Media

Hi yall

I have been ridding 22 + miles a day on my Trek 400 fixed gear for a little over 6 months, and I love it. However, more and more I see some of you guys with fancy bikes at the group rides, and I want to join you. I am looking for my first modern road bike and came across this item

https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MOTOBECANE-R...3%3A1|294%3A50

I am no fool, but I do lack experience in higher end bikes, I figure if it sounds to good to be true, it is. So, for a first time good real race worthy bike is this worth my time? I figure I would get a DA group set, and be good to go. Though I am a tad skeptical that 300 dollars will not buy a mistake.

Thanks for reading

Media

CCrew

Motobecane is a "Meh" product. Putting DA on it would be a lot like lipstick on a pig.

They're sold primarily by Bikes Direct ( https://www.bikesdirect.com ) and if you search on them you'll find that opinions run hot and cold. The Motobecane line was a very nice French bike in its day, now it's a low dollar name sold only by a couple distributors.

Lebowski

i dont know about motobecane's mountain bikes, but a road bike doesnt take the abuse to crumple up in a ball like a discarded paper clip... i'd buy a complete bike, not made by that company.

Media

Is this personal experience you have had with them? I am really not sure what you are trying to say with the paper clip analogy. Anyway, I will most likely go with a frame and hand pick my group, it just my style. Any goo starter frames you know of?

sheddle

You probably don't need a DA set for your first road bike. Hell, I'm new, and I'll be damned if I can tell the difference between my Mirages and the Tiagras, 105s, and DAs I test rode.

Motobecane's road bikes are a little iffy, but for a first bike, they're probably fine. If you want a good frameset, the Bianchi 1885's not bad at all.

Media

Well its not my first road bike, its my first multispeed lightweight road bike. I have full DA on my Fixie, and it was really not that expensive if I waited and found the parts as they came. I can tell the difference in parts. I recently helped re-build my friends Trek, and upgraded to an STI system. From the 105s to even the ultegras it was a huge difference in feel and stiffness, tough I am fairly aware that a new group set will feel "newer".

I am not a fan of the Bicinins Geometry, from what I can tell the moto is fairly close to my Fugi, and my trek, so that was part of the allure. I may keep looking... or from what I have been reading on raod bike review this model has been getting consistently good reviews... I guess I will let this post sit for a day, and I will sleep on it.

I really value your opinion, thanks for responding!

sheddle

Well, I think that if you're going to get a top-of-the-line drivetrain, you might as well get at least get a nice frame to go with it. The Motobecane's probably a good bike for general road use, but I don't know about using it for a race bike, of course, I don't have one, so take it with a grain of salt.

If you want a cheap, good, race-worthy bike, look for a CAAD8 or CAAD9, never heard a single bad opinion on those; consensus is that the CAAD9 is the best bang-for-the-buck race bike out there. Problem is, they aren't sold as framesets, as far as I know. LBS sells one with a 105 drivetrain for $1399.

Velo Dog

I'll second the opinion on DA components. They're really nice, but they cost like hell, and I can't tell the difference in everyday riding between my neighbor's Rambouillet with DA and mine with 105 stuff. I'll kick Shimano around all day long for its marketing practices, but even the lower-end parts work well.

stapfam

Building up a bike from components is a lot more expensive than buying a complete bike. Admittedly you can get a bike you want with the components you want- but The heart of any Bike is the frame. The Motobecane frame is not a frame that is worth a great deal of money being spent on it. There are far better frames available.

A GOOD starter bike for road riding can be had from any good bike shop and from many different manufacturers. Look at Giant- Trek- Cannondale- Marin- Specialised and host of other "Names" for your first bike. And as to the Groupo to fit on it- Shimano 105 is good enough for racing and has been good enough for me for years.

Tapeworm21

Media,

By your logic.... which is a good idea and totally fun to buy a frame and build the bike up yourself.... let me tell you what you're missing. Frame is $300. Again, it's a "meh" frame. Hopefully a 54cm is what you need.

You want Dura Ace. That's another $1500 or so for all the parts. You now have a "meh" frame that shifts really well. Er.... would shift well if you had wheels.

So wheels, being pretty damn important for how a bike will ride, will run around $600 for a set that's kinda decent. You now have a "Meh" bike, with "meh" wheels, that shifts and brakes well. All for $2400ish dollars. Coulda just bought a Tarmac Expert for a couple hundred more with a badass frame, good wheels, and Ultegra group.

Invest on a frame and wheels. The rest will follow. Personally, I think SRAM Rival is the way to go right now. I'd take Rival over DA anyday.

Trakhak

Speaking as a former racer who rode high-end Italian steel for 25 years, the Motobecane Le Champion SL I bought 3 years ago is the best bike I've ever ridden. When people refer to it as a "meh" frame, they mean that they prefer the penile-extension benefits of riding a similar Taiwan-manufactured frame with a different Internet-forum-approved decal set.

BarracksSi

Half of the frame's "meh-ness" comes from the occasional, but still disastrous, bad assembly of the complete bike. Even a Pinarello can be turned to scrap because of a builder stripping a bottom bracket. Bikes Direct is not known for impeccable assembly.

