# I Pulled the Trigger, and Wow!



## TexasSpoke (Mar 16, 2004)

Sunday evening I pulled the trigger and ordered a new road bike on the Internet. After five years of riding my '02 Cannondale R700 USA Edition (aluminum frame, carbon fiber fork, 105 components), I decided it was time to add to my stable a carbon fiber bike with Dura Ace or Ultegra components and either a compact crank or a triple. I still love my Cannondale, but I wanted the benefit of a softer ride, better components and some lower gears for the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. So I pulled the trigger and ordered a '08 Motobecane Century Team from BikesDirect.com. And within thirty minutes I received a phone call from my credit card fraud alert team wanting to confirming that the charge on my account was valid. I assured them that it was and thanked them for checking.

On Monday I received confirmation that my order had been received, and Monday afternoon I received notice that my order was being shipped via UPS and should be delivered on Tuesday. Tuesday? But no one was going to be home Tuesday. Sure enough, UPS attempted to delivery the bike on Tuesday evening, just 48 hours after I had ordered it, but since no one was home, UPS rescheduled for Wednesday. Well, I made sure I knew when UPS was going to come by and made sure someone was home. 

There was no visible damage to the shipping box other than the normal scuff marks and minor dimples. I was like kid on Christmas morning. I opened the box and unpacked the bike. It was fully assembled except for the front wheel, front brake and handlebars. I put it in the stand, took off all the packing materials and installed the front wheel, brakes and handlebars. Most everything that could be adjusted needed some adjustment. I did what I could but decided to be on the safe side and have my local bike shop give it a minor tune-up and get it ready to ride. They made all the necessary adjustments, plus they straightened a slightly bent rear derailleur hanger and replaced a pinched rear brake cable housing. My additions include an E3 Form Titanium saddle, a Shimano Flight Deck cycle computer, a pair of Bontrager Race Lite road cages, Shimano Ultegra (PD6610) pedals and a Topeak mini Morph bike frame pump.

I took her out for her maiden voyage today. WOW! What a sweet ride. 38+ miles and I needed not one adjustment. Although both bikes weigh about the same, when I rode the Motobecane, it "felt" lighter. I guess that is the effect of the carbon fiber frame. It sure made the rough roads smooth, and the smooth roads like glass. I could realy feel the improvement in the ride. And the crisp shifting of the DA componets was music to my ears. Updates to follow as I get more miles on her. Photos attached. Ride On!

-TexasSpoke

Note: The original photo links were not working. I have corrected the problem. 
-TexasSpoke


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

All that for $1695. Thanks for the photos. How bout a close up of the crank.


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

Also, what size. How long is the steerer tube. It looks like they left a fair amount of spacers(which is a good thing).


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## TexasSpoke (Mar 16, 2004)

Photos of the cranks attached. The bike is a 58cm. The stem was installed as you see it when it arrived. There is about 9cm or 3 1/2 inches of the steerer tube extending above the frame, with spacers above and below the stem. I'm planning to leave it as it is.

-TexasSpoke


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## robpar (Jan 26, 2008)

TexasSpoke said:


> Sunday evening I pulled the trigger and ordered a new road bike on the Internet. After five years of riding my '02 Cannondale R700 USA Edition (aluminum frame, carbon fiber fork, 105 components), I decided it was time to add to my stable a carbon fiber bike with Dura Ace or Ultegra components and either a compact crank or a triple. .... Ride On!
> 
> -TexasSpoke


Very nice....Is the seat-post carbon or carbon wrapped? what is the stem length and rise?
BD could not tell me... something about being "drop shipped" I'm also looking at the Immortal frame bikes, but I like the black carbon better...
Enjoy!


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

I like the FSA crank vs Dura Ace look wise. Bikesdirect did a good job on this one.


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## covenant (May 21, 2002)

TexasSpoke said:


>












Lucky you!


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## sonex305 (Jun 17, 2007)

Nice write up. Enjoy the ride and let us know how it goes in the long run. Welcome to the club!


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## robpar (Jan 26, 2008)

acckids said:


> I like the FSA crank vs Dura Ace look wise. Bikesdirect did a good job on this one.


Do you know if the small chainring can be removed and middle chainring changed to a 34? i guess you then reset stops on front DR? Does that screw-up the shifting? BD doesn't have a compact crank offered on this bike.:mad2: 
I really like this bike a lot, but I want a compact crank. The Immortal Force has a compact but I hate the colors and i don't think it will be offered in black.
thanks!


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## sonex305 (Jun 17, 2007)

You hate the white of the Immortal Force? Interesting. I've never heard that before, but we all have our own flavors don't we? 

The Immoertal Spirit is offered in black, but it is more coin with D/A instead of Ultegra. Just a thought.

You could take a look at the Bottechias offered on Ebay which are black.


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## robpar (Jan 26, 2008)

sonex305 said:


> You hate the white of the Immortal Force? Interesting. I've never heard that before, but we all have our own flavors don't we?
> 
> The Immoertal Spirit is offered in black, but it is more coin with D/A instead of Ultegra. Just a thought.
> 
> You could take a look at the Bottechias offered on Ebay which are black.


First choice is definitely for black- the gallery pictures look awesome in black. I'm even thinking about just buying the frameset. I also thought about buying the Century frameset but i could not find it at BD. The Bottechias are sold out in the 58 inch frame.
Actually, I feel the 58 cm Century frame would fit me better than the 59 cm Immortal (ideally, I need a 575 mm top tube- i'll just have fiddle with stem size) but I definitely want a compact crankset.


