# Gravity Liberty 2 and Bikes Direct service review



## stephen9666

I’ve been wanting a road bike for a while. Since this would be my first road bike, and I’m not the most serious rider, I wanted a less-aggressive frame. I settled on the Gravity Liberty 2 from Bikes Direct. The Liberty 2 has the same frame dimensions as the Giant Defy.

Gravity Liberty 2

I placed my order last Friday and the bike was delivered Tuesday. I was disappointed to see that this bike was made in China. The Grand Record I bought for my Girlfriend earlier this year was made in Taiwan. I prefer Taiwanese products over Chinese.










When I first unpacked the bike, everything looked good. That is, until I started assembling it. Both the wheels were bent. If you look at this pic, you’ll see that one of the cranks is threaded through the spokes of the front wheel. It bent a couple of the spokes. The rear wheel was very bent and the bike was unrideable.











I took a video of the rear wheel and posted it on youtube.
Bikes Direct Gravity Liberty 2 bent rear wheel - YouTube


This is my second Bikes Direct bike. I purchased a Motobecane Grand Record for my girlfriend this spring, so I know what kind of assembly/adjustment they need. The Motobcane had true wheels right out of the box. The Gravity’s box had a lot of scuffing on the sides, so I suspect it was laid on it’s side with things stacked on it or dropped and that bent the rear wheel.

I emailed BD and got a response the next morning. Matt said the bikes sometimes need to have the wheels trued and I should try that. I thought the rear wheel was bent too much for a brand new bike and asked for a replacement. Matt agreed and said they’d ship me a pair of new wheels. I would have been happy with a just a new rear wheel.

I had the original wheels trued just to get the bike rideable. The guy who did it told me the rear wheel was bent enough that some of the spokes stretched, so they couldn’t be properly tensioned. He was able to get the rear wheel mostly true, but it definitely is still a little out of true.


I assembled the bike and adjusted the rear derailleur and brakes. I also put on a shorter adjustable stem.










I’m no welding expert, but the welds look pretty good to me. They seem to be consistent. This pic shows the weld where the top tube meets the head tube.









The cables aren’t properly routed and are tangled. I tried to untangle them before mounting the bar, but I wasn’t able to. It looks like I’ll have to disconnect the rear brake cable to untangle them. I just haven’t done it yet.










*Overall*
The bike rides and shifts well. It seems like a great value. I’m happy with the bike and with the service I got from BD helping me handle the bent wheels. I'll update the thread when the new wheels arrive.


*Long-term update 3/28/2012-*
I finally installed my new wheels. I bought this bike not long before winter, so I hadn't been riding it for a while.

I've been really happy with this bike. A little part of me wishes I would have stepped up to a bike with higher-end components, but this bike performs great and will serve me well for a long time.


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## stephen9666

BTW- Here’s my other bike. It’s a 2010 Trek 7.1 FX. I wanted a road bike because this bike is pretty slow with all the racks and other stuff I have mounted on it.


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## Local Hero

I'm glad to hear they are making right and replacing the wheels. At the least, you'll have a spare wheel and tires/tubes for your trouble!

Enjoy the ride.


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## MySpokeIsABroke

*Nice Bike*

Thanks for posting Stephen. My Bike in a Box is due to arrive this Friday. Windsor Wellington 3.0 Curious.... what size and have you weighed it ? Thanks for sharing.


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## stephen9666

MySpokeIsABroke said:


> Thanks for posting Stephen. My Bike in a Box is due to arrive this Friday. Windsor Wellington 3.0 Curious.... what size and have you weighed it ? Thanks for sharing.


I got the XL (58.5 cm). I'm 6'2", so I'm right on the edge between sizes. I like the reach on the L (55.5 cm), but I like the the fact that I didn't have to have the seat so far up on the XL. So, I went with the XL and put on a shorter 90mm stem, which brings the overall reach on the XL to the same as the L.

I haven't weighed it yet.


