ABANDONED VILANO SHADOW 3.0 REVIEW & COMPLETE REBUILD
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- Опубликовано: 11 окт 2024
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Today I review one of the top budget bikes on Amazon! The Vilano Shadow 3.0 gets a DEEP DIVE and a COMPLETE REBUILD! Including many important details you never hear about it in reviews, plus tips on upgrades! All parts found below:
Vilano Shadow 3.0 Road Bike: amzn.to/3Myjmeu
-Carbon fork I used: amzn.to/41d1Mkj
-700x28c Tires I use: amzn.to/3zLhpE0
-Carbon seatpost I use: amzn.to/3ZODwEd
-Budget Handlebars for this bike: amzn.to/41b2pee
-3 Piece Budget Crankset: amzn.to/43i7svk
-Shimano Claris Rear Derailleur: amzn.to/3GtYH7A
-Microshift R8 Front Derailleur: amzn.to/43i1TNg
-Uno7 lightweight Alloy seatpost: amzn.to/3UklDMh
-Uno7 Superlightweight stem I use: amzn.to/3mi6K0k
-Wellgo Alloy high quality pedals: amzn.to/3mivwgP
-Bartape I used: amzn.to/3ZO26oA
-Gold Chain I use: amzn.to/3HaZxGN
-Lucas grease for bearings/headsets etc: amzn.to/3GsSiJT
-Budget Upanbike Stem I used: amzn.to/3ZV742M
-RetroSpec Saddle: amzn.to/3ZXcoCV
-Budget Odyssey Pedals: amzn.to/3zKOobn
-Upgraded Brake pads I used: amzn.to/43iEoUo
-Shimano monoblock budget brake pads: amzn.to/3Gwv9Gp
-Bottle cage I used: amzn.to/3nTEeTb
-CNC Colored Shift Cables & Housings Kit: amzn.to/2Rqqe34
-Jagwire Colored Brake Cables & Brake Housings Kit: amzn.to/3uokbL1
-Shift cable housing, bulk 50ft: amzn.to/32P9lkV
-Basic Shifter Cable set to build bike (UNDER $12 for the whole kit!): amzn.to/2YPovTt
-Shimano shift cables, 2 Pack shift cables only $8: amzn.to/2QvZtpg
-Sunlite Sealed brake cable housings (Multiple colors & CHEAP! 50ft/$16.99): amzn.to/2K98Lq5
-Music Credits, check them out for free music :
-"Garden Music" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-”Rocket” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-”Life of Riley” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-”Cipher” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-”Slow Ska Game Loop” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-"Airship Serenity" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-"Severe Tire Damage" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
-”Swing Rabbit ! Swing !” by Amarià / amariamusique Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0
If you would like to donate to my Patreon page you can do so here! www.patreon.com/D2_WRENCHWORKS_DIY
I had a gen 2 and it was actually a good starter bike for me, put a ton of miles on it. Had a bad crash and there were just scuffs. Only downside was the bottom tier components that I had to retune periodically. Picked it up $100 used, sold it three years later for $100
Hi Wtipton! Thanks for the comment and please take a moment to subscribe! I am actually comparing this to several other aluminum bikes, all at the same time, if you check my other videos! But yeah, buying one used that's already been gone through is a whole different situation then what your average seller walks into when they see a cheap used one or even when buying a new one for that matter. There are some parts you are better off upgrading, some parts are just fine, the gen2 getting downgraded microshift for the same price sucks, and the initial build quality is flat out bad. So bad, before you ride your new bike, you need to go over the entire build. This is basically the same standard of quality a walmart bike has and it shouldn't be overlooked IMO. This bike was an excellent bike after all the work but it's an intense amount of work for someone who isn't a bike mechanic and people often don't head about the added-on cost until it's too late. Then there's also the customer service issues to service their proprietary headset (they are running out of) that only THEY have access to, topping it all of.
There is also the consideration that the average lifetime price of this bike on camelcamecamel is $561 New. That is alot of cash for a starter bike. I budget bought everything on mine and still had almost $300 in purchase and parts. It's not great but it's not useless, it just is what it is. You can also find Trek 1000's all day long for $150 around me, or Cannondale R300's, Giant OCR's for $100.....bikes that often don't need any work and were setup perfect from day 1 with quality parts. I actually compare it to these in my videos for these reasons, often people don't realize how good 20 year old bikes still are!
