# My 09 Dawes SST/ Bikes Direct review



## DIRT BOY

I tried to be honest and fair with my assement here.

*09 Dawes SST SS/Fixed gear Bike*.
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/sst.htm











I decided after a while that I wanted a fixed gear/ss bike. After pondering decisions on geometry, colors, headsets style pricing and what not I decided to get a Dawes SST from Bikes Direct.

I had a not so great experience with another on-line track bike so I was leery. BD gets praise and not so good reviews form both sides so I wanted to decide myself.

I went with the Dawes because of a few reasons: Colors, Sizing, Road Geometry and 1 HS/stem sizing. Also the price was the best I could do not my current budget by a few dollars.

*Ordering:*

I placed my order a few weeks ago on their site and paid. Within the hour I received conformation on my order with a tracking number to follow.

BD e-mail was complete with all the info I would need:

Thanks for your order. You saved a ton on your new factory direct bike from bikesdirect.com !

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE EMAIL FOR THE MOST ENJOYMENT OF YOUR NEW BIKE AND TO RETAIN YOUR WARRANTY

Your tracking number is at the bottom of this email.

Here's a few useful tips and some information about your bike/order. Please take a moment to read this entire email, it can save you even more time and money. Tracking information is at the bottom of this email

Please email me when the item arrives. If there is any damage to the box please do not refuse the package. The bike inside is pretty well protected and is normally ok. If there is something wrong that we can't fix easily, we can arrange to pick that bike up and get you another. If you have other questions about your order 

please at the following email address: [email protected] (for any technical questions)

PLEASE NOTE -- pedals are left and right threads -- the right pedals goes in the right side; left in the left side -- pedals should be greased, properly tightened and NEVER forced in. A stripped crank or pedal is always a setup error due to improper pedal installation and not enough tightening. Just take it slow and it should be no problem. Warning, stripped threads are not covered by any warranty.

Be sure to tighten all parts and check adjustments prior to riding. 
Even parts that arrive pre-installed should be tightened and adjusted. 

Most bikes are shipped knocked down with pedals (if included), handlebars, seat, and front wheel off.
The brakes and derailleurs will need some minor adjustment, sometimes wheels need minor truing. 

It takes most about 25 minutes to setup a factory direct bike. 
It is very easy to do; but most customers like to take their time and spend about an hour on setup. 
If you would like to know more about bike assembly and adjustment, please see the following links: 

LOOK AT THIS 
https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=83
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7WCSSy6ag8 
and this on Threadless stems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgAiElcaVjs 
or 
https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml 
or 
https://www.bicyclinglife.com/ 
or 
https://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/wrench.html 
or check the manual at https://www.motobecane.com/ All bikes come with generic manuals. If you are looking for more detailed information on how to assemble/work on your bike please see the links above. 

If you feel it is beyond your expertise or you prefer to not fool with the set up of your new bike, a fair price at a Bike Shop to assemble is about $25 to $50 in most areas of the country. 

We are happy to answer questions and address concerns. 

If you need parts, clothing, or accessories; we think you should try out
https://www.bikeisland.com/
Unlike most sites, they do not charge shipping! On items like Helmets, Computers, Shoes, and components can save you a lot. 
Many of our customers buy the starter tool kit and bike repair video at https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/parts/assembly_kit.htm
This could easily be the best $29 you ever spent. 
Thanks again and
Remember we are always here to help you out

Your item will be shipped via UPS ground. 
If your item has a month indicated in the item description your bike will not ship and show movement until sometime during that listed month.
Once your bike has actually shipped it will take about 5 to 7 days (not including weekends or holidays). 

The tracking number is as follows: 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

You can track it at https://www.ups.com/. (sometimes it takes 24 to 48 hours to show in their system) 

WHEN YOUR BIKE ARRIVES, PLEASE WRITE DOWN THE SERIAL NUMBER. WE DO NOT KEEP THESE ON FILE, AS THE BIKES DROP SHIP DIRECTLY FROM THE FACTORY TO YOU. YOU CAN FIND THIS NUMBER IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PLACES : UNDERNEITH THE BOTTOM BRACKET OR ON THE REAR DROP OUTS.

Thanks for your order. You saved a ton on your new factory direct bike from bikesdirect.com !

