Yeah... Its kinda big. Are there any downsides to having a bigger bike? I can straddle the bike fine, and the top tube just barely touches my crotch. I don't find it difficult to mount it either.

I road my messenger a little today, i put an old saddle on it that i found on my sister's old bike. I really hate the stock saddle.

stock saddle sucked.

and mr jon: the issue with too tall of a bike is the reach from saddle to bars. but if it isnt an issue for you, then it isnt an issue

+1 that velo stock saddle practically kept me off my damn bike. to much bouncing motion on my bony tush

Yeah, my ass hurts from riding it a few miles the first day i got it and today i rode it a little with the stock saddle. I took it off and threw on a next saddle from my sister's pink next bike since she no longer rides. Its a bit better. In other news, i bought a clipless setup tonight. I got some spd shimano 520's and some shimano shoes. I wear a size 10 american shoe, so i got size 45's. It was either new saddle, or clipless, so i went clipless.

werd. the stock saddle sucks. replace that next. when i first got mine, i threw the saddle from an old walmart mtb on it. MUCH better.

then i had a san marco rolls on it, now im rockin the brooks

Do you still have the san marco? PMED.

Also, my bike as of 30 seconds ago-
http://jonduberman.smugmug.com/photo...21_RbsVN-L.jpg
I am messing with the angle of the seat, that's not how it will stay. I might re wrap my bars and yank off the rear brake. Pedals are being replaced next week.

def. replace the pedals. i rode on mine for like a month and the bearings got to the point where they would barely rotate.....so gritty and so ****ty

How can i remove the decals? Id like to remove most/all of them, and get mostly black parts for the silver parts, and have a nice black/orange color scheme.

it's under the clearcoat. you'd damage the paint (not hard to do...) trying to remove them.

Damn. I guess i could get a piece of orange vinyl and wrap it around the tubes with the decal. Or i can sand them down, tape off what i don't want repainted, and get some rattle can orange and rattle can clear coat.

does anyone know if the 56cm pink has a threaded or threadless headset?

it's all threadless now i suppose. i think they put that disclaimer on because they had some left over from previous shipments, but since they sold out on some, i think they forgot to take it down.

You might want to adjust your bars up a bit more (rotated back) or the hoods are going to be very uncomfortable to ride.

If you are leaving the rear brake lever so you can ride the brake hood [dummy lever] you don't have to unwrap the bars. Just remove the rear brake, pull out the cable, and yank the cable housing out where it sticks out from the tape.

The bike has changed quite a bit since i got it. New pics-
http://jonduberman.smugmug.com/photo...51_CVCDx-L.jpg

Looks great but you lose 10 points for the non-drive side picture.

hey guys, thinking about getting a messenger soon. im about 5 6, 5'7. my friend recommended i get a 52cm, is that about right?

I just finished putting my girlfriends 49cm together. I think a 52 would probably fit you. She's 5'3". I'm pretty surprised how nice the bike is overall. There are definitely some parts I'm itching to replace, but its her bike so I'll let her decide.

Can anyone weigh the stock seat please, and post it here? I like it Im using it on my mountain bike :) LOL
It sucked on the messenger though.

Thank you very much if you are kind enough to take the time to do this.

i need a new pair of drops, if anyone still has their stock ones for cheap, i'll take it.

Just got mine in - orange color 58cm (I have a 33-34 inseam) - delivery in about 4-5 days. It's a beautiful bike, and even the logos are not totally offensive. Assembly was simple enough - everything seems to be already lubed... my question was regarding needing to re-lube components - is it just packing lube or should I overhaul bearings?

Anyway - since everyone was complaining about the saddle, I switched to my road bike's carbon post with a San Marco - honestly, by touch alone, the Motobecane seat felt more comfortable. I may give it a shot anyway, but for now I placed it on the side. The included pedals were really rough and grinding, I had an old pair of cateyes that do well - after coming from clipless pedals, having platforms with the cage sucks... but it's more convenient for the commuter situation.

The wheels were pretty true, after going for a short ride of about 5 miles I took a look at them just using the brakes. had to play with a couple spokes - not bad.

On the road the bike feels great and really fast - loved it. I have an old full 105 (2001) Schwinn road bike and this Motobecane is almost the same quality. I have a feeling it's gonna replace the Schwinn which I will try to sell in Boston, if anyone is interested. I just don't have much time for long rides right now, and the single speed is great for tooling around town.

