Commuting - Motobecane???

I have zero experience with the Motobecanes (not much more with bikes in general.) I am looking for a solid commuter that I can run a fairly wide tire on and I found the Fantom Cross. What's the word on these bikes? Thanks in advance!

W/my tax incentive money I purchased a Yellow Motobecane Fantom CX for 500.00 from http://www.bikesdirect.com Changed out the stock tires to Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28 mm. Added a Delta Universal Mega Rack, Jandd Saddlebags, Wellgo duel sided clipless, Topeak Road morph w/guage frame pump, tool kit, patch kit, tire levers(metal...plastic ones suck), Kool Stop tire mounting tool, 2 Niterider Trailrat 2.0 Headlights, NR Universal Taillight and 3 Planet Bike Superflash rear blinkies. Also, a Cateye Sport 1 led HL w/steady or blinking mode. I use the blinking mode while riding in daylight. Sounds like alot, but it's all pretty basic for a 35-40 mi rt commute on rural roads. I work 2nd shift, so my homeward commute is 100% in the dark. Most of the add-ons I had from other commuters and transferred most of the gear. I think it's a great value for the money. I love the bike.

They are a good deal for the money as long as you know exactly what size you need, and are willing to do (or have someone else do) the set up and adjustments normally needed on any new bike. The brand name won't gain you any snob appeal points, but who cares about that.

My first road bike was a Motobecane back in the 70s. I wish I had that bike now!

I have Motobecane Mirage Sport, bought it off of CL due to previous owner not knowing how to adjust properly. It is a great value for the the money. I have no regrets in buying it.

I have a Sprint road bike from Motobecane and I love it. But you do need to do your homework on size and setup. I recommend going to an LBS and trying out different frame sizes and comparing the measurements to the Fantom Cross (you can find all the measurements listed online). Also, if you are not much of a gear monkey you can have the LBS do the initial tuning and what not.

Enjoy and ride safe

My first road bike was a Motobecane back in the 70s. I wish I had that bike now! The Motobecane bikes sold on bikesdirect.com are not from the same company as the old Motobecanes. It has been discussed here a lot, but most of the brands bikesdirect sells (Motobecane, Mercier, Windsor, Dawes) are actually ALL the same company: bikesdirect.com. The "revived" some classic cycling names and created a variety of web pages, but they are all from the same company.

I agree with what others said. The bikesdirect bikes are a good deal if you keep in mind that you need to know the correct frame size in advance and the bike will need to be set up properly by someone who knows what they are doing. I bought a bike from them and screwed up some stuff setting it up. It would have been smarter for me to first have it set up by my bike shop to ensure safety. However, I learned a lot and luckily I didn't crash. Now I own a bunch of tools and can do just about all the mechanical work myself. In fact, I bought my daughter a used trek mountain bike, stripped it down to the frame, painted it, and rebuilt it with a new rigid fork that I cut to size. Now I've done just about every type of mechanic work except wheel building.

I'm having trouble turning it up with forum search, but I think I've read that some of the Mercier frames from BD are overstock from a factory run of frames made for Fuji? Any truth to that?

They are a good deal for the money as long as you know exactly what size you need, and are willing to do (or have someone else do) the set up and adjustments normally needed on any new bike. The brand name won't gain you any snob appeal points, but who cares about that.

+1 Ended up ordering a 56cm and though the height is right the stem is a little long. But, I adjusted to it over time. And one needs to have some mechanical acumen and tools for sure. Otherwise, the your lbs will charge you a small fortune for set up. Truing wheels, adjusting brakes and derailleurs, seat height, handlebar angle, etc.

I'm fortunate in that I've got a good friend who was a 'national team' mechanic at one point and he told me that the bikesdirect bikes, though subject to much derision are fine. I did the set-up myself. Just keep in mind that BD is a brokerage and only inspects a few bikes 'off the boat'. There may be damage of one sort or another. Mine had a small nick in the head tube and mis-matched cranks(the NDS crank was blue :rolleyes:), But I decided overall not to make a big deal as the damage was slight and didn't effect the performance of the bike. It was purchased last May and has over 6000 commuting miles w/just brake and der cable adjustments. I'll ride it for another year, list it on CL and buy another one...probably a step or two up.

I'm having trouble turning it up with forum search, but I think I've read that some of the Mercier frames from BD are overstock from a factory run of frames made for Fuji? Any truth to that?

That is the Windsor Tourist touring bike. If you look at the Windsor and the Fuji, well, it is a separated at birth experience.

I'm having trouble turning it up with forum search, but I think I've read that some of the Mercier frames from BD are overstock from a factory run of frames made for Fuji? Any truth to that?
Some time ago someone posted a thread showing the similarities between various models of Fuji bikes and corresponding models from bikesdirect. Unfortunately, it seems that the thread has been pulled:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=139098

I believe the Motobecane Cross bikes are very similar to Fuji Cross bikes. You get get on the web site and compare components, frame materials, and frame geometry.

They're a great bike. If you have a low expectation of quality. I own one. I'd never buy another.

Do they work? Sure they do. Are they made byy the lowest bidder with no mind to quality ? That's a good start to the description IMHO.


-Roger

They're a great bike. If you have a low expectation of quality. I own one. I'd never buy another.

Do they work? Sure they do. Are they made byy the lowest bidder with no mind to quality ? That's a good start to the description IMHO.


-Roger
I own one too (not the Motobecane Cross bike, but another bikesdirect bike). It has taken me around 2500 miles and I am pleased. It was well worth the $600 I paid for it.

Looks like I'm not the only one.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=533107