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE EMAIL FOR THE MOST ENJOYMENT OF YOUR NEW BIKE AND TO RETAIN YOUR WARRANTY

This information was very informative. Especially for someone with no experience in getting a complete bike shipped to them.

*The Bike arrives:*

UPS showed up 5 days later with my bike. Like the usual UPS handling, the bike was a bit beat up. After taking the bike out and examine it, there was NO damage form UPS.

The bike could have been packed a little better by BD, but everything was good.


















*
Putting it together:*

After getting the bike out, looking it over and cutting the zip ties I started to assemble the bike.These are basically very easy to get them together and require very little tools.

While installing everything, I noticed the front wheel was damaged on the brake track from the factory. Karla @ Bikes Direct apologized after I forwarded a picture and was having new wheel shipped ASAP. I was told to keep the damaged wheel and not to worry about it. The wheel is actually ok and fine to ride and now appears to be more cosmetic. But getting me a new wheel is the right thing.










EDIT: As of writing this, the new wheel as wheel arrived damaged:









I am waiting for an answer on this one.

Now when getting things together I noticed a few odd things. First off my 52cm bike came with 170mm cranks. This size bike should come with 165mm cranks. But the FSA Vero cranks are very nice and no complaints.

*EDIT:* Like someone one metioned, 52cm Road Bikes usally come with 170mm cranks and they are correct. This is a road bike geomerty SS/Fixed. Which would be correct. But fixed riders will want small er cranks like me.
Since this is marketed as a SS/Fixed and the BB height is lower, IMO smaller cranks on 52cm and smaller bikes would be nice. BD other TRACK frame do have this option.

The bike with a 54cm TT also came with a 60mm stem. Huh? Why so short? Luckily I had a stem lying around.











The pedals and seat were no use to me and I had ones I wanted lying around.

Now BD website mentions 28c tires, but this bike was spec’ed with 25c. No biggie, but annoying.

The overall quality of the bars, stem and seatpost were ok. Not bad but not great. The HS is the pits, but will do. 

Wheels were out of true but fixable in a few minutes. The Formula hubs look very nice and spin smooth!

Brakes and lever are decent Tektro. Kenda tires are a bit cheap. The frame looks nice. Decent welds and better than I expected.

I was eager to change out my cranks to a shorter pair I ordered. When I went to remove them. The drive-side crank bolt was stripped pretty well.

I seemed like someone used a Impact Wrench to tighten them. I had no luck getting it loose and ended up round the bolt out. After drilling it out and causing NO damage t the cranks I was fine. The BB was loose enough to remove by hand and was now trashed. I had a BB lying around to replace it. No big lose as it was a very cheap serviceable BB. Now why was the BB so loose? BD does say to tighten things up, but this was a bit too loose.

But if I did not have a BB lying around or was a inexperienced rider, I would have raised hell. With BD. I informed them of this but received nothing back on this one.










The overall paint on the Dawes looks REALLY nice in color. My deep green is beautiful. Now the quality of the paint is less than desirable. It chips and scratches VERY easily. I dropped an Allen wrench on it and it got nicked up. Even little stones for the road mark it up. But it’s a $329 bike so what do I really want? The paint is smooth and looks good.
*
The ride:*

The 4130 Butted Chromoly frame really gives the bike a smooth ride. The bike handles very nicely and moves when you tell it too. I could not be happier here. The bike is going to make a wonderful commuter!

The bike look nice and I received a few inquires about it while riding.

Here it is built with my custom parts:










*Overall Opinion of the bike and Bikes Direct:*

Overall for $329 the Dawes SST is a great ENRTY LEVEL SS/Fixed bike for the money that is worthy of small upgrades. Use you own saddle preference on this one. The stock one is OK.

You are not getting a Top of the Line bike here, but a nice value and in the mid to lower range for entry level SS/Fixed bikes. The SE Larger is the EXCAT same bike and runs for $500-600 in most shops. So the Dawes is the better value here and offers more color choice. The SE larger only comes in Brown.

Overall the Customer Service from BD was good and better than expected. E-mails were prompt and their information was informative. I have heard customers with horrible experiences with them, but mine was positive.

Would I buy from them again? Maybe if I was looking for a budget bike that I did not want to build form the ground up. Do do get a decnet value on most of their bikes. The higher ones do offer the same parts other guys do and frames that are about the same in quality overall.

