What do you think of bikesdirect?

June 1, 2009 12:39 AM

I've been doing some research into buying a cheap singlespeed bike. I've been riding a rockhopper for years and recently took a test drive of one and thought it was quite fun. Bikesdirect has been coming up a lot because I am on a tight budget. Has anyone here purchased any of their bikes and if so what did you think of them?

If you need context: I have access to a local bike coop and am fairly okay with regular bike maintenance. I also would get any bike tested by a pro mechanic before riding. I don't care about name but I do want something simple, inexpensive (4-500$) and relatively light and strong

I've also been haunting craigslist/ebay but am beginning to realize building a bike from scratch is plenty expensive. I do plan on upgrading whatever I buy as I go along. I would be using the bike for fun, commuting and some variety from my geared bike.

posted by concreteforest to shopping (8 comments total)

i haven't bought anything from bikesdirect, but check out the bikeforums about it. I'm in the same boat as you, though, so take this with a grain of salt.
posted by cmchap at 3:06 AM on June 1

Never ridden one, but I know a lot of people who have. Low-end frames, low-end parts. A little worse than cheap bike shop bikes, a lot better than department-store ones. Not at all cool--dunno if that's important to you.

In my opinion, if you have access to a local bike co-op and a local bike shop, most if not all of the reasons to buy a bike from bikesdirect quickly evaporate.

Are you looking for a singlespeed road bike for urban riding, or something else?
posted by box at 6:03 AM on June 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

I haven't ridden a Bikesdirect bike, though I was considering it for a bit, and there are plenty of opinions out there about them. If you live anywhere there's a decent Craigslist community, I'd recommend just keeping your eyes open and reading it incessantly. I've seen a decent number of singlespeeds/fixed gears on my local CL go for less than $300 recently.

You could also try going to the Vancouver Old Bicycle Swap Meet - if you're comfortable building up a singlespeed, it could be a great place to get a frameset/parts, without falling into the trap of over-spending on a build.
posted by god hates math at 6:28 AM on June 1

What box said.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:22 AM on June 1

For just cruising around, any of the BikesDirect singlespeeds would be fine. Most of their bikes are Kinesis frames badged with former proud brand names whose companies have ceased to be a going concern and have been bought by wholesalers - like Motebecane.

Kinesis is based in Taiwan and makes frames for craploads of companies, including REI, Raleigh, etc. Bike snobs would argue, and rightly so, that these bicycles have no "soul. " But with regard to ride, componentry and build quality, they're very serviceable.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 8:24 AM on June 1

Thanks to everyone for their opinions.

Box: I am looking for a singlespeed for "for fun, commuting and some variety from my geared bike." in an urban environment, namely Vancouver. I plan to keep my current bike as well for long distance stuff, so I am mostly interested in speed and just a responsive, simple bike, I guess.

I'll mark the best answer a bit later in case more come in.
posted by concreteforest at 8:49 AM on June 1

I bought this bike from bikesdirect a little over a year ago. The only problem I've had so far is that the fork leaks a bit of oil, but from what I've read it's a known problem with that model of fork and probably not bikesdirect's fault since everything else survived the shipping trip. The tires, hubs, and derailleurs are a little cheap and/or heavy, but for the price I paid and the amount of riding I do (once or twice a month) I really can't complain.
posted by xbonesgt at 8:58 AM on June 1

I've sadly not ridden it cause it's too big for me, but a friend recently got a Mercier single-speed and really likes it.
posted by kid_dynamite at 9:43 AM on June 1