# Le Champ Ti Heat update



## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

I picked up Ti Heat with SRAM Rival, bike #1, from www.bikesdirect.com before they were generally available. I mainly MTB but throw in a road ride or two a week to mix it up. After 800 miles on the bike I thought I'd give a quick update.

*My Stats:*
5' 9.75" (69.75"), 172#, inseam as per Competitive Cyclists Fit Calculator directions is 32.5"
bike: LeChamp Ti Heat Sram Rival in size 56cm.

Initially I was nervous about a 56cm frame but so glad I got it, the fit is spot on.

*Setup and Changes to the bike:*
Before ride #1 I pulled the Mavic Aksium Race and put on Easton EA90SL wheels. After 750 miles I pulled the Ritchey saddle and put on a Brooks Team Pro Chrome saddle. No other changes other than adding my Speedplay Frog pedals. Added Caffelatex to the tubes. Planned changes: plan to switch to 25cm tires when the current set wears out.

After the bike came in I spend about an hour putting the bike together and adjusting things - I was in no hurry and took my time. At about 700 miles the rear derailleur became out of adjustment, spent about 2 minutes re-adjusting it and it's great again.

*Thoughts on the bike and components:*
The ride of the Ti frame and carbon fork is more than I could have hoped for. It is far more supple on rough roads than the aluminum Trek it replaced. The bike looks great and performs equally, I can honestly say that I hope I am still enjoying this bike after 10 or 15 years of riding. While the bike does seem to minimize harsh roads, one of the roads on a routes I frequent has big buckles in the blacktop and I can assure you that it is not fun to ride over those even on Ti with a carbon fork - it bumps the heck out of me. But on less rough roads that are far from perfectly smooth is where the bike really shines and makes for a much smoother ride than my previous bike, and it manages to do this without feeling disconnected or removed from the road.

If anybody has specific questions I would be happy to try and answer them, in short I am very happy with the bike, and would absolutely buy it again and recommend it. Mike at BikesDirect was really nice to work with and he was always pretty fast to reply to email.

I am very happy that I held out for a SRAM Rival Ti bike, the components are fantastic, I love the shifting on the one paddle instead of two with the competition. Unrelated to BikesDirect or the Motobecane, I am very happy with the Easton EA90SL wheelset that I picked up and highly recommend them.

While I did replace the Ritchey Pro saddle that came with the bike, your mileage may vary. I was hoping that I would get used to it but after 750 miles I finally realized that I wasn't every going to enjoy it and decided to give a nice Brooks a try. Most people who try Brooks rave about them and it seemed appropriate to get a saddle that was meant to have a long life to go onto my Ti road bike which I think will be in use for a good many years barring some unforeseen reason.


*Complaints: *

There is frequently talk about people being shills for Motobecane, to help allieviate concerns that I may be one, which I am not, - here are my complaints.

1): I do notice what I think is a little bottom bracket flex. Not that I can feel it, but if I watch the front derailleur I can see the chainring moving a little in relation to the front derailleur on the power portion of my pedal stroke. I've got no idea if this is common to all Ti (or any material frame for that matter) as this is my first Ti framed bike. It is something that I noticed, probably because I was paying extra close attention to the bike - this is by far the nicest road bike I have ever owned. It has caused me no grief but it is something I noticed. 

2): It seems that the chainstays could have more of an inward bend to them, I wear size 10.5 shoes and I have very little clearance between the heal of my shoe and the chainstay. This is not a problem for me, I don't actually ever touch the chainstay with my shoe, just noting that the clearance couldn't be any tighter without actually hitting it. Possibly my Speedplay Frog pedals keep my feet closer to the bike than more traditional road pedals?

3): The threadless headset mechanism seems less than sturdy to me, I'll probably replace this at the first sign of trouble. The part that I am specifically referring to is the expander unit and bolt that you drop in at the top of the steerer tube to tighten the system. Maybe it is just fine - but my observation is that it is a weak component.