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## sokudo (Dec 22, 2007)

robpar said:


> I also thought about buying the Century frameset but i could not find it at BD. The Bottechias are sold out in the 58 inch frame.


Check at bikeisland.com. Or look at Pedal Force RS -- a ligher version of the same ADK frame.


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

Those bars look oddly "angular" and the hoods don't look like they are in a very ergo position at all. Is that setup how you like it?


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## TexasSpoke (Mar 16, 2004)

I am not sure what looks wrong to you.  There is very little difference between the photo of my bike and the photo of the Century Team on the BD web site. The set up is very comfortable for me and I did not have to make any adjustments to the set up on the 50+ mile ride this past Saturday. Again, I am not sure what looks wrong to you, but I am enjoying my new ride.  

Ride On!
-TexasSpoke


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

TexasSpoke said:


> I am not sure what looks wrong to you.  There is very little difference between the photo of my bike and the photo of the Century Team on the BD web site. The set up is very comfortable for me and I did not have to make any adjustments to the set up on the 50+ mile ride this past Saturday. Again, I am not sure what looks wrong to you, but I am enjoying my new ride.
> 
> Ride On!
> -TexasSpoke


I hadn't looked at it on the bd website. Just thinking the bar shape of the drops looks atypical and possibly led to a non-optimal placing of the hoods. 

I'd think a more comfortable setup would be to add a few mm of spacer and allow the bars to rotate down to the same height. It would possibly give your wrists a more natural rest point. 

I'd also think the drops in this position would be tough to take for long stretches. Though it's tough to say.


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## sonex305 (Jun 17, 2007)

Pretty much everything that BD sells has the Ritchey anatomical bars on their models. Those look like all the rest.


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## jkuo (Mar 30, 2008)

It shouldn't mess with the shifting. I do the same thing to my mountain bikes as I never used the small ring. As long as you set the derailleur stop correctly so you don't accidentally drop the chain, it will be fine.



robpar said:


> Do you know if the small chainring can be removed and middle chainring changed to a 34? i guess you then reset stops on front DR? Does that screw-up the shifting? BD doesn't have a compact crank offered on this bike.:mad2:
> I really like this bike a lot, but I want a compact crank. The Immortal Force has a compact but I hate the colors and i don't think it will be offered in black.
> thanks!


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

robpar said:


> Do you know if the small chainring can be removed and middle chainring changed to a 34? i guess you then reset stops on front DR? Does that screw-up the shifting? thanks!


The smallest you can go on the middle chainring is 38 when I checked into it with a Shimano 105 crankset. Also, a 38 can only be used on a double because it is not set up to drop down to the granny gear. I guess if you remove the granny gear that is not a problem. I would think you could keep the FD.


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## jobubr (Apr 26, 2008)

*Triple to compact $.02*

As for replacing a standard triple with a compact, check the specs of your front derailleur, as most can only handle 16 tooth difference. Thus, if you are running a 53 big ring, you are limited to a 37 little. Also check the BDM as for most standards it's 130 vs the 110 of most compacts. Just trying to save you from some extra shipping charges if you are mail oerdering parts.


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## martinrjensen (Sep 23, 2007)

*Italian*



Wricioharloma said:


> Computer Apple o Hp.....................help!!!!!?Ciao a tutti,
> Cerco un software che salvi l'intero sistema e dopo formattazione lo faccia ripartire come prima dell'inizio..non so se mi sono spiegato..faccio un esempio:
> Io ho un sistema operativo che mi funziona bene(xp) dovrei formattarlo per motivi personali,per?? vorrei che dopo formattato ripartisse allo stesso stato che lo avevo lasciato,compreso grafica e programmi installati, quindi fare un backup completo..
> esiste un programma che ci riesce?
> ...


 Credo che lei sta dicendo che si desidera copiare un sistema installato da un computer a un altro computer è corretta? questo tipo è di difficile da fare, ma guardare in un programma chiamato Norton Ghost. Se sono corrette, si desidera installare clone di un computer a un altro. 
NOTA: Non è che ho la cura, ma questo probabilmente è tecnicamente illegale a meno che non si asciugherà dal primo computer. Just so you know, non preoccupatevi se me.


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## Snakebitten (Jun 26, 2008)

Congrats on the bike. Had the same thing happen to me with my credit card when I got my IM lol. Looks like you have the same carbon fork and what looks like the same Cane Creek brakes. Dont know if you got the same brake pads that I got but get them off your wheels at the first sign of a grinding sound. They didnt stop well either. Messed up my Protocols the first two times I rode on it. Went with the Koolstop pads and have been smiling since. Just giving you a heads up just in case you got the same pads with your brakes....Enjoy your ride:thumbsup:


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## Kwikflyer (May 31, 2009)

*Is the MB Century Team still going strong?*

Nice review, and I am considering purchasing a 2009 MB Century Team from bikesdirect, partially based on your good report. Do you have any updates or suggestions based on your one year with the bike? Is it still a good deal and a nice bike?


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## TexasSpoke (Mar 16, 2004)

KwikFlyer

A year later and I am still very satisfied with the bike. I replaced the pedals (with Ultegras) and the saddle (with an E3 Form Titanium), put a computer (FlightDeck) and saddle bag on it. I was a little disappointed with the tires (Kenda Kaliente) that came on it. I now have Conti GP4000s on it. It is still a smooth ride and the DA components are very nice. They have upgraded the wheel set and brakes and upped the price a little, but it is still one of the best values going for a full carbon frame and DA components. If you get it, let me know what you think.

Ride On!
TexasSpoke


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