MinnMan

Impossible to say without knowing more about your riding needs and your mech skills. I presume you know that modern Motobecane is just a brand name that Bikesdirect bought and has no relationship to the Motobecane in days of yore. How much riding are you going to do? How much wrenching?

If you don't know much about bikes or your bike fit, then mail order is a bad idea. Go to your LBS, even if it costs more. You'll get a bike that suits you and that fits you.

If you ride a lot, and parts begin to wear out, you'll find that various components used by Bikesdirect are non-standard and that replacements are hard to source.

big john

fify

VernMoto

Thanks for your feedback.

I ride a lot. I am 6' tall with a 32" inseam so I was thinking the 48cm bike with SO of 818mm.

What "non-standard" parts might be hard to sorce?

I cannot show you the bike of specs because I have not posted enough. Kind of sad.

MinnMan

I consider "riding a lot" to be, say, >8000 miles/year, but that phrase could mean different things to different people. the more you ride, the sooner parts wear out.

I'm 5"10 with a 32" inseam and I generally ride 56 cm frame road bikes. Are you sure you know what you need?

Non-standard parts might include anything. Things like bottom brackets can be particularly aggravating if they aren't widely used standards.

big john

What model is it? Is it the Hal? AXS Eagle Lunar is the wireless group from Sram. Mountain bikes are usually sized by small, medium, large, etc. Mountain bike sizing varies so much from one brand to another you have to look at geometry charts to see if it will fit.
Did you try to post a link?
If it's the Hal then a 48 is the large.

I think you can start posting pictures after 10 posts, so not a big deal.

wthensler 

This.....

I ride the crap out of my bikes, and I like riding high end bikes. Though I’ve never done the calculation, I’m certain my cost per mile is far less than the average rider. And through the roof enjoyment. And yes, I can tell the difference.....

My astronomy obsession has cost me far more. Scopes, eyepieces, filters, accessories....... Worth it? Absolutely! I’ve seen more things that most observers will never see.

Exotic cars? You don’t even want to know what I spend on these. No way one can justify a purchase like this, except to attribute it to the fun factor, which is through the roof.

GlennR

I'm at 46¢ per mile and dropping.

PaulH

I ride for transportation and parking at my office is about $3,000 per year. In that context, there is no such thing as an expensive bike. Some of the thing that make a non-sporting bike costly have objective benefits, in terms of capability, durability, and convenience. Drum brakes, a proper chainguard, dynamo lights, fenders, a rack, and internal gears are all in this category.

VernMoto

I love old school bikes, I wish I had kept my Shwin from 1984.

VernMoto

I just pick out the right size and and gear and hope for the best. Usually works out...LOL

VernMoto

I wish I lived in a town that supported riding to work..I would have to ride across a freeway and on streets that have no way to go except in a ditch.

VernMoto

My Road bike with 56cm frame is 30" Stand Over. I measured it. The bike specks say 48cm has a 32" stand over.

MinnMan

Didn't catch earlier that it's a MTB

wthensler 

Let’s see, I paid $5,100 for the first Domane, and it’s got 22,000 miles on it......so that’s just under $.25 per mile.

My car is currently at $200/mile, LOL!

big john

I paid $2500 for my Seven (used) and I have about 40,000 miles on it, so 6 cents?
Last week I rode with a friend I haven't seen in a while and he was talking about how he loves his Tesla. He mentioned a couple times how he doesn't have to buy gasoline but he only drives 6K miles per year. I mentioned since I retired I only drove 7K in a year, so not much gasoline. "But I don't buy any" he says. Well my car cost $2700, I told him.His is a lease and when the lease is up next year the buyout will be $54,000.

MinnMan

Calculating cost/mile for bikes, only incorporating purchase price, neglects maintenance, parts, upgrades (wheels, for example?)....

GlennR

True... i've replaced a number of tires, tubes, chains and brake pads. Then there's the degreaser, chain lube and paper towels.

So let's just add another $1000, so i'm at 50¢ per mile and not the 46¢ I first posted.

As I say, "the most expensive bike is the one you don't ride".

5 mph

We can only see things through our own eyes and that's a pretty small universe.
I'm like you , I'm conservative and pretty frugal. I wouldn't spend more than maybe $400. I bought my last bike used.
I try not to be too judgmental. I see a lot of 70 year old men in $60,000 Corvettes. I guess if you have the money and you are comfortable with using it, its all relative to your own judgment and views on life.

GlennR

You can't take it with you.

MinnMan

It also depends on how serious you are about riding. I ride 7-10k miles/year, as do many of my cycling friends. All of us, spanning ages from late 20s to early 70s) own multiple bikes and pretty much all of us have at least one that is from "expensive" (>$2k) to "very expensive" (>$7k). And that's not counting the costs of multiple wheelsets, power meters, and so on. But this is our life. Riding that many miles/year adds up to a lot of saddle time. And then the quality you get in return matters.

