# Motobecane Ti Le Champion Heat



## Ian45 (Jun 10, 2011)

I am very happy with this bike from BD. It came in good time and went together pretty easy. The rear derailleur needed some tuning and both tubes blew out when I pumped the tires to the suggested 145 psi. I sold the Aksiums and got what should be a much better wheel set for my 210 pound body. The bike with the heavy Brooks saddle and other add ons comes in at 19.4 pounds which still feels pretty light to me. It rides great and I love the look of the brushed titanium. I had to ditch the decals. I just could not stand to have that beautiful metal covered up. I think this is a great deal on a bike and it should do me very well for some time.


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## mopartodd (Dec 1, 2010)

Gotta love titanium....


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## Ian45 (Jun 10, 2011)

Yeah I am not as happy with my aluminum mountainbike as I used to be. I am dreaming of a ti one of those also in the near future. Let me pay off this one first if that is ok.


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## wnp (Jun 27, 2011)

So having just bought the same bike myself a few days ago, the question of the hour is:

what did it take to get the decals off?

Nice bike!

will


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## Ian45 (Jun 10, 2011)

Sweet wnp! I am sure you will like it. I am about to take mine out on a good ride. As for the decals it took a bit but dipping a cloth in acetone and rubbing on the decals for a good bit of time did the trick. I read somewhere that they use acetone to clean the titanium before they weld it so I figured it would not hurt the metal.


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## wnp (Jun 27, 2011)

Ian45 said:


> Sweet wnp! I am sure you will like it. I am about to take mine out on a good ride. As for the decals it took a bit but dipping a cloth in acetone and rubbing on the decals for a good bit of time did the trick. I read somewhere that they use acetone to clean the titanium before they weld it so I figured it would not hurt the metal.


Great! Thanks for the tip. Mine is arrived and sitting in a box. I'm going to convert it to flat bar - can't wait, your debadged bike looks awesome!


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## Poppadaddio (Apr 15, 2007)

*Decals*

I must be the only guy around that doesn't want to take the decals of mine. 
However, I need to figure out how to take that silly little horse off the nose of my Ferrari.


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## efuentes (Feb 3, 2010)

145 psi ????


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## newsman787 (Mar 11, 2011)

Got same kind of bike from BD and had decals removed, too. Love the look of naked titanium! Totally pleased with the ride.


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## Ian45 (Jun 10, 2011)

Yeah I am very happy with the bike. The bike feels very stable yet also very responsive. The bike just seems to do what I want. The ride feel is great too. I can feel the road but I can also tell the bike is absorbing some of the harshness. 

And yes I inflated the tires to 145 pounds per square inch (145 psi) like it says on the sidewall of the tire. Is there a good reason to go less than max pressure on tires?


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## unboringuy (Jul 27, 2010)

Ian45 said:


> Yeah I am very happy with the bike. The bike feels very stable yet also very responsive. The bike just seems to do what I want. The ride feel is great too. I can feel the road but I can also tell the bike is absorbing some of the harshness.
> 
> And yes I inflated the tires to 145 pounds per square inch (145 psi) like it says on the sidewall of the tire. Is there a good reason to go less than max pressure on tires?


With less tire pressure you end up with a more comfortable ride.


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## bayoububba (Jun 5, 2011)

I got this bike 2 months ago and I love it. I have almost 600 miles on it now with no worries, I'm 220 lbs and the Aksiums have held up fine for me so far even with the sorry roads around here. I must say tho, just because the max rated pressure is 145 doesn't mean you have run that high. If you would back off to 110-120 I bet you would find it a more comfortable ride.


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## theo3000 (Oct 5, 2010)

I'm still waiting to pull the trigger. I've got 3 nice vintage steel bikes and I ride all of them, but the advantages of a modern bike sometimes outweigh nostalgia. At least, that's what I've heard. I've never used brifters in my life. 

The Ti Heat looks like the best bang for the buck, but damn, how many bikes do I need? One more I guess. :thumbsup:

BTW Ian45 - What pedals are in the pic. Thanks


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## bayoububba (Jun 5, 2011)

I too come from the days of downtube friction shifters. Try the new tech, it's up there with flush toilets and electric lights, you'll like it. Keep in mind that SRAMs are not exactly brifters although the shifter and brake levers are very close together.

My bike came with Shim 105 spdl pedals


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## Coyotexb12 (Nov 9, 2008)

Does anyone know if you can anodize titanium?


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## flatsix911 (Jun 28, 2009)

Yes, you can anodize titanium ... :thumbsup:


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## Ian45 (Jun 10, 2011)

theo3000 my bike came with Shimano 105 pedals. 

As for upgrading from the downtube shifters I would say give the new stuff a try. I really like the SRAM shifters. I have 105 brifters on my touring bike and of the two I would take the SRAM any day. The Rival is a great component group and I just love the bike. I have put 90 miles on it in the last two days. I know for some they would have that done before breakfast but I am working up to it.


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## Coyotexb12 (Nov 9, 2008)

I think a red anodized frame would look good.


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## atctimmy (Jul 16, 2011)

After thinking about it, red anodizing would look cool.


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