jordy808

Well, I always thought I have broader shoulders, but these things are gargantuan! Another reason why I want a narrower handlebars though is because riding through Austin in rush hour traffic usually equates through cutting through the middle of the traffic or going around cars, so with these huge handlebars, I have way less clearance than on my old Fuji road bike. The reason why I wanted new wheels was because the stock ones are super thin, and while I feel like I can cut corners a lot sharper, I just know I'm going to wipe out one day when I don't notice a crack or something. Maybe a little thicker tires would give me a little more assurance?

Arrowtalon

My handlebars were 44 cm. I was pleasantly surprised by this, as my shoulders are about 44-45 pivot to pivot. If the handlebars feel less comfy, you should swap them out. One thing I can tell you is that you want to rotate them until the bottom of the drop is parallel to the top-tube (and also the ground). That puts the ergo area in the correct place.

Arrowtalon

I may have another con: the tires.

They're Kenda Kontenders. They came on my brother's bike as well, and are notorious for pinch flats and less than confident grip.

I was going to get some Nashbar Prima Plus 2's, as I've had very good luck on those. Any other suggestions?

ShadowGray

How are the wheels bad? THey're 32 spokes... which is a lot more durable than most wheelsets nowadays.

Arrowtalon

I crossed the 1000 mile mark. The bike is holding up amazingly well. The new Tiagra shifters are great and the brakes weren't nearly the issue I thought they'd be.

The tires sucked--kept giving me flats--and I changed them out. I also opted for a different saddle (Nashbar F1). The wheels still run very true.

So far I am very very happy with my purchase.

ShadowGray

Glad to know that the corvus is still holding up. I, on the other hand, went another route... I found too good of a deal and couldn't let it go.

Although from time to time I do wonder what riding a steel road bike would be like...

Arrowtalon

I've decided it's sort of a luxury. i certainly could have gotten a better spec'd AL bike, but the corvus rides better than any other bike I tried. Is it worth the price over an Aluminum bike (Mercier Corvus AL, Mercier Aquila AL)? I don't know, but I do think it rides better.

Arrowtalon

Went up Marys Peak today. The Corvus did well--thought another pic was in order.

Arrowtalon

I wanted to follow up on this since no one ever seems to update reviews. My Corvus is now 6500 miles and 17 months old. I paid $750 for it and am closing in on the 10 cents a mile mark.

The ride quality is still as good as day one, and the shifting is still top-notch. I take a bit of pride in that my Tiagra shifters seem to remain properly adjusted far longer than the Ultegra counterparts my friends use.

There haven't been any real issues. I swapped out the stem originally in favor of a more relaxed one and then swapped that one for a more aggressive one. The pedals are Shimano SPD, but other than that, everything is original.

I still think I got a killer deal, but in hindsight, I'm not sure if I'll buy from bikesdirect again. Although the bike has been fantastic, I'm noticing more and more things BD has done to cut corners, or where they haven't been on top of things. Many of the parts, such as the bottom bracket, the original stem, the crankset, the original tires, the original headset, the hubs, and even the shifters were not as advertised. In the case of the shifters, they were actually a more recent model, so I can't complain. The hubs were advertised as Shimano, but were instead a cheaper Formula hub. The spokes are generic, and I've broken 2, but am a 200 lb rider.

More than that, bikesdirect has simply been too dodgy with me. It isn't that they've done anything wrong, but they don't do enough. First off, I should be able to call a customer service rep directly if I need to. But they have no phone number. Secondly, I should be able to have basic sales and product information given to me correctly and immediately. When I have asked for basic information about this bike over the time I have had it, I usually get a response akin to "we'll contact Mercier about that and get back to you". ... What? There is no Mercier. They're just dodging my question.

I still maintain that I got the best deal possible at this pricepoint. I still have not seen a better one. But I'd be willing to sacrifice a little bit of cash for more professional service.

So, the bike is still superb and has held up like a rock over 6500 miles of hard riding, but I don't think I'll buy from BD again.

Jaeger

Really? I could accept a substitute on some things like a bottom bracket or stem, but the hubs weren't as advertised? Exactly what did they advertise and what did you get?

DScott

Thanks for the update. It's true, no one ever follows up.

BengeBoy 

Thanks for the update -- you're right, it's rare to get an update. Seems to me your experience is a fair summary of both pros and cons.

