^^^^^ Thanks I had been thinking that I was going to change out the inner chainring. I don't think you can use the 38 or 39 tooth with the 50. I might at least try the 36.

^^^^^ Thanks I had been thinking that I was going to change out the inner chainring. I don't think you can use the 38 or 39 tooth with the 50. I might at least try the 36.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/archive/index.php/t-95957.html
There are people who run 50/38, but I don't know if every compact crankset can. Probably worth checking with FSA to find out if the Energy crankset can do it.

...I agree with you that there's more gear shifting with the compact...

Could you explain this to me because I just don't see why one would shift more frequently with compact gearing.

Could you explain this to me because I just don't see why one would shift more frequently with compact gearing.


With the compact you're trying to approximate the wide gear range of a triple, but with the compact that forces you to use a cassette with bigger jumps between cogs. Using the triple middle ring with a close spaced cassette gives you pretty much the ideal range of cruising gears for relatively flat terrain and makes it easy to get the tempo you want because of the close spacing. Because some of the prime cruising gears with the 34t chainring are near the end of the cassette and because you get some chain rub with the 34t ring and smallest cogs on the cassette, you may have trouble finding a gear that falls just where you want it in between the gearing steps of the 50t cruising gears. I'm not a stickler for having the exact gear to give me an exact tempo, so just cruising in the 50t ring works okay for me. A small ring with more teeth than the 34t seems to alleviate the problem if you don't really need the low climbing gears that the 34t ring gives you. A larger small ring makes it convenient to pop down into the small ring when you have to slow down then wind back up to where you were and just shift back to the big ring--better for stop and go type riding according to the guy running 50/38 in the link I posted a couple of messages ago. There's another guy (Campy4Life or something like that) who posts on BF who claims 50/38 is the sweetspot for compact cranks--50t ring being more useful for non-racers than a 52 or 53 and 38t being good for flat-ish terrain.

My Le Champ Ti is my first compact crankset bike, so I'm still getting used to the quirks of the gearing.

Edit: It was Campag4life

If you don't race, a compact makes more sense for just about everybody. The so called std cranksets are the racing cranksets of yesteryear. If you are fussy about gear inches like I am, then you need to select the right rings to go on that compact. For me the sweetspot is 50/38 X 12-25 on the relatively flat courses I ride. If you climb a lot or are not in as good of shape, something like a 48/34 may make more sense. I wrote a thread on putting std. rings on Campy cranksets a few months back if you look for it in the archives. Gearing makes a big difference to enjoying the sport.
A 52 or 53 tooth ring doesn't make a lot of sense for a good recreational cyclist with all the rear cassette options today and why I believe a compact is the way to go unless you are a racer and need the inches which few of us can push even descending. I used to ride triples because I too like the 42t middle gear until I figured out a workaround for the Campy compact. I am not a fan of the 50/34 either because of the huge gap and lack of gear inch redundancy in front. A 50/38 is sweet however and best for me most of the time. If riding in the mountains however, I could live with a 50/34 and would need the small inner ring.

Yesterday I really shake the Ti road bike down. I took it on a 100 miles MS ride. The bike works very well. I had issues but nothing to do with the bike. About a third of the way into the ride, my right cleat would not engaged into my pedal. The front screw came loose and fell out. There are three screws that holds the cleat and I was not able to click into the pedal. I limped the bike for about 15 miles before the next stop. They don't have any spare parts so I took one of the screw in the back and moved it up front. That did the trick and I was able to finish the ride. My final pace was 17.8mph.

I feel good at the end, the bike rode nicely and smooth. Some of my team notice my new bike, they probably don't even know it is titanium.

Steve

I found out that my bike won't ship until June 10th.... THE PAIN....

Yeah, I asked Lindsay about why my tracking number hasn't shown any movement yet and she said that this shipment was "slightly delayed" and should ship "any day now". She didn't say when it would ship, so I'll hold out hope that "any day now" doesn't really mean in a week from now like your date suggests.

It would be nice to get some more information on this, but I seriously doubt Mike checks this thread anymore especially now that its moved from the road cycling section. These random tidbits from Lindsay don't help that much. Heck, Mike never answered my questions anyway though so I guess I can't expect much more.

It must be frustrating to have waited this long and have to keep on waiting. Hope you guys get your bikes soon. They really are nice bikes. I put another 30 miles on my Le Champion on Tuesday. Is it just the Teams that people are waiting for or are there some of the other models that haven't been delivered yet, too?

Mine is a Team, but I don't know about the others.