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## stephen9666

*UPDATE*

The wheels arrived a couple days ago. UPS had brutalized the box. When I saw it, I thought "great, now my replacement wheels are bent, too." However, they turned out to be fine.

I haven't installed them, but I did adjust the hubs tonight. The hubs were far too tight. I loosened them up and greased them and the wheels spin great.

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. I now have two BD bikes and I've been happy with both.


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## adjtogo

The only comment I have to say is you get what you pay for with cheap, mail order bikes. I have no mercy for anyone who buys from a company who repetitively has bad reviews. And to add further, this frame is probably a knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory that didn't cost BD that much to buy from them either. And the wheel build, well. that sums up the total BD lack of quality and inexperience to build wheels.


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## stephen9666

adjtogo said:


> The only comment I have to say is you get what you pay for with cheap, mail order bikes. I have no mercy for anyone who buys from a company who repetitively has bad reviews. And to add further, this frame is probably a knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory that didn't cost BD that much to buy from them either. And the wheel build, well. that sums up the total BD lack of quality and inexperience to build wheels.


I'm a little confused by this comment. 

I'm actually quite satisfied with this bike, especially considering the $499 I paid for it. And I don't think BD "repetitively has bad reviews." There are some bad reviews, but there are many good ones also.

As far as the bike being a "knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory:" my Trek 7.1 and my girlfriend's Giant Boulder SE are both made in China. Are they cheap Chinese knockoffs? And the welds on the frame look good to me. I have no reason to believe it is poorly made.


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## MySpokeIsABroke

adjtogo said:


> The only comment I have to say is you get what you pay for with cheap, mail order bikes. I have no mercy for anyone who buys from a company who repetitively has bad reviews. And to add further, this frame is probably a knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory that didn't cost BD that much to buy from them either. And the wheel build, well. that sums up the total BD lack of quality and inexperience to build wheels.


I think you are in the wrong Thread/Forum. :idea:


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## tnbiker

adjtogo said:


> The only comment I have to say is you get what you pay for with cheap, mail order bikes. I have no mercy for anyone who buys from a company who repetitively has bad reviews. And to add further, this frame is probably a knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory that didn't cost BD that much to buy from them either. And the wheel build, well. that sums up the total BD lack of quality and inexperience to build wheels.



My motobecane frame appears to be well made. Probably made in the same factory with every other major brand in the same factories in TAIWAN. 
The liberty bike is likely made in the same chinese factory with all the other low end treks etc. Anyway, I am not some brand fan-boy but many of the bike discussed on this website are probably very similar.


I am pretty sure the vuelta wheelsets are made by vuelta and not bikesdirect. just sayin....


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## heybrady

Looks like you got upgraded wheels out of the deal. Nice.


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## twodownzero

adjtogo said:


> The only comment I have to say is you get what you pay for with cheap, mail order bikes. I have no mercy for anyone who buys from a company who repetitively has bad reviews. And to add further, this frame is probably a knockoff frame made at a cheap Chinese factory that didn't cost BD that much to buy from them either. And the wheel build, well. that sums up the total BD lack of quality and inexperience to build wheels.


Please do yourself a favor and continue to pay way too much for a bike.

I will be the person passing you on my Motobecane.


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## yuris

i am thinking about liberty 1, 2 or 3. 

1 is cheaper and have microshift shifters which looks nice (although some people complained about 8 speed version i think). 
2 has sora/tiagra mix; 
3 is full tiagra, but 200 over liberty 2...

to OP: could you please share why did you choose liberty 2?

thanks!


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## stephen9666

yuris said:


> i am thinking about liberty 1, 2 or 3.
> 
> 1 is cheaper and have microshift shifters which looks nice (although some people complained about 8 speed version i think).
> 2 has sora/tiagra mix;
> 3 is full tiagra, but 200 over liberty 2...
> 
> to OP: could you please share why did you choose liberty 2?
> 
> thanks!


