# Which Motobecane?



## bikenut316 (Jun 16, 2006)

Looking at 2 Motobecane Le Championes on BD. I like the SL but I am concerned that the lack of carbon stays is going to beat me up on long rides. Any opinions?


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

urge... to ... rant ... must ... resist ... urge ... to ...


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## Lifelover (Jul 8, 2004)

bikenut316 said:


> Looking at 2 Motobecane Le Championes on BD. I like the SL but I am concerned that the lack of carbon stays is going to beat me up on long rides. Any opinions?



Given up an your old trek already? Did it have carbon stays? Did it beat you up on long rides?

There seems to be a history of problems with BD bikes and their service.

Try buying used, build you own starting with a inexpensive frame like "Leader" and some used parts or give RScycle.com a shot. With a 10% discount code, Perfromance has a killer deal on some 05 Fastbacks.

Any of these would be better than dealing with BD or their ebay fronts.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Please do so....She who hesitates is lost.....


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

*I have a LeC SL*

I have had a LeChamp SL for about a year. It has been a good bike.. reliable, fun to ride. It is more comfortable than the steel bike it replaced. Carbon stays will not affect the comfort of the frame. Instead it's more about fit, wheels, tires, etc. 

It's an overstatement to say that there is a long history of problems with BD products. The bikes are as advertised. You or a shop will have to assemble and adjust the bike before you ride it..potentially including wheel truing, shifter adjustment, derailleur hanger adjustment. But once that is done the bike should be trouble-free. 

You will not find BD to be responsive, however. Don't expect handholding, prompt replies, or good customer service. But they will ship the bike you paid for on time, and bike will be what you order. If this is ok with you, buy the bike. If not, buy locally.


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## bikenut316 (Jun 16, 2006)

Bertrand said:


> I have had a LeChamp SL for about a year. It has been a good bike.. reliable, fun to ride. It is more comfortable than the steel bike it replaced. Carbon stays will not affect the comfort of the frame. Instead it's more about fit, wheels, tires, etc.
> 
> It's an overstatement to say that there is a long history of problems with BD products. The bikes are as advertised. You or a shop will have to assemble and adjust the bike before you ride it..potentially including wheel truing, shifter adjustment, derailleur hanger adjustment. But once that is done the bike should be trouble-free.
> 
> You will not find BD to be responsive, however. Don't expect handholding, prompt replies, or good customer service. But they will ship the bike you paid for on time, and bike will be what you order. If this is ok with you, buy the bike. If not, buy locally.


I have read numerous posts on this subject and still do not completely understand. If I purchase a Motobecane for $1295 and receive a frame that is made the same way as name brand frames with full ultegra(expensive), AC 420 wheels($900msrp) and assemble and tune it myself(which I can do) why is this bad? Customer service is always a good thing but why would wheels built by AC and ultegra componants be a problem other than some minor assembly and tuning? Seems that the only part that purhaps is not top shelf name brand is the frame. In my circumstance, I fail to see how this is not a great deal.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

bikenut316 said:


> In my circumstance, I fail to see how this is not a great deal.


Than buy the bike. If you've read a lot on the subject you will know there are many reasons why you shouldn't buy from them. You've obviously choosen to ignore them....Good luck


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

Yup. Sounds like you've got your mind made up. Hmmmm. Might make one wonder whether you were really looking for advice!


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## fran2537 (Aug 28, 2006)

*get over it*

BD is not an LBS. It is a bike discounter that sells bikes which it advertises very clearly.
they will not hold your hand, they will not be there to chat with you when you want to talk about which bottle cage you should buy. but guess what--if you buy a bike from BD and pay your LBS to service it and fix it, they will --surprise, surprise--welcome your business.

that being said the over the top criticism of BD has always struck me as odd-especially as the most vociferous critics rarely if ever site actual personal experiences. is buying a bike from any other non-LBS retailer a morally superior act since noone seems to kick and scream about the other online retailers? I think not. 

I am curious as to how many of the BD bashers buy their spare tubes and such from nashbar or one of the other catalogues rather than their local LBS. Isn't that as big a sin as buying a bike from BD? 

full disclosure--i have bought and continue to buy bikes from both LBS and BD. I weigh the value of each transaction and act accordingly. 

i have a lechampion-replaced a cannondale aluminum. i shopped around and found it to be a good deal. i like riding it. the components work well, the factory frame is well made--not handmade but then neither is my honda minivan and that seems to work ok. 

shop around. Buy the best bike you can afford. support your LBS.