@@D2WrenchWorksDIY I had to go through the thing, person who had it before me could not keep air in the tires. It helps to have rim tape all the way around. That and a wheel true, grease in the right places and a tuneup was all it ever needed. I checked my Strava and have put around 2100 miles on this bike. I'll disagree with you a little on the equivalency to a walmart bike, it's slightly better than that. Let's be honest, Any budget, entry-level bike is going to need new stuff and come with unacceptable components. Surprisingly, this did not need anything other than a little love. Shimano tourney is fine, just requires a little attention periodically. Most walmart bikes don't even come with that. People spend too much time geeking out on the tech when they should be out riding. Riding whatever they can get a good deal on used. 95% of people won't notice a discernable difference between entry-level bikes. I did eventually find a good deal on a high-end full carbon bike with top shelf components that was someone's garage queen. Make no mistake the difference is a universe away from anything Vilano offers but it was a decent horse to ride until that deal happened. I rode that thing for the price of a couple of new tubes. Tech specs are not everything. I'll also restate, there are no entry-level bikes that will not need a little tech attention. That's the backend price of going cheap.
Walmart actually has some decent bikes, just like Vilano. There is no real quality difference over the Vilano bikes. They also got this popular new gravel bike I've been thinking about reviewing and the Vilano is extremely close to walmart's decade-long successful GMC Denali. The comparison is because they all require alot of additional skilled labor and Vilano is literally doing the same as walmart, they have nothing to do with the product or the design in-house like Trek or Cannondale, etc. Its a big company flipping the cheapest bikes they can buy from generic sellers, just like walmart. You also gotta realize truing your own wheels is a skill majority of cyclists don't possess and its expensive to true a set. Just like checking all the important spots for grease that can ruin the frame (stuck seatpost, broken headset) plus these ALL need cable housings cut down and all the limit screws checked. Sending a rear derailleur into the wheel at speed bc of limit screws or unable to replace a frame specific headset makes it a paperweight.
You're essentially rebuilding the bike at that point and a bike shop will want $200 to make it legit.
If you really wanted to compare it, look at bikesdirect.com. They used to get all the same flack 20 years ago on bike forums, but have since made massive quality improvements and still produce great bikes. A friend bought a full suspension Mid range MTB from there 10 years ago and all I had to do was bleed the hydraulic disc brakes and grease the seatpost. Wheels were dead true, derailleurs set proper, rim tape sealed no issue and shifters were tensioned perfectly. I'd imagine comparing their bikes today to Vilano would be even better.
Thanks for the rundown, I wish someone did this sooner. I bought a blemished 2018 model about 5 years ago, and it doesn't have the stem length issue. Though it had mtb disc brake calipers on it for some reason, and those have been a pain. I finally ordered some TRP Spyres, which should be a lot better. The rear axle broke, though I've heard that's from an inherent design flaw in freewheel designs. The stock tires kept going flat and the front shift cable fell off, so i was running it in 1x7 for a while because I didn't know shit about bikes back then 😂
Hi N8 Thanks for the comment, and please take a moment to subscribe! Yeah, I honestly bought this bike because it was ALWAYS top rated on amazon, but I've literally never seen one used or even one being ridden. I'm sorry to hear about the MTB calipers, but I can't say I'm surprised and stuff like this is just inexcusable, especially cheaping out on safety items like brakes. The wheels are definitely something with a short shelf life and are better just upgrading completely, 100%. Stuff like the bartape, saddle, and tires are absolutely something you should trash from the get-go. It's an added cost, which is always unwelcome, but constant flats are a huge pain, and being uncomfortable sucks.
Now, with all that said, once I was done with the bike, I rode it to sell to the new owner and it honestly felt great. I mean, it took me like 6 months in searching and chasing after customer service for headset stuff, but it was nice when I was done, lol.
Just alot of hidden costs because they cut corners and aren't a real bike company nor any different than a Walmart bike IMO.
Apart from the mentioned headset issue which could be a problem, gonna disagree a little, crashes break stuff, and whether by a bike store or a less proficient job by the purchaser/amateur mechanic, all bolts should be checked before riding anyway ON ANY NEW BIKE. I Never put the free pedals on, used my SP'sD off my mountain bike. put it together myself, as an average mechanic, and everything was working fine until i crashed it. from the crash I had to replace, seat that was torn (this was a upgrade seat that i already chose so not the original), brake lever and rear mech, hanger, Bar tape and upgraded to 28mm tires (as crash was due to double flats on bad road surface descent, so hopefully a little more protection on 28's). I replaced the stem later as i think i was reaching too far for my back injury. only thing i need to do is a better pair of wheels which is an upgrade choice. Bike Worked fine for about 1000 miles until my crash, and 500 or so since i repaired the crash damage.
Anything can be upgraded at any point for repair or replacement, which is kinda the point of entry level i guess, IMO.
