# Fens vs. Vent Noir vs. Knight vs. Corvus AL



## TwoHeadsBrewing (Oct 13, 2009)

Windsor Fens: $699 (105 FD, 105 RD, 105 STI)
Moto Vent Noir: $699 (Tiagra FD, 105 RD, Tiagra STI)
Corvus AL: $699 (105 FD, Ultegra RD, 105 STI) - But it's fugly...
Windsor Knight: $899 (Ultegra FD, Ultegra RD, Ultegra STI)

I'm trying to decide between these bikes. Obviously the Knight is the best specced, but is the full Ultegra really going to be worth the extra $200? The Corvus looks to be the best deal and they have it available in my size (52cm), but it's the ugliest bike of the 3. Also, is an external bottom bracket really advantageous over internal? 

I will use this bike as a commuter on dry days and for weekend rides of 25-50 miles. I plan on doing a 65 mile ride in April, but no other longer rides planned. For the most part I just want a fast, light bike, and one that will last me a few years. I am currently rolling on a Trek Soho hybrid, which I will probably keep for a town bike and for riding on rainy days. Cheers!


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Oct 13, 2009)

wow, 19 views and no comments? anyone have opinions on these bikes?


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## DCinNY (Oct 1, 2009)

I had asked a similar question not too long ago.... here are the replies I received:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=189413


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Oct 13, 2009)

I've actually decided to order the Windsor Knight, since it seems like a pretty good deal for Ultegra components. I'd still like some input, so if someone owns this bike or has heard good/bad things about it please let me know. Cheers!


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## Patrick Shagena (Mar 13, 2010)

Funny - I liked the look of the Corvus AL and probably would have got it, but they were out of my size so I went with the upgrade and got the Windsor Knight. Don't you think the Knight and the AL look pretty similar?


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## TwoHeadsBrewing (Oct 13, 2009)

Nah, the Corvus has that strange paint job. It's not too bad I suppose, but I definitely prefer a solid paint scheme on the Knight. For the price, I think the Corvus is a screamin deal, but I'm super happy with my bike.


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## bigsky (Mar 14, 2010)

I'm happy with my Knight (58cm). My LBS suggested I go with a shorter stem, and everything else is great. The snow has finally melted enough in MT to ride outside.


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## laudano002 (Apr 20, 2010)

I bought the Windsor Fens a few weeks ago and am extremely happy with it. I wasn't sure about the looks of it from the online pic. but it actually looks really nice in person and rides great.


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

*Pulled trigger on Windsor Fens*

For what it's worth, I just ordered the Windsor Fens from BD. Expecting delivery in a few days. I liked the 105 components, ergo handlebars, decent granny gear (it's hilly here in central MA), curved carbon fork, etc. I've since been a little dismayed to read some of the disparaging remarks about the Alexrims DA22 wheel set, but I'm hoping they work out for me. I considered the other bikes mentioned in the original post, but felt the Fens offered the best mix of components for the price. I'll report back when I have a few miles on the bike. 

My son recently bought the Motobecane Super Strada from BD when it was on sale for $799 (it's $899 now). He's only ridden it about 40 miles so far, but he seems to love it. Very light...about 22 lbs for his 56cm frame. SRAM Apex components. I was having trouble keeping up with him on our weekly ride (28 miles)...I on my 28-year-old Univega Gran Turismo and he on his new Super Strada. Can't wait to get my Fens so I can get back in his draft!


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## DCinNY (Oct 1, 2009)

I have a Record with the DA22's. The rims are fine. If you have the Skye branded hubs on that bike, double check that the free hub body is tightened down. Mine was not. It came loose after a few rides and then I couldn't figure out how to tighten it down because I didn't know that this one uses a 12mm wrench rather than 10mm. ( I think it was 12, but it wasn't a 10).


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

The BD site says the Fens comes with Formula Aluminum hubs. I don't know anything about them, but I'll be sure to check them. Thanks for the heads up!


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## DCinNY (Oct 1, 2009)

I remember someone on this forum had said that these are BD house brands... and that they are the same.


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## wildingb (Aug 27, 2010)

PokeCheck said:


> For what it's worth, I just ordered the Windsor Fens from BD. Expecting delivery in a few days. I liked the 105 components, ergo handlebars, decent granny gear (it's hilly here in central MA), curved carbon fork, etc. I've since been a little dismayed to read some of the disparaging remarks about the Alexrims DA22 wheel set, but I'm hoping they work out for me. I considered the other bikes mentioned in the original post, but felt the Fens offered the best mix of components for the price. I'll report back when I have a few miles on the bike.
> 
> My son recently bought the Motobecane Super Strada from BD when it was on sale for $799 (it's $899 now). He's only ridden it about 40 miles so far, but he seems to love it. Very light...about 22 lbs for his 56cm frame. SRAM Apex components. I was having trouble keeping up with him on our weekly ride (28 miles)...I on my 28-year-old Univega Gran Turismo and he on his new Super Strada. Can't wait to get my Fens so I can get back in his draft!



