# 2015 Motobecane Le Champion CF Pro



## jkc (Jun 23, 2014)

Just pulled the trigger on the bike after bending my Trek 660 rear derailleur hanger and shredding my 7400 Dura Ace RD. This is my first new road bike purchase after 23 years. Decided to go with Bikes Direct because the deal is too good but guess I'll have to wait for the bike before the final word. Not too impressed with BD otherwise; wasn't expecting much customer service but the complete lackadaisical response was a first. One would expect getting an acknowledgement after spending 2K but no such nicety. In fact BD stayed silent for two days and only acknowledge the sale after I email them requesting an update. They need to take notes from Amazon or other e-commerce stores; the big in Texas bullshit needs to go and only make them seem like a fly-by-night operation/scam (hair my back is haven't settle down yet).


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## md2020 (Jun 29, 2014)

If you weren't expecting much, why are you bothered?

You bought a bike online, the price was good, mainly because they cut back a bit on the customer service aspect. I have bought 3 bikes from BikesDirect, all were really good, and I only got an email after a couple of days with the shipping information. I don't think they are fly-by-night.

On the other hand, I recently just upgraded my Motobecane SLX. I walked into a Trek Bike Center, got catered to by the salesman, went back several times and got greeted by my first name each time. But... I paid 4 times more for a bike. No doubt I got a better bike, test rode a few, they helped fit the bike to me and let me experiment with different pedals and cleats before making the purchase. I know I paid a premium for that service. I think I paid an extra 15-20% for those guys calling me by my first name.

I don't think you are having a bad experience... yet. You are just anxious to get your new bike.


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## jkc (Jun 23, 2014)

md2020 said:


> If you weren't expecting much, why are you bothered?


I wasn't expecting hand holding as far as assembly, sizing, and such; but one must admit zero confirmation after a substantial amount of cash change hands is a bit worrisome. Times have changed and gone are the days of phone placement catalog ordering (got more assurance from Bike Nashbar, Performance, REI, etc in the mid to late eighties than this purchase). Again, I don't expect shipment be processed instantaneously but to have a receipt/acknowledgement is not asking much at or shortly after time of purchase given the advancement in communication. A redirect generic webpage with no ordering information does not inspire much confidence. Maybe I should've gone the old fashion way and ordered through the phone.



md2020 said:


> I don't think you are having a bad experience... yet. You are just anxious to get your new bike.


Yes very anxious; been without a proper ride for two+ weeks. Guess I'm a bit spoiled having a dedicated ride on a trainer and one for outdoors. Switching between indoor and out has been a pain.

Be glad you have a good LBS; I'm still amazed that after 23+ years away from the sport, I still know more about fit and basic maintenance than the shops around me (to be fair, maintenance on newer components are child's play compared to the eighties tech I have). Guess it help that I used to wrench, had a custom as my first proper ride/introduction to the sport, and had five+ years experiencing with latest and greatest and other fine tuning. Wished guys like that was still around as they were as helpful to those purchasing an intro as well as those dropping a serious dime (not saying I know everything but that how I operated and how everyone was expected to operate in the shops I worked in). I could have gone back to one of the shop I used to work in (still in operation) but my budget is not as padded as it once were (life got in the way) and am living some distance from it.

Hope to get the bike without other hiccups.


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## mikiek (Aug 18, 2014)

jkc said:


> One would expect getting an acknowledgement after spending 2K but no such nicety. In fact BD stayed silent for two days and only acknowledge the sale after I email them requesting an update. They need to take notes from Amazon or other e-commerce stores; the big in Texas bullshit needs to go and only make them seem like a fly-by-night operation/scam.


Not sure what day you ordered, but I do know they are off weekends and they are not overly automated. I ordered on a Saturday, didn't hear anything until Monday morning. HOWEVER, by Monday noon I got an order shipped notification. By late that afternoon, it was at UPS with an expected delivery date of the next day. One of the advantages of living in Texas.

On a side note - I found them very responsive when I had a Ultegra front derailleur problem 2 months after purchase. I sent them an email and the next day a replacement was in the mail. No questions asked - didn't even want the old one back.

And BTW - I don't get notifications from Amazon any more after I make a purchase.

Enjoy your new ride!


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## jkc (Jun 23, 2014)

Bike got in without any hiccups and was a easy build. Replaced the 90 stem with 110 and 23 tires with 28s. Wheels needed very minor truing (I'm very picky out of the box but let live after it's been ridden) and was very round (very surprising considering bulk of my time assembling bikes was true and round wheels when I was wrenching in college). Need to get a tension meter to check the spoke as I have no feel for aero spokes but by plucking the spokes they seem to be very evenly tensioned. I would normally grease the brake cables but didn't want to mess with the internal cable routing; it felt OK anyways. Indexing was a straight forward but not sure if rubbing is still a issue on cross chaining (initial inclination is it has to be, but could be wrong).

Initial impression is CF is dull (but a few more miles might change things) and definitely felt the weight difference compared to my Schwinn Prologue & Trek 660. It's very stiff and the stays stay put unlike my Trek 2500 and Look Carbon (circa 1988 and both I'm happy to say I no long own). Just need a few more tweaks to finalize the fit and for warmer weather and longer days to put some miles on it.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

My only gripe with the build out of the box was the cassette lockring was only hand tight. I was removing the dork disk behind the spokes and didn't even need a tool to get the lock ring of. Wheels were OK, but needed to be touched up as machine built wheels always do. Indexing was perfect out of the box for the back, but the front derailleur was way too high. Had to lower it a tad. Ended up having to replace the cables anyways because I hate inline adjusters and the brakes had cheater levers on the middle section. Great prices though.


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## jkc (Jun 23, 2014)

5,576 miles so far and very impressed with the bike. Handles well (much better than I'm willing to push it day in and day out), stiff where it needs to be, and has good road feel. Unfortunately I still playing with the fit as the weight drops. So far I have ridden it on 8 centuries (one almost a double metric) & 3 metric. Pretty comfortable. Only thing I wished is its one size smaller (maybe that's my ego talking but definitely going to get a fit done over winter to fine tune things with a critical eye). Very happy with the purchase... but there is always room for S-1 and the price on the Immortal Ice is awesome; hope my size is still available when I get my tax refund.


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