But, if you're assembling it yourself and you know what you're doing, you'll probably do just fine. But then again, considering the costs of getting all the parts separately*, it's still cheaper to get a better complete bike.

* Separate parts need to turn a profit for the seller, even if it's just new cables. But, if you're a factory churning out bikes by the hundreds every week, parts manufacturers will supply bundles of stuff for very cheap. That full DA group costs a factory just a fraction of what it costs you.

Media

Have you ever ridden one of these bikes? I say this in only the most respectful manner mind you. It just seems to me not any of the people who have been replying have. I looked up the reviews on Roadbikereview.com , and its all 4 or 5 stars, with no real decent about the build quality of the bike (mostly, if not all just customer service complaints). Also, the more research I really do, the better the bike seems to be. Felt, GT, Jamis, Raleigh, Trek, and Kona are made by the same factory. So I am wondering what people have against this "name" in particular? I only seems to be getting vague responses like "that bike is not good...for some reason", from people who have not had first hand experience.

As for the DA group set, it's not as if the parts are going to go sour when they go on the Moto. I am fairly sure the bike parts may be interchangeable. Sorry for the sarcasm there, but really I already have most of the parts anyway, I just need hyperglide cassette, shifters, and a stem, so its not going to be a full investment. I Just put together an STI system for a friend one part at a time, we did the math, we saved upwards of 1000 dollars over a complete bike. Though it was allot of late night bid sniping, and hair pulling, so it was not exactly by traditional means. I admit that without that driving passion you would be absolutely right.

Media

I have most of the parts already (I amass parts from helping others with their bikes). Everyone going fixed gear has been awesome for my personal stock pile of spare parts. I have several wheel sets, I can lace a wheel in a matter of minutes, and I just need a compatible 10speed or 9 speed cassette. Hell I even have a DA crank just hanging around. Just throw some shifters on the bad boy an I will be ready to ride.

Though you are absolutely right, given normal circumstances a complete bike would be a great idea. I guess I am, as always, a unique case.

Have you happened to ride one of these bikes per chance. I seems to get lots of vague responses on what is wrong with the bike, but nobody seems to pin anything.

CCrew

Now here is where your newbness shows through.

While *some* of the model lines may be made in the same factory, that does not mean that they are made to the same specification nor the same QA controls. They're simply made by a contract manufacturer. And you can't just lump the brands and say they all are, as Trek for instances depends on what bike it is. I'm sure it's the same with the others. ALL the brands you listed however have extensive dealer networks and you have someplace to go if an issue arises. For Motobecane you have eBay?

You asked opinions. You don't like them, go buy WTF you want.

invwnut

When I was in the market for the CF bike and higher end bike, I went all over town looking for one. I even considered buying a Motobecane. During a two day ride with over 5000 participants, I saw a handful of Motobecanes. I asked several people what they thought of the bike and none of them had a bad thing to say about them. I even asked if they experienced a poor build. None.....with that said I'd say go for it. I didn't buy one only because I found a CF bike with SRAM Force components for a little less (used though). If you don't like it, sell the frame for what you paid for it or trade it with someone and do a different build. You only live once and many of the members here on BF have multiple namebrand bikes. Ask anyone of them if they have ever bought a no name brand.....I bet not.

invwnut

I beg to differ on the QA if made in the same factory. QA/QC is always the same but maybe the geometries are different. Now maybe my experience is difference from pharmaceutical manufacturing but the generic brand was not made with any less QC than the namebrand. Most of the time the namebrand and generic were the same product albiet it was OTC. It's made in the same factory with the same people under the same QC/QA department. They will sample and measure at the same rate as their namebrand customer. Maybe the only real difference is that the namebrand company will follow up with a QC check of their own when the product is delivered (which I hope happens). Maybe the tolerance are a bit tighter than the generic bike but I doubt it is because of the expense to change the manufacturing line just to make it less tolerant? Makes no sense to me on that.....now this is my opinion and experience in a bit different manufacturing industry but we did generic and namebrand products.

Garfield Cat

++ to all that. What you don't want is a mediocre bike. If you do enough riding in varied terrain, you will know how a good frameset really works for you. I start with the type of riding I do and then figure my body type and then which frameset will do the job. This is where the pro bike fitter will give you information that you need. A local bike shop may be more "coloration" in advice. When the fitter is very experienced, and knows you, the type of geometry and setup decisions are practically done.

Media

As for the newbness, sure why not, I have never owned a 2009 tarmak, you got me...

Well seems to me nobody has an opinion, they seem to be the ones lumping things together. Not a single person has singled out a reason that its not a good bike. They merely do what you do, and make some vague observation about where it comes from, and think that I am supposed to take your opinion seriously. I am aware that not every bike off of that factory is going to be the same, but what makes this bike crappy? It's really all I am asking. I have a few lbs here that sell the Moto's, so the local dealers here seem to have them. I am not sure how vast the distribution network is for them, but from my perspective I see them on online sotres, and in a LBS.... so how am I really to know? I guess that's why I ask. If I seem to be a little snarky, I admit I am a tad frustrated, but I really am not trying to be combative. So I apologize if I seem ungrateful for the responses. So if you know something about the build quality of this bike, or know somebody who has had problems hit me up so I can figure out what I am going to get.

Media

Thanks for your input!