Cyclocross - your opinion needed

looking to buy my first cx bike. the Motobocane Fantom Cross offers what i want or need for a good price. the bike willbe mostly a commuter but the more i look in this forum the more i want to try this cx racing thing.:twitchy:
anyway what are your opinions on this bike. let me hear it all, the good the bad and the ugly.

i just searched for "motobecane fantom" in the cross forum and got 119 threads. start there.

A lot of people love cx. At least I never heard of someone who was really displeased by it. Try to find and rent one, ride it and then buy it. It's not pretty much for commuting though, I think, but it depends on what you are expecting from it. If it is a smooth and fast ride that you are waiting for, it's right for you and if you are expecting to win a pro-race event than you will probably want something different :)

i just searched for "motobecane fantom" in the cross forum and got 119 threads. start there.

Not to start a fight, but I find that if I search and get 10-20 results thats helpful, but if I get 119, the signal to noise ratio is a little too low. It's an unfortunate fact that some topics are just too common for the search to help.

The standard response to Bikes Direct in general seems to be that they are good bikes at a good price if (a) you have the mechanical aptitude to finish the assembly and tune the shifting yourself, and (b) you know how to figure out the size you need from a geometry chart. On the first point, if you have to take the bike to a shop to get it functioning properly, much of your savings will be lost. On the second point, which I would consider the more important of the two, no bike is a good deal if it doesn't fit you.

Now, let me say that I use my cyclocross bike (not a Motobecane) as a commuter and I think it's a great fit, but be prepared to swap in some slick tires. Racing it has turned out to be pretty fun to. You should definitely do that.

Finally, I would go with the Windsor Cyclo over the Fantom Cross, because the components look a little better. There's probably a trade-off somewhere. The Fantom Cross looks like it has better wheels.

I have a fantom cross frame from a few years ago- model with a carbon fork w/ steel steerer, and it made a nice bike. It would work perfectly fine for commuting unless you're wedded to the feel of steel, and it will work perfectly fine for racing.

If you're not a racer or super serious cyclist in the first place, your 1st cx race will teach you just how freaking hard it is and though a high-end zoot bike would shave a couple lbs and help you a bit, the fact of the matter is a high-zoot bike is wasted on a noob who isn't in good enough shape to truly be competetive.

That's been my experience with racing and since I've learned that I've stopped dreaming about a REALLY nice cx racer for the time being.