# Do you think some Bikes Direct bikes need better paintjobs???



## getagrip (Feb 16, 2012)

So I've been looking at some Bikes Direct road bikes, and I must say that some of them are downright UGLY.  It seems that at times, the pricier the bike, the uglier it gets...not sure why, and I'm not trying to be mean here, but that's what I'm seeing with a lot of Bikes Direct road bikes. For example, compare these to bikes:

Motobecane Mirage Sport, $399.95:

Road Bikes - 2012 Motobecane Mirage Sport

Overall, a pretty decent looking bike (well, not counting the pink ladies model LOL). Now compare to a much higher priced and better equipped Gravity Comp20, selling for $795.95:

Save up to 60% off new Road Bikes - Gravity Comp20 | Save up to 60% off new road bikes

Not to sound rude here, but from a purely aesthetic value, which one looks better?

I'm still kind of up in the air about whether or not I want to get a road bike. I currently have a Motobecane Fantom Cyclocross, which looks relatively good in the black gloss paint. Now, I suppose Mike at Bikes Direct knows what he's doing since most of the Gold Gravity Comp20 road bikes are SOLD OUT (the white looks much better, by the way), but honestly, as a consumer, I'm scared away by the paint job of a lot of higher end Bikes Direct bikes. Having said that, this is one area I'm convinced Bikes Direct is able to pass on the savings to the consumer - I don't know what the cost breakdown is per bike, but its obvious that Trek spends a lot more on their paint jobs! 

Each consumer is different in terms of their likes and dislikes, but for me, I would honestly not purchase certain Bikes Direct road bikes based on their paint jobs, and might even spend LESS to get a nicer looking, but not as well equiped bike! I know, sad, but true...for me, most of the entire Ultegra lineup is OUT.

I'm curious to know what other people here think about this issue. Again, not trying to be rude or to bash Bikes Direct, but ideally, I'd like to help Mike out, and that means being brutally honest. Would anyone here reading this pay an extra $25 to $50 for a better paint job? Or, would you pay the same price, minus pedals, for a bike with a better paint job? There are certain things that most people will swap out anyway...what would you give up for a better paint job?


----------



## lardo (Aug 16, 2011)

I like that their general image they go with on bikes is the plain look. I like simple and I really dislike the stupid looking paint jobs on the major namebrands.

However, some of the designs and logos on BD bikes are outright ugly. I would buy their Immortal bikes, but just look at that logo. Nope. It looks like some New Jersey Shore tattoo.

IMO, keep it classy.


----------



## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

I've seen some real expensive bikes posted here by owners that ride them that looked a lot uglier!!! But it's just an opinion of the eye of the beholder. And the ones you showed the blue on the mens and the red on the mixte looks fine; and the Gravity, the white one is a common color a lot of people have, now that weird metallic gold...that's ugly but not as ugly as I've seen bikes costing 5 times that and more. And most expensive Italian bikes for years were noted for their poor paint jobs in the durability department. Trek doesn't spend any more money on their paint jobs then BD bikes do, they all get painted in China using Chinese paint and paint applications. And I don't even like some of the gawdy paint jobs and especially the gawdy decals Trek has done.

And those bikes you showed are not BD's higher price range bikes, not even close. And there are certain bikes I wouldn't buy for color reasons too but it's not just limited to BD bikes! Take any bike at any price range painted in that god awful flat black look; here's a expensive example of one of the ugliest bikes in the world...my opinion of course, and it's very expensive; see post #123 http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bikes-frames-forks/if-price-were-no-object-what-bike-273242-13.html
This ugly thing ridden by pros: TCR Advanced SL 0 (2012) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States I could go on and on, but I think I made my point, price and good looks do not go hand in hand.

I like BD's TI bikes, their very understated in their decals, though it's not painted which is ok with me: Shimano Ultegra 6700 Road Bikes | Titanium Road Bikes | Roadbikes - 2012 Motobecane Le Champion SL Ti. And even Motobecane's Century Team CF bike has a nice gloss black paint job with understated graphics: Road Bikes, Roadbikes - 2012 Motobecane Century Team. If you look long enough you'll find a color you like at BD in the price range you want.


----------



## getagrip (Feb 16, 2012)

froze said:


> And those bikes you showed are not BD's higher price range bikes, not even close.


My mistake - they are higher end for me since I can't spend more than $1000, but yes, compared to some $5 to $10k bikes, they are pretty much low end.


----------



## sgalante (May 5, 2009)

getagrip, You include in the title "Better Paint Job", but in essence you are talking about color choice. I thought you were going to complain about uneven paint and such. There was a similar thread started back in September of last year where someone was questioning weight and color choices of their $300 bike. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/motobecane-mercier/open-message-bikes-direct-261824.html

I'm not saying my explanation is the end-all/be-all to those questions, but I feel there were some good points made in it by a number of forum members, regarding both color and weight issues..


