Cyclocross - Motobecane Fantom CX

Simple question. What do you guys think of the motobecane as an entry level bike? Quality, or not?

Great bike for the money. Get one, you won't regret it.

for the money, great entry level bike

it races cross just fine. the seat sucks, so replace that

and replace the heavy wire bead tires with folding tires

otherwise ride the snot out of it and keep up with maintenance
check crank arm tightness often, that is one issue with the brand of BB mine has,
loosens after 10 races (which is no big deal at all)

I didn't know if I would dig CX, and I do now....and my CX bike is the 800 buck fantom cross

the carbon fork is actually a nice one and it zorbs chatter well...but the tires and seat gotta go

thank's for the info. I really think I'm going to go with it!

Mine mainly gets used as a commuter, but I've been loving it. Seems to be a pretty solid piece.

I ordered one of these and should be getting it on Monday, I'll post my impressions when I get it.

sounds good man! look forward to it. I would probably be using it part time as a commuter as well. let me know what you think about it!

I ordered one of these and should be getting it on Monday, I'll post my impressions when I get it.

Be sure to post pictures, and a little review :thumb:. I'm thinking about getting the CX or the Fantom Cross. Probably in the 64 inch. I'm one tall kid :innocent:

Another satisfied owner (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9320902@N04/2742080069/). :D

that baby looks swee-eet. (btw, how many bottles are you carrying in that pic and how much did you get for them?) :thumb:

that baby looks swee-eet. (btw, how many bottles are you carrying in that pic and how much did you get for them?) :thumb:

Thanks. I have (3) 24 oz. Zefal bottles w/dust caps and Blackburn mountain bike cages. The bottles were $4 each and cages were $5 each. I got them from Nashbar. If I get the job at Performance Bike, then I'm really gonna tweak my bike out. :thumb:

ha i think he meant how many bottles do you have straped to the rear rack in the next pic in the album.
Mice looking bike BTW "MO CAN"

ha i think he meant how many bottles do you have straped to the rear rack in the next pic in the album.
Nice looking bike BTW "MO CAN"

Thanks. Well, I have my backpack strapped to the rack.

Got some bad news. UPS was supposed to deliver today so I took off work a little early after I saw that the package hadn't been delivered around 4:15 or so. Waited in front of my building until 6:20, then I checked its status to see that "a delivery had been attempted at 5:26." I don't think so, I was in front of the building from 4:40 to 6:30, so either the driver had the wrong address or is flat out lying. Rescheduled for Friday. I'm going to gripe about it to the UPS center tomorrow.

For someone who owns this bike -- what size are the pedal threads? 1/2" or 9/16"?

Got the bike but I only rode it for 20 minutes; it's been raining all weekend. Here's a pic, I'll probably take some more pics when the sun comes out. Felt good though, I've never had a bike that wasn't a cheap atb.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emreyucel/2895714490/sizes/l/

the ride looks sweet man! hopefully it'll stop raining so you can put it through its paces. btw, how much "assembly" did you have to do?

I had to put the quick release skewer in, put the front wheel in the fork attach the handlebars to the stem, attach the stem to the fork, put the seat post in, install the pedals, and attach the front brake cable. The biggest problem I had was that the cable came loose in one of the shifters and I had to reset it.

I was thinking of getting one of these as an all rounder commuter/tourer/road/offroad bike and was wondering if anyone who has one would recommend it for this or if I should look elsewhere?

Has anyone put the rack eyeslets to use and loaded it up and if so what does it feel like?

Even if it's rubbish loaded it looks such good value I may get one anyway.

I bought one exactly 1 year ago. I just put over 1,000 miles on mine since then. I personally love it. For $500 you can't go wrong. I use mine for exercise, running to the store, charity rides, and weekend rides. I did replace the tires and seat. I added a rear rack and some other things. Below are some pics but I've changed a few things since then( lowered the bars, took off the reflectors, different bottle holders, different headlight, etc). I also have a smaller topeak bag on the rear rack for everyday rides. The larger one in the photos is for running to the store.

As for loading up the rack. Rides fine. I must of put 20 pounds of stuff in my rear rack. You have to be careful leaning it over while hanging onto the bars. It's so back heavy the front tire comes up off the ground and it wants to lean over. Getting on and off is more work but stopping and riding is fine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadgetadam/sets/72157602389546909/detail/

Been lurking the cyclocross forum for a while, looking into possibly getting into it. I think I'm gonna invest in this bike, and either race or have a shiny new commuter. :3

gadgetadam, I'm jealous of the yellow bike. Neither the grey or the blue has really grown on me. Hopefully at some point there'll be a burnt orange one... I'd find that sexy.