The Chainlink

SOLD - Motobecane Fantom CX 54cm Commuter *NEW* - $525

This is a new Motobecane Fantom CX 54 cm 27spd. This bike makes a great commuter. These bikes do not come fully assembled from the factory, this bike has been professionally built up (including truing wheels, adjusting hubs, brakes, and shifting). 

Listed on Craigslist for $550, Chainlinkers get $25 off! 


Components:
Aluminum frame
CrMo fork with fender mounts 
FSA Vero triple cranks
9speed Shimano Sora shifters
Shimano Tiagra Rear derailleur 
Shimano Sora Front derailleur

Optionally includes shorter Thomson stem (see comments for picture)

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Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on March 25, 2013 at 4:21pm

I don't know how to react to this.  I had two old Motobecane's --  both pre-bankruptcy (pre 1980) bicycles.  They were pretty nice, French made bicycles.    But it is my understanding that the Motobecane's now sold in the US bear no relationship to the old french bicycle company other than the name.    Does anyone have any experience with them?   Are they actually still quality bicycles or are they trying, in some way, to play off the old historic name?   I have mostly seen them from Bikes Direct, and as with the New Motobecane I have no direct experience.  Their bicycles look interesting, but since I have never seen one up close and personal.....  Does anyone have any experience with them?

At least in the case of this bicycle, I guess we can look at it an judge the actual quality up close and personal.

Permalink Reply by Jenn_5.5 mi on March 25, 2013 at 4:57pm

I have two... (CrMoly) Mirage & (AL) Mirage Sport both from Bikes Direct (Yes! I am a terrible person, I should buy local! That is another thread.). I know enough about bikes to do my basic maintenance but not enough to truly say too much.

I am sure the components on mine are low end because they were the cheapest.  But they were exactly what I wanted, in a more do-able price range. I have been riding my AL one almost daily since Christmas and don't clean it enough. The chain looks like crap, the rear cassette has rust on it(maybe just from off the chain). If I were to maintain better, this probably wouldn't have happened.

Long term I can't say anything, yet, but I tend to ride a bike for 6-9 months then want something different at the 350 price range it is easier for me to deal with rotating my stable. (That wasn't very helpful...)

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 25, 2013 at 5:28pm

Looks to me that that chain could use a link taken out of it.


Wrapping that close-ratio rear cassette with the front triple I would venture to say that the chain is a little long, not seeing it on the big-big combination. 

That chain looks like it was cut for a larger big-cog cassette than the drivetrain is currently running. 

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on March 25, 2013 at 6:11pm

I doubt it is.


James BlackHeron said:

Looks to me that that chain could use a link taken out of it.


Wrapping that close-ratio rear cassette with the front triple I would venture to say that the chain is a little long, not seeing it on the big-big combination. 

That chain looks like it was cut for a larger big-cog cassette than the drivetrain is currently running. 

Permalink Reply by Albany Park Al on March 25, 2013 at 7:57pm

'New' Motobecane has no relation to the original French company other than the name, which has probably passed through many hands.  

1zt7hr8qm0y90Permalink Reply by 1zt7hr8qm0y90 on March 25, 2013 at 11:52pm
Really pretty pictures but what is the point? How many (OMG, I said it) Huffy department store under $100 cruisers, complete with water bottle mount, unlike Schwinn bicycles could I buy for that price, especially 10 year old ones? I can ride where that bike can't ride and even though I have only six speeds I have never used, nor do I need more than four speeds. I'm not impressed.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 26, 2013 at 6:36am

Once again, this comes up.  When it comes to bikes you get what you pay for.  The more  you ride, and try to keep up with folks with real bikes, the more you realize that there is real range in the quality and feel/rideworthiness of bikes. 

If you want to ride a heavy, rides like ass, turd of a BSO then fine.  More power to you.  Walmart sells bikes like this every day for about $100.

But when it comes down to brass tacks most people who actually ride more than 5-6 miles dump the junk.  You may think you don't need more than 3 or 4 gears and you are probably right just tooling around the city at low speed and/or not hauling around much stuff like loaded-down panniers with groceries or a trailer.    But get out on a longer ride of 100-200 kilometers with other folks on real bikes and you'll probably change your tune pretty quickly, and be left in the dust.

I don't see many people riding BSO's on centuries or rides like le Tour de Shore but I do see a couple every once in a while.   Those people usually suffer, and learn to be tough.   Like Johnny Knoxville and his friends say, "If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough."

Life is short, I don't want to waste my time pushing a big turd of a POS BSO when I'm on my own "fun" time.  I don't want to do it when I'm in a hurry trying to get somewhere either.  Any bike that didn't cost at least the equivalent of about $450-ish or more new isn't worth my time.  It's not elitism, it's just a fact that a quality bike can't be made for less than that, even with current technology that can really cut costs of labor and materials.      There are, however, many decent used bikes out there that were nice machines when they were new and are worth the effort of fixing up.   There are also many POS BSO's that were built at low cost to lure suckers looking for a "deal" on bikes since the dawn of bicycling in the late 19th century.

I'm not from Chicago originally so I am not really effected by that particular Stockholm Syndrome of loving the name Schwinn just because they were built here.  It's like folks in Detroit loving the POS cars they built there at one time before the Asians showed them how a real car was built.    Schwinn made a few nicer bikes but that is really the exception, rather than the rule.  And a lot of those decent bikes were made for them by other companies (often in Asia) so they could stamp their name on them, just like all of the bikes "Schwinn" now makes are made for them there (good or bad.)  Some of the nicer models like the Paramounts are the exception, not the rule.  The vast majority of the stuff they cranked out was heavy pig-iron BSO (Bike Shaped Object.)    

