Product Review: how long does bikesdirect take to ship bikes??

don't count on it arriving. it's more than a week depending on colors you have selected and the availability of that color and size.

4-5 days at the most, have two friends that ordered windsors and one that ordered a kilo. Each bike took about 4 days, you should have it by tomorrow.

I am SRSLY considering one of those SS 29ers, anyone got one?

It actually got here today!!! thanks gents.

Its vague. Motobecane/Windsor/etc. dont even exist outside of bikes direct anymore as far as I know. In that sense they arent really knockoffs (define knockoffs), bikes direct owns the right to produce those bikes. They arent bootlegs at least. Being made in asia doesnt imply much about the quality of the frame. Thats where bikes come from nowadays. I'd prefer taiwan to korea or china though. If motobecane was still selling frames themselves they would probably be buying their frames from the same factory as bikes direct. Components... a 105 derailer on a bikes direct bike is the same as the 105 derailer on the bike at your lbs.

Some of their bikes (like surly) are still made by the original company.

The fantom cross uno is calling my name right now.

Posted By: suicide_doors
I don't think BD allows back ordering.

You sir are correct!

Why is it that everyone thinks, taiwan/asia = shitty. I thought it was eastern philosophy that put higher significance and devotion in their work (outside the sweat shops). BD has to cut their prices to compensate for the mailing, something that an lbs doesnt deal with (though BD is still cheaper).

Posted By: Jameson_CKind of off subject but does bikesdirect sell legit bikes. Are the roadies knock offs. I have heard its korean made bikes which they got the liscense to sell under the original manufacturers name.

I've been a member on BikeForums (where Mike, the owner of BD and BikeIsland.com and Cycle Spectrum shops in TX, posts regularly) for years and when there is shit to talk, it happens there. I have not heard much of anything negative about BD frame quality. You can also search this forum. People really don't seem to have problems with BD frames, especially considering how cheap they are. There is plenty of FUD spread around by people who know nothing about the industry, but most of it is amazingly asinine.. My favorite FUD being "Isn't the reason BikesDirect sells only online is that they can't meet safety standards in the USA?"

Mike basically took older, long out of business (Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor) or out of the US market (Dawes) company names and began branding his bikes with them. None of his brands or bikes have any relation to their out of country namesakes. In the case of Dawes, to my knowledge they're never had a presence in the US and only market their bikes in the UK. So nothing that BD sells is a "knock off," more just a clever way to fake pre-existing brand recognition. I know that sounds shady, but it's pretty common and not at all illegal or gray-market. Most of the manufacturing for his brands is done by Kinesis and Maxway, which make frames for dozens of other companies including Jamis, Kona, GT, etc, etc. They (manufacturers) don't dial down machining or welding quality from one frame to the next. All of the frames come from Taiwan and China as far as I know. I've never seen a Korean reference, but there could be one.

In the same vein, most people seem ignorant of the fact that Bianchi USA is almost completely separate and distinct from Bianchi in Italy. Bianchi USA produces a completely separate brand of bikes for the US market only, 95% of which come from unassociated Taiwanese factories. Only like three bikes they sell here in the US are Italian made.

Almost no large bike companies (Trek, Giant, et al) actually sell their bikes directly to consumers. Bikes Direct does exactly what the name implies, selling bikes they have had manufactured, then partially assembled, directly to end users. They don't market or sell to LBSs or to other sites, and thus are able to avoid a lot of the distribution and end sales middle man markups that come naturally to larger, more isolated companies.

Component-wise, as Wes pointed out, name brand stuff is obviously the same regardless of which bike it comes on. There aren't special, cheap versions of Shimano parts for BD. As for their unbranded components, they're generally of equal quality to what comes standard from larger companies.

Overall, BD has a pretty solid reputation for such a young company. Their prices certainly can't be matched, much less beaten, by the typical competition.

The Uno beats the WT for having cantis instead of dual pivots and a standard size seatpost.

Posted By: sfbeeYea, both are appealing factors for the uno, but the 38/16 ratio would suck for 20-mile flat land commutes (versus 48/16 provided with the kilo wt). Then again a 13t freewheel could resolve that cheaply.

you'd need a new rear hub for a 13t freewheel. a flipflop bmx hub with standard threading on one side and the smaller metric threading on the other.

hey, i kinda want a kiloWT too.
i'm just building some 27" conversion and putting 35s on it for now.

well for a first bike the Kilo TT is amazing. 2nd ride on it i did the 36 mile loop around red rock and it did above and beyond. recommend the "orange crush" cant get away from compliments.

Posted By: sfbeeAh, then maybe not. I suppose for my purposes the WT would probably serve me better, not that I really need another bike at the moment :)

Posted By: the rabbihey, i kinda want a kiloWT too.

Posted By: iron jaidenI'm eyein that Kilo WT as well. Been like all over the place on what I'm gonna ride when the snow starts to fall and it looks like the Kilo WT with some fat ass studded Nokians and decent fenders might just be the ticket.

i fourth that sentiment... i wish it had ben around when i bought my kilo pro... hopefully bikeisland will make the frameset available...

Posted By: iron jaidenthink for most of us here scopin the Kilo WT it'd be closer to our 51st first than our 1st

you nailed that.... the longer i ride the more practical my preferences become.

Posted By: wes m.The odds of me ever buying a steamroller just dropped to almost 0.

indeed. like i said, i am hoping for a frameset.

Posted By: Aaron Cframeset.

Mike said something about a WT frameset in early 2010. About the same time they release the partially chromed TT's.
Jury, if you can't wait.