Mine was bought as a store return about 300$, the bent fork was reason for return looks like, 30$ ish for a new fork, and put my own pedals on it was up and running for under $400 TOTAL. Upgrades can be done anytime, but you can hardly ask for the bike itself to be a cheaper entry level bike when that would more than likely mean crappier parts than the included crap or heavy parts you already complained about? Upgrades to parts that are not broken or for lighter/nicer parts are a upgrade CHOICE but not necessary to get someone on the road if the bike goes together OK and everything is working. Headset i see is the issue, the rest is chosen bike upgrades. As for upgrading for lighter parts, I am not interested as i can still loose 5lb or so off of me and that far outweighs any bike part weight issues, for me personally IMO. Do love the new handlebar tape though. Drew.
Hi again Drew! I am just here to inform, not dump on Vilano owners here! Someone already deleted their angry comments bc they didn't like this video, but I have gotten them before lol! So a few things, this video is referencing against other bikes in a 4-part video series I did (they are all posted together if you check my videos) on budget aluminum bikes! There are also other sites like BikesDirect that Vilano is trying to imitate but they are doing it very poorly and cutting corners at the buyer's expense, this is what I mean when I point out flaws. Because it's a $400 bike now, was $635 in Oct 2020 and got as high as $450 last year yet came out in 2015. All they did since, was take the nicer Shimano shifters off and add MUCH CHEAPER MicroNew shifters. I like them too but it's a price difference they are pocketing. Not only are you EXTREMELY close to entry level bikes from Cannondale/Trek and other for that price but many people don't realize the mechanical aptitude you REALLY need to PROPERLY build up one of these bikes. Because they are so cheaply assembled, bike shops typically charge $150-$200 to build them up for you, so you know it's alot of work.
For $499 there is a Carbon fork & Shimano shifter road bike, called the Motobecane Mirage S, for example (Standard headset you can replace for $30 w/ sealed bearings too). The level of work from a bikesdirect bike is not nearly as bad, I have built both now. There are definitely things they can spend a little more on IMO, as they've had this bike out for a very long time and it has only gotten more expensive with lesser quality items. It's the nature of my channel to honestly review things and as an expert in the industry I feel it necessary to point out both the good and bad. It's a cool bike but there ARE some serious downfalls, the customer service is severely lacking and makes finding the custom headset essentially impossible. It would take me forever to type out everything I had to deal with just to get that part lol I was actually about to bite the bullet and hire a machinist myself. If you can't find it through Vilano who said the one they sent me was the last (if that's true that is BAD NEWS) then the best part, which is the frame would be totally useless. If I were you, I would take my fork out of the frame and clean/re-grease your headset with green Lucas grease before it's too late because even the new one they sent me was gonna be trash very quickly as it had no grease packed in.
That is a VERY dumb design flaw for a headset that doesn't even exist in the industry standard, meaning you would need a machinist to fabricate cups for you and that would be COSTLY as well as take a while. I ended up replacing basically the same parts as you though and while I agree a crash will mess stuff up, if it's quality stuff, majority of the time it'll get road rash and still work fine. I also don't think NEW bikes costing this much, should need basic things like the front derailleur clamp checked because it's already tightened at the factory. Stuff like that causing consumers to crash is totally unacceptable and Vilano should be held accountable for being cheap. You never see people need to work on their new car because that's the manufacturers responsibility, not yours to check their bolts/workmanship. You also NEVER see this with name brand bikes that start at $700ish. It's just many cheap things you need to replace to be happy/safe and that also adds up ontop of the pedals/bartape/stem etc. The fork upgrade was really just icing on the cake because I found it for like $50 on ebay and when I weighed the original fork I felt obliged to bring it up because that heavy of a low quality steel fork is going to make a drastic difference in ride quality. It also has terrible fork geometry on it as it's from their cheap single speed/fixie bikes so you would be much happier with a real road fork anyway. It's not necessarily about unneeded upgrades all the time, I was replacing it for a reason and the rest I just happen to have the upgrades like Rear Derailleur because I do this for a living. That should show they are great for the cost though because I keep them in stock at our house haha. I also basically get free parts doing it because when I find a cheap MTB I can stick this fairly new Rear Der on it, for example. The stock rear derailleur and handlebars etc are just fine to ride until they fail though, I agree with you there :)
@@D2WrenchWorksDIY I hope my comment never came across as angry? that was not intended. And I was not angry, I was talking about my experience with my bike as opposed to your experience with yours, and how they were different. The headset I agree is a big issue. and the only other bikes I am comparing to are bikes I have personally owned. not comparing to other cheap/entry level bikes that I'm getting.
