trekker pete

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/29point2.htm

Dart 3 fork (not great, but a step or two up from bottom of the barrel suntour forks generally found at this price), Avid BB5 brakes, which I understand are about as good as mech brakes get.

Is the rest of the bike garbage?

Anyone have any experience with Gravity?

Daspydyr 

I don't have any experience with Gravity. I do have experience buying and selling bikes. You usually get what you pay for.

$400 might buy more "value" on Craigslist if you are familiar with bikes. Sounds like you have already done some research on the Gravity and its parts. That being said, I have had a blast in the past riding cheap bikes.

trekker pete

I am a big fan of buying used, but, it seems like there really aren't that many great deals on 29ers as everyone and their brother wants one. 26ers are a different story. There are great deals on CL for them. My current ride is one, a C'dale Jekyll that I got for 200 bucks.

Canker

You would be very hard pressed to find anything better for that price.

IthaDan 

No such thing. Save your money.

Dannihilator

+1

catonec 

I really like BD. yes, I do ride a kestrel (its awesome by the way) but I did not buy it from them.

$400 for a secret sale is probably worth the money. you may need to retension/true your wheels, double check all your bolts for tightness, bearings for lube, yada yada but... the bottom line you're getting a compete bike for a great price. even if you bring it to your lbs for a thorough inspection I'll bet you'll be happy enough overall.

FlatSix911

Lots of choices for a 29er ... over 40 listed here

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/29er_bikes.htm

Shimano SLX 27 Speed Front Suspension 29er 2013 Gravity 29Point2 $399
Rock Shox LockOut Suspension Fork, Avid Disc Brakes, 29 inch WTB Tires/Wheels

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/29point2.htm

Canker

Gravity is just a sticker they put on the frame that they get from a Taiwanese supplier. Of coarse that is exactly the same thing nearly everybody else does though some of them use Chinese frame builders. The frames are nothing special but there isn't anything wrong with them either.

The components for the money are damn good. Darts are old and dated but still way better than any suntour you would get on a $400 bike from your LBS. The drivetrain and brakes are way better than you would get for $400 from your LBS. I'm sure the wheels, seat post, handle bars, etc are heavy and nothing special but then they wouldn't be on a $400 bike from your LBS either.

Now you need to know what size bike you need and they need to have it in stock. You will also have to have a little bit of mechanical knowledge to put it together and maybe tune things a bit. Your LBS will be happy to do those things for you but paying them takes away some of the savings which is the point of going with BD in the first place.

osco53

2013 Gravity 29Point2
SECRET SALE
Ends Soon
Add to Cart for
$399.95 Sale Price
(List $1299)

That's called sucker bait, a $1299 bike for $399,,LOL

If you believe that let me sell you a used car..
$600 and up can get you a decent entry level 29er ht.


The guys who set the prices at a meeting, "Hey I gots an idea !",, "What's dat boss ?"
"Lets sell these $400 bikes by calling it a SECRET sale and showing a list of $1299"
"Lots of suckers will think they are getting a $1300 bike."

Since your asking questions like this your no dummy, take some good advice.
BUY from your local bike shop, buy HIS/her $500 or $600 bike and you will get LBS support.
And you will be helping your local business man and that helps YOUR community.

Floating Dutchy said it best:
Buy from your local bike shop, Cost me $100 extra to buy from my LBS than buying over the interweb, has saved me MUCH more that that since, and next time I have an issue, LBS will give advice for free, something they cannot do if nobody buys there and they go out of business.

roccobike

Well the "Secret Sale" must be over, cause it's not coming up on by browser or the link. At $499, the BD bike is not much of a bargain, especially if you have to take it to an LBS for a tune up. I'd say save up another $100 and go to a Cannondale dealer for a Trail 29.

letitsnow

A cheap 29er ends up being a pretty heavy bike. I would either look for a cheap 26" bike, or save up and get into the motobecane Phantom range...

likebike23

Bikes direct bikes are not the best deal for everybody. If you have experience in choosing an appropriately sized bike from a chart, then Bikesdirect's for you. If you can completely assemble, grease, and tune the entire bike prior to riding it, then Bikesdirect's for you. If you can't do those things, then paying an extra $100 for your LBS to do them is the way to go. With that being said, I wouldn't hesitate to pay $400 for that bike.