I settled on the Liberty 2 because I wanted decent components, but didn't want to spend big money. 

This is my first road bike. I didn't want to spend that much, in case I don't end up riding it as much as I thought I would.

I also didn't want to go too cheap so I would want to upgrade after only a few months.


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## motobecane69

yuris said:


> i am thinking about liberty 1, 2 or 3.
> 
> 1 is cheaper and have microshift shifters which looks nice (although some people complained about 8 speed version i think).
> 2 has sora/tiagra mix;
> 3 is full tiagra, but 200 over liberty 2...
> 
> to OP: could you please share why did you choose liberty 2?
> 
> thanks!


Get the cheapest version, then go on ebay and buy 9 or 10 speed microshift shifters which can be had for $100, get a cheap 10 speed SRAM casette and a new chain. You'll also be able to sell your brand new 8 speed stuff and get good money for it. The microshift stuff works great, I used it extensively on my first couple of bikes with no issues whatsoever. or just ride the hell out of that 8 speed, I don't know how big of a rider you are or if you really need more gears or tighter gaps but I think you'll find the 8speed bike a great entry level bike.


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## yuris

To motobecane69: i am n00b, so not really sure if i need all the bells and whistles. Was actually suspecting 8 speed is enough for me for a first year or so. I guess I might spend more on service to change 8 to 9/10, so your second idea of riding the hell out 8 speed sounds good!
Did you use 8 speed microshift shifters? 

My other question on sizing: I am 6' with 34" inseam. I am thinking of getting 55.5cm frame - would you think thats correct?

thanks!


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## motobecane69

my thoughts in looking over the BD product line. They have already started putting out some bikes with the latest version of tiagra. I would strongly considering spending the xtra money now for the liberty 3 with the New 10 speed Tiagra. You really won't grow out of this bike as that is a solid groupset and if you decide to start upgrading, you don't need to upgrade everything at once. For example, if you buy the 8 speed but come across a great deal for a aset of used 105 or ultegra brifters, you will have to upgrade your cassette, chain and potentially crank as well. IF you start with 10 speed Tiagra, you could upgrade right to dura ace if you really wanted to. Also, while Bikes direct and resale value don't usually get put in the same sentence, should you want something nicer down the road, you will recognize much better resale value with the latest and greatest 10 speed componentry on there. On the flipside, if saving money is key, the 8spd microshhift will work just fine. I've used both 8 and 9 speed microshht, works great.
as for size, that should be good for you. I had the giant rapid which is almost identical in frame geometry and at 6'3" the xl was a good fit but almost a bit big for me.


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## yuris

thanks for the info! 
on BD resale - I have not really seen much of their bikes on ebay/CL (in NYC area). Am curious why - wanted to find it on CL at least to try bike in person.


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## motobecane69

yuris, you won't necessarily see them for sale because people are happy with them! But fwiw, i live on the upper east side, I just sold my motobecane grand sprint for $900 on CL here in the city. The bike sells new for $1000, I had upgraded the bars to carbon fiber and included the handbuilt set of deep v wheels that I spent $400 on but to get almost what the bike cost new was awesome. I used that money and bought a new immortal Fire carbon fiber with full force group from bikes direct for 1900 and I love that bike too! go to a bike shop and test ride a giant defy, I assure you, it's the same geometry and feeling bike.


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## stephen9666

yuris said:


> My other question on sizing: I am 6' with 34" inseam. I am thinking of getting 55.5cm frame - would you think thats correct?
> !


You're right on the edge between sizes, like I was.

I'm 6'2" with an inseam around 35.5 - 36". I really could have gone with either size. I liked the shorter reach on the 55, but I like how I didn't have to have to seat up so far on the 58. I ended up getting the 58 with a shorter stem.




motobecane69 said:


> Get the cheapest version, then go on ebay and buy 9 or 10 speed microshift shifters which can be had for $100, get a cheap 10 speed SRAM casette and a new chain. You'll also be able to sell your brand new 8 speed stuff and get good money for it.


