Originally Posted by
sced
There are three BD bikes at my house, a Moto 29er, a Bottecchia with a Record carbon group, and a Windsor Fens that I share with my sons. They are great fun to ride and have been totally reliable, not to mention excellent bargains. I've been biking for 40 years and with my wife have a number of classics as well. The whole notion of brand loyalty is foreign to me because I've learned how engineered products come into being and find their way to market. I'm an ME that worked as a research engineer for a very large materials and engineered products company that supplies light metals and composite components to most of the automotive and aerospace OEMS. To my eye there appears to be nothing of consequence that separates my family's BD bikes from what I see for sale in the shops except the price and the amateurism of the self-taught, ahem, "mechanics" that work there.
BTW, the "real" Motos were never thought to be anything special in any way. It may be why they went under.
Hi,
I agree with what you are saying. Bicycles are a composite of components from a host of manufacturers...that's the truth of today's market. What I don't like about BD is their "bait and switch" tactics in marketing. It really turned me off to find a Motobecane website that asks you to enter your zip code to find the nearest dealer (which for 99% of the United States there are none) and then redirect you to the BD website. And it's also adding insult to injury to find they are marketing "Motobecane" bikes which are in decal only.
BTW, my Grand Record served me for 20 years with utter distinction. I sold it to a college student in 1995 and have no idea how much longer it lasted beyond that but it was in perfect condition when I let it go. When I bought it in March 1975 for $375 (you could buy a decent house with 1/2 an acre of land and a garage back then for $30K) it was considered a high end bike. Granted I knew nothing about bikes at the time but in retrospect very feel fortunate to have selected the Grand Record.