dseely86

Hey Guys, I posted this in the mechanic subforum, but was directed here also. So I hope no one takes offense to my double post.

Brand new to the forum and pretty new to bikes in general, except for the research and lurking I have done on various forums over the last 2 months as I plan my big purchase. I am on a tight budget and have had little luck on the used market due to my location, small town Midwest. That being said, I am looking at bikesdirect.com to pick up a decent CX bike that I can upgrade if I decide to. Taking a look at the two bikes below:

Fantom Trail:
Save up to 60% off Shimano equipped Cyclocross | Cross Bikes - Motobecane Fantom Cross

Fantom CX:
Save up to 60% off new Cyclocross Road Bikes - Motobecane Fantom CX Clearance

I realize that the Trail has some components that are not a great match for CX (triple crankset) but it does have the carbon fork and reasonable components/frame. The CX lacks the carbon fork and newer frame, but does have a slight edge on componentry. What is everyone's opinion on which is the best buy here? Also, the reason I posted in this thread was because I had a component question on the Trail. The front derailleur and hubs claim to be 2400 series, which to me means they should be Claris. Right? Well, I got the below response from bikesdirect.com and was wondering if anyone could speak to the truth of this and are these "2400" components equivalent to Claris or not?

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Drew,

The bikes are packaged and to be honest the warehouse crews are good for pulling boxes and shipping boxes out, bike knowledge wise they are not much help and would have no clue what to photo.

Here is what you need to know, Shimano's site that you linked to previously is their consumer site, not the manufacturer site which is much different. The consumer site just shows all Shimano parts available aftermarket which will be "named" Claris. Sora, Tiagra, ect...but what they don't show are OE parts and Non-Series parts which manufactures use. So you can have a front derailleur that the graphic just says Shimano Triple, but there are three different versions that use the same graphic, so the only way to differentiate what level they are is by using Shiamno's model number stamped on the part itself.

I can guarantee that all of the parts come as listed on the spec sheet, but I cannot guarantee that the 2400 series parts will have a Claris graphic on them.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Chris
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Sorry for the length and maybe the wrong sub forum.
Drew

himespau 

Sounds like they're the same level of part, but maybe with a different graphic, but then I'm not sure.

Andy_K 

One of the things I've heard about BikesDirect is that you can never be sure exactly what you'll get. They seem to fill their inventory in somewhat flexible ways. You might not get exactly what's pictured, but it'll probably be roughly equivalent.

The thing that jumps out at me on the Trail is that the shifters are distinctly not Claris but rather 2303. The difference between a Claris front derailleur and a 2300 front derailleur is pretty minimal. The 2400 is almost certainly identical to Claris. BUT the 2303 shifters are functionally different from Claris. Specifically, they use a thumb release trigger that has been phased out in the Sora and Claris lines. It'll still work, but it's not as nice.

If you're not buying this bike for CX racing the triple isn't a problem and might even be an advantage.

Tim_Iowa

My friend just bought the Fantom Trail with the triple crank, and I helped him unbox it and set it up. I was impressed with the quality of the bike and it was easy to set up. Triple cranks are a benefit for most riders, especially if you're in the part of the midwest with hills. A double would be fine if you live in the flats.

Tasks required when receiving a bikesdirect bike:
Unbox the bike
Air up the tires
Insert the quick release skewers
Mount the wheels to the bike
Insert the handlebars into the stem, adjust
Insert the seat post, adjust
Adjust the cable tension for the derailers and brakes
Mount pedals (not included on the CX) and ride!

bikemig 

Good to know but there are threads on BF where posters had issues with the wheels not being properly tensioned. That isn't surprising since BD uses machine built wheels but it is a potential issue that a buyer will want to look into.

Tim_Iowa

Almost all bikes use machine built wheels these days. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc.

The big difference is that the bike store will true them for you if you buy new from them. With a BD bike, you've got to check that yourself.

Good thing to remember. But I was impressed overall with the quality/value proposition after getting my hands on a BD bike. The spoke tension was fine and the wheels were true.