I don't agree with this. You'll spend more on an upgrade then you would to buy the Liberty 2 right off the bat.


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## MySpokeIsABroke

Stephen, have you weighed the bike yet ? BTW considering the Gravity for the Wife for Christmas. I have the Wellington 3.0 and am now a new or reborn rider.


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## stephen9666

MySpokeIsABroke said:


> Stephen, have you weighed the bike yet ? BTW considering the Gravity for the Wife for Christmas. I have the Wellington 3.0 and am now a new or reborn rider.



I haven't weighed it yet. I'm out of town for a couple days. I'll try to remember to weigh it when I get back.

I was also considering the Wellington 3.0, but the frame was more aggressive than I wanted.

We bought the Motobecane Grand Record for my GF, and the riding position is a little aggressive for the type of riding we do. But, they just released a new Motobecane frame that has the same dimension as the Trek 1.1, which is a little less aggressive.

Save up to 60% off new Road Bikes - Motobecane Grand Record


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## craigslist626

Stephan9666, I got a liberty 2 coming in the mail in about a week. However I was wondering if you could post the weight of your bike? 

The shipping weight according to UPS is a whopping 30 lbs! I am pretty sure that a cardboard box is not going to make a supposed 20-22 lb bike 30lbs. Could you do me a favor and post the weight? It could help me get to sleep easier this week.


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## paulfeng

The UPS shipping weight is irrelevant to the weight of the bike. My 17+ lb LeChampion Ti had a UPS shipping weight of 30 lbs as well.

Enjoy your new bike!



craigslist626 said:


> Stephan9666, I got a liberty 2 coming in the mail in about a week. However I was wondering if you could post the weight of your bike?
> 
> The shipping weight according to UPS is a whopping 30 lbs! I am pretty sure that a cardboard box is not going to make a supposed 20-22 lb bike 30lbs. Could you do me a favor and post the weight? It could help me get to sleep easier this week.


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## MySpokeIsABroke

I suspect all the BD boxes are 30lbs per UPS. You will also find the Liberty Gravity is closer to 25 lbs.

Last stop at the LBS, actually a nationwide franchise, I saw a truck with boxes being unloaded and put on a pallet fork. Yep, LBS bikes come in boxes folks. The boxes were identical in appearance to the ones UPS delivers to your porch. Scandalous !!!!


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## motobecane69

craigslist626 said:


> Stephan9666, I got a liberty 2 coming in the mail in about a week. However I was wondering if you could post the weight of your bike?
> 
> The shipping weight according to UPS is a whopping 30 lbs! I am pretty sure that a cardboard box is not going to make a supposed 20-22 lb bike 30lbs. Could you do me a favor and post the weight? It could help me get to sleep easier this week.


I agree with the others, your bike is probably closer to 22lbs. It has a carbon fork right? my giant rapid 3 was about 25lbs stock with low end components and a cheapo wheelset and a STEEL fork. It's not just the cardboard of the box, there is lots of cardboard inside the box as well as plastic zip ties, packing materials etc. Do not fear, your bike won't be 30lbs.


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## motobecane69

sounds about right, probably right around 20-21 clean


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## stephen9666

Alright, I finally took the time to weigh the bike.

Disclaimer - this is pretty unscientific. I used a bathroom scale.

Also, the weight includes several accessories I've added to the bike: front and rear lights, seat bag with a tube and a few other things, tire pump and a mirror.

211 lbs - total weight of me and the bike
188 lbs - total weight of my fat ass
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23 lbs - total weight of bike with accessories


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## craigslist626

Thanks for the replies guys. My Gravity liberty arrived today. I made a little typo on my first post and it is actually a Liberty 1 that I had coming. 

