not warranty their bikes if the customer put it together out of the box. Besides, wheelworld has a retail location, the bikes are built, and inspected like they are supposed to, my statement was meant for bikesdirect, not wheelworld...
I bought a bike from bikedirect.com about 8 years ago, so it might have changed. But the bike was delivered quickly, I installed the handle bars and the front wheel and the bike was ready to go. I bought it through Ebay. The bike lasted me 2 years.
$500 is a very low budget for a decent bike. Maybe he can get a good used bike like this older Kona Bear: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/1573438642.html http://classifieds.mtbr.com/showproduct.php?product=45487&cat= p.s. I owned a Kona Bear back in the day and it was a solid ride. This might be a good bike to start on. You can beat the crap out of it and it will still come back for more.
Lots of information at your fingertips: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bikesdirect+reviews I've always been blown away at the specs of their bikes for the prices listed. Generally reviews seem favorable.
Got a road bike for the wife from BikesDirect. It is a very nice bike and I had no problems with assembly. Was happy overall.
Final report Well...my buddy pulled the trigger and bought this bike. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_comp08.htm We just finished assembling it and I must admit for $795 tax/shipping included I am very impressed. All we did was pull it out of the box, assemble it and it was ready to roll. I went through it, greased some parts, torqued some bolts and even threw the wheels on my stand to check em' (they were perfect). We didn't have to so much as turn a barrel adjuster. If you are the type of person that wants to take a bike back to a shop to have it tuned or have "squeeks" or other noises tracked down this may not be a good direction for you. If you are, however, looking for a decent bike with a component package that a LBS (or most internet sites) can't touch...this may just be the ticket.
