# Opinions on Motobecane Fantom Cross Bike?



## Tri Slow Poke (Jul 22, 2006)

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_cross_cx.htm

I was wondering is anyone out there had one and used ot for racing. I'm looking for a cheap cross bike for racing and commuting. Thanks!


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## Rubber Lizard (May 10, 2007)

In all honesty that's a pretty junky spec on the bike.

Shimano Sora is essentially worthless, heavy wheels, cheap components and a pretty cheap frame. Not the kinda thing you want to race on. Might be alright for commuting but Sora doesn't last terribly long. 

You could find a far better deal at a local shop right now for a few hundred more. A bike with Tiagra components will work better and last much longer. 
Something like a Jamis Nova or Bianchi Volpe could probably be found for around 900 if you looked around. Much better bike with much better parts. 

Sorry bikesdirect, that bike compares to a $550 dollar bike, not a $1200 dollar Specialized or Trek. The high MSRP is just marketing to make you think you are getting a great bike.


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## Tri Slow Poke (Jul 22, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestion!


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

Rubber Lizard said:


> You could find a far better deal at a local shop right now for a few hundred more. A bike with Tiagra components will work better and last much longer.
> Something like a Jamis Nova or Bianchi Volpe could probably be found for around 900 if you looked around. Much better bike with much better parts.


Disagree that Tiaga is worth spending an extra $350 bucks. The Volpe spec, does not justify that added expense IMO. 

The Jamis perhaps, *if* you could find it for $900. MSRP is double the price of the Motobecane. Same with Specialized -- $1100 for a Tiagra level bike. Trek MSRP is $1760 for a 105 level bike. Sure, you might be able to find them cheaper "on sale" below MSRP (talk about marketing schemes).

Personally, I am not a fan of low spec bikes. But if you are going to buy one, you may as well not spend a lot of money on it. I wouldn't expect significantly more in the way of performance or durability from any of these bikes that cost twice or triple the price.


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## hclignett (Dec 18, 2006)

Well, I don't know about racing. But I've had mine for a few months now and haven't run into any problems with it. I use it completely stock for riding off road here. I live in the eastern sierras and so far for this type of riding it's a kick in the rear. I guess I'll have to see about the Sora components but for the money, (I paid $499.00 for mine). I think it's kind of fun to have a bike to not worry about thrashing around. It's fun to not think about whether to go down a dirt road or not. I just go now.


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## nealric (Jul 5, 2007)

> You could find a far better deal at a local shop right now for a few hundred more. A bike with Tiagra components will work better and last much longer.
> Something like a Jamis Nova or Bianchi Volpe could probably be found for around 900 if you looked around. Much better bike with much better parts.


Bikesdirect has a CX bike with a 105/Tiagra mix for $800 or an ultegra bike for $1150


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

nealric said:


> Bikesdirect has a CX bike with a 105/Tiagra mix for $800 or an ultegra bike for $1150


Agreed... A few hundred more? more like 900 more for a Specialized Tricross or a Trek Portland. Portland is with discs which BD also has a model. Or if you are the thrifty type... Buy the parts on here and Order a specialized frame. They have frames starting in the Pro-class.

I know that the older specialized CX frames before they launched the tri-cross series are not bad and you can find them on clearance websites for CHEAP!


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## hachiko (Sep 1, 2008)

I like my Cross CX in general. It's not the prettiest bike but it certainly isn't ugly. It wasn't expensive which was a huge deciding factor for me. I've already gotten many dings and scrapes on it in the 2 months I've owned it (damn bike rack heathens!) but I don't feel too bad because the price was right. 

And as for the price, getting a 'similar' equiped bike is generally going to cost about $150 to $350 more. 

It may be worth it if you want the service, and in hindsight I often think perhaps that's what I should have done, but I just couldn't justify dropping an extra $350 on a volpe or the like, when it's just a commuter bike.


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