Mountain Biking - Motobecane Fantom Comp...PLEASE READ

I have two quick questions...
1. Does anyone own the Motobecane Fantom Comp mountain bike? If so, how do you like it?

2. Does anyone have experience buying from bikesdirect.com ? If so, are they reliable?

I found this super sweet motobecane fantom comp mountain bike for a great price, i just hate buying online, but if yall have faith in the bike and company, it looks like i found my next mountain bike!

I do not own one but have purchased from BD before. I bought a road bike from them for the parts kit. I ended up selling the frame and fork to another member here. By all accounts, he likes the frame.

BD's been around for a while. Yes, its web site is cheesey but you can get good deals there. Every once and a while, you'll get Mike (the owner) on here posting for recommendations on stuff, colors, components or the like.

It appears, based on your other threads, you may be new to biking. Sizing is important and you should know what size you need before you buy anything online. You will also have some assembly to do as well. It's pretty basic stuff but some people don't like to do this themselves. Once you add the cost of an LBS to assemble the bike, you may have lost your good deal. Just food for though...

I own a Fantom Elite DS that I bought as a used frameset with rear shock (rockshox bar)...so I can't really comment on their complete bikes...

I built mine up just how I wanted it w/ SRAM X-7, a Dart-3, WTB Speeddiscs and Avid BB-5s....

The frame quality is pretty good....nothing stellar but it certainly feels well built and solid..I think it will last for a long time...since mine is a dualie...there is no play in the pivots and the rear triangle is very solid...

I really like mine...I didn't like the original paint though...so I repainted it...

here's what it looks like...

Before the repaint:

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j33/aballas/P4200013.jpg

after:

http://photos-641.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v75/17/72/25800632/n25800632_33535641_4129.jpg

http://photos-642.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v75/17/72/25800632/n25800632_33535642_4382.jpg

http://photos-661.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v75/17/72/25800632/n25800632_33535661_9266.jpg

I've got the Fantom Elite DS...not quite the same but it's a great bike. I'm selling it right now for various reasons but that's a different story. Everything came as expected and there were no problems.

I had no problems with Bikes Direct. They were great when I purchased it. I'm thinking of getting another one of their bike (road bike this time)

Anyway, good luck with the new bike.

i own the 06 Fantom Comp purchased from bikesdirect. this was my first "real" mountainbike and it's been riding strong for the past year or so. i didn't know squat about wrenching and i was able to assemble it fairly quickly and it appears that everything is working properly. after a year of riding, i don't have many complaints. if i could change one thing, it would be the weight, but it's really not too big a concern for me

Ive got the Fantom Comp. I posted a review on here not too long ago, It's been a good bike. I've got about 50 mi on it so far. The gunmetal frame looks really slick.

The shipping was quick, assembly was easy.

The pedals and seat that came with it sucked. I replaced them along with a Ritchey adjustable stem to lift the bars.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=295120

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f222/soloban/bike001.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f222/soloban/bike002.jpg

is the frame quality good on these bikes?

Yup. Nice and light, good looking welds. See ^

Hey man,

I hope you get this in time...I just saw this post while surfing. Anyway, I had exactly the same concerns when I was thinking of buying this bike online. As soon as I found out that my bank would insure the purchase just in case the unthinkable happened I put in the order with bikesdirect. (I'm always wary with online purchases too!) I have to say that I received the bike in a sooner than expected and in perfect condition. This company is legit and I would refer them to anyone in a heartbeat. It's a great sturdy bike and pretty light with good components on it...considering the $600 price tag you can't go wrong. They did a great job with assembly too. All in all it was a perfect purchase for me. I'm psyched that I stumbled across it...I love it! If you didn't buy it or another bike yet, I'd refer this place anytime.

Matt - Miami, FL

Search the forums and you will find enough BD discussions to make your eyes bleed.

I have had only good interactions with BD. I bought a road bike (Le Champion, not SL) which is a fantastic machine. I also bought my girlfriend a mountain bike, something HTxxx from them a few months ago and it was also a lot of bike for the money.

It's worth considering that you will quickly loose the value of a BD bike if you cannot perform a basic tuneup, since LBSs usually give you free lifetime tuneups on bikes they sell.

I love the Motobecane! The fit of the frame is perfect for me and the performance is excellent. It may be too late for you, but I am selling my Fantom Comp for $650. Getting ready to have a baby and will not be mountain biking for a couple seasons :(

Probably too late. First post was from 05-30-07.

is the frame quality good on these bikes?

Every BD bike I've seen (including one I own) the paint blows tho.

The paint on my Kilo was alright.

I have two of the Fantom comps. One was delivered with a leaky front fork. It took a couple weeks to get that resolved, but they sent me a new fork and I sent the old one back. This was back in 2008 when RockShox had lots of leaky Tora forks. I also have a frame I purchased from BD and I've been pleased.