----------



## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

sgalante said:


> I'm not saying my explanation is the end-all/be-all to those questions, but I feel there were some good points made in it by a number of forum members, regarding both color and weight issues..


But, just like I already said, color choice is in the eye of the beholder, so what may be ugly to one person will be attractive to another. Look at the two bike color and decal examples of the Baum and the Giant, both are expensive top of the line bikes and I think their among the ugliest bikes on the market. Weight wise, any bike below $1000 is going to be heavy by today's standard of most who frequent forums like this. What do you think your going to find at the $600 range? a 15 pound bike with the best paint job? Not at BD nor in any LBS will you find that! We all have to be realistic that if your working with a very limited income your not going to get the lightest bike on the market, it's going to be heavier and the paint job will not be superior. But for years expensive Italian bikes had been known for poor paint quality, so paint quality by itself is not an indication of a superior bike. Also keep in mind that these odd colors like that Motebecane gold metallic is nothing more then a move in the direction of some automobile colors as of late.

I do agree with the Open Message to Bikes Direct statement about the numerous bike choices as being overwhelming, but I do think that BD is over trying to make every possible combination of frame and components available to the customer when in reality all they need to do like they do with their TI road and cross bikes...1 frame, with choices of components packages, thus you can choose what you can afford or level needed. If they did that with other models they could easily reduce the bike choices down by half and make it less confusing to the consumer.


----------



## Robert1 (Mar 27, 2012)

The font is pretty bad on motobecane and the 2 tone paint jobs are really dated looking. That top/bottom pattern is from around 20-30 years ago. I really want to get a century and will probably keep it to the all black.


----------



## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

Robert1 said:


> The font is pretty bad on motobecane and the 2 tone paint jobs are really dated looking. That top/bottom pattern is from around 20-30 years ago. I really want to get a century and will probably keep it to the all black.


There's lots of bad fonts out there, to pick on one bike company is nuts, for example look at Giant's fonts their god awful, and that's just to name one, there's plenty of others out there...granted, there's plenty of better ones then Motobecane but their not the worst either.


----------



## getagrip (Feb 16, 2012)

In my view, this is one of the nicer Motobecane paint jobs - and its white!


----------



## R1000 (Mar 15, 2005)

hmm... so it's not soooo much a "bikes direct" issue... looks like a "Motobecane" issue.... I got a Kestrel Evoke from BD in the black carbon fiber weave look. No complaints from me


----------



## SolitaryRider (Oct 20, 2011)

While I also appreciate and like the "simple" look of many BD bikes, vs. some of the gawdy, snazzier name-brands, I do agree that there needs to be a better choice of colors! I got real lucky in that my current $300 BD bike came in a nice green...when it comes time to move up, I'd really have a hard time spending $1200-$1500 for a bike whose paintjob I don't like. I don't like the trendy colors [black; white], nor can I stand yellow bikes....silver or gold I can live with.....but I really prefer blues and greens- or I could live with even colors I don't like, iffin they are part of a two-tone scheme. 

Still though....I'll be buying BD...'cause most of the name brands don't look any better- and even if they did, I ain't spending twice the money just for a nicer color. Just hope when I'm ready to buy my next BD bike, that they have the one I want in a color I can live with. (Then again, with a fraction of the money I'd be saving buying BD- I could always paint the darn thing, I suppose...)


----------



## Hiro11 (Dec 18, 2010)

The paint on my Mercier Kilo WT is a pretty nice metallic green. However, I agree that the Immotals and Le Champions look very dated. The Immortal "tribal" decals" (as shown above) are the worst, straight 1997 nu-metal. The Le Champions look blander than bland with bad colors and blocky designs. IMO, the best looking bike they sell is the black 753 framed one. Their TI frames look OK too. To me, their prices justify overlooking the aesthetics. Their prices are really amazing.


----------



## SolitaryRider (Oct 20, 2011)

Well-said, Hiro!(Hito? ) 

Ya know too- their may be an advantage to a crappy paint scheme: I figure, if I have to end up getting a bike whose color I reallly don't like, it would give me the impetus to buy an airbrush, and get creative and give it a really nice custom paint-job. Then again....they're just bikes.....we don't really look at them when we ride 'em....so maybe we shouldn't care that much.


----------



## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

I own a number of "brand name" bikes and just pulled the trigger on a BD bike. I don't really mind the factory-direct method that BD utilizes and I think they have lots of very nice bikes for unbeatable prices. What I would really prefer though would be more solid color or simple paint schemes without the brand logos. I have absolutely no shame about where I bought the bike from and its construction; I've been wanting a steel cross bike for a while to put a rack on for commuting and the groupset on the steel Fantom CXX is worth as much as the total cost of the bike. I have no shame about any of that but I feel a bit squeamish about riding a bike labeled with the name of a storied brand from the past that has absolutely nothing to do with the bike I am riding. Though the understated paint scheme itself is nice, there is a good chance that I will have the frame repainted as soon as I get it.


