I am certain that the bike the OP bought has a Pinarello Prince frame.

First, a LBS cannot sell a Trek (to pick one) on-line. The companies do not permit this. You can't surf the net and look for a deal, then buy the bike on-line and have it shipped to you. So most of what you've said regarding this part is commentary.

Second, I work on a top 50 shop and we do about $7 million in bikes and accessories a year. We have a website, and people can order parts, clothes, etc on line, come in and pick it up (if local) and not pay any shipping. If they want, we can ship to them. The catalogue and web presence is extensive as are the ones for the bigger shops I've looked at (take a look at Mellow Johnnys for example http://www.mellowjohnnys.com). Our inventory moves rapidly. Last Saturday, in three hours I moved four road bikes for close to $9 grand in bike sales alone. We can do $60 grand on a good summer Saturday, no problem. So not every shop is as you assume.

We do have an inventory list. This shows all bikes. I cannot tell you how many times I've had a customer tell me they saw a bike on line on Friday came in on Saturday and it's gone. I really wish we'd do away with that.

We had Performance open near us. Our sales went up. I sold two bikes to customers who had purchased there, returned the bikes and came to us and spent more money.

Not everything is as it seems to the observer. BD serves a certain type of customer. If we get someone in the store that's considering them for their purchase, we rarely lose the customer to them for a lot of reasons. It's kind of humorous to watch the process of the customer bringing us a bike to build in a Motobecane box and they begin to add up the "extras" and it's not as great a deal as they imagned. Hardly anyone I've seen buys from them that's a mechanic and can handle the bike themselves. We take really good care of those customers because they figure it all out and buy the next bike from us.

In a couple of cases we've done fittings for BD customers and it's not the right size bike. Ship it back, take it apart, etc...

It's another distribution method. We just deal with it and generally we get a new customer when it's all said and done.

Use run-on sentences much?

They're all made in the same factory rw. I thought with you being in the business and all that, you'd know that.


:innocent:

Motobecane gave me the piles. True story.

:) All made by Giant, correct? LOL...

There is not a shop as you have described anywhere near me. You are the exception not the rule, that was my point. We need to create more exceptions.

Hi. Because you can't figure it out does not mean that others of us can't. With all due respect, there are big differences between carbon (to use an example) in a Trek Madone 4 and Trek Madone 6. Both are carbon. That's about where it ends. It's also about the manufacturing process. HIgher end carbon frames have a much longer and more exacting manufacturing process than a poured/injected style carbon mono frame.

You, again with all due respect, are the perfect BD customer. Buys it because it's "Carbon had Ultegra and is relatively inexpensive". All the explanations I could give you about the frames and why some are more expensive than others would be wasted time for both of us.

Fortunately there are plenty of buyers and plenty of sellers and you get to choose. At least it's still that way here for a little while. But you can't compare what you have to what others have because you really don't know.

That's too bad. Sounds like a business opportunity for you! Do like the guy that owns the shop where I am did...get a bunch of friends to invest and start the business.

I own the $570 (Motobecane website says something like "compare to $1500 Trek or Specialized!!!") Fantom CX. I did compare it to the lowest-end Performance Scattante Cyclocross. It was basically the same bike, but Performance wanted something like $699 ("on sale" from $999).

Do I think I got a fantastic bargain? No. Do I think I got the lowest price possible? I'm sure someone, somewhere was offering a better bike for a lower price, but I checked several LBS's, watched craigslist, watched eBay, and even hit a yard sale or three before purchasing from BD. So, for me, the best deal I could possibly get at the time of my purchase was from BD. YMMV.

Motobecane
 

I actually did/still am actually considering a Motobecane as my second bike. I read this whole thread and agree with most. Not all Carbon frames are equal. My personal opinion is that the Motobecane carbon frames are poured standard frames instead of hand laid like other MFG who sell bikes for a lot more (again personal opinion). I'm actually looking at thier new Le Champion CF that comes with FULL SRAM RED components. If you price out just this complete group its almost about $2k (bike is only a couple hundred more), so even if the bike frame cracks within first, lets say 1000 miles you still have a lot of your money there in components (that's not even including wheels) that you can use to build up a new bike. That is also assuming BD will not warranty the frame for you. Just my personal opinion on how I see it. Now if my research is WAY off for a complete SRAM RED group than one would have to reconsider but even $1500 and $500 for wheels you are almost at same price for whole bike... but to each there own. I don't think no one can argue about the components they use as all MFG use the same. Just my two cents. Thanks

...terrible even at shilling. Didn't Mike or' bikemama' or whatever warn you not to say anything about Motobecane frames cracking?