Mine is the one with the Ultegra SL groupo on it. I don't remember the official name... The part that ticks me off is the lack of communication and the fact that we paid in full mid-may. I could have used the interest from that money to at least buy an extra tube or two. It worries me that if something turns out wrong, what kind of response will we get?

Mine is the one with the Ultegra SL groupo on it. I don't remember the official name... The part that ticks me off is the lack of communication and the fact that we paid in full mid-may. I could have used the interest from that money to at least buy an extra tube or two. It worries me that if something turns out wrong, what kind of response will we get?


I paid in mid May and received my Ultegra SL groupo Ti bike in a few days. Maybe they didn't get your particular size in the first shipment? Did you email Lindsay? I would expect more communication with delay like that. Hang in there, the bike is well worth the wait. A little surprise how little postings are here for the Ti bike. How many people received their bike and which model did you get? I think there is one with the compact and another with the SL so far.

Steve

I'e sent several mails and the response time is "slow". Many times I get no response or just a flip response that the bike will ship soon. I understand delays but I expect to have some common courtesy of communication from Mike or Lindsay about the status would be helpful.

I'e sent several mails and the response time is "slow". Many times I get no response or just a flip response that the bike will ship soon. I understand delays but I expect to have some common courtesy of communication from Mike or Lindsay about the status would be helpful.

My friend who ordered a SL just received his bike today. The bikes are shipping.

Steve

My tracking number now shows that its experienced an "exception" and that its "forwarded to the facility in the destination city". I have no idea what that means, but it appears as though UPS rescheduled the delivery for the 9th so maybe it actually is moving now.

I agree its frustrating that there hasn't been any good communication and the word we do get is just a simple response with no real information about what is going on and when they will ship. I understand delays, but at least give us a decent response so we don't worry.

How many people received their bike and which model did you get? I think there is one with the compact and another with the SL so far.
Steve

I got mine the same week that you got yours. I got the le Champion with the compact. As I stated above I don't much care for the compact but I just swapped out the 34 for a 38. Hopefully that will change the way i feel about the shifting. Overall a very nice bike at a very nice price. Will be putting some more miles on it tomorrow on my commute and the thurs night hill ride down here in Trumbull CT. :thumb:

My Ti Motobecane Le Champion SL (size 56 cm) arrived yesterday. :)
Currently too busy to unpack it. Will ride the Giant Perigee tonight, unpack the Champ this weekend and change the crankset to a Shimano Ultegra SL compact.

My Ti Motobecane Le Champion SL (size 56 cm) arrived yesterday. :)
Currently too busy to unpack it. Will ride the Giant Perigee tonight, unpack the Champ this weekend and change the crackset to a Shimano Ultegra SL compact.

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing. Where did you get the Ultegra compact? I've been shopping around.

how much are these Ti bikes weighing in at?

how much are these Ti bikes weighing in at?

I have not weight mine yet. Mike originally listed the 56cm with Ultegra SL at 16.5lb. On my bike, I swapped out the stock saddle with a Flite Gel Flow, with pedal, computer, cages, it should be about 17.5lb. My bike is definitely lighter than my 18.5lb Cannondale so I will say the 16.5 number for the 56cm SL is about right.

Steve

Where did you get the Ultegra compact?

eBay, from...

http://myworld.ebay.com.au/bikemaui

UPS says mine is on the truck to my house. WOOT!! Of course I'm 1500 miles away from my house so that sucks. I'm looking forward to this weekend.

UPS says mine is on the truck to my house. WOOT!! Of course I'm 1500 miles away from my house so that sucks. I'm looking forward to this weekend.

Woohoo! I am excited for you. :thumb: I know the feeling, I was in Denver when mine was delivered in CT. Have fun and we want a posting with some photos. I am taking my Ti to a group ride this afternoon.

Steve

Wow, just the lechamp ti is 300 bucks more than it was on the group buy now that it's on the website.
You guys got a heck of a deal...

I would have been all for one of these if I hadn't bought my CAAD9 right before this group buy thing came out...

Mannn!

Glad you guys like all the goodies so far :)

Bike arrived today, Assembly tomorrow with pictures...

how much are these Ti bikes weighing in at?

