Your thoughts about the 2010 Dawes Lightning Cross?

[jsteinamite]

I'm considering buying one from bikesdirect and would love any feelings, thoughts, suggestions about this particular bike. I'm new to road bikes and plan to use one for general commuting around town (about 20 miles day) and occasional longer trips. It seems like a perfect bikes (short of being a Surly Crosscheck which I really liked) in terms of my needs.

Specifically:
- Is Dawes a good bike, in general? What about this particular model?
- In terms of sizing, I'm about 6'2", but my dimensions are a bit weird...longer torso, shorter legs (about a 31" inseam). If I buy this bike, should I select the one that has the proper inseam? Or should I be taking the seat tube sizing approach?
- I imagine this bike will be sent to me in about 100 small pieces. How much do professionals generally charge to put a bike like this together? Is there anything I should be aware of when looking for the right person for the job?

If you're familiar with Dawes sizing, I'm especially interested in hearing from you since ordering from a distance is a bit scary for me when I've never sat on one of these things.

Thank you for your help!

[jroden]

my understanding is the company gets aluminium frames made in asia at Kinesis factory and has purchased a number of defunt brand names like Dawes and Motobecane. There is no "Dawes" factory making these bikes, it could be an "Acme" bike just as well. I'd start by first discussing your plan with a local shop in terms of assembly costs, they may have something that will work well for a similar price.

Dragging a mail order bike into a shop is on a par with bringing a bunch of pep boys parts to an auto mechanic, many will just say "no" and others wil charge you top dollar for both initial assembly and subsequent service.

[jsteinamite]

That's pretty interesting...and disappointing. I'm glad I asked though. I figure the amount I save in buying the bike in a bunch of pieces will be lost in hiring someone to put the thing together. That, on top of not feeling very confident that it's a quality bike is reason for pause, I suppose.

Any other ideas for cyclocross bikes in the same price range?

[bikesdirect]

That's pretty interesting...and disappointing. I'm glad I asked though. I figure the amount I save in buying the bike in a bunch of pieces will be lost in hiring someone to put the thing together. That, on top of not feeling very confident that it's a quality bike is reason for pause, I suppose.

Any other ideas for cyclocross bikes in the same price range?

Not really a 'bunch of peices'
build is 90% and it takes about 20 minutes to setup out of box

Lightning Cross seels like crazy; but so does the Fantom CX

BTW - in general, cross bikes are going up a lot in sales at all levels
you will like a cross bike; IMHO

[noavg55]

mine took me about 30min to put together.it took longer to get it out of the box and unwraped.good luck

[jsteinamite]

Do you think one needs to be incredibly bike savvy to put such a bike together right out of the box? Like, what do you mean when you say it's mostly assembled?

[Satanpez]

Insert Fork & put on stem with attached handlebars, put seatpost (with attached seat) into frame, insert wheels, make adjustments to derailleurs.

Pretty much they build the bike and disassemble it enough to fit it into the box. It really is a 15 minute job. The hardest part is tweaking the shifting but that has to be done anyway.

-Steve

[jsteinamite]

Thanks Steve! Any suggestions on sizing? How well do you know the Dawes bikes?

[Satanpez]

I don't. They're Bikesdirect bikes like the others they sell. Probably all from the same factory. I bought a Windsor Cyclo (they seem to have just sold them all out a few weeks ago) in size 54cm. It was too big so I just sold it. I didn't know at the time that cyclocross bikes run a size too large and I should have gotten a 52cm.

Most of the minor parts are no-name low-level stuff that is pretty much OK. Seatpost/saddle/stem/bars. Nothing great but it works.

My wheels did need truing, that's one that that you should expect you'll need to do.

-Steve

[krisdrum]

I didn't know at the time that cyclocross bikes run a size too large and I should have gotten a 52cm.

This is why top tube length and seat tube angle are the pieces of data to select a frame by. The nominal "size" is a useless piece of information for the most part. And the above statement is a generalization and isn't fully accurate.

[jsteinamite]

So the top tube and the seat tube. My question around that are: when choosing the seat tube size, should I measure c-c or c-t? And re: the top tube, how would I actually know, when buying over the internet, if I've never sat on such a bike that I have chosen the right top tube length?

[jsteinamite]

So Steve, even though they all come from the same factory, can I still feel confident that it is a good quality bike? ...the Dawes cyclocross...

[krisdrum]

So the top tube and the seat tube. My question around that are: when choosing the seat tube size, should I measure c-c or c-t? And re: the top tube, how would I actually know, when buying over the internet, if I've never sat on such a bike that I have chosen the right top tube length?

Not exactly. Seat tube ANGLE, not length. Ultimately what you are after is a consistent REACH from bike to bike. There is an interaction between seat tube ANGLE and top tube length that creates that reach. For a given reach, the top tube and seat tube angle can vary. This ratio stays pretty much the same. For every degree of seat tube angle, +/- 1 cm of top tube length (and I am talking effective or virtual top tube length). So if one frame has a 75 degree seat tube and a 52cm top tube and another frame has a 74 dgree seat tube, to get the same reach, it would need to have a 53cm top tube. If you draw it out, it becomes even more clear.

As for figuring out your size and what is a good starting point, there are lots of ways to do it. There are online fit calculators, in-person fitting services, and some DIY guidelines out there and available.

I wouldn't plunk down my hard earned cash before getting a good starting point on what will fit.

If you have a bike that currently works for you that is road-oriented, see if you can measure or look up the geometry specs as a starting point.

[krisdrum]

So Steve, even though they all come from the same factory, can I still feel confident that it is a good quality bike? ...the Dawes cyclocross...

Good quality compared to what? Other $450 bikes? Probably. A bike twice that? Probably not.