I am amazed by the weight. I would even dare to say that the bike is either 20lbs give or take a lb. Of course I have no way of accurately weighing this thing given that I have no scales of any sort. However, I do a lot of weight lifting and it seems that the liberty 1 is likely 19-21 lbs bare. So far it is a great bicycle for $400. I have not been happy with money well spent in a long time. 

I just saw another post a few weeks ago on another forum. the poster claimed the bike is 19.5 lbs flat but did not say whether or not he weighed it. The Gravity website gives some vague estimates as well but those estimates are based on what components you have on your bike rather than the model.


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## MySpokeIsABroke

I think you will both be a little surprised when you get the Gravitys weighed on an accurate, 0-50 lb or so digital scale. When you do, please add them to or update the How much does your BDS Bike Weigh Thread. Anyways, happy trails and congrats on the new wheels.


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## craigslist626

whoa! I just weighed the bike on one of the portable hook scales for measuring luggage. 23.5 lbs?!!? Something must be wrong with my scale! However, this was with pedals (stock), kryptonite lock holder, and a rear light. The lock holder and rear light could not have possibly even weighed .25 lbs... Which means that the bike should be a bit over 23 lbs...

Its still a great ride though. Hoping that my scale is wrong and that the actual weight is closer to 20 give or take. 

Maybe I will get clipless pedals and replace the seat post and saddle. that should cut it down a pound or 2 hopefully.


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## motobecane69

the weight in that bike is concentrated in the cheap ass wheels and the piece of **** crank that comes on it. i will personally guarantee you that if you get a decent set of wheels for it, you will shed close to a lb. Go to bonktown.com and follow it closely. Lately they ahve been putting up Mavic Aksium wheelsets for $120, thats a good price for a sturdy entry level wheelset. Still heavy but under 2000grams. I'd take bets that your stock wheelset on that bike is closer to 2400. probably has heavy hubs, and heavy straight gauge spokes. Also keep your eyes on bonktown, they have had ultegra and 105 cranks popping up there. that cheap crank on that bike weighs about 1000 grams and then you have the cartridge unit bottom bracket that is probably close to 300 grams. An ultegra crank and bb setup is going to be about 700grams. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you bike rides and functions fine and these things arent critical. you can ride the **** out of that bike and as these parts break, replace them with these better parts as you go along.


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## turkina

motobecane69 said:


> I agree with the others, your bike is probably closer to 22lbs. It has a carbon fork right? my giant rapid 3 was about 25lbs stock with low end components and a cheapo wheelset and a STEEL fork. It's not just the cardboard of the box, there is lots of cardboard inside the box as well as plastic zip ties, packing materials etc. Do not fear, your bike won't be 30lbs.


It is probably also a billing weight for the size and dimensions of the box.


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## stephen9666

Long term update-

I finally installed my replacement wheels from BD.

I've added some additional info to the original post.


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## tiedomi511

*Gravity Liberty 3*

My new Gravity Liberty 3 comes in the mail on Thursday! I will be reviewing it once I get a few rides under my belt  can't wait!


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## murphym45

Can someone explain the differences between the sizing charts listed for the Liberty and the generic sizing charts? I'm 5'11" with a 32" inseam, so the generic sizing charts recommend a 58cm frame for me. However, the Liberty sizing chart says that if you're 5'11", you should get a 53.5cm frame. Why the discrepancy? Thanks.


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## stephen9666

These bikes have a compact frame, so the sizing is considerably different. Read about compact frames and you'll see the differences. 

Generally, compact frames are geared towards a less aggressive riding position.


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## murphym45

stephen9666 said:


> These bikes have a compact frame, so the sizing is considerably different. Read about compact frames and you'll see the differences.
> 
> Generally, compact frames are geared towards a less aggressive riding position.


Got it, thanks a lot.


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## lakkdainen

Question about the Gravity Liberty frames - what tire size can they take? I have a Mavic A319 wheelset - 25mm wide rim, minimum 28mm tire. Is there enough clearance for this to fit?


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