Light weight; very responsive; super strong brakes; shifts smooth.

Out of the box, wheels need work. Front brake took some time before it would work properly.

This review is for the Century Pro Disc. I have 2 good rides in on this bike. The first was around thirty, and the second over fifty. I love the bike. The Ultegra 6800 shifts super smoothly. I have had to adjust the front derailleur just a little bit using the barrel adjuster, but that isn't out of the ordinary.

The one slight issue is that following my first ride, the rear wheel was way out of true. It took me a solid 45 minutes to bring the wheel into true, and up to even tension. One spoke was completely loose. I will admit that I didn't check the wheels before that first ride, but I didn't expect I would need to before the first ride. Following my 55 mile ride this morning, the wheels are still holding up well.

I'm a heavier rider (235 pounds). The bike is everything I expected - responsive, very powerful brakes, smooth shifting - and just all around comfortable. I am very happy with this purchase. The carbon is much more comfortable on the hands than my aluminum cyclocross bike that it replaces.

High Modulus Carbon Frame, appearance, components, 30 speeds including a low gear that will go up impossibly steep climbs. geometry setup for long rides or older riders. Mine cost $1295 to the door w no tax or delivery...on time too. (2013 model del. in Sept. 2012)

Some items could be lighter. Leather split seat could save weight if someone wanted a race seat but it feels good. Vuelta Wheels feel fairly heavy. Bikes Direct brands don't have as good a resale value as the more famous names. Not for brand-snobs but older people remember Motobecane and the Tour long ago.

Ultegra derailers, 105 shifters. FSA crank & headset, Cane creek brakes, Ritchey bars and stem. Hard to beat for the price. The free pedals feel OK. The ride is smooth and frame soaks up road vibration, but accelerates well for a non-race bike. Handling on mountain descents feels good. I had a chance to attend a dealer show and rode top-of-the-line bikes from Specialized, Cannondale, Orbea, Raleigh, Felt and others. For one sixth the price, the Century Elite felt similar and is way more comfortable on my back. The assembly was no more difficult than unboxing a bike taken on a plane.

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Aluminum Ultegra bike, Specialized Roubaix, Trek Madone, Klein alu bike.

price can not be beat. All carbon bike and not breaking the bank with good hardware.

waiting for it to be shipped and takeing the box to the local bike shop to get built.

Great carbon bike. i saved at least $2000 buying the bike online. The components are Total bike weight 19.25 lbs

FRAME Monocoque High Modulus Carbon Fiber

FORK AeroCarbon SL High Modulus Monocoque Carbon Fiber with Carbon Crown

HEADSET FSA IS2 Sealed Bearing Threadless 1.125 inch

DERAILLEURS Shimano 105 5600 rear / Shimano Ultegra 9 Speed (27 spd total) front

SHIFTERS Shimano Ultegra 9 Speed STI (27 speed total)

CRANK / BB Carbon Pro FSA Triple 50/39/30T with Sealed Bearing Bottom Bracket

BRAKE LEVERS Shimano 105 Flight deck STI (27 Speed total)

WHEELS Shimano WH-R500 Sealed Bearing Black Anodized, black stainless spokes

TIRES Ritchey DS Comp

SEAT / POST Ritchey PRO Streem road / FSA FR270 Carbon Fiber Wrap, 27.2mm

BAR / STEM Ritchey COMP Butted Aluminum Ergo Bar 26.0mm / Ritchey Carbon Fiber 1.125 inch steerer, 26.0mm clamp

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mostly off road biking in the pass.

VALUE VALUE VALUE (lifetime warranty)

You better be your own wrench since support from Bikesdirect is mostly non existent. After 2 emails, I never got a response. The price you pay!

Full Ultegra bike(cept cane creek brakes) WCS stem and bars for $1200. Hard to beat. I figured Ide just be gettin a free frame but I am very impressed with the frame. Extremely stiff compared to my flimsy Fuji Newest. Ebayed the wheelset and fork for enough $ for Neuvation wheels and saddle and Renolds Ouzo fork and some gatorskin tires. My 56mm bike weighs in at
17.6 lbs w/o pedals.

Similar Products Used:

Fuji Newest
Shwinn

Quality components for the price.

Too early to tell, but I will post.

Well, I’m 58 years old and I have been riding bikes as long as I can remember. My first big bike was a Schwinn Corvette; it weighed more than I did at the time.

I have been riding a Giant mountain bike for the last 8 years and have decided to get back to road bikes and some long range cruising, and some racing.
After shopping at all the LBS stores, I was a little disappointed in what I could get for my money. I had set an original budget of $1,500 for this project and was shown bikes from 700 to 1,999. In each case the bike was from a name brand manufacturer, but bikes in this price range lacked the higher quality components. I would like to have had an “American” bike but nothing in this price range was done here, so brand is a moot point. Had I gone with the LBS I would have purchased the Specialized Allez Elite Triple for 1100 + pedals and tax; bringing the total to near 1300, and I still need new shoes.

After some additional reading I decided on Bikesdirect and the Motobecane Century Elite; and I have placed the order today. I’m not sure if I’m going to try and assemble this myself or not. I have ordered the DVD from Bike Island and will take a look at it once it arrives, and then see what the parts really look like, but I bet the LBS gets the nod there. I am a good wrench with a complete set of tools, but never done a bike from the box.

I was very impressed with the ability to get a full Ultegra bike in the 16-17 pound range for 1,195 including pedals. I may pay to have it assembled, and I will still then be in the 1,300 range, but I believe that the quality of the components is much higher and will produce a much better riding bike… we’ll see. I’ll post pics and additional info as it is available.

3/19/07 4:00pm CST
I have already received order confirmation from Bikesdirect.

3/20 11:00am CCST
Received confirmation from Bikes Direct and the Tracking Number for the box.
I checked with UPS and the box left Houston and is scheduled for delivery to me on the
on 3/22.

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Long list.