Motobecane Fantom 29er

[adamf]

Does anyone else carry this bike besides bikes on line? It seems like a lot of bike for $560. It looks as though they only have the red in stock but I'm diggin' the matte black. The Windsor Cliff 29er also peaks my interest, but I think I may go with the Moto. Cheers, Adam

[bruce282]

Adam,

Mike, the guy that owns bikesdirect.com does have retail store(s) somewhere in Texas, I'm not sure where though.

http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133

In case you're not a member there, MTB has a whole forum on the bikes.

Bruce

[Dirt]

I've heard that they're generally a good value in the bikes. Don't expect it to perform like a $1500 bike, but it might ride and perform better than most sub $600 bikes out there. Having a good mechanic go over it and make sure that all the cable housing is the right length, bolt threads are properly greased and generally everything is assembled correctly will make it work much better.

The name has no connection to the historic French bicycle manufacturer. That is neither good nor bad. It just is.

Pete

[Spiff]

I bought the Outcast 29er SS last spring from the eBay seller of bikesdirect. I did a bunch of research going into the purchase; it seems like most everyone agrees that you get a lot of bang for your buck with the Moto's and Windsor's, but don't expect much customer service once you've got it.

I actually went into the purchase looking for a cheap commuter bike. I'd always wanted to try a 29er and a SS and the Outcast was a cheap way of trying both, plus it has rack and fender mounts so I could convert it to a SS commuter pretty easily. I figured I'd ride it over the summer as a mountain bike and then put some skinny tires and a rack on for commuting. I found that I REALLY liked 29" wheels and liked SS'ing, but the aluminum frame rode pretty harsh and the wheels were heavy and cheap. The bike has worked out much better as a commuter.

(Since then, I bought a Kona Unit 2-9 from Oasis Bike Works as my primary mountain bike and have loved it. It rides so much smoother than the Moto.)

I do a bit of wrenching myself so I felt comfortable checking out the bike when it arrived. Even still, I feel like I probably should have taken it to a shop to be checked out.

[rciracing]

These are great value. I've had 4 customers ship them directly to me for building up and they are just as advertised. Didn't have any issues although I have heard that they have good customer service in case something goes wrong. If you can spend more, I would suggest getting the Clif 29er Team.

[bruce282]

I'm in the same sorta boat. I want a cross bike to ride on the roads/MUT's. I'm trying to decide between the Motobecane Fantom Cross@ $799 or a NOS 2007 Giant TCX locally for $795.

I keep going back and forth, back and forth. The Giant will be at the local HTO store this week so I'll see how it rides.

Bruce

[adamf]

Thanks for the feedback. I may try and find a Fuji dealer and demo a Taho Comp 29er (same frame as the Windsor Cliff 29er). Looks like the main differences will come down to the comps Moto=Shimano and Windsor=SRAM. I've only had bikes with Shimano components, so I don't know much about the SRAM 5 components or the trigger shifters on the Cliff 29er.

[Vecsus]

I'll never buy nor recommend a Motobecane after seeing how they plant and prompt reviews on various bike forums. The bikes might be fine but the people behind them are underhanded and rude.