Originally Posted by TrogdorJW
Well, after doing more research, I've come to a few conclusions.
1. Motobecane sounds better than it is.
2. Buying bike components is a lot more expensive than a factory built bike. Damn.
3. There's a lot more to a bike than the shifters and derailleurs.
Basically, the Motobecane 700HT is a bike that's made to sound good, when in reality it has some major shortcomings. Here’s where the real problems in the bike lie (feel free to correct me if you think this is wrong):
1. The forks are the *cheapest* Rock Shox you can get. They’re a name brand, yes, but even ATI and Nvidia have their ****ty 9200SE and 5200LE cards. That’s what the Rock Shox Judy TT are.
2. The crank is actually okay (TruVativ FireX), but the bottom bracket is likely the cheapest $20 POS that could be found.
3. The disc brakes are the most worthless brakes you can find. They aren’t just the lowest end disc brakes from one manufacturer; Promax is the lowest end brake manufacturer in general. Pretty much any V-brakes would be better than the Promax disc brakes.
4. Handlebars, headset, seat, etc. are all junk as well. The frame might be okay, but I figure it’s still lowest-common-denominator material, as the same frame is also used in their $240 bikes (the Motobecane 300HT).
After doing a bit of research I decided to buy the Motobecane 700HT myself. Note that I laughed at the $1000 retail price myself, but at $480 this bike is a great deal. I usually rent bikes wherever I go and from my experience with a wide variety of bikes, I just want to provide a few counterpoints:
1. At this price point you aren't going to find anything higher than a Judy TT or Marazocchi MZ. In my experience, they are equivalent.
2. You are probably right about the BB.
3. I get why people say this. When I got the bike I tried out the brakes and it was a scary thing how weak they were. I was about to scream bloody hell when I took a step back and considered this with a rational outlook. No way they would actually even sell brakes this crappy so there had to be something I wasn't considering. Well, I spent about 15minutes futzing around with the pad adjustments and now they brake as well as the Hayes and Avid mechanicals I have had experience with. They are better than V-brakes (except for some expensive setups). You have to put some time in and adjust them just right, but currently I can overpower the tires at 2/3 lever travel at 18mph on concrete roads. This is something I have never been able to do on even boosted V-brakes. They aren't hydraulics, but they are definitely strong enough.
4. I don't see any better handlebars, and seats even at near 800 dollar pricepoints. Tioga Alchemy headsets aren't the greatest, but they aren't bad. The frame is actually a strong point. True, they use it in their lowest level bikes as well, but it is a very good frame. The welds are excellent, the geometry is top notch, you aren't going to find a stronger 7005 series frame.
The warranty is as good as any in the industry (lifetime, same coverage as any other).
The way I see it I got a bike I could have gotten for 700-800 from Trek or Specialized ($650 at the very best deal). It might not have the mix you are looking for, but you get a lot for your money.
As for assembly: everything comes assembled except for the fact that the handlebar isn't attached to the body, the front brake assembly and wheel spline aren't assembled in, and the pedals aren't screwed in. It takes 15 minutes for even the most novice person to figure out how to put it together (instructions provided are laughable) and the only tool you need is a 5mm allen wrench. Absolutely nothing else.