I did a cross-country charity tour with a fleet of $500 BikesDirect bikes, and kept mine and did a bunch more miles (ans some upgrades from the parts bin.) An former poster, Inpd, did 10- or 20,000 miles on a similar bike.
BD has cheap but decent frames--nothing cutting edge, but nothing in any way cheezy or inadequate. The parts spec---you can see for yourself. A lot of FSA cranks, Shimano derailleurs (or SRAM,) Tektro or other brakes .... Bontrager cockpits, last I looked .....
I generally describe them as a solid, sound, normal bike form a couple years ago. A few seasons behind in terms of all the upgrades, which a lot of people argue are manufactured just to create the illusion of new, advanced product anyway.
For people who do not plan to race and realize that when you buy this year's low-mid-range Trek or Spec you are basically getting three-years'-ago tech anyway ..... I think BD is an excellent option. The frames are generally good enough that you won't be wasting money if you make judicious upgrades over time---I wouldn't do Thompson and Zipp .... but lower-cost upgrades as things wear out. The sort of bike which encourages you to buy stuff when you see amazing deals on EBay knowing you will use it someday .... or to combine with a couple good used bikes with older or worn-out parts. I haven't checked in several months, but it used to be the best way to get most of an Ultegra group was to buy a BD bike so equipped, and strip it .... use the rest as a spare bike or sell it to recoup a little cash.
Really solid bikes. No flashy name on the downtube, and no flashy price tag, either.
Yo have to assemble the bikes, and I would recommend checking the wheels .... never sure how well the assembler checked them .... we found that throwing them on a truing stand and setting uniform tension was all that was needed. You have to adjust the brakes and shifters .... most people can handle that with the help of YouTube. We got a bunch of teens, many who had never ridden, to do the assembly. They read the instructions and put the bikes together with no further help needed.
If your friends isn't going to obsess over whether FSA shifts as well as Shimano rings, or worry that people won't think he is "cool" because the bike comes from a discount shop ..... I recommend them.