# 2009 Motobecane Vent Noir (pics)



## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

I've decided to get into cycling so last week I purchased a 2009 Motobecane Vent Noir. A big thanks to all the contributors on this site that made me feel more comfortable about buying a bike online. There's an incredible wealth of cycling info out on the internets!

But anyways, on to the pics...

Box arrived in good condition


















Looking into the box









Pre-assembly. Packaging was decent









Complete! She's a beauty










I haven't been able to get out for a longer ride yet but up and down the street felt really, really nice.


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## Lakemichchip (May 19, 2008)

Very nice.....looks like my neighbor's FUJI!


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## Snakebitten (Jun 26, 2008)

Nice. All black all business. Hope you took the white tag off the spoke before you rode


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## nvincent (Apr 7, 2009)

I'm really thinking about getting this bike. How much does it weigh?


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## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

nvincent said:


> I'm really thinking about getting this bike. How much does it weigh?


According to my bathroom scale it's 23.5 lbs (me holding bike minus just me). With all the weight spread over the bike it feels lighter but I've only ever ridden Wal-Mart bikes so it feels like a feather already. Quick edit, forgot to mention I bought a 54cm frame.

I took it to my local LBS to have it looked over and to help me get things properly adjusted and they were pretty impressed with the components for the price. Not to mention how slick the black on black on black looks


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## nvincent (Apr 7, 2009)

yakimushi said:


> According to my bathroom scale it's 23.5 lbs (me holding bike minus just me). With all the weight spread over the bike it feels lighter but I've only ever ridden Wal-Mart bikes so it feels like a feather already. Quick edit, forgot to mention I bought a 54cm frame.
> 
> I took it to my local LBS to have it looked over and to help me get things properly adjusted and they were pretty impressed with the components for the price. Not to mention how slick the black on black on black looks


Cool, thanks!

Right now I'm still deciding between this one and Motobecane Sprint. It definitely helps that this one is $300 cheaper.


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## Lakemichchip (May 19, 2008)

The carbon stays on the Sprint are sure sweet. I have been thinking about a Sprint purchase for a few months. Looks like a FUJI!


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

nvincent said:


> Cool, thanks!
> 
> Right now I'm still deciding between this one and Motobecane Sprint. It definitely helps that this one is $300 cheaper.


My first BD bike was a sprint... Loved it.. but sold to to get something better. I would go for the Noir now instead of the Sprint, because of the 9 speed drive. its really cheap to maintain a 9 speed. Plus when I bought the Sprint the Noir came with the older style Tiagra Levers. the new ones are VERY nice! Noir is great weekend worrier bike.


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## nvincent (Apr 7, 2009)

20sMotoSpirit said:


> My first BD bike was a sprint... Loved it.. but sold to to get something better. I would go for the Noir now instead of the Sprint, because of the 9 speed drive. its really cheap to maintain a 9 speed. Plus when I bought the Sprint the Noir came with the older style Tiagra Levers. the new ones are VERY nice! Noir is great weekend worrier bike.


Yeah right now I'm leaning toward getting the Vent Noir. The Sprint looks really nice but I don't know if it's that much better to justify spending another $300. If it's simpler to maintain a 9 speed then I might just opt for that since I wouldn't want to spend more money on maintenance, especially since I wouldn't have an LBS to do free maintenance checks on the bike.


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

nvincent said:


> Yeah right now I'm leaning toward getting the Vent Noir. The Sprint looks really nice but I don't know if it's that much better to justify spending another $300. If it's simpler to maintain a 9 speed then I might just opt for that since I wouldn't want to spend more money on maintenance, especially since I wouldn't have an LBS to do free maintenance checks on the bike.


its not that its less maintenance, its just the 9 speed systems are much more robust. 8 speed is by far the best of gearing (for a triple) and robust construction. but, since 9 speed is also made for MTBs the chains and cassettes that you could get are very tough and you could convert to larger gear ranges (MTB rear with road shifters)

This is going into the whole issues of 9 vs. 10 vs. 11. 

I ride ten - I like ten for the cadence changes. If I had an MTB I would want 8 speed.


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## livin4lax09 (Mar 15, 2008)

don't take the decals off the wheels. It makes them look ugly. I speak from experience. 

Congrats on the new bike!


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

I've had mine for about two weeks now. Due to rain, rain, rain (thanks, Washington) I've only been on two rides so far. Now, I have nothing decent to compare the ride to, but I'm loving it. The only thing I've replaced on it so far are the pedals (never even tried 'em, only had 3-bolt on my shoes) to Speedplays, and I'm thinking of changing out the saddle (going to give it a few more rides, but my ass is really sore, no matter the positioning).

