How Does This FS Mountain Bike with AXS Cost Just $1,599?

The low price on this complete mountain bike with a wireless electronic drivetrain has us doing a double and triple take.

By Jeff Barber
August 26, 2022 Last Updated: August 26, 2022

17 comments

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It’s clear that Bikes Direct is not your typical online bike shop. You never know what you’re going to find there, and yesterday we did a double, then triple take. Check out this $1,599 full-suspension Gravity mountain bike with a SRAM GX Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain. A GX Eagle AXS upgrade kit alone costs $633, and that doesn’t even include a crankset, cassette, or chain!

Looking more closely the suspension is entry-level Rockshox but still, it is name brand. Ditto for the tires (Maxxis), hydraulic disc brakes (SRAM), and even the dropper post (KS), though the dropper is one of their cheapest with just 100mm of travel. The single-pivot frame is said to offer up to 5in of travel depending on whether it’s configured with 27.5+ or 29in wheels.

Is this legit, and if so, how is it so cheap? Short of buying a department store bike and slapping a GX Eagle AXS on there, we’re coming up blank. Fortunately Bikes Direct includes this helpful information on the product page. (The formatting and words are theirs, not ours.)

SALE FAQ: Q: How is this price so low, near comparable dealer wholesale? It’s hundreds to thousands below other brands similar spec bikes, What corners are being cut? A: No Corners have been cut on quality. BikesDirect has cut expenses by selling direct to you AND : 1) Minimal Advertising, 2) NO Sales Commissions, 3) No physical store overhead, 4) No inflated Corporate pay structures

We’re guessing you have thoughts and opinions so please comment below.

17 Comments

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utahpete Utah // 2018
Aug 26, 2022

Honestly I've bought 3 of there Motobecane bikes and never had any issues 2007-2011 models ( didn't ride any of them as hard as I ride now and they were all 26" bikes). I read somewhere years ago that their frames were made by kinesis in Taiwan, can't verify it. I'm tempted, I don't love the geometry though. There's a lot of mark up in bikes but I love the guys at my LBS and would feel a little guilty

4 reply

Mdoppel Michigan // 2022
Aug 29, 2022

I ride their hal 5.5 pro. 2 years in, I absolutely love it. And I laugh at all the haters guessing it's a terrible brand trying to justify their big price tags. "Outdated geometry, cheap components, bad frame..." Nope, it's a quality bike at an affordable price. One of mtbs best kept secrets.

2 reply

DanielDeTinne Georgia // 2022
Sep 1, 2022

That is actually a really good bike. I have one. I don't have the AXS on it. It handles well. It is a bit heavy. I also ride a Trek Top Fuel 8. I've set some of my fastest Strava times on my Gravity

ronsterlee Massachusetts // 2021
Aug 27, 2022

Bought a HalBoost S12 Pro at the start of COVID for $2k from Bikes Direct. Came with RockShox 150mm Pike/Monarch 135mm rear(similar suspension to Giant). Full SLX with XT rear derailleur. Over 4000 trail miles later, I have broken nothing. Worn out some tires, a chain, pair of grips and rotors. Had to replace a main pivot nut I lost somewhere on the trail.(still finished ride) Went for a ride with a bike shop mechanic/sport class racer, he was in disbelief at what I paid. After our ride he was even more surprised seeing how well it handled my 230lbs. of "veteran bike rider" body. There are still deals in this world if you do your research. I can take some of the $1k I saved and put on some "Giant" stickers on it, if it will make everyone feel better?

1 reply

ZipHead South Carolina // 2015
Aug 27, 2022

That chainstay is weird AF. With a pivot at the end forward of the BB. I'll pass

AUTHOR

Jeff Barber Georgia // 1998
Sep 1, 2022

Forgot to mention that we've actually tested a couple bikes from Bikes Direct over the years and both of them were pretty good bikes.

https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/final-review-motobecane-fly-team-29-titanium/
https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/final-review-motobecane-nighttrain-bullet-fat-bike/

I also ordered a singlespeed MTB from them as a gift for my bro and it wasn't as nice as I had hoped it would be. Then again I think I paid less than $500 so...

