Motolegs

Bored out of my head last weekend. In this neck of the woods it was icy, cold as heck. Holed up with a bit of cabin fever.

Got to looking on bike sites, wishing I was actually riding. Found a neat looking ride on bikes direct.
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...e_xi_steel.htm

And took the plunge. A Bike Inna Box arrived at the door within a few days.

Slapped it together. Took longer to unwrap the darn thing than it took to assemble. A tweak to the brakes, and the barrel adjuster on the rear derailler, and she was ready to ride! Great feeling!

It's advertised as a comfy commuter. It indeed is. Ships with skinny azzed tires. 700x 28's is the advertised limit, that might be one thing I'd change. Indexed rear derailler.

I plan on using this as the regular commuter. Have a set of thorn resistant tires knocking around here somewhere that will make the trip a bit more stress free.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Good day, and happy riding everyone!

megalowmatt

That's a nice looking bike. It reminds me that a member here was commuting on one of those a few years back and giving regular reports. If I remember correctly he bought it as a temporary commuter because he was only on the site for a few months and ended up really liking it.

Motolegs

Thanks! It's really a cool bike, liking the green color a lot. It needed a few tweaks out of the box for sure, but it's a nice replacement for the heavy MTB conversion I had been riding.

cplager

Sorry. No pictures? Didn't happen.

no motor?

Indeed, someone left out some important details.

polishmadman

Keep us informed. I my be interested in a cheapy like that.

noglider 

It is handsome and inexpensive, for sure. I haven't seen down-tube shifters on a new bike in a long time. I thought they stopped making bikes that way. Nice way to save money.

noglider 

Oh, what does the bike weigh? And how are the brakes?

fietsbob

its the skill of the guy putting it together thats the mystery . BD that is across the ocean , where it's boxed.

dynaryder

Make sure you get the wheels checked. Def machine built,if not properly tensioned/trued you can break spokes.

There are a few out there. Fuji has one,and I think Schwinn makes one as well.

Motolegs

Sorry about the lack of pics. My crippled computer won't accept a camera's input. Rather spend money on bike stuff than fix the thing.

Noglider, the rear gears are indexed, and easily adjusted. The fronts are more traditional friction. The brakes are spot on. You do have to assemble the front, and adjust the rear. Did you notice the grabbers on the handlebars? They bear directly on the cables and are quite useful!

Motolegs

The wheels are true as the day is long. The tires are el cheapo, but they feel thick enough to ward off flats for now.

Motolegs

Noglider, the bike weighs very little more than my aluminum Trek, as far as I can tell. No gas piper.

polishmadman

Everyone has to agree to that being an acceptable excuse.

Motolegs

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...s/IMG_5167.htm

RubeRad

Friend of mine bought a new Specialized skinny-tube (CroMo?) bike with DT shifters last year, but I can't find anything on the spesh website that looks like it.

MyBikeGotStolen

Nice bike! I have been eye-ballin' that thing for years. I'm pretty sure there would be one hanging on my wall right now if it would fit a fat tire. I have always been a sucker for downtube shifters.

hueyhoolihan

looks good.

nice to see the quality of a bike in that price range, 300-400, has remained the same for about 35 years. reminds me of my entry level '82 Trek. i'm guessing they are about the same quality, maybe even better. it had 531 straight gauge main tubes, rest of frame/fork was plain cromo. 5 speed mix of Suntour V and SR components.

Leisesturm

That was their reboot of the steel Allez that was popular back in the day. Specialized pulled their 201? steel Allez w/DT shifting, but Fuji still makes one. Nashbar had one too but pulled that as well. I think that is more than a coincidence.

H

RubeRad

That sounds right, I think I remember it was an Allez, I only saw it once. Personally I didn't see the point of it. If you want a steel-tubed, DT-shifting retro-bike, isn't it cheaper and cooler to buy an actual vintage bike? At least then you get lugs! (no offense to OP, I'm sure your moto is lovely)

Motolegs

No offense taken, always like to take a gander at the vintage Moto with handpainted lugs (That I lucked into @ the thrift store)- to see some very nice workmanship.

This new Moto was just impossible to resist. Sure, it's not made in France, or even owned by a French company, but IMO has more character and panache than anything coming out of department stores. And was looking for a bike to RIDE, everyday, something unlike the vintage Moto I own, the Trek 1.1 reserved for weekend rides and semi competitive events, and the sluggish tank that is the Ross MTB. It filled a niche perfectly.

As an update, things have turned here weather wise and have returned to a regular two wheeled commute. The Mirage is performing admirably. Did break down and replace the stock Kenda 152 tires with Specialized Armadillo's for some peace of mind. The top of the handlebars are too crowded to mount a light with the extra brake levers in the way, so put them on the vertical section. Looks funky but works well. A rear rack went on with no issues.

This bike is really slick looking, pretty darn fast, and so much easier to ride than the old commuting beast. As a bonus, these aren't standard down tube shifters that leave you fiddling for the sweet spot, but click into place precisely. Very nice stuff!

The main disadvantage so far is when people ask what brand of bike it is, and you have to reply "Motobecane". It draws puzzled expressions to those expecting a reply of "Schwinn" and is a mouthful to actually say.

RubeRad

So how are the wheels? I once bought a pair of wheels a guy had taken off a BD bike and sold on CL, and they were CRAP. Fortunately the price was still right ($60 for wheels, tires, tubes, and skewers), and my purpose in buying them was for backup and tuning/(re)building practice.

Anyways, if you haven't yet, I highly recommend cracking those hubs open, liberally greasing, and tightening them up appropriately to get them as smooth as possible. Mine were ridiculously crunchy when I got them -- and I think the same as yours.

dejock

Does it use a cassette or freewheel? Looks pretty promising for the price. Digging that green!

noglider 

For amusement, you could pronounce it motor-beer-can.

spivonious

Looks like a great bike for $350. How does it compare to your Trek 1.1?