The only other thing I should mention, especially if anyone is looking to build a WT/Jury up for winter is the new S3X fixed hubs. Three fixed speeds seem perfect for winter. Mike mentioned the possibility of a WT+S3X combo sometime next year. Otherwise I think the hubs themselves are going to be available sometime before the first of the year. Or not. There is no certain info that I can find.

No, but the need for brakes with longer reach implies more clearance than the wt which takes up to 45c.

Posted By: suicide_doors

Posted By: lickedwickeddepending on colors you have selected and the availability of that color and size.

I don't think BD allows back ordering. I could be wrong, but they generally either offer pre/scheduled ordering and on hand stock only. If you bought a TT and the page didn't say anything about delayed delivery or preorder on your color, I can't imagine Mike would take longer than a couple days to ship. It's not as if Texas and Nevada are far apart.

some say ships in a certain month so if you order before

Posted By: suicide_doors

Mike basically took older, long out of business (Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor) or out of the US market (Dawes) company names and began branding his bikes with them. None of his brands or bikes have any relation to their out of country namesakes. In the case of Dawes, to my knowledge they're never had a presence in the US and only market their bikes in the UK. So nothing that BD sells is a "knock off," more just a clever way to fake pre-existing brand recognition. I know that sounds shady, but it's pretty common and not at all illegal or gray-market. Most of the manufacturing for his brands is done by Kinesis and Maxway, which make frames for dozens of other companies including Jamis, Kona, GT, etc, etc. They (manufacturers) don't dial down machining or welding quality from one frame to the next. All of the frames come from Taiwan and China as far as I know. I've never seen a Korean reference, but there could be one.

First let me say that I am new to all of this and am not sure if this is a common business practice. This to me does sound a little shady. When someone without or with little knowledge of the bike industry see's "Motobecane" or "Dawes" or "Mercier", you automatically think you're getting the real thing, backed up with the the same tradition in design and manufacturing. In a way, you really are getting a knock off or an impersonator for lack of a better term. It's like a chicken wearing a duck outfit and calling itself a duck. This totally changes the way I look at bikes, almost removes the "wow" factor. Very disappointing. /rant

Posted By: soulbyte

Posted By: suicide_doors

Mike basically took older, long out of business (Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor) or out of the US market (Dawes) company names and began branding his bikes with them. None of his brands or bikes have any relation to their out of country namesakes. In the case of Dawes, to my knowledge they're never had a presence in the US and only market their bikes in the UK. So nothing that BD sells is a "knock off," more just a clever way to fake pre-existing brand recognition. I know that sounds shady, but it's pretty common and not at all illegal or gray-market. Most of the manufacturing for his brands is done by Kinesis and Maxway, which make frames for dozens of other companies including Jamis, Kona, GT, etc, etc. They (manufacturers) don't dial down machining or welding quality from one frame to the next. All of the frames come from Taiwan and China as far as I know. I've never seen a Korean reference, but there could be one.

First let me say that I am new to all of this and am not sure if this is a common business practice. This to me does sound a little shady. When someone without or with little knowledge of the bike industry see's "Motobecane" or "Dawes" or "Mercier", you automatically think you're getting the real thing, backed up with the the same tradition in design and manufacturing. In a way, you really are getting a knock off or an impersonator for lack of a better term. It's like a chicken wearing a duck outfit and calling itself a duck. This totally changes the way I look at bikes, almost removes the "wow" factor. Very disappointing. /rant

I wouldn't sweat it too much. You'd be shocked to see how many of the framesets you know and love are made in the same factory by the same people. Not that they're bad frames in any way, but they damn sure aren't "special".
A variation on an old saying. You can have it cheap, unique, or well built but you can only pick two :)

Posted By: suicide_doorsI would agree in the sense that most people probably assume there is a connection between the two names, and that is certainly a little deceptive. But Mercier, Windsor, and Motobecane haven't been around in any significant way for quite some time now, so it doesn't seem reasonable to expect that Joe Consumer is going to have heard of them in the first place, much less attribute said name to any "tradition of design and manufacturing." If they were to investigate said brands they would immediately discover that there is a divide between old French Mercier and Cycles Mercier. I stress that it is the buyer's responsibility to knowwhatthey are buying, whether it is a toaster or a bike from the internet.

To wit, regardless of what the brand name on the frame is, the very strong general consensus is that BD/BI bikes are all of very high quality in relation to their respective pricepoints. Not to mention that comparable models from other companies sell for twice (or more) what BD charges, and in many cases the actual frames are identical in quality both in design and in manufacture. A lot of them are even made by the same east Asian factory (whether it be in Taiwan, Japan, or China) as their so called knock-offs.

As for any of this removing a bike's "wow" factor.. If the only wow about a bike is who makes it, I think you may be missing the point.

Suicide_doors, I completely agree that it's up to consumer to know what they're buying. Thanks for the info, puts things in a much better perspective. Also, thinking about what you said "As for any of this removing a bike's "wow" factor.. If the only wow about a bike is who makes it, I think you may be missing the point." I think I was, and for a moment forgot about the simple joy of just riding. Again you are right, I love my Leader, no matter what anyone says about it.

Kudos to you my friend.

Posted By: LyKqiD

Posted By: soulbyteI love my Leader, no matter what anyone says about it.

Yes, we Leader riders either need a thick skin, or a laid back attitude.

It's like Geo Metro owners. They know they bought a lawnmower with a car wrapped around it, but they'll be damned if anyone's gonna piss on on that parade. I say be loud, be proud! :)