X-Files much?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wyr-0yVtOoI/TG...mokingman.jpeg

No..Monty Python!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

Sorry rufvelo... I was just stating my own personal opinion. I already have a bike Felt F70 I just got. I was just makin a statement for my next upgrade that I would consider it because of the components that come with the bike. Why shell out $4K for a full carbon bike when you can get one at half the price with equal or maybe in some instances better components. "If" the frame fails or whatever one can always pick one up. That's all I'm saying.

I have now referred three friends to buy bikes from bikes direct. I don't own one myself. I own a Bianchi alu/carbon frame which was probably made in Taiwan or someplace like that by Giant I am guessing. My latest friend brought in his Le Champion Motobecane today with the Ultegra 6700 groupset. For that price, I'd buy that bike in a heartbeat. Great components and a full carbon frame. Keep throwing your money away on overpriced bikes if you like. The next referral I make will be to myself after seeing these there guys and riding their bikes.

I just finished doing several searches on the Motobecane Immortal Force and Team bikes. Even found a couple from professional magazine reviewers.

All were very positive. Some complaints about the mixed components (FSA K-light crank and Cane Creek brakes on the Force), but if that's the only complaint, that's very good.

What amazes me is when someone posts a review of the bike online, the reviewer is immediately labeled a shill or a reviewer on the payroll of Bikes Direct. It doesn't matter I guess if a person is a snob and just paid $3k on a Specialized bike, they don't want to hear someone else who paid $2k for a similarly spec'd bike that is just as good. I can understand that attitude because it makes the person who spent more look like they got reamed.

Those negative reactions are based on the shill posts that have been made by users who create an account post a great review about a BD bike and that is the only post they ever make. Some also don't like that BD uses the names of old bike companies and makes it seem as if those companies are designing bikes. This of course has nothing to do with the performance or quality of a BD bike, and I'm pretty sure their bikes will be comparable to other bikes on the market. By the same token some BD owners come on here looking to show up riders who prefer bicycles designed by established companies so it can go both ways. Sure you can spend less on a BD bike built up with top of the line components but spending more on a frame with specific carbon weave technology etc. doesn't make that person a fool either. In the end each rider has to research the bike they want and choose the one which best suits their riding style and budget.

get it

I disagree with the first sentence in your post. But I do agree with the rest of what you said.

A few people posted their positive experience about their BD bikes and quite a few people immediately reacted with negativity and accusations of the OP’s being Shills. I’ve posted here many times about all kinds of subjects and don’t own a BD bike but when I posted about information about Motobecane and how it came from the same factory as Specialized, Jamis, etc., a few people accused me of being a Shill. Go ahead and do a search about Motobecane and more often than not you will see people accusing owners with positive reviews and positive comments about BD to be Shills. There are posters here who won’t believe positive reviews of Motobecane bikes even when it comes from a professional testers from magazines both in print and online. The accusations that they work for BD or want BD advertisements immediately ensue. If we can’t trust reviews from owners and professional testers then where do we base our judgements on?

There are smart owners in here who understand the value of money as well as the services provided by LBS. These owners make the appropriate choices that make the best sense for them. But there are also many other people in here who are so totally blinded by brand names and elitist mentality that they feel they have to personally attack anyone who makes any positive references to BD or Motobecane because it’s not a brand name in their eyes and it is not worthy.

I don't have a problem with BD lovefest threads. BD owners can wax poetic over their bikes all they want. The problem comes when they try and compare them to name brand bikes and call them equivalent bikes for less money. They are less money, but they are not equivalent. The fact that they are made in the same factory is a weak argument. Are they a good value for your money? Absolutely. Are they equivalent to a name brand bike? No way.

Link to your shops website or it didn't happen!

Lets see.... real store with real phones that work. Real return policy that doesn't require shipping it to another state. Great return policy.

Based on those factors alone..... this is a MUCH better value than the OP's choice.

Why?

Same as http://cyclespectrum.com/.

There aren't any Performance or Cycle Spectrum stores within hundreds of miles of my house.