The Fantom 29 thread
 

So I got this new Motobecane Fantom 29 hardtail mtb and I was finally able to get it out on the road yesterday and today. Hopefully our weather will be settling down and I can get it out to the park and the singletrack trails soon.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0244.jpg

Yesterday I didn't have my Enduro 8 cyclocomputer configured, so I went to mapmyride.com and saw that I rode about 6.5 miles. It was around 8:45 a.m. and it was dreary and drizzly. When I got home my left hand was a little numb and tingly, but otherwise I felt great.

This afternoon I went out for a ride and did about 2 miles more, the weather was mostly sunny and hot. When I got home, my hand wasn't tingling. I don't know if the cyclocomputer is configured correctly, it says I road 6.5 miles today, but I know I rode over 8.5. It said my top speed was 19.1 mph, but I don't know if i can trust that. I need to figure out why my front disc brake keeps singing to me. They are my first disc brakes on a bike, they are Avid BB5 BallBearing Mechanical Disc with 185mm rotors.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0247.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0248.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0249.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0250.jpg

I just bought the same bike, should be here on Tuesday. What frame size did you order and what is your height if you don't mind me asking?

I got a 15 inch frame I'm just under 5'9" and I measured my inseam @ 29.

I found a blog that I spent about 2 hours reading one morning and it said that the bike ran a bit big, the company recommended a 17" and that probably would have been okay, but I like the 15.

http://motobecanefantom29.blogspot.com/

Very good, I ordered the 17 inch, i am 5'10" and was contemplation the 19 inch but glad I settled on the 17. These are the first real photos I have seen of it and I am jazzed. many thanks

You're welcome. Yeah, I couldn't wait to get it, and then I had to wait to ride it thanks to the weather!

Here's a photo of my friend Larry assembling it for me (we were at a boy scout meeting). I was supposed to "help" him, but then the Scoutmaster asked me to talk with some new parents who wanted to sign their boy into the troop and had a younger one for the pack. I resigned as Scoutmaster after 6 years about 6 months ago so I could be Cubmaster again. But i digress, here's another photo of the Fantom 29

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0241.jpg

Did he say how difficult it was to put together? I am not overly concerned about assembly. I think I can manage and I have a couple buds that can assist if needed, I have just not done it before. From what I have read it should not take too long. Looks like you put some bar ends and a light on it also.

It wasn't too difficult. A couple of the cables were criss-crossed, so after trying to twist the handlebars this way and that to uncross them, he wound up having to disconnect the cables so he could uncross them. The rear wheel comes assembled and on, the front wheel, you have to put the rotor and the brake assembly on (and the brake cable).

I ordered the bar ends from Nashbar (Nashbar Bar Ends) for $9.99

The light is from Harbor Freight, I think it is Bike Pro brand. It cost $6.99. Very bright, I wouldn't ride on a street with no street lights and count on it for illumination, but oncoming vehicles can definitely see you.

I also got a Topeak bag for under the saddle, and put a red blinky on that.

Right now my only issues are trying to troubleshoot the squeaky front brakes, and the cyclocomputer.

Glad you like your new bike, but I think this illustrates the pitfalls of buying a bike on line. If you bought it local you could have tried it on for size, that frame looks awfully small, too small IMHO(we are about the same size). There is a lot of seat post showing, is it an extra long, and is it inserted far into the seat tube enough? Having that break during a ride would be painful. My wife ride a 15 inch frame, it is too small for me to be comfortable on it.
Also, you could pester the LBS about the front brake until it was correct.
Since I was considering getting a bike from BikesDirect, I now have more food for thought.
Thanks for the report, and I hope you get the issues straightened out so you can enjoy the new ride.

The bike fits me fine. I am very comfortable on it. I have not complained about fit, so I don't know why you are inferring that it doesn't fit me from looking at a picture of it. It seems to me like you have a bit of an agenda at work here.

The seat tube is fitted fine and has plenty of room. My friend Larry who assembled it, used to work at a Trek dealer bike shop owned by his dad. He is an excellent bike mechanic. He examined my fit and tweaked the handlebars and seat, and said it's a good fit. I don't have to bother an LBS for the brake issue, first I will try adjusting the brake myself (I do have some mechanical know-how of my own), if I still have some squeak, I'll bother Larry.

If I did need to pester an LBS for the squeak, I'm sure they'd be willing to take my $ to fix it. Meanwhile, Larry was over to the house the other night so I could pay him back, a 12 pack of Magic Hat halloween pack, and a bottle of Ommegang's Three Philosopher's Ale, we enjoyed some cigars and a few beers on the back porch. I probably won't be doing that with anyone from the LBS.

