Has anyone bought these bikes

www.bikesdirect.com

Do you have a story to tell?

Do a search. It's a well-covered topic.

I have several friends who have bought from them. They all are experienced cyclists and knew what to look for. All but one of them are happy with the purchase, good prices on run of the mill bicycles. They all knew what size bike to order and how to set it up to fit them properly. The one problem that any had was that one of the bikes came without a seat post binder, not a big deal but the owner had to buy one from his LBS because he couldn't get one sent from Bikes Direct.

From what I have seen, these are not bikes that should be purchased by someone who is not proficient in bike assembly as there is quite a bit of assembly required. Bikes Direct does not have very helpful customer service, so once you buy the bike, you are pretty much on your own. A lot of bike shops are a little less helpful when you bring a Bikes Direct bike to them....customer loyalty issue. So, if you can put your own bike together, set up your own fit, and are not too worried about warranty issues, you can get a fairly decent bike at a good price there. If you are lacking in any one of these attributes, you are best sticking with your LBS.

__________________
One life, one chance. Don't waste it!

very good prices ! Motobecane was a respected brand in the 80's. Nice component groups and nice wheels too.
A friend with good connections told me once that nowadays there are a few big factories, located for example in Taiwan, building frames for different Brands and Companies, that explains low prices like these ones

Motobecane was at one time a well respected manufacturer. They went out of business and sold the name to a mass production manufacturer. Its not the same bike and not the same quality. You are right about the majority of frames being produced by a couple of frame builders in Taiwan, and unless someone has proof that thier frame was custom made, it probably came from one of these shops. I suppose that what really defines quality these days is the after sale support that you can receive if needed.

__________________
One life, one chance. Don't waste it!