Got my 56 cm Fens two weeks ago. The rear derailleur cage was bent, but it was easily fixed and the guy at the bike shop said that this can happen when bikes are shipped. 

I replaced the tires with conti gatorskins and have enjoyed cycling. I haven't bought a new bike for over a decade so i am really happy.


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

Sorry to hear your derailleur was damaged. I guess that happens sometimes. My son's bike and a bike his friend ordered the same week, both from BD, came in perfect condition. Both were BD's Motobecane brand and shipped from the Houston area. Both were very well packaged with a crazy amount of wrappings and plastic bumpers. My Windsor Fens shipped from Jacksonville, FL. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives without damages.


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## wildingb (Aug 27, 2010)

PokeCheck said:


> Sorry to hear your derailleur was damaged. I guess that happens sometimes. My son's bike and a bike his friend ordered the same week, both from BD, came in perfect condition. Both were BD's Motobecane brand and shipped from the Houston area. Both were very well packaged with a crazy amount of wrappings and plastic bumpers. My Windsor Fens shipped from Jacksonville, FL. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it arrives without damages.


Yeah, my fens came from jacksonville. The guy at the bike shop said that the cage is meant to bend to prevent damage to the actual derailleur itself, and he occasionally has it happen to bikes that come into their shop. I guess UPS must have put the bike on its side. To be honest the box the bike came in looked pretty beaten up!


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## tonkabaydog (Jul 22, 2010)

TwoHeadsBrewing said:


> wow, 19 views and no comments? anyone have opinions on these bikes?


BD is selling a Carbon Fiber Century on the Bay for under $1000. I had two BD AL bikes in the past... a Mercier and Windsor, both with Ultegra. Great bikes at the time and price, but IMHO, they don't compare to the ride quality of BD's Le Champion Carbon Frame.

The Century is the same quality as the Le Champion but can be had for under $1000. Bottecchia's sold only in Houston or on the BAY are also the same frame as the Century. They too present great value and can be had for a great price. 

Here is a Bottecchia AL frame with Ultegra for $795.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-BOTTECCHIA...50494366306?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item230a29ca62

Before you pull the trigger, you might want to consider a BD carbon frame.

Also, I am not sure of your age, but the AL frames are much more aggressive and nowhere near as comfortable. They are not compact and have much shorter head tubes.


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## ohvrolla (Aug 2, 2009)

I've had a Windsor Fens for a few months now and so far so good. As far as the wheelset PokeCheck you might want to look into truing and tensioning them after a ride. They are Formula LOOSE BALL hubs, so I'd check how tight they are right off the bat. I know mine were a little snug. Don't know your level of bike maintenance knowledge Poke, but on a loose ball hub there should be a little bit of freeplay with the wheel free air. Once clamped by the skewer it will compress and tighten up the hub. It's kind of a fine art on setting the freeplay, but worth it. Loose ball hubs will last a looong time with proper adjustment and greasing, and a 32h wheel should be pretty hard to fawk up when tensioned properly.

I think you made a good choice considering the price. The crankset/BB could probably be used as a boat anchor, and the wheelset is a little heavy. I'm sure they're on the wrong side of 2000g. Not to say these parts are total junk and will fall apart, but you can see where they saved money. Still, walk into you LBS with $700 and do better. I work on my own bike, so for me it would only come down to a warranty issue making a LBS a better place to shop than bikesdirect.com but the feedback on this subforum was enough to trust Mike.

I will agree with tonkabaydog. The AL bikes are agressive with a short head tube. What I'm finding interesting though is I'm just as comfortable on the bike as I am on my older Prelude that has a shorter reach and higher bars. With the stem flipped it isn't a torture rack imo. The Michelin Dynamics are nowhere near 700 X 23c also. At LEAST 25c. Soak up bumps fine, but gawt dayum they feel like I've flatted. Other than they feel like they have a high rolling resistance, the AL Fens is smoother than my steel Prelude with Tenax tubing and 700 X 23c tires. Really shows how much tires do affect ride quality.


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## cs1 (Sep 16, 2003)

tonkabaydog said:


> Here is a Bottecchia AL frame with Ultegra for $795.
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/2009-BOTTECCHIA-BZ662-ROAD-RACING-BIKE-SHIMANO-ULTEGRA-/150494366306?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item230a29ca62


While it isn't all Ultegra, it's a really great buy. I'd think about buying it for the fork/build kit and selling off the frame.