My 53cm Le Champ Ti is sitting at 18.25 lbs with pedals(Forte Carve double-sided SPD pedals for now), Forte Pro SLX saddle(a bit lighter than the stock saddle), Deda Newton Shallow bar & Zero100 stem(probably about the same weight as the Ritchey Biomax bar and Pro stem that came stock), one bottle cage, pump mount for my Road Morph, and a plastic quick release for my seatbag. Haven't put on a computer yet. The big weight difference between the Le Champ Ti and the other models are the Pro DS wheels which weigh over 11 oz. more than the Protocols. Still mulling over whether I'm going to swap them out for the Neuvation R28SL3's I have on one of my other road bikes. The Neuvations are considerably lighter but the Pro DS look better. Got some extra seatpost I might cut off--I'm not much of a weight weenie, but I could shave off a few grams for free if I did that.

Bike arrived today, Assembly tomorrow with pictures...

Cool. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Will be putting some more miles on it tomorrow on my commute and the thurs night hill ride down here in Trumbull CT. :thumb:

There are at least 3 of these Moto Le champion Titanium bike running around in CT.

Steve

My 53cm Le Champ Ti is sitting at 18.25 lbs with pedals(Forte Carve double-sided SPD pedals for now),

You are not using the 105 pedals that came with the bike? The extra bonus for me is that the bike came with SPD-SL cleats, I will need to replace mine soon.... perfect!

Steve

OK I got home last night around midnight and had to begin inspecting the bike. Woke up early to put the bike together. It went together very easy and the components all look very good. I still need to do some adjustments because I get some clicking from the chain in the back sprocket.

I still have the stock seat on but will replace it with my Fizik Arione soon. What it the purpose of the chain stay protector? I think I'll be removing that if there is no real reason for it.

The pictures are at http://community.webshots.com/album/563719014MWSaZs?vhost=community

http://thumb0.webshots.net/t/66/666/1/22/56/2123122560055264080NgnorQ_th.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2123122560055264080NgnorQ)

I'll be taking it for a 30 mile ride tomorow morning. I feel bad about putting the pump and computer on it, it is so purdy naked...

You are not using the 105 pedals that came with the bike?

Steve

I have SPD pedals on my other main road bike. I just put an extra pair I had on the new bike, so I could still use both bikes without having to change cleats. I'll put the 105 pedals on when I get another pair of SPD-SL pedals for the other bike.

Mash Master, nice photos! Is that a 53cm frame? The black protector on the chainstay is to prevent scratching if the chain dropped. I will leave it as is, it couldn't be more than a gram or two. :)

Got a hilly ride tomorrow in the 90's. I will take the Moto.

Steve

Mash Master, nice photos! Is that a 53cm frame? The black protector on the chainstay is to prevent scratching if the chain dropped. I will leave it as is, it couldn't be more than a gram or two. :)

Got a hilly ride tomorrow in the 90's. I will take the Moto.

Steve

It is the 51cm frame to fit my short legs :-) Saves on weight.

Careful to swap out the tubes that came with the bike. After riding for about a mile I got a flat. When changing the tube I notice the tube is paper thin. How are the stock tires? They seem pretty decent, high pressure ratings. They are Rubino Pro tires.

Tires seem pretty decent to me, too. Haven't had any problems with the tubes yet, but I had enough of an increase in flats using "lite" tubes on my other road bike that I switched back to regular tubes.

The pictures are at http://community.webshots.com/album/563719014MWSaZs?vhost=community

http://thumb0.webshots.net/t/66/666/1/22/56/2123122560055264080NgnorQ_th.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2123122560055264080NgnorQ)

Bottle cages look like a nice match, what is the material & brand, model, source?

Bottle cages look like a nice match, what is the material & brand, model, source?

Those are the TACX Tao cages. Made of aluminum and very lightweight (40g). Hold bottles very firmly. I have them on one of my bikes.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/TACRKYFD

Just came back from a hot and humid ride. It is only 45 miles but got some challenging climbs. The Moto handled well and I really like the feel of the bike. I got out of the saddle and mashed quite a few times and the bike feels great.

Here is a photo of the Motobecane Ti with a Serotta Ti and a Seven Axiom Ti. One of our club member has a Litespeed Ti too but he put it away too early after the ride.

Steve

Those are the TACX Tao cages. Made of aluminum and very lightweight (40g). Hold bottles very firmly. I have them on one of my bikes.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/TACRKYFD

yep those are the cages. Of course I got them from PBK.

OK, so today I had some time to get my Ti Moto Le Champ SL out of the box. Looks good — it is almost half the weight of my lugged steel framed road bikes. I pulled the Ultegra 53-39 crank off, replacing it with an Ultegra compact 50-34. I have not yet shortened the chain and I have not yet lower the front dérailleur. Even so, in the bike stand, shifting is OK with the larger difference in chain rings. I need to go over all fasteners to check tightness/torque. It will take a while to tweak the fit and I will likely shorten some of the cable housings and re-tension the wheels after some miles.

