Originally Posted by
lolitsJeff
I got the steel Motobecane fantomcross Uno from bikes direct, ~$400, acouple months ago. I upped the freewheel to 20T and combined with the 38T front chainring I have a pretty nice gear ratio for off-road fireroad and trail riding. It comes with a flip-flop hub and the 16T fixed gear is nice when I ride with my road bike friends.
Apparently it can fit 42c wide tires, but I think only in the front. I currently have 38c tires on and the clearance between the back wheel and seat tube is about a milimeter. So far it's a great offroad bike, super snappy and responsive and the only maintainence is in lubing the chain. I think it has fender and rack mounts too so it could be a good commuter.
Another Uno owner here, besides the ass-hatchet seat (which I replaced immediately) and somewhat flexy wheels (I take it on singletrack and do things like play polo on it... and am ~200#), it is a good bike for the price. Only minor complaints, rear brake cable guides on bottom of top tube (not the best for shouldering it, which happens a lot for me in the winter), rack mounts a hair too close to fork and track ends, it is a pretty good bike. My studded winter tires fit with plenty of room.