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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Decent bike, but a terrible assembly experience
By Jonathan
I'll get the good out first. This is a great bike for the money; I looked all over in stores for a comparable bike and couldn't find one for under $250. Once assembled, the bike rides fine, the gears shift pretty smoothly and the brakes are decent. The seat leaves something to be desired (it's VERY narrow) but the handlebars are great (there's a good layer of comfort foam). The frame is sturdy and well-painted (any decals are covered with a layer of clear enamel) with the only stickers being of the generic variety, like the standard "warning: always wear a helmet" one. It took me a little while to adjust everything to where I wanted it, but once there everything was hunky-dory.The assembly, however, is a bear if you've never assembled a bike before (which I haven't). I consider myself decently handy, and if you give me a good set of directions I can usually figure things out no problem. The instruction manual in this case, however, isn't for this specific model of bike; it's a generic that reads like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books that were popular back in the day. My first clue was the warning that "pictures may not match your particular model." As I went on, I encountered a lot of "if your bike comes with this kind of...", which became very frustrating very quickly, especially when I got to the brakes - maybe it's just me, but none of those pictures look like what I was working on.Since there are no pictures of this bike model in the manual, I had to do a lot of guessing. For example, I found out AFTER I had completed and ridden the bike that the gear shift goes under, and not on, the handlebar, and that was only from looking at the Amazon picture.I spent roughly one hour and fifteen minutes putting the bike together, and I would say forty-five minutes of that was spent on the front brake. At first, it was set so wide that when you pulled the brake on the handlebar the pads wouldn't even touch the rim. I adjusted it one, but then they stuck in the "closed" position. It took a lot of patience and a lot of work with my adjustable wrench, but I finally got it to a working state. With that exception, everything else pretty much went smoothly.In short, if you've assembled bikes before or consider yourself pretty handy, this is a great value. If you are the slightest bit intimidated by anything I wrote though, just spend the extra money and get a pre-assembled bike, because this won't be worth your time, and if you mess ANYTHING up, you don't want it to be your brakes.UPDATE 7/21/2010: Ten days ago I took this bike out for a 66.2 mile ride (the ACS Bike-a-thon in Philadelphia), and have also been riding it pretty consistently since my review, and have some new thoughts.The handlebars tend to not stay straight, especially if you drop (even gently) the bike on its side. The first 20 miles of my ride were on somewhat bumpy roads, and by the end of it my handlebars were about five to ten degrees off center. The allen wrench included with the bike needs to be inserted in such a way that the handle is actually in the bolt (otherwise it won't reach), leaving you very little leverage to turn it. This problem can probably be solved with a different allen wrench.Also, the gears need to be adjusted regularly, because after about 10 miles they start to make noise as you pedal. Also, make sure you tighten the bolts around the seat and the post that holds it up, as a bumpy ride will stress them.On the plus side, the stock tires held up excellently on a ride that saw about one out of every 20 riders get a flat on the less-than-stellar roads. The grips are as comfortable as my first impression, but tend to get a bit slippery with sweat (wearing gloves will negate this effect; I found out when I rested my forearm on them).Still, for under $200, if you don't mind a trying assembly experience and buying a new seat, this is a good bike.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
Great entry into road bikes...
By MN Ryan
I bought this bike wanting to try out cycling, possibly getting more serious in the future. I can't speak to others problems but here are a few things I found:-The bike itself is solid, but not overly heavy.-Assembly is a real pain, especially the front brake and attaching the shifters to the handlebar stem. These two things probably took up 75% of my assembly time.-Adjusting the gearing is equally maddening, as there doesn't seem to be a happy medium.-Replace the stock seat, your "bits" will thank you.That being said...the bike is great to ride. The handlebars are comfortable, and riding position is adequate (although that may just be a matter of proper adjustment). I am 6'1", and fit comfortably, although I wouldn't recommend the bike to anyone taller. I would recommend this as a great entry level road bike (especially for the price!), and a good buy for anyone not sure about whether they will want to start biking a lot. No reason to drop minimum $500 on a new road bike, when this will last a few summers for the casual biker.***EDIT (10.03.2010)***Ridden this bike most of the summer, on a weekly basis. A few more problems than I would have liked, but overall it has performed well. The handlebars seem to loosen themselves pretty easily, and you will need to buy a rather long allen wrench to fix the problem (inside the front stem). Brakes are moderately awful, but I am still able to stop after applying some pretty serious pressure (adjusting the brakes on this bike is an exercise in futility). Overall, I'm still pretty happy, but will upgrade next summer or as money allows.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Worth the price
By ro
It is in the same price range as that of the Denali Road Bike. I have owned both the bikes now and would say that this one is better. I have owned this bike for a month and have no problems yet. I drive 5 to 10 miles every day. The bike is definitely not great if you're seriously into biking, but for normal day to day use, I would take this any day for the price. One of the gears doesn't work very well and that is the reason why I have given it 4 stars instead of 5.
See all 20 customer reviews...
The best toy!!
Buying this was a bad idea
It's okay
missing parts