I just assembled a couple of bikes with disk brakes for the first time and it took a number of tries to get it right -- and a number of adjustments until the cables had stretched fully. Now they work just fine. I read a post from a guy who used a piece of plastic he described as "the thickness of a gift card" between the movable pad and the disk to quickly adjust the brakes. When I get a spare evening this week I am going to see what kind of "shim stock" I have laying around and give that a try. Frankly I would have designed them so that you just bolted them to the fork and used a couple of screws to adjust them side-to-side but these were the entry level disk brakes. Maybe the nicer ones have more precise adjustments.

The bikes I assembled were from Nashbar and while I was happy with the quality for the price, the documentation was poor. I've built a number of bikes up from bare frames so it wasn't too bad, but if I hadn't had that experience, I might have found the job to be too difficult. The disk brake manual was separate and much better, but it would still have been very difficult if I wasn't handy with tools.

Bob

Yeah, I'm sure I'll figure it out. As a kid I used to deliver newspapers on my bike and I owned several bikes, between a friend down the street and me we had kind of a bike boneyard where we could scavenge parts to keep which ever one you needed riding, going. I know how to adjust derailleurs, cantilever brakes, cranksets, headsets and handlebar stems. Disc brakes are new to me, so I have a little bit of a learning curve. The brakes weren't squeaking on my first ride, but on my second they were.

However, with all my prior knowledge, if I didn't have a friend like Larry, I'm not sure if I would have pulled the trigger on an online bike purchase. He has also built his own mtb from the bare frame.

Somehow I knew this was going to become a debate on BD. I have been buying everything online forever and have had very few problems. I do support my local bike shop by bringing him anything I need service on or purchasing things that have a competitive price. If he sells a product that costs twice as much as another, be it sold online or the shop next door I am going to buy the product based on a number of factors, price, customer service and so on. I am not buying at BD to shun my LBS, I am being a smart consumer. If either of the LBS in my town refuse to service my bike because I purchased online then I would never have purchased a bike from that type of individual anyway. If I buy a bike in Boston and move to Alabama is the LBS going to turn me away? I think not. We all do as much research as we can on fit, components, trails, accessories to have a pretty damn good idea what we are getting into. If I hate the bike I get from BD, I get another. In fact when I get my bike tomorrow from BD I may bring the entire box to the LBS and pay the $100 to have then assemble and tune it. And I bet he will rib me about the purchase and tell me I can pick the bike up in a day or so.

Exactly. It seems in the month or so that I researched buying this bike, there is always someone criticizing an online purchase who apparently hasn't made one themselves, and usually seems to have a vested interest in stering people away from an online purchase. LBS's aren't all they're cracked up to be. They tend to charge MSRP, when I don't pay that for my cars. I know they're going to try and maximize their profits, even if it means selling me a size that isn't the best for me, because they have it on the floor. I too, wouldn't shop at an LBS that would demean me for an online purchase. In preparation and anticipation of riding again, I have spent money at Amazon.com, Nashbar.com, Harbor Freight and at a local bike shop. In fact I spent $160 at the bike shop, one of the things I bought was a frame pump, which fell apart in my hands when I tried to use it on Saturday, they were closed Sunday, so I will drive over there today and return it. I was actually using it on my son's bike, because I wanted to test out the Presta/Schrader switch before I would have a problem on the road, not because I had an actual road situation to use it in.

Mountain bikes do come up small. When I bought My bianchi I tried the next size up and it was too stretched. You do need a smaller frame than you think on MTB's as you can control them better. I am 5'6" short with a 30" inseam. I ride a 14 1/2" frame.

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Assembly on bikes is not difficult- mainly final tightening of bolts- fitting the wheels and adjusting the brakes so should be easy for anyone with bike experience. Set up on computers can be though as you have a few parameters to dial in- Wheel size and possibly a few other items- but all you have to do is read the Instructions. As we are the males of the species- we don't even need them till all else fails:innocent:

Disc brakes though and they can be a fiddle. Setting the pad distance and whether the rotor is true can take a bit of settling in. Unless you spend as much on the brakes as you did on the bike but that is probably going over the top.

Attachment 171513

To derail my own thread slightly, I am pleased with my online purchase experience and will most likely do it again in the next six months.

If this one becomes available in my size, I'd be hard-pressed top ignore it:
http://bikesdirect.com/products/merc..._serpensIX.htm

This is another one I have my eye on:

http://www.giantnerd.com/tommaso-mon...ermediate.html

On the computer, do a roll out and program it for the actual tire circumference on your bike. On the brakes, try cleaning the rotor with rubbing alcohol and a cottom ball. I have BB5's on my Coda and have to do that now and then.

Gary, no one seems to have addressed you cyclocomputer issue. There are a few things to look for.

1. make sure the set up is correct for your wheel size. The best way is to set the bike in a smooth flat floor (garage is perfect) with the stem at the bottom (6 o'clock) and mark the floor at that point. Roll the bike forward one rev. Mark the floor again. Measure the distance in mm. That is the # you put in the computer at set up.