A Newbie or people with VERY little mechanical experience will need to have the bike checked by there LBS to make sure things are all tight and good to go. They are NOT ready to ride right out of the box.

My only true beef with the bike was the crank thing and the overall quality of paint. But again for $329 it’s great value and a hell of a lot of fun to ride.

BD DOES need to make sure the bikes arrive with the specs listed on their site and with stem that match the bikes sizes a little better though.

I hope this helps other looking into a bike from Bike Direct. There are other fine choices as well in the budget Fixed/SS arena as well so look around.

If IRO had my size/color ready to go, I might have gone with them. If I was no so impainent, I mght have gone the from scratch route.
But I am happy!


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## FatTireFred

not sure why you have a beef with the "crank thing"... unless it's designed for the track (doubtful given the brakes) 170 cranks are pretty standard for a 52cm bike. the crank length is also clearly listed in the specs


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## DIRT BOY

FatTireFred said:


> not sure why you have a beef with the "crank thing"... unless it's designed for the track (doubtful given the brakes) 170 cranks are pretty standard for a 52cm bike. the crank length is also clearly listed in the specs


Sure. You have a point. But if itis for fixed gear, they they are too long due to the lower BB height.


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## rogerstg

Probably one of the best reviews I've ever read in terms of separating facts from emotions and assessing all in terms of relative value. Thanks.


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## FatTireFred

DIRT BOY said:


> Sure. You have a point. But it for fixed gear it's too long due to the lower BB height.




the bb height is not lower. if the geo chart is accurate- bb height = 282mm- it is actually higher than most road bikes... and more like a track bike. for example, using surly's numbers for drop and tire diameter, a steamroller has a bb height of 271mm and a pacer 268mm... treks have bb heights of 264mm, their T-1 track bike has a bb height of 286mm


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## DIRT BOY

FatTireFred said:


> the bb height is not lower. if the geo chart is accurate- bb height = 282mm- it is actually higher than most road bikes... and more like a track bike. for example, using surly's numbers for drop and tire diameter, a steamroller has a bb height of 271mm and a pacer 268mm... treks have bb heights of 264mm, their T-1 track bike has a bb height of 286mm


I will measure it. But should a 52cm FIXED gear bike come with smaller cranks?


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## Dave Hickey

yes....Fixed should really be 165mm or 167.5mm...


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## DIRT BOY

FatTireFred said:


> the bb height is not lower. if the geo chart is accurate- bb height = 282mm- it is actually higher than most road bikes... and more like a track bike. for example, using surly's numbers for drop and tire diameter, a steamroller has a bb height of 271mm and a pacer 268mm... treks have bb heights of 264mm, their T-1 track bike has a bb height of 286mm


 NEVERMIND!


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## FatTireFred

DIRT BOY said:


> I will measure it. But should a 52cm FIXED gear bike come with smaller cranks?




not necessarily... sure trackies go shorter, but not everyone does. people that want to work on their spin might. and when road bike conversions (lower bb) were the only game in town people did to avoid pedal strike. if none of those apply why change, esp if the bb is higher? I use the same as road


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## DIRT BOY

FatTireFred said:


> there is no way it's that low... I feel dirty being here


I measure 4 times because I was shocked.

I will try again.


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## FatTireFred

DIRT BOY said:


> Ok, I have 25c tires on the bike, the same size that came on the bike.
> 
> The height form the center of the BB to the floor is 228mm.




there is no way it's that low... I feel dirty being here


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## DIRT BOY

FatTireFred said:


> there is no way it's that low... I feel dirty being here


OK, go to the FG forum.


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## Loch

The specs for this bike CLEARLY state the crank is 170mm. So if you don’t feel that’s the correct length for this type of bike then why did you buy it?


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## DIRT BOY

Loch said:


> The specs for this bike CLEARLY state the crank is 170mm. So if you don’t feel that’s the correct length for this type of bike then why did you buy it?


Because it's listed as a SS first. Also I though maybe 170mm would be OK for fixed, but not for me. That's all.

I just think a 165mm size on this small of a frame MIGHT be a better idea.


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## DIRT BOY

*Update on the second damaged wheel...*

Bikes Direct says it's cosmetic so I was refund $20. It's NOT cosmetic, but the wheel brakes fine. I guess with the extra front that I can sell off, I guess it fair.

Sad though they can't send wheels without damage.