----------



## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

Hiro11 said:


> . Their TI frames look OK too. To me, their prices justify overlooking the aesthetics. Their prices are really amazing.


Their TI bikes look just ok? There's no paint, what's bad about their TI bikes? Their decals? At least their decals aren't gawdy and huge like most bikes today on the road. Most TI bikes aren't painted, just nude TI with decals. But some TI bikes finish looks crappy like the expensive Moots line with their very dull flat industrial Ti look, at least Motobecane has a shinier finish to it, but Moots decals are similar to Motobecane just simple ungawdy block lettering but in white instead of black.


----------



## sgalante (May 5, 2009)

thechriswebb said:


> I have no shame about any of that but I feel a bit squeamish about riding a bike labeled with the name of a storied brand from the past that has absolutely nothing to do with the bike I am riding. Though the understated paint scheme itself is nice, there is a good chance that I will have the frame repainted as soon as I get it.


Not to knock what you are getting at, but are there really many "non-handbuilt" bike companies that still have the prestige that they used to have? I used to ride a Colnago Mexico back in the late 70's or early 80's (I forgot how long ago it was.) That frame was a thing of beauty. Since pretty much everyone is having their frames built overseas, and merely attaching an "Assembled in Italy" or some other nonsense, is there really that much of a relevance to the names anymore? There are a number of well known brands out there, that merely put their decals on the same frames, but jack up the price hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the privilege of riding one of their "storied" brands.

Would someone in the market for a Rolls-Royce, not buy one, because they are now owned and assembled by BMW? Lamborghini was once owned by Chrysler. I would rather buy a bike for what is in the build, then what the downtube says.


----------



## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

sgalante said:


> Not to knock what you are getting at, but are there really many "non-handbuilt" bike companies that still have the prestige that they used to have? I used to ride a Colnago Mexico back in the late 70's or early 80's (I forgot how long ago it was.) That frame was a thing of beauty. Since pretty much everyone is having their frames built overseas, and merely attaching an "Assembled in Italy" or some other nonsense, is there really that much of a relevance to the names anymore? There are a number of well known brands out there, that merely put their decals on the same frames, but jack up the price hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the privilege of riding one of their "storied" brands.
> 
> Would someone in the market for a Rolls-Royce, not buy one, because they are now owned and assembled by BMW? Lamborghini was once owned by Chrysler. I would rather buy a bike for what is in the build, then what the downtube says.


Plus 1


----------



## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

froze said:


> Their TI bikes look just ok? There's no paint, what's bad about their TI bikes? Their decals? At least their decals aren't gawdy and huge like most bikes today on the road. Most TI bikes aren't painted, just nude TI with decals. But some TI bikes finish looks crappy like the expensive Moots line with their very dull flat industrial Ti look, at least Motobecane has a shinier finish to it, but Moots decals are similar to Motobecane just simple ungawdy block lettering but in white instead of black.


I love the fact that the titanium is left just as it is. That's part of the beauty of titanium IMO. I do like the hollow decals on the team Ti I got better than the solid ones.


----------



## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

sgalante said:


> Not to knock what you are getting at, but are there really many "non-handbuilt" bike companies that still have the prestige that they used to have? I used to ride a Colnago Mexico back in the late 70's or early 80's (I forgot how long ago it was.) That frame was a thing of beauty. Since pretty much everyone is having their frames built overseas, and merely attaching an "Assembled in Italy" or some other nonsense, is there really that much of a relevance to the names anymore? There are a number of well known brands out there, that merely put their decals on the same frames, but jack up the price hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the privilege of riding one of their "storied" brands.
> 
> Would someone in the market for a Rolls-Royce, not buy one, because they are now owned and assembled by BMW? Lamborghini was once owned by Chrysler. I would rather buy a bike for what is in the build, then what the downtube says.



Bear on mind that I did buy the bike and I did so for what is in the build. I have been riding it and it is very nice and I enjoy it very much. I am just saying that I would prefer it without the logo.


----------



## gdfred88 (Jun 9, 2012)

Yes. Some of every brand's bikes need a better paint job or color/decal scheme.

I wish the Le Champion came in a Blackened CF-mesh like most of the Immortals. Even if there was some exposed CF on the frame and a single solid color (w/ or w/out thinner pin-stripes) it would look so much more 'updated'.

But find the one you like. There are so many to choose from... The more one looks the more they find that they like. So many that I cannot decide which to buy (and my wife is about to shoot me because she wants me to get a new bike so she can ride my current Scott Sportster...),


----------

