[culcune]

I understand your consideration of a brand name bike, but the beauty of these bikes is the cost to quality--they have more than exceeded that level since they started coming on strong in the mid-2000s (which gave rise to this forum and the group that spun off this one, mychinamoto). Back then, no one knew much of anything about these bikes, so they were essentially throwaway bikes, but once the Lifan GY200-5 came out in the later 2000s (starting around 2006ish) and was probably one of the first '49-state legal' (Californians need not apply even back then) Chinese endure with some built-in quality, these bikes are perfect for the more casual rider; such as commuters, and people desiring less intense trail riding.

Brand name bikes for most require a commitment as most of us would need to finance one of those. In other words, a $5k bike ends up being much more due to interest, and the down payment on one of those would be about the cash price of a Chinese bike. I have to say; once the Hawks came on strong, the prices have nudged up, as these were $1200 bikes last year vs. $1500 to 1700 bikes nowadays. Hopefully a bike to bike competition, such as the Hawk vs. the Enforcer will cause a price war, or at least a battle.