Arrowtalon

The hubs advertised were Shimano 2200. I got generic/unmarked low-end Formula hubs. The formula hubs have held up perfectly--particularly the rear hub--but its the principle of the thing. I thought I was getting Shimano and got generic. I know 2200 is nothing special, but they're different hubs.

Jaeger

I agree, I'd be annoyed, too. I don't expect a lot from a discount retailer selling bikes online, but I do expect them to ship what they advertised. If some minor component is out of stock I can understand they may prefer to ship it with a different stem or something rather than delay an order, but in your case it sounds like half the bike was not what they listed. There's no excuse for that, even if the substituted components are not obviously worse.

agarose2000

This sounds spot-on from what I would expect from a BD assessment (I don't own a BD bike myself) and am glad you put it clearly in words. The limited customer service/info is the single biggest drawback from buying online and can definitely be a big turnoff.

My only addition to your otherwise great and honest evaluation is that I do wonder whether you'd feel the same way about the mix-n-match parts if you had spent closer to $2000 on a higher-end BD bike. I've noticed that on their higher end bikes, they do much less "frankenbiking" of components (like Sora/2200, ultegra/105, etc) and you'd notice more consistency in the parts. To defend BD, there is NO LBS that could give you the same bike even with 20% higher cost with non-mixed components and parts at $800. So your complaint about the mixing would apply to pretty much any $800 bike, even one purchased at an LBS.

(My $700 Giant Defy3 was an LBS-bought bike and is a Sora/2200 mix, with other "shortcuts" in the crank, etc. Rides great, but if I analyzed the parts specifically, it wouldn't be quite as impressive a bike as the advert makes it to be. And no way in heck do the components come close to a $700 BD bike.)

DrPete 

At least Shimano has a name standing behind it, even if they're 2200 hubs. And you're right--when you buy a bike online it's not like you're going to box the whole bike back up and ship it for a return or refund based just on a little bait and switch work, but it is annoying.

The "We'll contact Mercier" line is flippin' hilarious, though.

RichinPeoria

You have been very observant with repect to your bicycles parts. When I see that type of behavour by a manufacturer I will not give them my money. I cant see how others can.

agarose2000

I tend to agree - although in my LBS observations, I see a lot of bike configurations with mix n match that aren't even specified by the manufacturer. I don't know if this is a "last year's" model situation, but for sure, in the <$800 price range, I've found the component and parts mixes to vary quite wildly. The only difference I see between this and BD, is that the LBS doesn't advertise or list their parts mixes for bikes <$800 (or $<1200), whereas BD puts it all out there and does it.

Does your LBS give a full parts listing of all their bikes <$800?

akcapbikeforums

Taken as a whole, I really appreciate the OP's sharing his experience, pro and con. There's a lot of credibility built into this thread, given the frankness of some of the criticism. As such, this would give me or any potential purchaser of a Bikesdirect bike, a clear idea of what they're in for. This isn't to say the value isn't there, just that the value equation takes more into account than just the initial price.

sced

Schizo? Reminds me of that guy Lung and his $1600 Asian but not BD Ti frame posts.

Arrowtalon

Just to close up a very old thread: This bike, my first "real" bike and trusted steed, ended it's life with a badly cracked frame (lateral stress crack about an inch above the bottom bracket on the downtube) at 47123 miles. The bike was a dream to ride, especially with additional upgrades to the ones I mentioned above. For those curious, the Tiagra shifter and derailleurs are still going strong and will be salvaged. A Tiagra crank I added to it has also held up very well. All non-Shimano components eventually failed and were replaced.

It was a great bike. I loved it. I certainly got my money's worth out of it. Will I buy another BikesDirect bike? No. There are too many other great local bike shop options out there for marginally more with lifetime or long-term frame warranties.

bleui

thanks for the update, at 47123 miles that is one trusted steed and I guess you've earned a new one.
Do you know what's causing the "crack"? rust? have you been hit? or is the 520 tubing not durable enough?
please do another review on your new steed

SSRI

I too would like to know.
Any rust inside the frame?

ShadowGray

Wow! That should definitely stand as a testament to BD's quality, even if it did fail after 8 years. I remember reading this thread when I was shopping for my first road bike.

rms13

BD/Mercier have a lifetime warranty on the frame

CyclesMercier Warranty