I have contacted help for other parts but never for a headset, just for things I replaced that were damaged in shipping or in my crash. At the time I was not able to afford 700$ for a new bike, which is why I got a shop return for under $300. I figured I'm an averageish mechanic I could replace what was damaged as long as the frame was fine. And anything I was buying at this price I figured was assembled in the manufacture location so there is no way I was not checking every bolt, even if I had been able to get more expensive bike delivered I still would have checked every bolt, I think I even checked, loosened and or greased the hub axles on this before riding, they were too tight. But again I would have checked this with any bike. that's all on your new comments here, I said most or the same in my first comments, no point in repeating myself.
I agree on some I disagree on others. the history of the company and are they putting cheaper parts for same price and pocketing the difference, well I never heard of a company doing that, lol.
The headset I am now worried about but the rest looks replicable as far as I can tell. And easy to upgrade or replace parts when broken or needed/wanted. I know there are different kinds of upgraders, I had the same experience when I used to race (Am) guys would get new stuff every week or so and try them out at the races. I upgraded when broken and needs replacing or like replacing to a shorter stem for comfort. I want my bike to ride it not to fix and upgrade and change, if it runs I'll ride it until something needs repaired/replaced, that's how I've always done it so so far I have never upgraded for lighter parts because my fitness level has always been more of a needed gain. That's just me and my way of doing it. I was not angry, am still not, we disagree about some bits, some bits you may have more experience of it than me, and that was partly my point, we both had different experiences with the bike. And that is fine. Drew.
@PistachioFilmsLLC no worries at all mostly a bad joke about the other commenter haha. I know some people can take a honest critic and make it something contentious, so I didnt want it to come across that I was being that way either! I am definitely not a hater on budget stuff it's literally been my way through life haha. Usually I won't replace working stuff either, but I sell these bikes too so there is value in it for me as well as other viewers who might wanna hotrod their new bike haha. Actually I rode the Vilano to the people I sold it to and I was very pleased with how smooth everything was. I think when you already have a bunch of succesful miles BEFORE its a broken bunch of parts you are probably less annoyed by it all haha but definitely get that headset flushed and regreased lucas green is at all walmart and harbor freights! Hope you enjoy yours and if you see really cheap carbon fork you know what time it is 😉
Thank u❤
Thanks for the comment and please take a moment to subscribe if you haven't already!
Better off with a good used bike. I got a fast af Felt f series for a couple hundred bucks online.
I can't say I disagree here! I am happy with how it came out but I also understand a new rider can't fix all this on their own without coming out of pocket. Nice bike BTW! I am a huge fan of the Felt F series, I did a in-depth build on one a couple years ago you can check out here: ruclips.net/video/WKuY0AVv60k/видео.html
@@D2WrenchWorksDIY Im not new, was just on a tight budget at the time. Saw that one. Good vid 👍
Heck yeah, thanks for the support! It's an awesome bike though, nice find and great deal!
What is your choice for a "budget" road bike ??
Edit for future viewers: I am happy to offer a patreon buyers guide for anyone interest in getting the best deal for their money! Please see stickied link for Patreon and contact me!
Hi there thanks for the question and please take a moment to subscribe! I have 100 videos and to tell you the truth its hard to pin down a specific bike. All of my hidden bike gems have excellent things that make them great and flaws I suggest upgrades for.
The wheelset that ships with the Vilano is absolute garbage as well. When I got my bike, I took the wheels off and put them on a truing stand and they were so horrendously out of true. Also, the spokes had an abusrd amount of tension on them. I gave up and picked up a Shimano RS 100 wheelset.
Hi Richie, thanks for the comment and please take a moment to subscribe if you haven't already! You're definitely right about the wheels, I spent longer than I liked on the whole bike but the wheels are definitely VERY poorly built. I undid most of the tension on all the spokes and worked my way through retrueing the entire wheelset. Im sure a shop wouldnt even want to spend the time I did bc it would cost near a set of wheels lol. The Shimano RS wheelset is a great upgrade though so at least you can take them onto your next bike if you upgrade!
@@D2WrenchWorksDIY I need to mention that after spending an hour or so on each wheel, I took them apart and relaced them but couldn't get any good tension on them if I wanted them to be true.
I'm definitely taking the Shimano RS wheelset to the next frame I build up.
Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if the cheap spokes were over-tightened so much that they stretched the spokes and made them useless. At that point they would just start snapping even if you got them true bc the metal is so thin from stretching! I've bought a handful of the RS wheels new myself and they were perfect out of the box too, it's a bummer Vilano cheaped out so badly bc they could have done much better for the money they are asking.
I had no problems with my shadow wheels….
@@ANTULIOMORA I think you may have lucked out, then. I've developed a habit of taking care of my bikes yearly, and always disassemble and inspect new bikes to make sure the bike is safe to ride. My Shadow wasn't just up to snuff, but I'm glad you didn't have any issues with yours.