# Motobecane Fantom Cross Titanium



## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

All, this is just some shilling. Hopefully it is useful to someone down the road. 

Purchased a new Moto TI CX bike a month ago. It arrived within 6 days. There were a couple small holes in the box from shipping, but the bike was well packed and arrived safely. It took me a couple hours to assemble, chiefly because I was unsure of the SRAM, cantilever, and top tube cable routing as it comes from the bars past the headtube (this was my first CX bike). 

I decided on the Moto after much ebay and classified searching. I ride a 61 cm and it was just hard to find a CX bike that would accept discs and be in my size (59-61). 

I went with the TI option mostly because I have a Litespeed and have a bias toward TI. 

So far, on my limited mileage I am happy with the bike. I actually think it rivals my Litespeed in terms of stiffness (as much as you can compare the two bikes). 

The Vuelta XRP wheels have many stickers. But, they are the first wheel that didn't "ping" the first 30-50 feet I rode them from the spokes tensioning/seating/screaming . So far, these seem rather ok, and I am a big guy (6'2" and 250 lbs). 

The handlebars are fine, but they are 42 cm and for me they are a bit narrow. The seatpost was fine. The stem also fine (all are Ritchey Pro). I replaced the saddle with a Brooks B-17. 

I am still adjusting to the SRAM Rival. All-in-all it has shifted ok, but I likely will need to bring it to a better mechanic to tune it. 

I had the most trouble with the front cantilever. I messed around with the cable routing and the set-up and they function, but they need some work. If you have experience with canti set-up you will be fine, but I suspect I will need to run it by my LBS for some help (hopefully).

My LBS didn't get my business because when I went in to inquire about a "cyclocross" bike the salesperson looked at me oddly and then asked if that was a "brand of bike." I also have some other history with them. They fitted me for my very first road bike by the tried and true and super accurate "two inches under my crotch method." 

Using Bikesdirect was what I expected. They fielded several questions both via email and private messages on this forum. I purchased my previous bike online from Colorado Cyclist and had an excellent experience (and I would shill for them at the drop of a hat). I would say that Bikesdirect, so far has been of similar customer service quality. 

Is BD the best option for everyone? No. If you know a bit about wrenching and know your size/geometry and want to save some money it may be a very nice choice. 

Lynskey had a Cooper CX offer that was really, really tempting to me, but in the end, the extra $1000 or so just couldn't be justified. 

As far as quality of the TI, to my eye it looks nice enough. The welds are comparable to the Litespeed's, if perhaps just a fraction less consistent. Do I know anything about welding? Not much, but I have welded, been graded on my welds, and look forward to getting a welder in the future. 

In the end, I would recommend BD. I would recommend their TI bikes. If something happens in the future to change my opinion I will post that. 

Hopefully this is of some use to someone doing some bike research.


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## Christoph (Jul 10, 2009)

Great pictures. Thanks for posting them.


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## cs1 (Sep 16, 2003)

Nice bike. Keep us posted.


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## xhx (Dec 8, 2008)

What's your impression of tire clearance? I'm really tempted to grab one of these for next year's gravel races, but I'd like to run something bigger than 700x35.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

I will try to take a look this evening to give you a better answer. You could PM Mike as well. 

The frame will definitely fit a larger tire. And for dry conditions the clearance would be fine I think, but for wet conditions it might be tight. 

I will try to take a look though.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

xhx,

I didn't take a formal measurement, but the tightest area between tire and frame would occur on the chainstays at about the place on the tire where sidewall meets tread. I have the standard 32c tires on the bike and on each side of the tire there appears to be 1 cm or so of clearance.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

dupe post


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## xhx (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks man! This is still my top choice... just gotta figure out how to sneak it in to the garage without my wife noticing!


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## texasdiver (Jan 30, 2010)

I bought the same bike 2 months ago and love it. I bought the Ultegra version rather than the SRAM Rival version and have made a variety of modifications to use it for road use as I don't do cyclocross, I use this as a general fitness and weekend century bike. Changes I have made so far:

1. Swapped out the saddle for a Brooks B-17 Titanium saddle in antique brown. After 500 miles this saddle is like butter.

2. Replaced the brake and shift cable housings. I thought they were too long and I didn't like the inline barrel adjusters so I replaced them with black housings which I think look better. I had the bulk brake and shift cable housing and Park cable cutters so this was an easy modification.

3. Removed and discarded the cyclocross cross bar brake levers. Saw no use for them in road riding and they just got in the way of my computer and hand position when I rode on top of the bars.

4. Shortened up the brake and shift cable ends. They were too long so I shortened them and put on new ferrules.

5. Replaced the knobby cyclocross tires with Continental 700x28 Grand Prix Four Season road tires. These are very nice supple tires that are less harsh than the typical 700x23 tires that come with road bikes.

