[Mike1jw]

I am seriously thinking about getting a road bike soon. I have a 22 year old Giant Sadona mountain bike (with 1.5 road tires) that I've been using for 25-30 mile rides on the road. I have heard some good reports from real people (not on the internet, but second hand through a friend) about buying from Bikesdirect.com. I noticed that in the manufacturer section of this forum Motobecane is not listed. Is there a reason for this?

I'm not in a rush for this since the season is near its end and I also want to buy Speedplay Frog pedals and some shoes to get used to on this old bike of mine before crashing with my new road bike.

I have definately been bittin buy road cycling, and can see myself going all out in this sport/hobby, but the funds are low and Motobecane seems like my best option. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Mike

[fatandslow]

I've noticed such differences in the size of bikes that have the same nominal size marked on them that I'd be afraid to buy a bike without at least straddling it, and preferably riding it.

[jeepster93]

I have one.
Got it from Bikes direct, in fact.

I got one with a carbon fiber fork/seat stays and the Ultegra 2x10 speed groupo.(but only part of the groupo, some things were Ritchy, like handle bars, and headset and seatpost, it has an FSA crank)

First off:
I LOVE the bike!!!
I love the groupo
I love the ride
I love the 18 pounds it weighs.
It has a nice set of hand made wheels.
The frame is good. The welds look fine.

However...there were compromises made.

It had a seat that was the single worst thing I ever sat on.
The tires and tubes are cheap. My tires are wearing out after less than 1000 miles.
The cables are cheap.
No pedals
I did not know or have a choice on things like cranks, or front gears(it would come with one of 3 ratios/cranks-no choice)
There were several things I had no idea of what it would be.

Am I happy?
VERY

Would I do it again?
YES

Would I recommend Motobecane?
YES

[Mike1jw]

Thanks for the post. The bike in your photo looks like the one I'm thinking of buying. The only other thing i'm worrying about is ordering the right size. I hear so much about fitting a bike, and even though there is a great savings from BD, two thousand dollars is still a lot of money for me to spend on a bike that's not my size. Anyway, as I mentioned, I have a little while yet because I still want to get pedals and get used to (crash) on my old bike first. As it looks now, I might not be buying until next year. I would like to ride as far into the winter as I can, but daylight (or lack of it) is also something to think about.

Anyway, thanks for the post. I hope to hear from you if there are any developments (positive or negative) with your bike.

Have Fun
Mike

[jeepster93]

Fit IS important.

There are threads on this site, ongoing about fit. Read these before ordering.

[mtndoc]

Have you thought of lookin at the bike at your local bike shop to get an idea of fit? You might talk to the owner of the shop and see if he can match the price, remember shipping and other costs involved with ordering online. I order a lot of stuff online since it is 50miles to the nearest city, and have to look at all factors to decide where to buy stuff. Just an idea.

My brother had a motobecane bike years ago and still talks about it, he had to sell it to survive, but otherwise he would still be riding it, so it is a great bike according to him, for whatever that might be worth. Good luck on your choice.

DrB

[sp9861]

I got my main mountain bike through bikesdirect.com and I thought it was a good investment. Its a Windsor Cliff 4300 I think, I really wanted to buy from a LBS but all they had was expensive Giant bikes out of my price range and out of my skill level. I had my skeptics about getting a mail order bike but in reality it was so inexpensive that If I were to break something I could replace it with no worries. The only other thing that worried me was tune ups and etc. But buying online I learned some of the skills myself which I think is a better value towards me. If I were to buy another bike it would more then likely be another mail order bike from bikesdirect.com

[bantam700]

Originally Posted by jeepster93

No pedals

nearly all higher end bikes do not include pedals, and while a bit humorous it's actually for a good reason. Most people buying low end bike are probably not going to use a cleat system and if they do it'll probably be an spd system so bike shops can just throw on a basic spd pedal and most will be happy. People who buy mid to high end bikes will almost always have a cleat system the prefer over the others, and since cleats are not compatible with different pedals bike shops and manufacturers will leave out pedals to keep the price down a bit by not including pedals with will probably be the first thing to be swapped out when the bike is bought

[Mike1jw]

When you got your bike from BD, was the assembly difficult? I'm sure I can put some nuts and bolts together with directions ( I am mechanicly inclined) What I'm worried about is things like truing wheels, adjusting crank bearings, cables, and fine tuning.

BD seems like they cover themselves by saying the bike should be taken to a bike shop for assemble.

Mike

[jeepster93]

It was fairly easy to assemble.
It was VERY well packed and boxed, even UPS tried and could not tear up the package to the point of hurting the bike inside.

The fork is off, but the bearings and brakes are installed on it.
The handlebars are off, so is the bar stem, but the shifters, brakes and in my case with a road bike, the bar tape was already installed.
The seat needs mounting.
Pedals were not included with my bike.

You will need to string the brake cables and hook the brakes up, and adjust them.
You will need to set the proper angles for the handlebars(for a road bike).
You will need to adjust the shifting as the cables are strung but not adjusted.
Put air in the tires and install them...
You are with a ride-able bike!

About an hour for someone like me...a shade tree mechanic.
Not something I would do to an expensive product if I had NO mechanical skills.