ravenmore

Hi all,

I'm a roadie looking to get into mountain bikes. Now, before I get started, I know how it goes on the roadie side of the message board. Someone makes a post about a mail order (bikesdirect) deal and get accused of "shilling", esp. when they haven't posted much. That's not the case here. I actually own a Motobecane Le Champion road bike. See:


This thing actually turned out to be a pretty good value. It's actually a rebranded Fuji Team SL, which is a $2300 bike. With the Motobecane name on it, it was only $1100 for a bike with the same frame, components(right down to chain and cassette), ect...as the Fuji. The only place they went kind of cheap was the brakes and saddle, which still weren't all that bad. So, since I got such a good deal on the Motobecane road bike, I've been looking at their mountain bikes. Anyone have an opinion? Could they be rebranded Fuji's also? I know a lot about road components, but not so much about mountain. This is one bike that I've been looking at:



specs are listed here: https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...tom_comp05.htm

I've seen it cheaper on ebay also. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mike Harris

cosmo starr

i hate motobecane....shop around, you can do alot better

ravenmore

why? I was told by someone else(another board) the components for the price are pretty rock solid. My experience with my road bike has gotten me past looking at the name on the side of the bike.

freeranger

Kenesis makes frames for many different brands of bikes. The specs look good, but no first-hand experience with Motobecane. I've never bought a bike off of the web before, like to have a local shop standing behind it in case of any warranty problems, but that's just me. Have you checked out the Giant Ranier and some of the KHS models--usually good bang for the buck there also.

MtbScott

Try looking at any of the major mountain biking companies. like trek, specialized, kona, but if you rode the motobecane mtb and loved it then get it , but id look around a bit

Arom

dont lie ravenmore you just wanted to rub that shiny road bike in all of us non road bike havin peoples faces :-) ive never rode a motobecane i friend of mine is happy with his but i think hes upgraded it a little it should be a solid frame i have a roxshox pilot and i dont like it bottoms out alot and im 160. I would reccomend getting a specialized rockhopper comp. I have one and love it its a sturdy bike, forgiving in the Right places. its components are good and havent broken down on me yet so i say go with a rockhopper might save you some money too

ravenmore

Thanks for the info. I have been looking a bit. My favorite so far is the Tassahara - being a roadie I think I identify with the genesis frame geometry. Specialized hard rock and rockhopper were nice but nothing super special. Raleigh M80 I just didn't care for at all. Haven't found a local dealer that has a lot of Giants. Saw a Jamis I kind of liked but it was in a size too big for me and they were closing out carrying the Jamis line.

I might just get the Motobecane and try it out. If I don't like it I suppose I can pickup a Fisher frame on ebay and swap the parts over.

If you're looking for a road bike I can't say enough about my Motobecane. Helluva deal.

cosmo starr

i used to have a motobecane... axle broke (not the skewer but the axle...),brake cable snapped, pedal broke, chain rings warped, wheels bent and once the derailer got snarled in the rear wheel i took the whole mess back to the shop that sold it to me and told them i wanted my free lifetime tune up, he wouldnt replace the parts (even with a lifetime warranty) or give me my money back....so i left it all oh his floor and walked out.

joelsp

those all sound like the components on the bike that broke, but what about the frame?
Although, I can see where the warranty thing would erk me out.
But if it is using standard mtb components by say shimano or sram, there's as good a chance they'll break on that bike as easily as any other, no?
I don't know, if the road one worked out, I would consider the mountian bike, than you can have matching brand bikes, and be all cool.