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## bikenut316 (Jun 16, 2006)

Dave Hickey said:


> Than buy the bike. If you've read a lot on the subject you will know there are many reasons why you shouldn't buy from them. You've obviously choosen to ignore them....Good luck


Some posts gave thumbs down and some thumbs up. I am not perfect and thought I may be missing something. Please be patient, re-read my last post and tell me why I am mistaken.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

bikenut316 said:


> Some posts gave thumbs down and some thumbs up. I am not perfect and thought I may be missing something. Please be patient, re-read my last post and tell me why I am mistaken.



<-------------------------------Person
$$$$$-------------------------------->

HTH HTH NTTIAWWT FWIW YMMV TANSTAAFL.
&etc:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Nobody is questioning buying online. They are questioning Bikes Direct. You are correct, I have never purchased from them and I never will. Their marketing is a step above the guy in a trench coat that sells Rolex's on the corner. 

1. The ads say save 30%-50% of MSRP . This is just an out and out lie. Show me one person that paid $3000-3400.00 for a Motobecane. It's a _going out of business _furniture store sales tactic.

2. The "brands" are all old marques of which these bikes have zero relationship yet the proponents insist on blurring this fact so they can add credibility to the bike.

3. There is no phone number. I buy about 80% of my cycling items online yet I refuse to do business with a company that won't provide a phone number

4. They shill this and other forums. As a moderator on RBR I have some access that others don't and trust me when I say there are Bikes Direct shills............Check out Bicycling.com and other forums. This problem is not unique to RBR. That is part of the reason you see such anti-BD posts. All they are doing is countering the BD shill posts. What's ironic is if the shilling stopped and BD just ran their banner ads, I'll bet the anti BD crap would disappear too....

Anyone that has been around this place a while will have read Moto reviews by long time posters like Bertrand and Ravenmore. They been very honest about their bikes and their experience. If you bother to read their posts you will also see that there wasn't a flame to be found....

The flames come out when someone with 2 or 3 posts but has tremendous knowledge of the industry, and yet they claim they are "just getting back into road riding" gives a wholesale endorsement for Bikes Direct....I (and others) call BS

As you said in your post, _Shop around and get the best deal you can_...I totally agree with this however I will never purchase any item from Bike Direct or any of their other eBay companies....respect is earned and BD had done nothing to earn respect.


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

Fran, so glad you opened your account in time to join this discussion. 

There are two options. 1) you are a BD shill; or 2) you are a legitimate new participant in this forum.

If the first is true, then there's little to say. Perhaps you can join your banned BD buddies who pretend to be participants in an effort to promote BD products or servicee. If the second is true, then you should be aware that based on solid, repeated history most of us are well aware that 1) BD shills this board through fake posters, which doesn't engender affection; and 2) real live cyclists have struggled to really achieve the promised "savings" when they've received poorly built bikes from BD or not gotten good fit advice on BD products and had to make returns, etc. 

Especially at this time of year when good deals on known bikes through local vendors are available, there's real reason to discuss whether an online purchase from BD makes sense. But most of us are tired of devoting the energy to post a thoughtful discussion of such issues when it turns out we are "advising" (or debating) a BD shill with a bogus user account. So, pardon some of us who have gotten jaded. 

If you are the real deal and want to discuss the merits of both the product, the service, and the pros and cons of a local LBS relationship, fire away. If you are not, then please say hello to CollectorVelo, BikeShopGuy, and other BD shills.


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## fran2537 (Aug 28, 2006)

interesting.
i am new to the board therefore i am a shill.

as i stated i have bought bikes from multiple venues--mostly LBS. have most recently bought a MB from BD. i like the bike, i like my other bikes too. if not hating BD makes me a shill, so be it. Frankly, i am still amazed at the amount of personal vitrole that gets spewed around this issue. 

Again, get over it. The person asked for advice and you gave yours, i gave mine. what's with the personal attacks?


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## JayTee (Feb 3, 2004)

*Methinks Thou Doth Protest Too Much*



fran2537 said:


> interesting.
> i am new to the board therefore i am a shill.
> 
> as i stated i have bought bikes from multiple venues--mostly LBS. have most recently bought a MB from BD. i like the bike, i like my other bikes too. if not hating BD makes me a shill, so be it. Frankly, i am still amazed at the amount of personal vitrole that gets spewed around this issue.
> ...



You didn't link your response to my post, but I think you intended to, so I'll address it. No one, including me, "attacked" you or called you a shill. What I did say was that you might be, and if you aren't, you should understand some history between BD and this Board which gives us all skepticism and suspicion. I said in fact the following:



jtolleson said:


> Fran, so glad you opened your account in time to join this discussion.
> 
> There are two options. 1) you are a BD shill; or 2) you are a legitimate new participant in this forum.
> 
> ...



I'm not sure what I'm supposed to "get over" but enjoy your Moto.


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