Strengths: Unbleiveable Value - Rock steady solid dependable, Smooth and comfortable ride.
The Skye seat was a wonderful suprise, very comfortable.
Weaknesses: AlexRims not up to the quality of the rest of the bike, very high spoke counts and still have more flex than I would like. they will be upgraded before spring. As has B.D. with the 2010 model you Vuelta rims for a little more money.
I have replaced the headset for the same type of quality issue, just not very good, with a higher quality same brand Cane Creek.
Bottom Line:
I spent hours researching on line and visited 4 shops with spec sheets to compare with Specialized, Trek, and Felt. I found that when compared to similar products, B.D. was always the best value. My 2009 Mirage Pro with Sora, Tiagra, FSA, and Skye components has performed flawlessly! I have loged 1500 miles without any troubles. It is fast, light (about 20 lbs.) and requires less "tinkering" to keep in tune than my riding partners much more expensive rigs.
Similar Products Used: Raleigh, Univega, Trek, Fuji
Bike Setup: If not for an early snow last Oct. I would have been riding 20min. after I opened the box! I do all my own work but anyone who does even the least amount of maintenance should be able to assemble one of these bikes in 45 min. or less. If you are not confidant then take it to a shop for assembly and tuning.
Strengths: The aluminum frame with carbon forks create a nice smooth ride, and for a bike purchased for less than $1000 it was worth every penny.
Weaknesses: The Alexrims are junk so be prepared to upgrade your wheels almost immediatley.
Bottom Line:
I purchased this bike as an introductory road bike. It was easily assembled with a few basic tools, and the adjustments were minor from the factory. It came with carbon forks and cranks and the Shimano Sora line of shifters. The wheels were Alexrims DA22. It has performed beyond my expectations for a bike in this price point, although the Alexrims are junk. I blew the front and rear tires on the first ride, and a catastrophic failure orrured on the rear wheel. In short this is a great bike for the price but be prepared to make upgrades as you go.
Strengths: Carbon Fork, Tiagra Rear Derailleur, newer Sora STI shifters, Aluminum frame, triple crankset, clipless pedals.
Weaknesses: No LBS support
Bottom Line:
This review is for the 2009 Motobecane Record. I wanted a modern road bike (on a budget) to replace my very old raleigh. A friend recommended Motobecane, and i found that the bikes to be well equipped for the price. Bikes from Bikes direct come partially assembled (had to install front wheel, front brakes,and bars, and adjust derailleurs) but the assembly was easy if you are comfortable wrenching on your own. (not a bad Idea to have your work checked by your local bike shop). The fit and finish on the bike was excellent and the 2009 is a 27 speed as opposed to 24 for the earlier models, has a carbon fork, tiagra RD, and skye seat, stem and hubs with alexrims DA-22 wheels. The 09 also came with wellgo clipless pedals. Tektro brakes, Cane Creek head bearings and a truvative triple crankset round out the equipment. The bike is light, smooth, and a joy to ride. The newer sora sti shifters have a trim click for the front derailleur that is great for triple cranks (see shimano's site on 3400 shifters)that controls chain noise. It feels very solid on the road, tracks well and is not overly harsh due to the carbon fork. For the price I am extremely pleased with this bike, looking in the local shops, I couldn't find anything with a carbon fork for less than $900. The first 100 miles flew by in a week, and I am riding more than ever because it is enjoyable on this bike. This bike would be an excellant choice for an entry level to experienced road rider.
Weaknesses: Sora shifters, clunky Kenda contender tires.
Bottom Line:
This is the first bike I have ever owned. I was looking at getting into road cycling but didn't want to invest too much money just in case I wasn't disciplined enough. After a long hard search for an entry level bike, I came to the conclusion that bikes in many ways were like PCs. A lot of the major manufacturers use the same components/frames/etc. Turns out the same applied to road bikes, especially when looking for the sub $700 entry level category. The Record is equipped with the same Sora components and even comes with a Tiagra rear derailleur. A 7005 Aluminum frame, FSA crank set. Sure it doesn't have a carbon seatpost, but does that justify the $200 mark-up??? I guess that's up to you to decide. Anyway, $2000 miles later, its the best money I have ever spent. The customer service at Cycle Spectrum is top-notch as well, they even gave me a free cyclometer.
Strengths: 1.Quality at an affordable price
2.It's a cool looking bike(I like the Mobecane headbadge)
3.Fairly simple to assemble
Weaknesses: 1. Can be confusing to assemble due to inadequate instructions and(in my experience)vauge blanket email responses as bad as the instructions.
Bottom Line:
This is my second "real" bike, so I don't have a wealth of knowlege to draw from, but as far as I'm concerned this is a great bike. I've been using this bike for recreational riding and a 12 mile round trip commute for the past few weeks and it has solidly out performed my old 75 Schwinn.
The frame is nice, the paint is nice, the components are quality and it was very affordable.
The assembly was pretty easy, though I did get a little confused when I started putting the handle bars on and securing the fork. For anyone wondering you have to put the front wheel, front brake, handle bars and seat/seattube on yourself. It's not that bad, I just couldn't get the headset tight(fork had play in it). The manual is pretty generic and won't help you much at all when it comes to the headset and handlebars. I emailed Bikesdirect to ask what I might be doing wrong and got a very vauge answer back. Luckily I had already figured out what I was doing wrong(I just needed to add another spacer to get the headset tight), because the reply I got back would have gotten me nowhere.
The front derailleur also needed adjusted before the chain would go onto the largest front ring, but it wasn't that difficult, although I have had some trouble with the front derailleur rubbing, so I'm going to take it to a bike shop and have it properly adjusted, which will cost me under 10 bucks. I've also had a little trouble shifting between the front rings, but I think this is an adjustment issue as well.
If you're looking for a quality bike and are on a budget like me, I'd definately suggest checking out Motobecane or the other Bikesdirect products. If you can but together the gas grill you bought at Wal-Mart you can put this bike together, just don't expect any wisdom from Bikesdirect if you get stuck. Even if you pay a bikshop to put it together it's a good deal. Buy a bike that you can afford and then give your LBS all of your service and accessory business. Everybody wins.
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