4): The seatpost collar bolt stripped the threads out of the collar the very first time I tried to adjust it - I put no more force on it than I ever have with any of my bikes.

*): Ok - this really isn't a complaint, but a note. I would have never been able to properly cut down the carbon steerer tube for proper installation. Lucky for me a friend works a lot with metals and carbon fiber and was happy to help. Unless you really know what you are doing I would recommend you take it to a shop or a knowledgeable friend who can do it for you.

I don't think the complaints highlight any major issues with the bike, but they are some things I would love to see changed or improved all the same.

*Summary:*
I love the frame and the full SRAM Rival components, 

btw - I took the bike down to my LBS to apologize for not buying a road bike from them - they were very cool about it. One of the guys was inspecting it and he made a comment that the Ti welds look good, not as good as Moots, but very good. 

If you are considering a Ti bike, I seriously don't know how you can go wrong with these Motobecane bikes at these prices, I think you'd be hard pressed to buy all the components (not including a frame) for the price of the entire bike from BikesDirect.

btw - I have read some people who remove the decals, I'm no slave to Trek or Specialized, I happily left my Motobecane decals on the bike, and I even wear a Motobecane jersey when I ride it. btw - it is the nicest jersey I have ever had and it was only $35 delivered.

[edited for spelling corrections]


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

btw - I need to take some new pix now that I have the Brooks saddle on the bike, these pix were also before I had the steerer tube cut down - it does not stick up like that any more. I wanted to make sure I knew where I wanted it cut before I cut it too short. I also have a second water bottle bracket on the bike now too.

Pictures of my Ti.


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## tonkabaydog (Jul 22, 2010)

Nice review of a great bike. 

Based on all the threads I have read in this forum, I am surprised the 56 cm fits you as I would have bet a 53 would have been the ticket. The Moto LC Ti frames have geometry which imply one size larger than stated. Several other Ti owners have also suggested this as well.

So for example, I am just over 5' 7" and was sized at the local bike shop for a 51-53.7cm effective top tube. In the LC Carbon (i.e. Inferno) which I ordered in a 54cm has an effective top tube of 53.5cm. I believe the fit will be just right.

However, in the LC Ti, I was planning to order a 51cm bike because the effective top tube is 54cm and many have stated they do run large.

Your 56 cm has an effective top tube of 57.2cm and a stand over height of 31.7" or 80.5cm. Sizing is "all" personal perferance, but at under 5' 10" that seems big. Looking forward to your pics as I am very interested in you seat height position, handlebars etc...

Either way.. enjoy your new bike, they look great.


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

tonkabaydog said:


> Nice review of a great bike.
> 
> Based on all the threads I have read in this forum, I am surprised the 56 cm fits you as I would have bet a 53 would have been the ticket. The Moto LC Ti frames have geometry which imply one size larger than stated. Several other Ti owners have also suggested this as well.
> 
> ...



from Competitive Cycles the Eddy fit puts me at a ETT of 55.4 to 55.8, and the French Fit of between 56.6 to 57.0, as you noted the 56cm LeChamp Ti is 57.2. The 53cm bike is 55.0cm ETT.

So I felt that I was somewhat in between both for an ideal ETT according to my fit results. I went and test road a 56cm Specialized Roubaix which has very similar frame geometry and found that I liked it. I also knew that I could get a shorter stem to reduce the overall reach if it proved to be a tad long. As it is I am very happy with it, it feels great either in the drops or on the hoods.

I'll try to take a few minutes and get some updated pictures soon.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

randyharris said:


> Pictures of my Ti.


Nice photography - can really see the details of the bike.

And the bike looks darn good - tempting, if I decide to replace my alu MB (which I'm still pretty happy with after over 10k miles).


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## Zuerst (Aug 21, 2010)

Current Ti Heat now come with compact crank and solid branding letters.

