Victory Vision Men's Road Bike Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'll get the good out first. This is a great bike for the money; I looked all over in stores for a comparable bike and couldn't find one for under $250. Once assembled, the bike rides fine, the gears shift pretty smoothly and the brakes are decent. The seat leaves something to be desired (it's VERY narrow) but the handlebars are great (there's a good layer of comfort foam). The frame is sturdy and well-painted (any decals are covered with a layer of clear enamel) with the only stickers being of the generic variety, like the standard "warning: always wear a helmet" one. It took me a little while to adjust everything to where I wanted it, but once there everything was hunky-dory.

The assembly, however, is a bear if you've never assembled a bike before (which I haven't). I consider myself decently handy, and if you give me a good set of directions I can usually figure things out no problem. The instruction manual in this case, however, isn't for this specific model of bike; it's a generic that reads like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books that were popular back in the day. My first clue was the warning that "pictures may not match your particular model." As I went on, I encountered a lot of "if your bike comes with this kind of...", which became very frustrating very quickly, especially when I got to the brakes - maybe it's just me, but none of those pictures look like what I was working on.

Since there are no pictures of this bike model in the manual, I had to do a lot of guessing. For example, I found out AFTER I had completed and ridden the bike that the gear shift goes under, and not on, the handlebar, and that was only from looking at the Amazon picture.

I spent roughly one hour and fifteen minutes putting the bike together, and I would say forty-five minutes of that was spent on the front brake. At first, it was set so wide that when you pulled the brake on the handlebar the pads wouldn't even touch the rim. I adjusted it one, but then they stuck in the "closed" position. It took a lot of patience and a lot of work with my adjustable wrench, but I finally got it to a working state. With that exception, everything else pretty much went smoothly.

In short, if you've assembled bikes before or consider yourself pretty handy, this is a great value. If you are the slightest bit intimidated by anything I wrote though, just spend the extra money and get a pre-assembled bike, because this won't be worth your time, and if you mess ANYTHING up, you don't want it to be your brakes.

UPDATE 7/21/2010: Ten days ago I took this bike out for a 66.2 mile ride (the ACS Bike-a-thon in Philadelphia), and have also been riding it pretty consistently since my review, and have some new thoughts.

The handlebars tend to not stay straight, especially if you drop (even gently) the bike on its side. The first 20 miles of my ride were on somewhat bumpy roads, and by the end of it my handlebars were about five to ten degrees off center. The allen wrench included with the bike needs to be inserted in such a way that the handle is actually in the bolt (otherwise it won't reach), leaving you very little leverage to turn it. This problem can probably be solved with a different allen wrench.

Also, the gears need to be adjusted regularly, because after about 10 miles they start to make noise as you pedal. Also, make sure you tighten the bolts around the seat and the post that holds it up, as a bumpy ride will stress them.

On the plus side, the stock tires held up excellently on a ride that saw about one out of every 20 riders get a flat on the less-than-stellar roads. The grips are as comfortable as my first impression, but tend to get a bit slippery with sweat (wearing gloves will negate this effect; I found out when I rested my forearm on them).

Still, for under $200, if you don't mind a trying assembly experience and buying a new seat, this is a good bike.

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Product Description:
This Victory Vision Road Bicycle has a light Alloy Men's Frame, Shimano 12-Speed Stem Shifters, complete Shimano Drivetrain, a Comfortable Road Racing Saddle, Alloy Hubs, Double Wall Alloy Rims, and Alloy Seat Post. This bike is meant for speed and strength!

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