Wanderer

That's a lot of bike for the buck...........................

Canker

The cheapest Cannondale Trail 29 is $750 and has way WAY!!! lower end parts. I'd much rather have the Gravity. Hell the Cannondale is only an 8 speed.

trekker pete

Yeah, but Cannondales are made in .....uhhhhh......never mind.

Looks like the secret sale is over. Also looks like I will stay with my trusty old litle wheeled C'dale. The one that actually was built here.

Can someone tell me what the price is for an entry level, actually made in America (frame and assembly) 29er?

I just don't get why everybody and their brother has gone to Asian frames/assembly. I understand that it does cost more, but, is it really that much more? I think someone might pay an extra hundred dollars for an America made frame and American Assembly. I can't imagine that the labor differences are much more than that.

Canker

I don't think there are any. I think you have to go pretty high end with any of the big guys to get an American frame if they make any at all. Some of the small guys are still American made but I doubt you can find a frame from any of them for $400 let a lone a whole bike
https://oldglorymtb.com/mountain-bikes-made-in-america/
don't know how up to date that is

The gravity still shows up as $400 for me.

trekker pete

Yes, I see that it is showing up. Not sure what I did earlier to think otherwise.

A for American bikes, I wouldn't expect one to be 400. That 400 dollar one generally isn't. But, I would think that the labor difference wouldn't add up to much more than 100 bucks. And ou have minor saving on nt shipping it as far. I woud think that a decent entry level bike could be put together for 700 and be comparable to 600 bikes.

FlatSix911

Not a bad deal... Orbea Alma Hydro 29 H70 Bike $599

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/or...NjQ2F0MTAwMTU3

roccobike

Like I said, $600 for a 29er. Got to read the entire website.
https://www.cannondale.com/catalog/pr.../category/931/

Xsive

Sorry, but your post's title is a misnomer.

Canker

Some how I missed the 7 and just saw the 5 for $750. The 7 though uses even lower end parts than the 5 so the gravity is still a way better deal. To get something comparable to the gravity you have to spend $1120 from Cannondale and get a Trail SL 29 3. The Trail SL 3 has the fork that replaced the Dart 3 on the gravity and all the drivetrain bits are pretty much equal. The Cannondale does have hydraulic shimano brakes which is a nice bump up over the BB5 not that the BB5s are bad.

Singlespeed92

I bought their G29 SS earlier this year (needing another SS after having sold my Jabberwocky last year) for $349 .99 shipped. Yes,it was heavy,yes,it did have a few cheapy parts (note I didn't say "inexpensive" there ),but it,like most BD bikes,was very decent for the $. There's a thread dedicated to it here ( https://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/a...ss-736383.html ),generally,people who bought em love em. Personally,I bought it knowing I'd be upgrading back to a steel frame (and also having a shelf full of higher end parts-with old spinal injuries,budget aluminum frames are a short term or no-no for me personally),but nothing what-so-ever wrong with buying it and riding the wheels off it. Here's a pic of mine just before swapping out frames...

I say go for it,for the money (unless you find a killer deal on a used bike),you won't beat it,bike snobs be damned And if you break anything or get the itch,you saved enough to warrant a few upgrades as needed,IMO

Parts of mine still live on attatched to an On One frame now...

slowride454

Buying on-line can get you an okay starter bike. For example...I bought a Nashbar road bike. cheap aluminum frame and all carbon fork with full SRAM Force. I rode it a while and found I didn't particularly like the frame for the long distance riding I prefer. Most of those components went into the Soma Double Cross build I did last winter. Here is the point I'm trying to make. If you are just starting out, and need to just get out there and ride, going this route would get you higher level components than you would get from a brick and mortar retailer. Once you know what you like, then buy/build the bike of you dreams either using the components from the cheap bike or sell it to fund the next bike. You can build a good relationship with a LBS without buying a bike there. There are many in my town. I've bought new from two of them, but a different two are the ones I go to most often. Their service department and accessories are where they make the largest margins anyway.