Barefoot ftw!

if you don't need dura ace, the kestred legend ultegra is the best buy on that website.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._bikes_xiv.htm

So far in my brief riding time I haven't had the misfortune of riding with a**hats who judge a person by the bike they ride, clothes they wear etc. I've met nothing but great friendly people, on walmart bikes all the way thru top of the line bikes.

If you can fix it, buy it. I have purchased two CF Motobecanes. The new one is my wife's favourite bike. Perfect fit, light and a great deal. Took all of twenty minutes to get it up and running. Sure, she is not racing anymore, but loves it compared to her Giant TCR. Bury the snob factor and give credence based upon weight, geometry and user friendliness. Surely more important than the views of only the elite!

When they need fixing, or perhaps in the case of this bike, assembly out the box, you can take the bikes to any bike shop near you. Do people really have experiences with shops who don't repair bikes that are not purchased there? Never heard of such a thing happening myself, (also I have personally taken two bikes purchased online to bike shops for service).

Guy I ride with bought a motobecane with di2, took it to the LBS and they assembled and adjusted for a small fee ($50 I think, something like that). Probably depends on the bike shop.

Well aren't almost all of the bikes chinese/taiwan made now?

And by that, I assume you mean somewhere between top of the line and very high quality. Which is, of course, what they are.

Looks fine to me. I had no problems assembling or working on bikes that we didn't sell in our store.

Why yes they are and last time I heard the BD frames were made in Tiawan.

I actually had to take my Motobecane into a local shop today during a ride as I had somehow torqued my rear hub in a bad way and then my wheel shifted and my chain started jumping (single speed).

The he guy didn't say a word about the budget bike and gladly fixed my issue in 15 minutes.

Even though I didn't buy the bike there, I'll certainly go back to buy other stuff to support them. If they had given me the stink eye over my choice of buying a bike online, then I'm sure I would have put them on my avoid list. :)

I don't usually get in these pissing contests but my Ti Lechampion is full SRAM Apex including brakes and crankset. The frame was made by ORA Engineering which is a well-respected Taiwainese frame builder. You can see their website right here: ORA Engineering

I get it about the name...some don't appreciate that side of things but the blanket statements get old.

at least at the prices the lumpen proletariat are willing to pay these days..


FYI, for the ahistorical,
Taiwan is the formally, Republic of China ROC. taken over by Chiang Kai-shek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek after the chinese revolution PRC
'People's Republic Of China'

mainland Mao Zedong's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong troops were victorious ,
and so Chiang evacuated to Taiwan.

and US tax dollars propped him up.. they have been a client state ever since.

so technically, Both Are 'China'. and the PRC considers the ROC their territory .

No. 1

It has been a long time since I've been called a lumpen proletariat!

I have great things to say about the new Lechampion CF frame. I bought the Ultegra 6800 version. It's miles ahead of the 6 year old Immortal I replaced. My bike fitting mechanic, while fitting me on new bike, called the frame/component cost, "Ludicrous", in a good way.

It may not have a beautiful paint job or any "bling factor", but for $1899, I'm pretty happy with it.
It works. And well.

Your facts are correct, but there is still an implication of difference in the two sources of cycling equipment. In general Taiwanese sourced product are more reliably produced to a higher standard than those made in the PRC. Not universally, but in general.

One other thing to consider when buying from BD is that in my experience most of the non-drive train components pretty low level stuff as well. I had one of their singlespeed cyclocross bikes for a while but replaced the handlebars, brake levers, and stem to make it more comfortable for me (for some reason they put on an ungodly long stem). I eventually sold that bike and purchased one of their cross frames and built that up with my own parts and have been very happy with it since.

Is this bike worth the money or are there beter deals out there.

I think the Ultegra level bike is the best deal on there. It's $1,000 less than the DA version posted by the OP. Other than the group, it is largely identical, and unlike a lot of other bikes on there it is full ultegra down to the brakes, chain, cassette, and even the BB. Plus, it's the latest 11 speed 6800 group. At $1,900, it's a great buy assuming you don't mind setting the bike up yourself.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...cf-pro-xiv.htm

Edit: Looks like it's $1,800 until the 12th. The group alone sells for ~$1000 and the wheels for ~$500, so you're basically getting what looks to be a very nice carbon frame, seat post, bars, stem, and saddle for $300. Excellent deal.

For some reason, Motobecane always wins the price versus value war, when it comes to most other brands. I predict that in the not too distant future, the "Motobecane" name will be synonymous with quality.


......Don't Laugh! :)

Since since you are looking at bikesdirect bikes, you are trying to get the best bang for your buck. DA9000 offers no performance benefit over Ultegra6800 except a small weight savings. However, the motobecane CF frame is one of the heavier CF frames available, so it doesn't make much sense to put DA9000 on it.

I would go with the Ultegra 6800.