cccorlew

My sigma computer reports total bike time, which I find pretty amusing.
I've just hit 100 hours on my Motobecane SL from bikesdirect.com and have the following observations:

Executive summary: I am happy with my purchase.
Stuff I didn't like:
Cane Creek brakes didn't do it for me at all, even with a brake pad change to KoolStop salmon. They never felt like they were really going to stop me. I replaced the front brake with a DuraAce 7800 and and much happier.

The seat it came with didn't come close to fitting my rear. Others on this forum like it fine, and seats are individual, but this was the most uncomfortable seat I've ever been on. I replaced it with a Selle Italia SLK that I'm very happy with.

Stuff I do like:
It's really light compared to any bike I've owned before. I'm amazed it's this light for this price.
Coming from a full aluminum bike super-stiff bike, the carbon forks really make a difference on rough roads.
Ultegra shifting is a delight.

Other observations:
The welds that connect the tubes are very visible; they aren't smooth like the ones on my wife's Trek. Not horrible, but hers are creamy smooth. It doesn't bother me, but the OCP crown will hate it.

Again, compared to the Trek, The paint is OK, but not "rich" and deep. I don't care, but some might.

The American Classic wheels are really light, and look way cool. But I sure feel them in a cross wind. It's been windy here and I get moved around a bit more than I'm used to. Not enough to be bad, but I can feel it. They also sound different on the pavement, they hummmmmmm a different note and there is more difference in the sound as the road surface changes.

The tires it came with were super light and felt great, but in the land of broken glass and road crap they didn't last. Both got ripped wide open with giant gashes in less than 800 miles in a way that has never happened to me before. I don't blame the tires, I blame the glass and giant bolts I ran over.

Stuff I added to make my light bike weigh more:
Shimano Ultegra Pedels: Thumbs up
Sigma wireless computer: Like it lots
Small Performance seat bag for tube and patch kit: I live in the land of broken glass.
Topeak road morph pump w/ gauge: A great pump. 120 with no pain.
2 water bottle cages, Profile Design from REI. Look good, work better than metal. Cheap!
2 Polar water bottles: Like 'em
1 Salsa cross lever: explained on my blog.

Stuff I changed:
Seat: see above
Front brake: see above
Chainring: 36 to 34 because I'm older now
Cassette: 11-23 to 13-25 for the same reason.
Replaced tires

Blog shill:
For info on the original unboxing and first ride, visit my annoying blog at
https://ccorlew.blogspot.com

lvleph

Welds are not necessarily suppose to be mooth. They are not suppose to be pitted however.

This is a beautiful weld.


but there is nothing wrong with this one.

dcdomain

Oh damn, that is a beautiful weld! What bike is that from?

I don't think I broke 100 miles with my Le Champion Force, but the paint job has a lot of bumps in it... don't care, replacing the frame in a month anyway. SRAM is pretty sweet, still getting the hang of changing gears.

lvleph

Moots

cccorlew

OK. I admit I know nothing about welds, so here are photos of what I'm talking about.
My Motobecane on the left, the Trek on the right. Note: My bike is actually black, but the highlights make it look silver in this photo. The welds don't stand out quite this much in person. But as you can see, there is a real difference.

indygreg

Hard to tell due to so much shine/glare, but I think the moto welds are good welds, just not sanded and smooth. My Mercier (also from bikes direct) has crazy smooth welds - every bit as good as the Trek. Not sure one is any better than the other as far as function. Just a different look.

lvleph

From what I can see those welds are fine. In fact, they look to be an equal quality as those on the trek. The trek has just been sanded down and painted.

Paul Barnard

I prefer the "industrial" look of unsanded welds.

scot

lvleph: that is NOT a good weld. Pretty, but bad structurally. I might be wrong due to an optical illusion but it appears that the person welding didn't use enough filler, so the weld is concave and not convex. Aluminum is hard to weld but should still bulge out with the proper amount of filler.

I would much rather have one where they weld it up then smooth it down with a grinder, might not be as pretty but the right amount of metal is probably there.

Patriot

Those welds are fine. They just aren't ground down and filleted to look smooth like other higher end frames, such as C'Dale.

NealH

The weld from that "Moots" is superb looking. I mean really superb.

Fig335

That Trek is fillet brazed so it's not going to be bumpy like welds. The welds on that Motobecane don't look too good though, but I doubt it'll effect anything.

badfishgood

You didnt need to tell me that was a moots weld... Their welds are the best welds my eyes have ever seen.

Patriot

I'll say it one more time. Those are the same type of TIG welds you'll see on most mid-grade alloy frames. There's nothing wrong with them. They just aren't ground smooth.

Example. Felt 85. Look very closely. They have the same type of TIG welds and are not ground smooth like the C'Dales or Treks.

cuda2k

My Flyte's welds look much the same. Its a matte finish so they don't stand out quite as much though.

btw, what is the model of that cyclocomputer you like so much?

lvleph

That is not aluminum. It is Titanium.

cccorlew

Sigma BC 1606L DTS wireless. Got it for a reasonable price. Like the features. Bought the cadence to go with it.

cccorlew

Somehow this has become all about the welds. The direction converstaions take in the forums are often surprising.
I hardly care about how the welds look. It's just interesting how different they are.

Cyclaholic

If you're talking about TIG or MIG welds in aluminum then you're only talking about how they look. Structural integrity is something else alltogether, you'll need x-ray analysis to see discontinuities or inclusions.

scot

Even if it is TI, the weld is a concave weld. That is an indication that they didn't use enough filler metal while welding and rather went for a pretty weld. It is much easier and faster to do a pretty weld without enough filler, the downside is that it will not be as structurally sound as a properly made weld. Especially around high stress areas.

Because of the requirements and costs of TI, this is a common issue. It is difficult to weld, though easier than aluminum in technique while being vastly more expensive in materials and atmosphere. This pushes manufacturers to be very strict in the amounts of material used and the time spent welding.

ravenmore

You can make the Moto a lot lighter by getting a different fork - maybe up to half a pound lighter depending on what fork you get. The one they come with is a porker.

ElJamoquio

+1. That weld looks good, but if I were welding it, I would've put a lot more filler into it.