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## Axe

FWIW: got a proper hanging scale and weighted Dawes SST lightning I have - a yellow one that is about 3+ years old. Came at 24.5 pounds.

I would be pissed at a scratch too. But you probably can rebuild it with a new rim for not too much.


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## dan1234

Great review!

anyone tried the SST 2010 and can shed some light?
how is it compare to the Windsor?


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## jps472

hope this isnt to late. i bought a dawes sst at the beginning of the summer. I have never ridden the windsor so i know nothing about it. the dawes is a good bike. i like the slightly sloped tob tube. the headset and pedals are absolute crap. i have only have the bike for a few months and the bearings in the headset are all ready rusted (and no i havent left it outside or rode it underwater. all normal wear commuting to and from work about 10 miles a day. stored inside at work and home all day and night). the pedals were just cheap and you should replace as soon as you can. the seatpost and stem are kind of cheap metal which doesnt have alot of a effect on the bike outside from looking bad. the wheels were out of true when i got it but that is to be expected. also not so bad that i needed to take it to the lbs. i wish the stickers would come off but they are under the clear coat (i wish bikesdirect would get a new design team for their logos). I really can care less about it not being from the original "dawes" company but atleast make a better logo. I bought this bike mainly cause i liked the bullhorns and it was my first fixed gear. the bullhorns have a slight drop to them which is nice and hard to see in bikedirects photographs. I wish the bike had more tire clearance. It has fender braze-ons but no real room for them. I doubt the bike can fit more than a 30 tire (maybe a 32 with some serious work). I bought some speedez fenders so its not a huge deal but something to think about. the matt black paint job is nice. Well hope this helps.


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## dan1234

thank you! 
I already bought Windsor Hour.
The changes I made:
chopped and flipped the handlebar,
located the rear break at the front (by replacing the original bolt with longer one),
added Topeak rack (v-type) and bag (dx).
replaced the pedals with power grips pedals and straps

pictures:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?436547-I-Love-My-Windsor-Hour!/page45#post11208565


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## GipsyKing

Good review of the BD experience, thanks for posting. Food for thought.


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## jps472

I dont know if your talking about my review but thanks. I just read it and thought about how i should add a few things because it seems a bit negative. Which I think is bad since I really like this bike. I wanted to add a few things. I find the saddle pretty darn comfortable. I mean I have never owned a brooks saddle or anything in the class but I find this one comfortable. I find the wheelset to be pretty nice. The hubs and rims look solid. Also the tires and tubes are not to bad. I have put probably like 600 miles on the bike and have only had one flat. I also ride on some rough roads and dirty trails. The seatpost and clamp were slipping for awhile but I took the grease off it and put some chalk on it and it seems to have done the trick. The crank seems good and the bottom bracket is at a good distant. It definitely doesnt feel like the pedals are going to bottom out and hit the ground when cornering.


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## road_bike_andy

I just bought a Dawes SST, too. Overall I'm pretty happy. It was better than what happened to be on Craigslist or the local bike shop. 3 complaints--

1. There was a hole in one of the welds! It's a few mm in diameter and it's on the crossbar that supports the back brake. I was kind of pissed when I saw this.

2. The paint scratches really, really easily. Just rubbing against a bike rack is enough.

3. I wish the freewheel were a different diameter than the fixie. It seems like you might as well have different speeds, otherwise what's the point in switching.

Because of that hole in the weld, I probably wouldn't buy from BD again.


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## road_bike_andy

*3 month, 1000 mile update*

OK, after 1000 miles, here's what I've had to do on the Dawes--

new pedals. The plastic ones broke fast

new rear tire. The old one got sliced open somehow. I'm not sure if I hit something or it was a defect

new front wheel. The original wheel started wobbling after a few months, then 2 spokes broke


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## fireMedic1343

road_bike_andy said:


> OK, after 1000 miles, here's what I've had to do on the Dawes--
> 
> new pedals. The plastic ones broke fast
> 
> new rear tire. The old one got sliced open somehow. I'm not sure if I hit something or it was a defect
> 
> new front wheel. The original wheel started wobbling after a few months, then 2 spokes broke


That sounds pretty good. The tire and pedals are understandable. I'm not sure about that wheel wobble though. Maybe it was damage from the same incident that caused the tire slice?


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## fireMedic1343

Either way it sounds like a good excuse to upgrade the wheels.


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