Okay so I don't understand what people are expecting from a $200 bike..but it's great for the money. I bought this bike with the mindset of learning how to work on single speed bikes..and for that purpose it's perfect. If you really want a ready to ride bike out of the box then you need to look into an SE Draft or Kilo TT ($300+). I personally know that I was going to upgrade/personalize whatever bike I chose (cheap or expensive), so I went with this...and why not build it up over time at this price?Impressions- Despite a few negative comments on the shipping, my box actually came in perfect condition. I guess they took note of the older comments. The bike didn't have any scratches or missing items as a few others have said.Cons- The brakes absolutely suck on this bike. They will slow you down but it won't be any good for emergency stops. Recently bought new brake levers and had a mechanic adjust the brakes and it now stops like a bike is supposed to (check my photos). Like a few others have mentioned, the tubes seems to be crappy as well; I had to replace mine right out of the box because one didn't hold air. The reason I did not complain to amazon was because I did not want another set of low end tubes..so I bought a good pair for about $16. The seat is a little on the harder side, but it is not unbearable. I will replace this eventually as well.Pros- Everything else on this bike is solid. Components such as the handlebar, pedals, bar tape, wheels, and chain are all ready for use. If you buy this bike, you can definitely ride it straight out of the box but I'd recommend upgrading the brake levers and taking it to a bike mechanic to adjust. It would also be smart to have a spare set of tubes readily available. All in all that's still under $300 for a good lightweight bike. Stop hesitating, buy it, learn, and customize to your needs. Oh yea and it accelerates very quickly!I recieved this bike today and put it together in about an hour and a half. It took a while because after i put it together, i noticed the front tire was not aligned. I tried to fix it and i just couldnt. So, i ended up removing the cheap breaks and taking off the grip from the handle bars to remove the brakes. I'm pretty sure the spokes were probably a little bent but since i removed the brakes, the tire had a lot of free room to move and it did not effect my riding. I take off one star for the front tire being mestup. Since i have no breaks I am putting it to fixed gear. My white bike is BEAUTIFUL. the frame is nice and the handle bars look nice without the grip, though now they hurt my hands if i rest them too long. The seat is lame but that is an easy replacement. This bike is a bit lighter than my old takara bike and it doesnt have stupid stickers. But, It loses another star for not being as reliable right out of the box like my takara (even though they both have crappy cheap brakes) but i still believe this bike is better. it rides smooth but be prepared with the right air pump to put some life in your tires when you finish putting it together. All in all this bike looks sweet but take this bike only if you plan on replacing parts and if you want to customize it. The frame is really nice looking. This bike has the potential to be a 5/5 if customized a bit.pros- nice looking frame- faster than most bikes at this price- easy to customizecons- cheap brakes-cheap seat-cheap pedalsRemember get the right air pump.I was going to purchase a BigShot, but after I pieced the components together i got a flip flow hub here and a much lower price.The bike has all the basic pieces i needed much less then individual purchase so upgrade the seat, bars, and brakes makes this an awesome platform if you want to build a custom fixie for less. The tires were pretty gummy too so that was awesome.This is not chromo, but it's pretty light. I can't tell the weight difference from this bike to my chromo setup i built.If you are just wanting a basic basic setup this is fine. If you want the bike as a complete setup this is shy of having the right components. Get a PureFix or BigShot or a company that will do it all for you and all you have to do is take it out of the box. I like building my own, so this again had the basics I required at a super affordable price.Hope this helps you all making your decision.I gave four stars for the value. Not for the shotty brake calipers, pedals, and saddle.Came pretty banged up with what looks to be burn marks on the paint and the back wheel is warped, and front fork was bent in-wards, Couldn't get the front wheel on until I pulled it out. Pretty sad as it was only shipped 44 miles from the Amazon warehouse to my door - No damage what so ever on the box so I assume it came like this from Vilano.Took all of 10 minutes to get built, promptly took the brakes off & handle bars were easy to re-wrap (just pull out the end caps).Rides nice. Great bike for the price, wish it didn't come with all the damage but apparently shipping bikes is rocket science.Great starter bike. No issues with brakes or tubes as other reviews had noted. I adjusted the brakes when I first got it and they've worked fine ever since. For the tires, I made sure to break them in by pumping them to 60psi for a few days then up to 80psi and everything has worked great so far.The only negative was some damage to the paint. It looks like there was some friction on the left side of the frame which wore down the paint to the bare metal. However there was no other damage to the frame.Great value for a basic fun bike. I added a better seat, flat bars & Sram 700 brake levers purchased elsewhere on Amazon.Assembly was a breeze. Bike was well packed and protected from damage.Great to have a bike with no manufactures name plastered all over it. Delivery was free. Thanks Amazon.Shipped fast and was easy to assemble. A great bike to start off with, and its especially good for city life. Its not too flashy, so people are less inclined to steal parts of it when parked; but it still looks cool enough to get some nice comments. Its a steel frame, so it's kind of heavy. And you might consider upgrading the seat, pedals and maybe wheels. Be cautious when speeding downhills with fixed gear because I find the gear is slightly lower than other bikes and it gets crazy when slowing down w/o using hand breaks. I call this bike my training bike, and will get the "real" fixed gear bike when I start racing. I love this bike, its a lot of fun. And its at a great price. (Loved it so much I had to rate it)