1zt7hr8qm0y90Permalink Reply by 1zt7hr8qm0y90 on March 26, 2013 at 6:31pm
Well, James. I like a bike with metal fenders and chainguard. A bike without them looks incomplete. I like conventional handlebars that bend towards me and I like riding upright so as not to cringe my neck. I will be 62 in May and I love distance riding. I rode 50 miles in the Four Star Bike Tour and the metric century in the Evanston Century. I rode the all trail 25 mile/day GITy Up S24O pulling a B.O.B. cargo trailer and I'm none the worse for it. I feel uncomfortable riding faster than 12 mph. I get there, it just takes longer and the best thing is the fact that nobody is likely to steal it. I got this bike on April 30, 2011 and immediately invested in a headlight-taillight combo and a cyclometer so since then I have ridden it 3,334 miles. The same philosophy can be applied to cars. I have an old Caprice station wagon because I have a car top boat and the roof is too high to shove the boat on the roof with a SUV or minivan and there is no air dam to protect the paint. There is also much more room in a full size station wagon than there is in a minivan or SUV and there are no gaps in the floor and the floor is smoothe. So, I have no use for a high end (Corvette, Ferrari) car either. The most important thing is the fact that I am happy with My Huffy cruiser and to me that's all that matters.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on March 26, 2013 at 6:41pm

Actually the fact that YOU are happy with it has no bearing on the fact that you continually go around here advocating for people to buy shitty old bikes for themselves instead of decent ones.

A crap bike works fine for you and that's great but you also should not be running about telling people a hundred dollar Huffy is a good investment over a bike like the one listed for sale here.  Not only is it bad advice but it is quite rude to post things like that in somebody's for sale thread.

Douglas Iverson said:

Well, James. I like a bike with metal fenders and chainguard. A bike without them looks incomplete. I like conventional handlebars that bend towards me and I like riding upright so as not to cringe my neck. I will be 62 in May and I love distance riding. I rode 50 miles in the Four Star Bike Tour and the metric century in the Evanston Century. I rode the all trail 25 mile/day GITy Up S24O pulling a B.O.B. cargo trailer and I'm none the worse for it. I feel uncomfortable riding faster than 12 mph. I get there, it just takes longer and the best thing is the fact that nobody is likely to steal it. I got this bike on April 30, 2011 and immediately invested in a headlight-taillight combo and a cyclometer so since then I have ridden it 3,334 miles. The same philosophy can be applied to cars. I have an old Caprice station wagon because I have a car top boat and the roof is too high to shove the boat on the roof with a SUV or minivan and there is no air dam to protect the paint. There is also much more room in a full size station wagon than there is in a minivan or SUV and there are no gaps in the floor and the floor is smoothe. So, I have no use for a high end (Corvette, Ferrari) car either. The most important thing is the fact that I am happy with My Huffy cruiser and to me that's all that matters.

1zt7hr8qm0y90Permalink Reply by 1zt7hr8qm0y90 on March 26, 2013 at 7:08pm
Let's see that Motobecane ride a crushed limestone trail pulling a trailer. Opinions can be expressed on this forum. Maybe someone didn't realize that the bike for sale is a road bike and may want to ride trails. People have said that my old station wagon is shitty. How shitty would it be if this person were stranded in the Arizona desert and I happened by in my shitty car? How shitty would it be then? Should I give this person a ride or leave him stranded to avoid a ride in this shitty car. I don't know how old you are, Doug, but with age comes experience with life. Someone will buy the bike. You certainly are notorious, Doug.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on March 26, 2013 at 8:00pm

I have ridden a bike just like that MotorBacon on the Prarie Path out to the suburbs.  I occasionally ride my commuter bike to my parents house via crushed limestone paths.  My roommate raced a gravel metric on an All City Macho Man which is a bike similar to the one for sale.

The bike for sale is also NOT a road bike it is a Cyclocross bike and there is a world of difference between that bike and a road bike.  The geometry is different, it clears a larger tire and has different brakes than a road bike.  That bike is designed to be ridden on unpaved roads and through rougher terrain than a road bike.  The fact that you cannot tell the difference really makes me wonder if you are really qualified to give advice on what is or is not a good bike; how can you make a recommendation on something like that when you do not even know what you are looking at?

The comparison of a Huffy to your Caprice Wagon is an apples/oranges comparison.  The wagon was a decent vehicle when new and if well maintained will work well for along time even if it starts to look shabby.  A crappy bike however is always going to be a crappy bike; even if it is well maintained a junky, heavy, poorly built Huffy will always preform like a shitty bike because that is what it is.

Age is not a factor here, knowledge of bikes and an understanding of what makes a quality bike is.

Douglas Iverson said:

Let's see that Motobecane ride a crushed limestone trail pulling a trailer. Opinions can be expressed on this forum. Maybe someone didn't realize that the bike for sale is a road bike and may want to ride trails. People have said that my old station wagon is shitty. How shitty would it be if this person were stranded in the Arizona desert and I happened by in my shitty car? How shitty would it be then? Should I give this person a ride or leave him stranded to avoid a ride in this shitty car. I don't know how old you are, Doug, but with age comes experience with life. Someone will buy the bike. You certainly are notorious, Doug.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 26, 2013 at 8:10pm

Not one of these CX racers is riding an old Huffy...

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