6. Added a blackburn rear rack so I can carry a trunk bag on longer rides.

7. Added a stem bag for small items

I had thought about swapping out the cantilever brakes for disk brakes as this bike comes disk brake ready with disk hubs and disk mounting points on the forks and rear dropouts. But I have been happy with the cantilever brakes. They were easy to adjust and do just fine so I'm going to leave them. Here in the back roads of central Texas I rarely do any braking so I really don't see the point of going to disk. If I was commuting on rough terrain in grimy weather like say in Portland or Seattle I'd perhaps feel differently. But 99% of my riding is in nice weather on open country roads with no major hills so I barely ever even touch the brakes and never in anger.

All in all it's practically a perfect bike for what I use it for...long fitness rides and centuries. The frame is nice and relaxed and very responsive. Unlike my previous Cannondale road bike this frame is really supple and has a nice resonance. Don't know how to quite describe it. Think of a nice fine crystal wine glass vs a chunky plastic one. When you strike the crystal wine glass you get a nice resonant ring and it almost feels alive. When you strike the plastic wine glass it just goes clunk. Riding a titanium frame over bumps is more like the crystal wine glass. It almost rings. The frame feels live and supple. My old aluminum Cannondale would just go "clunk" over bumps and vibrations and had no life at all.

In short, I'm very happy with this bike.

PS...responding to the upstream question about tire clearance. The bike comes with 700x32 cross tires and still has PLENTY of clearance for fenders and racks with those stock tires. I'd guess that the bike will easily take 700x40 tires although fenders might be a tight fit with that large of tire. But fenders would certainly work with 700x32 tires and smaller. My 700x28 tires look small on this bike. I could go quite a big larger no problem. I'll probably try some 700x32 Grand Bois or Jack Brown tires when these wear out.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

UPDATE:

I've had this bike for 8 months. It was a long, cold, snowy winter in MN which certainly limited my riding. This spring has been chilly and wet and hasn't helped. 

However, this is my bike for riding in this weather, mostly at night after the kids are in bed (with a headlite, in the rain, in the wind, and in the cold)

I must say, these CX bikes are FUN. I love my road bike, but this CX bike makes me feel like a kid again. I bound across the lawn, thru ditches, on dirt, on gravel, it's just a hoot. 

I've had no issues with the bike that I didn't cause. I over tightened the head-cap (my stupidity) and BD sent me a new one free of charge. 

I discovered that the listed 42 cm handlebars are actually 44 cm. Which is good for me.

The wheels have remained true. The SRAM Rival took me a bit to get used to, but now, I must admit I like it well enough (I have Ultegra on my other bike). 

I realize this bike is sold out now, but if it comes back in stock don't hesitate to order it if you think it is what you want. It's a solid bike.


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## ®andyA (Nov 14, 2006)

stickney said:


> UPDATE:
> 
> ,,,snip...
> 
> It's a solid bike.


Thanks for your post. I've been following your thread from the beginning.

I have a request. I'm not sure how sensitive, or experienced, you are about bike geometry. But can you comment on your sense of the HT/ST angles on the Ti CXer? Looking at the geo numbers on BD's site show very steep angles. To me that suggests quick, or twitchy, steering feel. Has that been your experience? Also, what's you feel on the standover (especially on your 61)?

Thanks.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

First -- stand over -- I am just over 6'2" and have a rather normal build. I generally wear 32 or 34 inch inseam pants -- my measured inseam is 35 (iirc). I have no problems with stand over. I have another 61 cm bike which definitely feels bigger, though the geometry is very similar.

As to handling and geometry, this bike and my road bike are nearly identical in terms of geometry. Does that mean it is twitchy, maybe. But it could be my shaky hands as well. I don't race, so I am probably not knowledgable to know how the bike would feel in a pack.

I would say that the bike is manueverable, but stable. I actually have kept it upright 2 or 3 times on wet gravel when I really should have crashed. Of course, the other night I layed down when I slid out on some loose sand trying to make a low speed turn. 

As noted, this bike has "road bike like" geometry. I can't say that I have seen that to be a problem, but then again, I am also not trying to carve up single-track. When I was first getting used to being off road again, I actually thought it turned like a M Farmall tractor w/out power steering. I've gotten more confident and, unsurprisingly, now I feel like I can test the limits with more skill.


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## ®andyA (Nov 14, 2006)

Thanks for the reply. I asked about the geometry mainly because of the discrepancy I see between the Al CX bike geometry compared to the Ti CX bike geometry as I mentioned earlier. I posted a question to BD about it, but have yet to see an answer. I am seriously looking at this bike as a replacement to either my Surly CC or Airborne Carpe Diem (which have a little more relaxed angles than typical road bikes). I ride the Surly & Airborne on most every terrain/roads, barring the more knarly & technical singletrack trails. From my experience, the more 'relaxed' geometry of typical CX bikes make it great for the mixture of pavement/gravel/lite-mtb riding. So some clarification from BD on the geometry would give me a little better sense of what to expect from the bike/frame.


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## stickney (Jul 28, 2005)

If you can't get a response, try private messaging or contacting their sales department via email. Both methods have worked well for me.


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