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks again for the advice! Received my Windsor Fens today via UPS. Box was in perfect condition and, more importantly, so was the bike. Well packaged and secured. Very easy to assemble -- about 45 minutes taking my time. The rear derailleur was brushing some of the rear spokes when shifted to the largest sprocket on rear and inner chain ring. I tightened the Lower "L" adjustment screw on the rear derailleur, which pushes the cage away from the spokes slightly. Problem solved...I hope. I'll be taking it out for a test spin tomorrow on my favorite 7.5 mile loop. I've uploaded some pics. Check it out. 
One of the bike's details that surprised me was the oval profile on the seat stays (see pics) and the ovalish profile on the top tube. Not sure what this might do for me when riding, but it looks pretty cool. Note that I've flopped the stem to raise the handlebars. All you shoppers out there: the frame in my pics is a 60cm. I'm 6'2" -- note the height of the seat, which is set approximately where I want it. Hope this helps someone trying to pick a frame size. My inseam is about 34" and I have lots of clearance from the top bar when standing over it. I could have gone with the 62cm frame easily, but I'm happy with my choice. 
The bike was built in Taiwan, FYI. Build quality is excellent IMO. The welds are not quite as pretty as big brand bikes, but I'd rather save the $.


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## ohvrolla (Aug 2, 2009)

I had to tweak my derailleur hanger a little when I got my bike. I have a tool to measure alignment and went ahead and tweaked both replaceable hangers. I guess the dropout itself isn't 100%. It's not bad, but the hanger had to be pulled out just a little to be spot on. Only reason I checked alignment was because the derailleur cage was a little closer to the spokes than I like.


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

I've been on several rides on my new Windsor Fens since receiving it from BD about 10 days ago. My longest so far was 28 miles. My last bike was a 28-year-old steel frame touring bike, so the Fens feels very fast by comparison. The aluminum frame is definitely stiffer than my touring bike, but the carbon curved fork clearly helps smooth out most of the harshness, and it looks fantastic. My son has the straight carbon fork on his Motobecane Super Strada and complains about the harsh impacts. I don't know the science behind fork design, but it seems to make sense that a curved fork is going to deflect more easily than a straight fork. I have the 60cm frame; I'm 6'2" and the cockpit still feels pretty spacious -- but I'm used to the very compact cockpit on my old bike. I'm glad I didn't order the 62cm frame. I believe the stock stem is about 110mm. I'm thinking of ordering a shorter stem, perhaps 70mm, and see what impact that might have. The stock seat is OK; fairly plush. I'm going to try my A.R.S. seat on it on my next ride. The Shimano 105 shifters/derailleurs work well. You push the entire brake handle inward to upshift and push just the inner paddle lever inward to downshift. With 10 sprockets on the rear cassette, I seem to find an ideal cruising gear pretty easily, even using primarily the middle chainring on the 3-ring front crank. My area is very hilly and I am a little underwhelmed by the 25-tooth rear max. It's adequate, but there are some hills out there that will hurt me, even when using the 30-tooth inner chainring. The Fens has some interesting frame details, such as oval seat and chain stays, and ovoid top bar and downtube. By ovoid, I mean the main body of the tube is oval and then it has an even sharper oval elements on the top and bottom of the tubes...a little hard to describe -- check my pics in this thread. The seat post is aluminum with a wrapper of what looks like carbon weave, although I don't know if it actually is. It looks nice. 116 psi tires.


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

Just an update...
I've had the Windsor Fens for about 2 weeks and taken several lengthy rides, the last one to Boston, a distance of 51 miles. It was about 40 F when we left the house, so we wore light winter gloves, ear warmer headbands, windbreaker and two light layers. I wish I had booties or toe covers for my riding shoes (clip-in) because our toes were numb within about 30 minutes or so. The headband really worked well. I've since ordered a couple of headbands from Bike Nashbar ($7.99 ea.) as well as a shorter stem for my bike. The stock stem (Ritchey) is 110mm. I ordered an 80mm ($14.99) to bring the bars a little closer. I find that my most comfortable position with the stock stem is with my arms locked out, particularly in the drops. Bike performance -- I have no complaints. The Shimano 105 components continue to work flawlessly. I'm hoping to get another month of weekend rides in before it gets too cold here in New England.


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## Vibe (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks for the update PokeCheck. I am looking to get the Windsor Knight, Motobecane Vent Noir, or the 2011 Windsor Fens (white looks so much better than the older grey version).


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## PokeCheck (Sep 16, 2010)

Any of those bikes would be a great choice! Even at $749, the 2011 Windsor Fens is still a great deal. I paid $699 for my 2010 model. The white does look sharp, although I like the silver metallic finish on mine. I've logged about 200 miles on my Fens -- outdoors -- and I'm currently riding indoors on rollers during the winter. The Shimano 105 component group on the Fens has worked great, although the 25-tooth max gear on the cluster still leaves me wanting more at times. It's hilly here. 
Good luck!


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## Vibe (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks,

Does anybody know if the Windsor Fens/Knight can fit 25c (or even 28c) tires?


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