# Motobecane Cyclocross Frameset



## bosax (Oct 13, 2005)

I finally took the plunge and got a cyclocross bike. I ordered all the parts including an unbranded cyclocross frameset, which is a motobecane. I first ordered a size small, and it was basically a 29er bike with a hugely compact frame. I emailed my customer service rep and they easily exchanged it for a medium. The medium looked like a road bike.

I built it up with Ultegra parts and noticed a weird thing, the crankarm on the drive side rubbed the chainstay. I tried another crank and then another and then another. All of them were different brands (shimano, truvative and FSA) and all rubbed the chainstay, only on the drive side. 

Off I sent another email to the cust. service rep and he said three things. 1) I can't use a 10 speed road crank. 2) I can use a 9sp crank with a wider spindle, and 3) I could use a ext. cup mtb crank with spacers. This sucks. I got rid of my 9sp stuff to pay for this and I don't see a reason to go back. Plus, I don't even know if a 9sp mtb crank will work with a 10sp drivetrain. I've actually found a 5mm spacer for the driveside, but then the spindle barely makes it to the non-drive side. 

It really ticks me off that the website did not mention any of this (and still doesn't). I have ridden the bike for short distances and the ride is great, but I'm worried about the crankarm. I'm not trying to diss the company completely - I've ordered a couple of items from them and they are as described. Communication with cust. service is also great. But it seems like they could do a little better job describing the items. Who would think that a new frame wouldn't accept a 10sp crank?


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## cww180 (Aug 31, 2008)

Is this the 2009 frame? Do you know how much it weighs by any chance?


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

There are advantages to staying 9spd, Since you can run MTB chains, cassettes, and RDs with the 9 spd STI stuff. Its really useful with compact cranks, Mega range fewer gears.

As for your problem with the Crank arm. Its sound slike you need to shim your BB out some more in order to get away from that rubbing problem. What Is the BB? Sealed? External? If Sealed, then it is going to be much easier since you can just get a wider BB 

You can use the 9 spd stuff with the 10 speed shifters, You need to lock out a click on the shifters and add a spacer to the back of the rear cassette to make it mimic a 9 spd system.


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## bosax (Oct 13, 2005)

I don't know how much the frame weighs, but I was pleasantly surprised by the weight. I think the total build is around 20lbs. 

As for nine speed, I don't think there are that many benefits. I'm never going to race it and don't really need MTB gearing. The frame was obviously built for nine speed systems and I just think it would have been nice to know that.

I'm currently running an FSA Gossamer with an external BB, but the spindle width doesn't seem long enough with the spacers I have to use. My only option seems to be an MTB crank, but at $300 for an XT (and no guarantees to work with 10sp) the price approaches that of a new frame.


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## SaddleBags (Aug 16, 2005)

Interesting...I bought a frameset (the red phantom cross frame) last year. I put on a triple crank (ultegra 10sp) with just a 42 chainring and a chainguard up front with no problems and 10sp in the rear. I did use a spacer on the drive side IIRC. I have since taken off the ultegra and now run a FSA Gossamer compact (again w/ a 42) with no issues and no spacers. The rear is still a 10sp.
I think these are the same framesets but when offered thru BD as a complete bike, the component package is different thus the price difference. But I could be wrong.


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