natemeister

Looking to buy a bike in the next week or two. Mostly commuting 10 miles each way with once or twice a month trail riding.
The Motobecane is $2300 (no tax, no shipping) and the Cannondale is on "sale" for $1526 (tax included).

Not considering the price, which should I get?

Links: Cannondale bike
Motobecane bike


I test rode the Cannondale and loved the hydraulic disc brakes and SRAM, as I have SRAM on my road bike.
Did not like 12-28 rear and changing that would mean changing rear derailleur, as well. Comes with 46-36 front.

The Motobecane comes 11-32 in the rear, 50-34 in front and is titanium.

Are there other bikes I should consider? I looked at the Specialized Diverge, but it didn't seem to have much tire clearance.

SnowCYYCling

I'd lean towards SRAM and how can you not consider the price? You're taking a risk with the geometry on the moto, unless you have done enough research on it. Honestly the caadx is a steal, it would run for at least $2400 near my area. Commuting with an expensive bike is not something I'd recommend but to each his own. I'm a huge fan of kona, they have a 1x model if that's something that interests you

GeoKrpan

A titanium bike with hydraulic discs for $2400. It's a no brainer.

TimothyH

The Cannondale comes with 11-28, not 12-28.

A SRAM Rival mid-cage derailleur is <$50. A SRAM Rival 11-32 cassette is also <$50. You might need a longer chain.

Assuming you have or can borrow a chain whip and cassette tool, swapping the parts is not difficult at all.

natemeister

I have the tools to swap out a rear cassette and a chain tool, in case I need to move the inks from a new chain if it's too long.
Geometries on both bikes are similar and ride feel the same as my weekend road bike. Been reading a lot about pros and cons of titanium and not sure if it is that big a deal. I've never ridden one though.

natemeister

Is titanium a big difference from aluminum? I've never ridden a titanium bike before. I currently have a carbon road bike (2012 Scott CR1 Elite and have ridden many aluminum and steel bikes.

Barrettscv 

Titanium has a damp ride quality that is highly desired. It filters out road buzz better than aluminum. It feels more plush than steel, IMO. Titanium bikes do not require or feature paint, a plus since paint will chip and show scratches. Titanium is not as stiff as other materials, but this is not an important factor unless you are a large rider who races.

dgodave

I've been told that the low-end TI material and tubesets are highly inferior to the really good stuff.
True?

GeoKrpan

Titanium has the best ride of all, important on a bike that is to be ridden in the dirt. The Motobecane is a smokin' deal, titanium for the price of aluminum.

natemeister

That is what I read about titanium. I purchased the Motobecane Century Pro Ti last night. Hopefully it feels as everyone mentions online. The frame also supports Thru-Axle, so looking to get a wheelset that supports that now

GeoKrpan

You made the right decision. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about it.

rms13

Also look forward to a review because I've been considering that as well. Ultegra with hydraulics on a Ti frame and tons of tire clearance seems great. And I don't think it's cheap Ti, it's made in Taiwan by a company that produces Ti frames for a lot of other brands

GeoKrpan

I was looking at the detailed pics, it sure is pretty. Really nice seatpost, saddle, bar, and stem. I did notice that it has Joytech skewers which I haven't had very good luck with. I recommend some Shimano skewers. The rear spacing is 135mm. I also recommend a Salsa seatpost clamp.

rms13

Personally I hate those bars. I actually bought a BD bike a few years ago and they must have got a great deal on those Ritchey BIomax bars because they put them on every bike. Joytech hubs are also pretty budget but honestly to get a decent Ti frame with that groupset at that price it's amazing that you even get wheels at all. They go budget with the rest of the build but most people are going to swap wheels, saddles, bars, stems eventually

GeoKrpan

Bars are really personal, I never liked the bars on any bike I have bought. The Joytech hubs are plenty usable, I replace the grease with some white Finish Line. The rims are good quality WTB TCS tubeless.

natemeister

Will do what I can about reviewing it. Suppose to arrive this Thursday according to UPS. Suppose to be cloudy, possibly rainy here.
My current bike is a 2012 Scott CR1 Elite (Carbon, SRAM, etc) and I ride it on weekends (30-70 miles depending on how I feel) and use it to commute (10 miles each way). We have a a place to keep our bikes, so not worried about it getting stolen. What I'd like to do with this bike is to take it to single track trails around here and see what it and I can do Also get a second set of wheels so I can swap them out and use it as a commuter, as well.

natemeister

I plan to use this bike as my all-around bike, commuting, single track, leisure rides here in Sacramento. I plan to get a second set of wheels and use the factory ones in conjunction with the second set, using one with road tires and another with cyclocross tires. Started reading reviews and read some good things about the Zipp 30 Course. Prob will buy those, unless there are better options.

The frame supports thru-axle, so should I consider getting wheels that support that? Not coming from mountain biking, but read they're stiffer.

rms13

Good thing you have a Ti bike with hydraulic discs, a little rain shouldn't keep you off the road

It look like the bike comes stock with 700x28 continental ultra sports. You probably don't want to ride those on single track but those should be fine for commuting. Maybe get some wider gravel tires for off road

natemeister

Wheels I plan to buy now. Looking at the Zipp 30 Course. What do you think? I was planning on using the stock wheels as my off-road wheels and beat them till they need to be replaced. Use the Zipp 30 Course with road tires and use those for road and commuting.

Looking to replace the bars too, but we'll see if they work for me.

rms13

I agree bars are personal. I don't like ergo bend type. And yes Joytech are serviceable. Definitely nothing that will "need" to be upgraded right away except maybe saddle if it's not comfortable for OP

natemeister

Funny thing is, I bought tires off of Amazon 6 months ago in preparation to buy a cyclocross bike. Just needed to save up a bit. I have Clement PDX and Continental X-Kings sitting in my garage ready to be slapped onto some wheels. There's a multi-use park around here called Hidden Falls that I've hiked a handful of times that allows for bikes. I'll take it out there and see how it handles those trails. Can't wait. I

GeoKrpan

I was looking at the pics of the rear dropouts. It looks like an ordinary QR dropout. But notice that the dropouts are removable. Perhaps they supply a second set of dropouts for thru-axle? Shoot them an email.

I'd stick with ordinary QRs and get some Shimano MTB skewers. The fork is not thru-axle compatible.

I'd use the OEM wheels for dirt and the Zipps for road.

I blundered and got a thru-axle front wheel for a fork that is not thru-axle compatible. I saved my bacon with a $22 adapter from VeloFuze. The good side is that I can use that wheel if I should ever get a thru-axle fork. : ))

My late father's side of the family is from Sacramento and I was born there. A couple of years ago I went there for his last surviving sibling's funeral. I spent many a summer there as a kid. I've got a ton of cousins there.

PS When you buy wheels and skewers for this bike, the rear spacing is 135mm not the usual for road 130mm.

natemeister

Thanks for the info George. You've been extremely helpful. Will let you know how things turn out on Thursday. I'll put it together, slap on my cross, and take her for a spin.

GeoKrpan

You're welcome. You're gonna' love it. : ))

garciawork

Subscribing! I have been very interested in this bike since I saw it listed, and since I moved to Idaho I have gravel roads up the wazoo that an MTB would be overkill for, and I don;t want to drive to them anyways.

I am anxiously awaiting your impressions on the ride quality, Ti cannot be beat in my mind, and this price is awesome (Lynskey similarly equipped would be closer to 4k).

Keep us posted!