# My Bottecchia USA CF66 Pro



## moskowe (Mar 14, 2011)

I've lurked on these forums for a very, very long time. One of the reasons that actually prompted me to come look around on Roadbikereview in the first place was to see if there were any reviews on the bike that I had just bought, and I was horrified with all the stories over BD, their terrible marketing, shills, etc, etc...
But, as it turns out, my experience with a bikesdirect bike has been very satisfying, and after 2 years I can give a really positive review of my bike.

I bought a CF66 Pro in 2008, from Ebay. I guess it isn't the typical Bikesdirect experience because I went to pick up the bike in a Cycles Spectrum shop, it was already built, and they did something vaguely resembling a bike check when I picked it up (brakes, gears, etc)
The bike is my second bike, from a very crappy aluminium bike with 2200 on it so needless to say I immediately saw the difference in pretty much every aspect of my riding. The bike was lighter, had better shifting, and really just felt "faster" (talk about cliches.)
Since then I've ridden it for about 2 years and maybe put 9000Km in it, most of them last year, when I started riding a little more seriously. I did a couple of races with it too. I changed a couple of parts from the original, stem, handlebars, seat post and saddle. 

I've never owned any other carbon bike, or ridden or brand-name carbon, so I can't say for the difference, but for a first carbon bike, i'd say it's was a very good choice. I payed 1200$ for full ultegra, carbon frame, and I think the bike looks cool.
So that's one more positive experience from bikesdirect. For my next bike though, I think I'm probably going to go with a more established brand name. I don't think I'd recommend BD to people who already have several bikes and/or have a budget of more than 2000$, because I don't think it's worth it, but for beginners and people on a budget it's definitely a good choice.


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