charlie b.

Bikes Direct is not a bad outfit to deal with.
Be aware of their stretched claims of comparative value. Don't fall for the "compare with bikes costing $3,500!". Compare all you want. You're not getting a $3500 bike for $600 or $700. That's not a totally bad thing either - just go in with your eyes open to the features and parts they offer on the bikes at their price point, and compare to other bikes at similar price points, and forget the hype. Honestly, this ought to be shopping 101...

Bike (Boris X7) arrived ok, no damage by UPS and only a little scratch on one rim. No big deal. Assembly took about 10 minutes with a helper. That got it able to be ridden and out the door of my employer's back room... and home.

Once home, the tweaking setup was needed on the brakes and derailleurs and seat, and bars and such. Expect that, and take note: You're doing the work a bike shop would do when they get a bike in a crate and have to assemble it in their shop. If you cannot do this, don't trash Bikes Direct or the bike, because every bike out there needs adjustment in one way or another.

Quality bike, decent, but not great, components. One problem early on was the bottom bracket was not assembled correctly as it was received. Had extra and weird spacers inside that upset the spacing of things, which was not immediately noticed.

Here's where Bikes Direct gets poor marks - on the up side, they were responsive. On the down side, they told me to go buy the parts (about $85 worth) and they'd issue a credit. I bought exactly what they told me to buy. I got my credit. The parts they said to buy were not the right parts... they ought to have known this. In my case, they suggested Surly bottom bracket (which is for the Shimano style crank). The bike has a SRAM style crank, so the Surly part wont work. Their bad, and they lose a star off their rating.

And, I tried three local bike shops that all snubbed any sort of fat tire bike... and basically refused to help, with Bike America being the worst of the bunch. They wanted $150 to look over, change the bad part (5 minute job), and adjust - plus parts! Hence my reliance on my own sleuthing. Hey I got an education in bike assembly, tweaks and repair! FWIW, once I had the right bottom bracket (about $40), learning to change it, and doing the actual work did take all of five minutes, plus another five to get the sticky grease off my hands!

I would have given Bikes Direct a five star, but they get four for sending me on a goose chase. I got the right parts at my own expense and frankly, I did an upgrade when getting the right part, so I don't feel too terribly bad about it all.

And, yes, I'd buy from Bikes Direct again. I'd steer a friend toward them. I'd steer family to them. They're an ok oufit, just... you're gonna have to either DIY, or lean on local help (that you pay for). Bikes from Bikes Direct are sort of like a sweat equity house...

Me - I'm a better than most mechanic, just unschooled about bicycles. I work on all my own vehicles, have rebuilt Harley engines with no problems. I'm also a cheap so-and-so, and love to save a buck, but not at the expense of quality.