I have not ridden the Ti Champ yet as I want to pick up some washers for my pedals before installing them. I just don't want to gouge that beautiful SL finish.

My tracking number now shows that its experienced an "exception" and that its "forwarded to the facility in the destination city". I have no idea what that means, but it appears as though UPS rescheduled the delivery for the 9th so maybe it actually is moving now.

I agree its frustrating that there hasn't been any good communication and the word we do get is just a simple response with no real information about what is going on and when they will ship. I understand delays, but at least give us a decent response so we don't worry.

If you've got a tracking number and are getting an "exception," I think you've got a UPS problem, and I wouldn't trust what UPS is saying as a delivery date. I ordered a wetsuit a couple of months ago that was listed as "out for delivery" for about four days straight. Every day they'd update the estimated delivery date to the next day. Turned out it was pretty much lost--Xterra sent me a new one, and I assume UPS made them whole.

As I recall, when I contacted UPS they told me the shipper needs to initiate the tracer--unless your bike showed up today, I'd recommend letting Lindsey know your tracking number and ask her to start the trace. If it is lost, it will take UPS 4-7 days to investigate before they admit it's gone, and then they'll let the shipper know. If that happens, hopefully they've got another one in your size in stock.

Good luck!

I finally got it last night! Put it together, swapped saddles and went for a short 20 mile shakedown ride last night. Overall the bike feels really good, its just I have to get used to the whole "new bike" thing. My previous bike is a 2001 Trek 5200 with Ultegra (triple) that I picked up used last fall and put 2000 miles on since then (on top of however many it had before), so of course the new bike is going to feel a lot different. Fitwise its pretty good, I just have to swap the stem. The bike rode great after I adjusted the RD a little with the barrel. The DA is just night and day difference from my old worn out Ultegra Triple. The difference between big and little (or middle on the triple) is wider on the DA double, so I just need to get used to that. Overall its also about 2 lbs lighter than the 5200, and I could definately feel the weight difference because I had a pretty good average speed without trying that hard and also going slow at times while dialing in the RD. The ride feels smoother than my previous bike on a rough patch of road, and I'm looking forward to hitting some other rough spots to really feel how it rides.

The only complaints I have are very minor. The bar tape is pretty weak, and I have to change out the tubes because my pump slips off of the smooth valve stem. But once I get the new stem and bar tape on there its going to be good to go! I'm also picking up some of those Tacx Tao bottle cages you guys recommended!

Its too bad that I can't ride tonight, its a beautiful day and not much wind, which sucks even more becuase the last 10 days around here has been constant rain and 20+ mph winds. I'll probably do the local time trial tomorrow night, so we'll see how it does.

Glad to hear you finally got your bike. Tacx Tao seem to be a popular choice for the Ti bikes. I ordered a couple of them from PBK along with some other things. Shipped today--hoping it's quicker than the 2 weeks my last order took to arrive. Most people seem to get their stuff from PBK sooner than that.

UPS delivered the Ti Team today. Can't wait till I get home.

Rode the local 20k time trial last night. The conditions were pretty rough, with a stiff head/cross wind on the last two legs, but the Moto performed well and I managed to set a new PR. Granted it was only by a whole 1 second over my previous best, but on a decent night I think I can take a lot more off. I can definately feel the lighter weight of this bike compared to my Trek 5200. The new stem should help get me out of the wind a little more too.

Glad to hear the Ti Team bikes are in. Photos?

Steve

Ordered my ti bike on Sunday and got it today.
I posted some pics at this link
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=427331

This was a perfect bike for me, just what I wanted at a great price.

Kenal0

In case anyone is interested, the Le Champ SL Ti got a good review in the July issue of Road magazine. Said the strength of the bike is that it does everything well.

Ti Team Pictures. (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=6873594&postcount=283)

If anyone is looking for a 53 Motobecane Team Ti., please PM me. I ordered this back when the original offer was made, however things have changed for me personally and I would like to sell it. It's a great bike and a great deal. I have taken it out of the box to check for any shipping damage - but still wrapped in it's protective wrapping from the factory.

Did the second batch of Ti Le Champion SLs start shipping yet or did I get forgotten?

I think that they have all been shipped. I'd send a PM to Mike and a mail to Lindsay to say WTF