Would prefer hollow lettering and standard crank as per the OP's bike


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

Zuerst said:


> Current Ti Heat now come with compact crank and solid branding letters.
> 
> Would prefer hollow lettering and standard crank as per the OP's bike


Yes, I was fortunate in that I appreciated those two items. Additionally, my fork has a carbon steerer tube, they were going to use a fork with an aluminum steerer tube in the production model but I don't know which style they ended up going with. The bike I got was sort of a pre-production run.


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## SilentAssassin (Jul 29, 2010)

I don't know anywhere where you can get a titanium bike with those specs for $1600. It's just not possible.


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## Christoph (Jul 10, 2009)

randyharris said:


> 1): I do notice what I think is a little bottom bracket flex. Not that I can feel it, but if I watch the front derailleur I can see the chainring moving a little in relation to the front derailleur on the power portion of my pedal stroke. I've got no idea if this is common to all Ti (or any material frame for that matter) as this is my first Ti framed bike. It is something that I noticed, probably because I was paying extra close attention to the bike - this is by far the nicest road bike I have ever owned. It has caused me no grief but it is something I noticed.


Can anyone comment on this? Is this the bike, or something that is common with all bikes on the power stroke?


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

sometimerider said:


> Nice photography - can really see the details of the bike.
> 
> And the bike looks darn good - tempting, if I decide to replace my alu MB (which I'm still pretty happy with after over 10k miles).



OK, the pictures are updated.

I added some 7 new pictures that show the profile of the bike, the new Brooks saddle, the saddle height (with is about 1/4 inches high as it is on a low profile stand), bar height, and the stem and stack after I had it cut. 

Certainly I have room to lower the bar more if I like, and I may move the bar down 1/2 an inch and put a spacer on top of the bar before I commit to lowering it for good.


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## SilentAssassin (Jul 29, 2010)

Nice saddle. I wonder if it's comfortable? I hear mixed reviews regarding brooks saddles. I think next time just make a post about the bike and not give concern to try and 'prove' you aren't a shill. I think your pics are proof enough that you are not a shill any way. It's ok to be a fan of a brand however. I think it's more than obvious that I am a fan of motobecane now after my good experiences with them. They really are a good company and they have great service even though it might take them a few days to get back to you if you have an issue.

Also you don't owe it to the LBS to apologize at all, after all, you are a paying customer when you take your bike to them. And the LBS will still get it's customers via newbie cyclists who have no idea about fitment, components, etc. My advice would be do all the bike repairs yourself. With youtube you can find all the maintenance tips you'll ever need. Save the money that you would use on service at an LBS, and buy the tools, and literally save hundreds on would-be maintenance repairs. I think the most expensive tool you would ever need is a truing wheel. Bike stand could be expensive but you can easily build a good diy one at home from home depot. A $40 spin doctor tool set is all you really need for the majority of the maintenance that you will do.


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

SilentAssassin said:


> Nice saddle. I wonder if it's comfortable? I hear mixed reviews regarding brooks saddles. I think next time just make a post about the bike and not give concern to try and 'prove' you aren't a shill. I think your pics are proof enough that you are not a shill any way. It's ok to be a fan of a brand however. I think it's more than obvious that I am a fan of motobecane now after my good experiences with them. They really are a good company and they have great service even though it might take them a few days to get back to you if you have an issue.
> 
> Also you don't owe it to the LBS to apologize at all, after all, you are a paying customer when you take your bike to them. And the LBS will still get it's customers via newbie cyclists who have no idea about fitment, components, etc. My advice would be do all the bike repairs yourself. With youtube you can find all the maintenance tips you'll ever need. Save the money that you would use on service at an LBS, and buy the tools, and literally save hundreds on would-be maintenance repairs. I think the most expensive tool you would ever need is a truing wheel. Bike stand could be expensive but you can easily build a good diy one at home from home depot. A $40 spin doctor tool set is all you really need for the majority of the maintenance that you will do.


The Brooks has been great so far. I always read that it takes 500 miles or so to break them in, however, this saddle was more comfortable the first ride than the one it replaced. :thumbsup:


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

​You can click on the image for the gallery.


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