# Motobecane Immortal Disc PRO SL Carbon Fiber Gravel Bike MY2020



## RobRob (Nov 22, 2019)

*Motobecane Immortal Disc Pro SL Carbon Fiber Gravel Bike MY2020*

Spoiler: I love this bike.

I'm a 61 year old retired military and airline pilot who had gotten about 40 pounds overweight. But in August 2019, while visiting friends in Hungary, I did a lot of ebike riding which ended up being a kickstart to riding for fitness. When I got home to hilly East Tennessee I began riding my 1995 Cannondale Super V 900 mountain bike while I did research on ebikes. I purchased an Aventon.com Pace 500 ebike online and was blown away by the value and riding fun. I have almost 900 miles on the Pace since September 3rd.









_Aventon Pace 500 ebike_

Fast forward to mid November and I'm over 25 pounds lighter and much more fit. I enjoyed riding so much I decided it was time for my first "road bike". I actually went with a "gravel bike" for the wider, more comfortable tires but I wanted to stick with 700c tires since the bike would be used almost exclusively for the road.

I ordered a Salsa Journeyman 700c drop bar from my local bike shop but found out it would be late January at the earliest for delivery so I canceled the order and started looking again. I had seen bikesdirect.com before and decided to check out what they offered.

*I liked what I saw in the $2100 Motobecane Immortal Disc Pro SL* (Super Light) 57cm gravel bike with Taiwanese UD weave carbon fiber frame (natural carbon color) with through-axles, carbon aero fork, full Shimano Ultegra R8000 drivetrain, Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes and DT Swiss wheelset with Schwalbe G-One Allround 35mm tires. Motobecane lists the max tire width at 41mm but owners have reported 45mm fit just fine. The bike is similar to the Salsa Carbon Warbird other than the Shimano Di2 upgrade. The Immortal also comes in fire truck red.

*BikesDirect Motobecane Immortal Disc Pro SL
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_Photo from bikesdirect.com website_

I ordered the bike on Tuesday and it was delivered on Saturday by FedEx. The bike arrived without a single scratch. I took my time assembling it in about two hours. Assembly requires installing the seatpost (seat already attached), front brake disc, front wheel, handlebar and pedals. The steering stem had one spacer above it so I removed the stem and placed the spacer below the stem to get it as high as possible. I also turned the stem upside down to go from -6º to +6º, again to raise the bars for more comfort. I replaced the aluminum seatpost with a carbon post and installed Shimano SPD pedals and a carbon fiber bottle cage. *The bike looks like a freakin' sex machine*.










*Since this is my first "road bike" I'm obviously not an expert reviewer but I do love the bike*. I cannot believe how light it is. The weight plus low rolling resistance allows me to climb hills at speed I never dreamed of. I was afraid the lowest 1:1 (34t/34t) gearing might be too high for some of the very steep Tennessee hills but it turned out to be perfect.

The chainrings are 2x 50-34t and the cassette is an 11 speed 11-34t with minimum gearing of 1:1 (27.2 inches and 7.3mph at 90 cadence) and max of 4.54 (123.8 inches and 33.3mph at 90 cadence). The gearing is perfect for my road riding but for steep trail or bike camping/adventure touring a 48-32t or even 46-30t chainring might be better.

The carbon fiber frame, fork and seatpost do a great job of smoothing out the road and the bike handles great. I was pleasantly surprised that the aggressive cockpit position ended up being fairly comfortable. I was planning to replace the slender, lightweight seat but after riding it I'll probably keep it.









_Don't remove the disc caliper spacer until the wheel is ready to go on. With the wheel installed, leave the brake caliper loosely installed and while applying the brake, tighten the caliper bolts. This will center the caliper on the disc._

My only complaint is that the bike came with generic assembly instructions which did not address the special tool needed to install the front brake disc or give torque values for the seatpost clamp and brake caliper bolts. Luckily I had the required lock ring tool for the disc. It seems 4-6Nm (6Nm = 53in-lb) is typical torque for a carbon fiber frame seatpost torque. I have some carbon fiber grip paste on order to prevent slippage at 4Nm. Brake caliper bolts typically get 8 to 10max Nm (8Nm = 71in-lb).









_The front brake disc needs this "lock ring remover" part #__YC-126-1A to install and torque to 40Nm._

The DT Swiss E1800 wheels are tubeless ready and I have ordered valve stems and sealant for the conversion. I will probably replace the handlebar with a full carbon aero drop bar. Other than that the bike is just about perfect for my needs.









_Sexy, crazy light and ready to go. Don't forget to oil the chain. Tire pressure listed on the sidewall is 45-70psi._









_Carbon fiber frame made in Taiwan. Check out the fork clearance beyond the 35mm tire. Clearance in the rear is about the same. Motobecane list the max tire width at 41mm but owners say 45mm fit fine._

I love this bike and when it's time to replace the Super V mtb I'll be back to bikesdirect.

P.S. I'm not a bikesdirect shill and have no affiliation with them. I'm just a happy customer. You can check out my webpage at RobRobinette.com for a little background info.


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## RobRob (Nov 22, 2019)

Update: I still love this bike. I did the tubeless conversion and I verified that the DT Swiss rims were indeed truly tubeless ready--the rim tape was already in place. DT Swiss included tubeless valves with the bike purchase so all I needed was Stan's No Tubes Sealant. I sprayed soapy water on the tire bead and rim as shown in Stan's youtube video and everything went as expected. I'm going to go tubeless with my ebike and mountainbike too.


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