I'll be heading to Jacksonville Beach for vacation and through googling one of their models (I don't recall which) stumbled onto something rather unexpected. There's a storefront you can buy these bikes at, assembled, just off the I-95 corridor in Jacksonville. When I called they said yes, at the online price, not everything in stock, but they could order it in, with warranty (of some sort, I didn't inquire deeply because I'm obviously not going to be around there much). 7% sales tax.
Here's the exact location:
https://goo.gl/maps/Ke3RuDtF2hP2
This has me very excited, and I'm specifically eyeing
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/super_strada_xiv.htm which they do have in stock in my size.
Given something assembled and ready to ride, is there any particular reason anymore NOT to go for a BD bike?
There's another candidate bike I was going to look at while down there, a 2012 Specialized Allez EVO that I was also seriously considering:
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/bik/5348298511.html
Any thoughts comparing these two specifically? The owner of the Specialized Allez suggested he'd go to 900 instead of 999+tax for the super strada. So there is a real difference, but not an overwhelming one. I figure it maybe mostly comes down to how I like the feel, especially for the shifting mech? Anything else to be on alert for with the comparison, or buying used generally? On the one hand it feels silly to ask because I've bought a few used bikes, but this would be the first I'd be spending real money on.