If somebody in one of my riding groups were to show up with a $400 bike..... (no, we wouldn't laugh at them, we're not snobs), that would be fine with everybody. But try spending 4 hours in the saddle of a $400/bike, trying to keep up on the climbs with people on much lighter rigs or on the descents and sprints with people with aero wheels. Try keeping a low end drive train tuned when you are riding that many miles/week. A higher end bike becomes quite sensible for such a lifestyle.

If you don't do or care about that kind of riding, then sure- you do you - ride something more economical. But I don't think anybody has the right to judge people who make the more expensive choice.

GlennR

Years ago I went on a "B" group ride, it was a Metric Century. Someone new showed up on an old touring bike with with a rear rack and a huge bag on it. He was told about the length and climbing, but he wasn't phased. I decided to sweep since I was one of the stronger riders. After 10 miles he dropped to the back and on the climbs he dropped further back, so I stayed with him. As the group stopped at lights we caught up. A number of times I offered to turn back with him but he wanted to keep going. At the half way we were 10 minutes behind. He completed the ride and was just 10 minutes off the pace.

Everyone hung around and cheered him when we showed up. The ride leader shook his hand and said he has more heart than most. I repeated what he told me during the ride, that he hadn't ridden in a few years and just fixed the bike a few days ago.

BTW.. he was 61.

Just another stubborn old man... like most of us.

MinnMan

Yeah, if someone does a tough ride on an old beater, more power to them. I'd be impressed.

One year a guy in my group couldn't ride his regular rig- there was something about his special wheels that for some reason was on order for like forever. So he was riding this bike he found in the trash. He was not a person of means, so he was making do temporarily. I swear, it was the heaviest bike I've ever seen. Not just steel, but I don't think it was even tubular steel. It must have weighed 50 pounds. But this guy (older than me, btw) was a monster and in those days, I had trouble keeping up with him. Much respect.

GlennR

BTW... I rode with that groups again 3 months later and they said they never saw that guy again.

rekmeyata

Some of what you said is untrue in regards to Bikes Direct. If you buy one of the higher-priced bikes they are ALL standard parts that you can get replacement parts for just like you can a Trek or whatever. You need to go to Bikes Direct and read the specs about their higher-end bikesl some of the Motobecane bikes use all Sram Red, some all Ultegra, and some use all 105. If you want to question something, then maybe the frame and fork could be drawn into question, but I have a friend who has an older Motobecane Ti bike that came with all Dura Ace, and his bike after I think 10 maybe 9 years, is still in top-notch form, the only thing he did to it, besides saddle and pedals of course, is after riding my bike he went and got an Enve 2,0 fork for it last spring and it did noticeably improve the feel of the bike in turns. And the Enve had no problems with fitting the bike. His Motobecane frame was made by ORA which is the best Asian TI builder, not sure if Moto is still using ORA or not. The only weak spots on the Moto brand is the generic fork, and the wheels are usually $200 dollar wheels, which a person can always upgrade.

$200 to $300 wheels are not necessarily bad unless you're a weight weenie, but I have a cheap set of Shimano RS 500 (I forget the exact sub-model, but they were the silver ones, anyway those Shimano rims are bulletproof, I have around 8,000 miles on the wheels and I've never had to true them, and the roads I ride on are not the best, their cracked and potholed from freeze and thaw cycles, chip and seal, well you get the idea, and these wheels could care less. So for the everyday rider the wheels Bikes Direct specs on the bikes are just fine for average roads and it saves them money, my friends Moto Ti bike wheels have held up great as well.

Mail order is NOT a bad idea, I got my Lynskey road bike mail order and had no problems whatsoever, and I got a bike that I couldn't find anywhere near me for the price I got it for. I also got my Masi touring bike by mail order as well, and again no problems. Of course, my friend with the Moto got his by mail order and has had no problems either. In fact, most high-end bikes are mail order, Rivendell, Moots, Seven, Vanilla, etc, etc, etc, and people don't have problems with them. There are lots of people who bought bikes from Jenson USA, Ribble, Competitive Cyclist, etc, etc, etc.

MinnMan

Two points:

1. A friend has a high end Ti Motobecane and deeply regrets it. And he's a MUCH better wrench than me. We can swap anecdotes. Maybe you have more anecdotes and you win.

2. I never said online order was a bad idea. I own a Canyon, after all. But it's a bad idea for people who don't know a lot about bikes and about their fit and their needs and also for people who can't do a fair amount of their own customizing and wrenching. It seemed to me that the person posting above could be in that category, but maybe he's not. He can gather the information and make his choice.