Are you planning on changing anything out?


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## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

Kleh said:


> I've had mine for about two weeks now. Due to rain, rain, rain (thanks, Washington) I've only been on two rides so far. Now, I have nothing decent to compare the ride to, but I'm loving it. The only thing I've replaced on it so far are the pedals (never even tried 'em, only had 3-bolt on my shoes) to Speedplays, and I'm thinking of changing out the saddle (going to give it a few more rides, but my ass is really sore, no matter the positioning).
> 
> Are you planning on changing anything out?


I've only been able to put about 20 miles on it so far (cold and rainy here too) but my biggest gripe is also the saddle. I'm going to give it another week or so to see if I can break in the saddle (or my ass) but if it's still causing pain I'll look for a new one.

I'm also probably going to replace the pedals next, I get a bit frustrated flipping them over every time I have to unclip. Crank Bro's Quattro look like a nice platform.


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## Kleh (Jun 16, 2008)

Yeah, I'm glad I'm not the only one with ass-issues. Seems to bug me more at the beginning of a ride though, then I get used to it.

I'm extremely happy with Speedplay. Prior to these, I've never used clipless, so the gripes that I'm hearing from most riders about the weirdness of too much float doesn't seem to bother me, so I guess I got lucky by trying out free-floats before no-floats. I have yet to crash with 'em, and that's saying much (I've had a 5 year hiatus from riding).


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## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

I thought I'd put in a quick update...

I still haven't been able to get as many miles as I'd like on the bike but I can say that the seat, for me, was unrideable. I changed the seat and don't have any problems with that anymore.

I also managed to pinch flat a tube already. I forgot to check pressure before going out and hit a deep pot hole at speed (18-20mph). I hit so hard that my brother following 15 feet behind me heard it. I'm glad to report that my wheel stayed completely true. The Vuelta XRP's may not be the lightest but they've taken some good abuse.


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## 20sMotoSpirit (May 27, 2007)

yakimushi said:


> I thought I'd put in a quick update...
> 
> I still haven't been able to get as many miles as I'd like on the bike but I can say that the seat, for me, was unrideable. I changed the seat and don't have any problems with that anymore.
> 
> I also managed to pinch flat a tube already. I forgot to check pressure before going out and hit a deep pot hole at speed (18-20mph). I hit so hard that my brother following 15 feet behind me heard it. I'm glad to report that my wheel stayed completely true. The Vuelta XRP's may not be the lightest but they've taken some good abuse.



+1 on the Vuelta XRP's being tough.


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## allen3 (Jul 15, 2009)

yakimushi said:


> forgot to mention I bought a 54cm frame.


How do you like the frame size? I'm 5'9" bare feet with a comfortable (gentle pressure) standover height of 30.5" bare feet, a wingspan of 70" tip-to-tip, and a reach of 87" (floor to highest reach at full stretch with heels down and palms pressed together). How does that compare to you?


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## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

allen3 said:


> How do you like the frame size? I'm 5'9" bare feet with a comfortable (gentle pressure) standover height of 30.5" bare feet, a wingspan of 70" tip-to-tip, and a reach of 87" (floor to highest reach at full stretch with heels down and palms pressed together). How does that compare to you?


Well, I'm wishing I had bought a little smaller. I'm 5' 7" with a 30" standover and while the standover is fine I feel like I have to stretch to reach the hoods. I'm going to try a shorter stem and if that doesn't help I'll be shopping for a 50-51cm frame.


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## allen3 (Jul 15, 2009)

yakimushi said:


> I'm wishing I had bought a little smaller.


Bummer. I'm worried about the same thing but it sounds like 54 might be ok for me. The BD website says:



> 50cm = standover 28" fits most riders 5'1" to 5'3"
> 52cm = standover 29" fits most riders 5'3" to 5'6"
> 54cm = standover 30" fits most riders 5'7" to 5'9"


You might have done better with the 52. That would have bought you 10 mm (2/5") on the top tube. If you're interested in selling the 54 for $550 + $70 for shipping I might be interested.


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## yakimushi (Mar 29, 2009)

allen3 said:


> You might have done better with the 52. That would have bought you 10 mm (2/5") on the top tube. If you're interested in selling the 54 for $550 + $70 for shipping I might be interested.


I'd rather swap the frame and have an extra frame.


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