The flip flop hub works well - the included freewheel is not bad, not great either... I feel it grinding a bit but no problem while riding. It's not perfectly balanced... Have not tried the fixed side yet, but will give it a try maybe next weekend. I want to have a weekend ride before I take it into daily commuting. The only thing about flip flop - I have a set of Armadillo tires that I put on but they are supposed to be unidirectional. Oh well... I'm not flipping the tire. The bike came with Kenda tires that look pretty good but I switched them to my road bike - I felt the Armadillos are better suited for commuting.

Wheels do not cross with the pedals which is good - was concerned with that for cornering. Top tube feels kind of long - gives me a good stretch to bars. Not really a problem - fit was good for me at 6'1...

The rest - delivery was fast, no chips or dings, packaging excellent. Will update at later time as I put more miles. So far impressed with bikes direct and today was looking at their Le Champion offering in Ti... That would be a nice bike to have... Hmmm... In a couple years...

Here's my updated review after about a year and *just a few* miles on it.

http://www.uglypads.com/Messenger2009.JPG

I take this bike on a 20-30 mile loop about 4-5 days a week. There was a period I was riding my road bike a lot, so this kind of fell to the wayside, but I've been riding it a lot more since I turned in my Carbon road bike and decided to build a Surly Pacer. As you can see, this is heavily modified, and I believe the only stock items on it are the cranks, chainring, chain, front brake and headset. The rest is as follows:

Weinnman Wheels (anodized tarck red)
Continental Gator Skins 700C X 25
Profile Air Wing bars (31.8 shim adapters)
Profile 90mm Hammer Stem
Forte Axis Carbon Fork
Cane Creek TT Brake Lever
Ritchey Pro Seat Post
Forte SLX Carbon Seat
Eggbeaters
Cat Eye Wireless Computer
White Bar Tape (White Bar Tape makes you fast)

I love this bike. The ergonomics are comfy enough to do long rides, but tight enough for excellent sprints and hill mashes. I have mine geared 48/16, but have a 18T cog on the other side of the rear wheel just in case.

The steel frame absorbs plenty of bumps and lumps, add the carbon fork and 700c X 25 tires, and it really does well. So far, no real issues with the 4130 chromoly tubing, however, I do notice the classic flex that comes with most (if not all) steel frames.

My biggest complaint about this bike still remains, from the beginning, is crappy stock parts. But if you're not as finicky as I am, the stock parts will do fine. Unless you are gumby or super tall, the stock drops are too low to be in for any length of time - riders should be able to sustain riding comfortably in the drops. If not, then they are too low, as with the case with the stockers. If I built this with more comfort in mind, I would've switched to risers (I actually had some on for a little while).

I didn't mind the stock wheels, but really wanted the deep-V's, and I did notice a diference with the new wheels as far as flex is concerned - especially on sprints. Between the bars and stem, you can feel the difference on the upgrades when cranking away, out of the seat. The new wheels added some weight, but worth the trade off in how stiff these were.

I still don't have any complaints about the cranks at this point in time. Stiffer, and lighter track cranks would be great, but my bicycle fund is directed at my road bike build at the moment. I may go for some later this year. No pedal strike with these, which I'm very pleased with. My toe does touch the front wheel when turned, but I don't mind that.

As you can see, my bike is not for trick riding in any way (I save that for my much better designed BMX bike). I can't say anything about this bike in that regards... I don't think I've ever even done a skid stop. I can do track stands, but I get sketched since I'm clipped in.

Out of 5 stars, I give it a 5 the way I have it set up. In stock form, I give it a 3 out of 5, simply because I hated the stock parts. For anybody interested in gettgn one of these, I'd advise to TAKE YOUR TIME when building it up and make sure everything is torqed to spec. If you don't know how to build a bike out of the box or don't have the proper tools, have a mechanic do it. I also have taken great time and patience in finding the correct settings for proper fit. This makes a world of difference.

I'd recommend this bike to anybody. I think the stigma of owning a Bikes Direct bike is way over done on cycling forums. There have been some failed bikes sold from BD, but I think most of them are decent, as long as they are put together correctly.

How do you know? Do you have his ass or that seat?