Spreggy

OK, the quick scoop is I've been fair-weather commuting for oh maybe 4 or 5 years on a fine, fine Magna thing that I bought on a whim walking thru Walmart for 60 bucks. It's still working fine, but the inefficiency of it is on my nerves, and I'd like to try a couple centuries this summer and would like a ride that can complete them. Basically I started jonesing for a road bike.

So, being a family man with kids that keep my wallet pretty clean, I start the process with "Craigslist + yard sales should yield a good buy on an old road bike for about fifty shmooks". Then it rolls up to a hundred to even see anything, but nothing good comes up. Apparently too many of these people remember they paid six hundred for their garage ornaments. Then hey for just a bit more, $150, there's the brandy new GMC Dinaili. But it's got the MTB gears and goofy shifters, so I knew I wouldn't be happy looking at them for some reason. For juuust a bit more, there's the new Schwinn varsity for $200, and I look at that real seriously. But then low and behold for juuuuust a bit more, $300, is the GMC Yukon, with the integrated shifters that look like the best.thing.ever. This thing very closely resembles a real bike. I'm this "||" close to pushing the order button, when I get on the phone with a west coast client, who if he was closer he would have tackled me to stop the transaction.

I deal in musical instruments, but this client happens to also be an avid cyclist, and is contemplating opening a bike shop. He says hold on, let me look around, and gets back to me about a bike on eBay that, for juuust a bit more, $340, gets me a steel frame with a groovy European name on it, Sora level stuffages, and a bit more curb appeal. I know it's foolish, but I was also sold on the way the logo is done, sort of a European Bauhaus vibe. Big fan of that. Gaining 10 more gears had something to do with the decision also. So here she is, due to arrive this Thursday. Add rack and panniers and I'm ready for work.

2007 Motobecante Super Image. Good choice, bad choice?

kafkaesque

Waaay cooler than a new Varsity.

e0richt

well, based on the picture it sure does look like a good choice... who was the seller on ebay?
I bought a Dawes lightning Sport off of ebay from "chicabike", which sports a chro-molly frame (probably
similar to yours... seems the frames tend to come from taiwan). I have had no problems with mine...

Spreggy

I think it was Sprtymama, or similar. I was confident because her feedback was 99.9 after a couple thousand transactions. I get the impression that all those frames come from the same place in Taiwan. I almost bought the Dawes too.

aadhils

Yea I bought a Motobecane from Sprtymama also. It makes a good starter bike. Here's an old (early 2005?) pic of it:



edit: Note: this was when I'd just got into cycling. So go easy on the Fred comments will ya...

nightc1

The only problem I see with that bike, if that's a pic of the actual bike, is the bars are pretty low for commuting. You may find it pretty uncomfortable. Atleast on my GMC Denali I could raise the bars up at the stem some to get it pretty close to the seat height which makes it super comfy for riding. Also around here there are a lot of hills and mountains so having the mtb gearing has proved useful. I can still hit 25mph on the high end on a flat or slight downgrade... and hitting 30+ on a slight downhill is easy enough. Top speed (which I won't aim to repeat) has been 53.1mph!

Still, you can spend some more $$ and get a little riser bar for the stem if needed. Whatever you do though, work a bit to get it setup right so you can get the full enjoyment out of the bike.

It looks like a good bike, hopefully it serves you well for the years to come. It's definitely a nice step upward.

I was looking at my old MTB this weekend and realized it too is a Magna. I got mine at k-mart about 4 or so years ago on clearance for $50. Not a bad bike but way too inefficient for commuting. Then again, I never put slicks on it or anything so I probably could have made it better for street riding if I wanted.

squeakywheel

Hard to tell from the picture. I can't see any eyelets at the dropouts or fork ends for racks and fenders. In my book, that is what defines a good commuting bike. That and the absence of shock absorbers.

e0richt

I find that I like to have the seat pretty high and the handlebars the same height... so I always use a stem extender... only costs 10-15 bucks but its definitely worth it to me...

fordfasterr

I also have a steel frame dawes lightning dlx that I HAD to change to DA & 19spd because it would not hold a gear no matter how much I tuned the RD.

SHEESH =)

JR97

Story of my commuting life right now. Full suspension with seat post rack. It works, but I'm saving up for a Dawes Lighting. $369 from Bikes Direct and that includes shipping. I looked at the Motobecanes there and those are nice, too.

aley

That looks like a good value to me. $340 is hard to beat for any bike with halfway decent components and at least some attention paid to keeping it light.

It looks to me like it has rear rack eyelets on the dropout, and bikesdirect.com claims that the 2004 version had rack and fender braze-ons.

I tend to believe that any bike you enjoy riding for the length of your commute is a good commuting bike. I occasionally make my 14-mile r/t commute on my old Rockhopper with knobby tires; as long as I'm having fun and it gets me there, it's a perfectly good commuter. OTOH, I usually ride my Jamis Aurora - skinny tires make it so quick and easy to get there.

mtnwalker

It looks like you did very well with your choice. Those are very decent components and a steel frame to boot. I recommend getting some rust proofing chemical for inside the frame like J.P. Weigle Frame Saver. This way you can ride your ride all year without worrying about rusting.

Spreggy

Hi Squeaky,
I had the same concern and had to rule out a few bikes in the beginning, until I realized that alot of folks use clamps to make up for eyelets. The LBS is around the corner from my office, and they had them, so I stocked up over there with a rack, clamps, some white cages, and other doo-dads a few minutes ago.

(whistling) Anticipation......

Mr. Underbridge

Some people don't like the Sora, and for $340, I'd think you might be able to get a used bike with Tiagra components. Not to play the "just a bit more" game with you, but for $400 I got a Giant OCR2 from 2003 that has full Tiagra components. But then again, I also didn't haggle, I probably could have gotten it for $350.

I believe the main difference is that the Sora brifters have the downshift buttons on the hoods, and the upshift integrated with the brake levers. I suppose it's OK if you ride on the hoods all the time, but I can't imagine that if I was riding in the drops. Some people seem to like it, some hate it.

At your price point, I'd think you could get better than Sora if you look a bit. But if you like riding on the hoods and you like the bike, go with it.