2. Make sure it is set up for MPH not KPH. Sounds like it is, but it doens't hurt to check.

3. Make sure the spoke magnet is positioned correctly and is tight. The same goes for the sensor. Get is as close as possible with out touching.

Perhaps others have other ideas.

Look forward to seeing you out there climbing the "hill" on Trail's End!

Just a warning----Road bikes and you can go TOO small so make certain that the bike is the correct size before buying. MTB sizing will not have bearing on road size-As I found out on my first road bike. You do need a longer top tube.

1. Cool bike.
2. The fit looks fine to me. If it feels good, ride it.
3. Disc brakes are notoriously finicky. Just wait until you have your first biff and you bend the rotor a bit. Make sure Larry is nearby.
4. Are all rotors on 29ers 185mm these days? I thought they used the larger circumference rotors only for downhill bikes, but I know little about 29ers.
5. Have you ridden the "standard" MTB before? I'd be interested to hear about which one you like better.

On a Specialized Roubaix I was a 50 cm. I could swing a 52, but the 50 felt better.

1. Thanks
2. Absolutely
3. hehe
4. I don't know, some might be 160mm
5. Not really. I love the way this bike feels. We'll see how it dos when I get it out on the singletrack.

I have to doublecheck the sensor. I do have it set for mph. I'll do the wheels on the bike go round and round trick in the garage. Thanks.

And Terrierman, thanks for the alcohol rub idea.

Here is an update on my 29er Gary. I wanted to send along a pic also. The other two bikes are being neglected for a while. I will eventually clean up the Bottecchia and try it out but for now I am really enjoying the Moto. For the record I put the thing together in a few hours time. I took it at a slow pace and watch a buttload of you tube vids to tune it. Everything runs great.
I hope you are riding the heck out of yours.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173533http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173534

Cool. Thanks for sharing the photos. I wish I was riding the heck out of it, time has been a premium lately. I hope to get a ride in tomorrow.

The brakes are better. I haven't mucked with the cyclocomputer much. I became ill right before Thanksgiving and had to have my gall bladder removed.

This weekend I went camping at Flamingo in Everglades National Park and brought the Fantom along. Loved getting the bike out on a trail.

At the campsite:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0319.jpg

Back at the trailhead
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0320.jpg

Mud
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0321.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0322.jpg

Back on the truck
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0325.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...a/IMAG0326.jpg

Scenery on the trail:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...hikescenic.jpg

da mud:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a25...desHikemud.jpg

Friday night the weather was muggy and in the 60's. Lots of mosquitoes and no-see-ums.
Saturday it rained for a bit then it got very windy (20-25 mph) and it got down to about 40 degrees Saturday night. So it was chilly for a little while Sunday morning. It took over two hours to cook some chicken breasts over the grill due to the high winds. Several of our tents got damaged. We need to think about a different brand of tent. Our troop has used Coleman Sundown tents for many years, and it used to be we'd get 3-4 years life out of a tent, now we barely get 2 years. Another troop in the area uses Eureka tents, I need to talk to their scoutmaster about model and how long they last. Unfortunately none of them are kid proof.

Looks like you have given it a good workout! Thanks for sharing. Some of the pix look like you were riding as you took them! You must have been breathing hard. lol.

I wonder if we have crossed paths up in Parkland of late. I ride a yellow moto road bike mostly, but occasionally I'm riding solo on a white tandem. It will have a helmet hanging from the rear handle bars and it will be about 1 or 1:30 and I'm taking the scenic route to pick up my grandson at Country Hills Elem. I'll keep a look out for your reddish moto 29er. You should plan to join us on an urban ride in Ft. Lauderdale (Tuesdays 6:30 pm at Holiday Park on Sunrise) or Boca (Costco parking lot off Congress, same time.) They are fun rides.

I haven't been biking outside of my neighborhood in Pembroke Pines until this weekend trail ride at Flamingo. As a road bike it's okay, but I really need a dedicated road bike. The WTB Nano Race tires on it are not effective at all in mud, so I will be trying out some knobbier Kenda Nevegals (I hope they're durable). Which will make it even less suitable for road use. Now that I have a bike carrier, I need to be getting my butt over to Markham Park. And then I need a road bike to work on my endurance.

I had this bike a few years ago and liked it but for the frame material; so much so stripped it, dumped the frame, built up new 29er on a cr-mo frame of a similar geometry. But, nothing wrong with the bike at all, love the geo.

My trick for the brakes, loosen the master bolts holding the capiler assembly, squeeze the brake handle and hold while re-tightening the bolts. Alignment would fall perfectly into place for me. Also, after a few months I replaced the stock disc pads with performance pads, it was a nice a cheap upgrade.

As far as bike speed, mine came with Motorapters, a good mud, root, dirt tire. If you change to a hardpack tire like Nanoraptors you'll pick-up a few mphs for sure. I could get it to 25-30 on asphalt downgrades, cruise along at 15. Going smaller than you'd think on the frame was right on, you will not want a bigger size with this geo.