0 reply

egoudie53 2015
Sep 1, 2022

Got a 2022 Hal Boost ebike full XT, with DT Swiss wheels and Shimano Steps . This is my 6 th Motobecane! Never had a problem! And this ebike has been way beyond expectations to me! I live in the Northern California foothills and ride 3 times a week!
This bike climbs everything!
FYI, In have actively riding MTB’s for 20 years.

mcndjxlefnd California // 2021
Aug 27, 2022

I'm a bigger economics nerd than I am a MTB enthusiast... As others have mentioned, this retailer likely is able to undercut competition by using economies of scale in addition to no ads, low overhead, etc., The use of AXS kit could be a cost saving measure - I'm sure routing internal cables can be labor intensive - or that could just be what they had in stock.

Something to note is that the bike is on sale. Over the past couple years, with lockdowns and stimulus checks, the bike industry experienced an unprecedented demand glut simultaneously with an unprecedented supply dearth due to supply-chain woes. One of the ways resellers responded to this was to over order inventory. In a lot of instances they were only getting 1/3rd of their orders fulfilled, so they started ordering 3x orders. At some point the supply chains caught up, right around the time demand started to fall off. There are a lot of retailers sitting with historically high inventories right now. In bikesdirect's case, the storage costs for their inventory is probably a bigger financial strain than selling their products at or below cost, so they are liquidating inventory by putting bikes on sale. Expect many retailers across luxury goods industries to be having fire sales in the coming months.

piddles16 Kansas // 2022
Aug 31, 2022

I've been riding a Taz 3 with the Diore m6100 drivetrain for 2 years. Only cost me $1,100 delivered. I have replaced rear axle and a seat. I couldn't be happier with the value. It's undeniable in my opinion as one of their consumers. I didn't pull the trigger on this exact bike but I did on the next level up with the four bar linkage with similar GX AXS. I can't help but think that maybe SRAM had an excess of the AXS components that simply were not moving due to price and gave bikes direct a sweet deal? I have no regrets purchasing through bikes direct. Love my hard tail and can't wait to try out my full suspension!

jsrides Utah // 2018
Sep 1, 2022

Jeff, you mentioned people maybe buying this just for the AXS. I've seen forums where people were looking at the HAL versions that others in the comments have mentioned, and said they were considering them for just that reason - the high-end drivetrain. I'm on BikesDirect's mailing list and I'm often looking at their HALs when I see these deals come through. I hadn't seen this Gravity with AXS before your article, but I'm often amazed and tempted by the price on some of their bikes. I've never thought my mechanical chops were good enough to swap a drivetrain, but if it's wireless, maybe I could pull it off.

I have a low-end road bike from BikesDirect and it works well. The components are super cheap in that case, but I give it some attention now and then and it does great.

Mill Burry 2017
Aug 26, 2022

Plus all of their bike frames are catalog frames. Mass produced frames that are bought in bulk at a deep discount. I cant attest to the quality, you're definitely not getting anything innovative or state of the art.

-1 reply

Junior1393 Massachusetts // 2022
Aug 26, 2022

Axs is the latest and a full groupset alone is 1900

Jeff Barber Georgia // 1998
Aug 26, 2022

Clearly the build kit is overkill for the frame. Even the most entry-level FS bike from a value-oriented brand like Marin is $1,900 and that comes with an 11spd drivetrain and the same fork. I could see folks buying this one just for the parts.

Phonebem Utah // 2017
Aug 31, 2022

A few years back (when GS first got Eagle) a buddy picked-up a hardtail with X01 Eagle drivetrain, a SID WC fork, and Ritchey Zeta wheels and a Ritchey WC build kit for like $1600. Even taking into account wholesale prices, we just couldn't figure-out how it was so cheap. Thing is, the frame was actually a pretty nice aluminum frame with a really nice finish.

bowensare Arizona // 2019
Aug 29, 2022

Let's do a review!

3 reply

X01 is definitely up there at around that price. As mentioned the GX upgrade kit is *only* $633 but doesn't include a cassette, crankset, or chain. So figure at least $800?

killer climb Pennsylvania // 2019
Aug 26, 2022

Looks like a law suit frame. People will think its something it not. I'm sure on light duty trails its fine but when 'm coming off drops and airing it out I wanna be sure the equipment wont fail. Kona's may be heavy but good luck breaking one. Other than that, its the direction of anything. Ya get what ya pay for still holds true

-4 reply

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