Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bremner
as for the "cheap carbon bike" you get what you pay for.
The bike is mail ordered, comes with ZERO service! Bikes need to be built by someone who knows what they're doing plus, will need to be tuned several times in the first year.
I would spend a few hundred more on a bike if the mechanics build the bike vs. assembler's.
Carbon is a great thing if the stuff is top-notch!
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I think Randy can probably pull apart and then assemble a bike as well as anyone whether for adjustments or repairs. All he needs to know with this bike is his height, and the rest can be adjusted via the seat post, stem height and length, and the crank arm length. Anything more, and he's probably looking at a custom frame which will cost multiple times more.
As to the quality of the Motobecane itself, Bicycling Magazine rated it a 4.5 out of 5; 5 being the highest score.
http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail/0,7989,s1-16-155-2504-0,00.html
In short, what separates this bike from the top-tier Trek, Specialized, Giant, Look, Time, Colnago, Pinarello, etc., etc., is a barely-noticeable weight difference and some road feel, two aspects that probably no one will notice unless they spend eight hours a day on a bike six or seven times a week.
To me, the Motobecane demonstrates the above-mentioned top-tier brands as exactly what my LBS says they are - rigs priced for their names. There's no reason a $1,400 bike with a Taiwan-made c/f frame can't whip ass on a $6,000 bike with a Taiwan-made c/f frame, then hold together in the long run.
Taiwan-made carbon frames are some of the best in the world (I think Giant produces the Motobecane), and Ultegra components are race-level parts.
Prices have dropped to stupid low, too. I'd jump on this deal in a heartbeat; may in fact do so, as I'm carbon-less at the moment.