So I bought this old Motobecane

[DaShen]

I started training on Mountain, and then switched over to Road when my friends got into it.

I got a 56cm (I am closer to a 57cm) Motobecane with Sora parts (8 speed) and Cannondale 32 spoke wheels.

It was a lot eaasier than my Mountain to say the least, but I got it used and it was beat up to begin with. I bought it for $250, but I am thinking I overpaid slightly because the rear wheel hub was messed up to begin with.

Now I have replaced a whole bunch of things. I just got Shimano R550 wheels and Continental Ultra tires, I, and I replaced the crank. I rewrapped my handlebars and added the Bontrager dampening hadlebar ends.

Now my front derailer snapped (I ride at a high tension <I go about 23-24 average now -- lost leg strength after my accident> ). This is really pissing me off because now I have to buy a new front derailer, probably a 105, and I figured with all of the modifications, I might as well get a 9 speed set, but shifters are hella expensive. I have been thinking of just getting the derailer and selling the bike and getting a new one. It has about $350 of modifiications over the past few months.

DANG IT. I want a new bike, but I don't want to spend a lot right now either. Anyone know anyone who has a 56-57cm Aluminum Fixie they want to sell? I am sick of spending money on all those extraneous parts. Dang this sucks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

Not French made, not that old

It is a sturdy bike with a classic frame geometry, but not vintage to say the least. I wouldn't put R550s and Continental Ultras on a Vintage bike, now would I.

 

[DaShen]

What kind of bikes do you have JulesMaximus?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

Not French made, not that old

It is a sturdy bike with a classic frame geometry, but not vintage to say the least. I wouldn't put R550s and Continental Ultras on a Vintage bike, now would I.

You'd put Ksyrium SL's on it?

I'm riding a 2005 Felt F65 I picked up a few months ago. It is aluminum with carbon seat stays, fork and seatpost. It is mostly Ultegra but I replaced the non-Ultegra parts with Dura-Ace (crankset and brakes). I got a good deal on the crankset ($120 off retail price) and I picked up the brakes on ebay, they are last year's Dura-Ace and very slightly used so I paid less than Ultegra brake calipers would have cost me. I also upgraded the wheels as I wasn't happy with the wet noodles the bike came with. I am rolling on Velocity Aerohead rims laced to Speedcific hubs. They are lighter and much stiffer than the crappy Alex wheels my bike came with. I only paid $899 for the bike so dropping another $700 into it wasn't really a big deal. I still have a much better bike than $1600 would have bought me. I also canned the crappy pedals and went with Dura-Ace SPD-SL's which I absolutely love!

Here's a pic

 

[Fausto]

You might just want to suck it up and buy a new bike (used). You're going to nickle and dime yourself to death trying to upgrade the Moto.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

Not French made, not that old

It is a sturdy bike with a classic frame geometry, but not vintage to say the least. I wouldn't put R550s and Continental Ultras on a Vintage bike, now would I.

You'd put Ksyrium SL's on it?

I'm riding a 2005 Felt F65 I picked up a few months ago. It is aluminum with carbon seat stays, fork and seatpost. It is mostly Ultegra but I replaced the non-Ultegra parts with Dura-Ace (crankset and brakes). I got a good deal on the crankset ($120 off retail price) and I picked up the brakes on ebay, they are last year's Dura-Ace and very slightly used so I paid less than Ultegra brake calipers would have cost me. I also upgraded the wheels as I wasn't happy with the wet noodles the bike came with. I am rolling on Velocity Aerohead rims laced to Speedcific hubs. They are lighter and much stiffer than the crappy Alex wheels my bike came with. I only paid $899 for the bike so dropping another $700 into it wasn't really a big deal. I still have a much better bike than $1600 would have bought me. I also canned the crappy pedals and went with Dura-Ace SPD-SL's which I absolutely love!

Here's a pic

Dang it. I am drooling right now. It is so pretty!

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Fausto
You might just want to suck it up and buy a new bike (used). You're going to nickle and dime yourself to death trying to upgrade the Moto.

Yeah, that is what I thought, but then I thought I could just fix up the bike a little more and keep it, and get a Fixed Gear 53-15 aluminum for everyday riding.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

Not French made, not that old

It is a sturdy bike with a classic frame geometry, but not vintage to say the least. I wouldn't put R550s and Continental Ultras on a Vintage bike, now would I.

You'd put Ksyrium SL's on it?

I'm riding a 2005 Felt F65 I picked up a few months ago. It is aluminum with carbon seat stays, fork and seatpost. It is mostly Ultegra but I replaced the non-Ultegra parts with Dura-Ace (crankset and brakes). I got a good deal on the crankset ($120 off retail price) and I picked up the brakes on ebay, they are last year's Dura-Ace and very slightly used so I paid less than Ultegra brake calipers would have cost me. I also upgraded the wheels as I wasn't happy with the wet noodles the bike came with. I am rolling on Velocity Aerohead rims laced to Speedcific hubs. They are lighter and much stiffer than the crappy Alex wheels my bike came with. I only paid $899 for the bike so dropping another $700 into it wasn't really a big deal. I still have a much better bike than $1600 would have bought me. I also canned the crappy pedals and went with Dura-Ace SPD-SL's which I absolutely love!

Here's a pic

Dang it. I am drooling right now. It is so pretty!

Our 2006 team bikes.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: Fausto
You might just want to suck it up and buy a new bike (used). You're going to nickle and dime yourself to death trying to upgrade the Moto.

Yeah, that is what I thought, but then I thought I could just fix up the bike a little more and keep it, and get a Fixed Gear 53-15 aluminum for everyday riding.

That's a monster gear for a fixie.

 

[DaShen]

Hey Fausto,

What do you think of the new carbon Scott's out? The carbon is pretty high grade. I really want it, but dang would that be an expensive upgrade.

Any suggestions?

The Bianchi is really nice, but I am not particular to lime green.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: Fausto
You might just want to suck it up and buy a new bike (used). You're going to nickle and dime yourself to death trying to upgrade the Moto.

Yeah, that is what I thought, but then I thought I could just fix up the bike a little more and keep it, and get a Fixed Gear 53-15 aluminum for everyday riding.

That's a monster gear for a fixie.

Mehhh, I live in Houston. Flat city. And I can go uphill on 53-13, although it wears me out. I figure I can get a flip flop hub, with 17/18 if I want to do a heavy hill ride.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: DaShen
Hey Fausto,

What do you think of the new carbon Scott's out? The carbon is pretty high grade. I really want it, but dang would that be an expensive upgrade.

Any suggestions?

The Bianchi is really nice, but I am not particular to lime green.

The Scotts are very nice bikes, but you'll pay a lot for them.

I'd opt for something in aluminum with Ultegra if you can swing it. Fuji has some nice bikes for the money. A Specialized Allez is anothe one off the top of my head.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: DaShen
Hey Fausto,

What do you think of the new carbon Scott's out? The carbon is pretty high grade. I really want it, but dang would that be an expensive upgrade.

Any suggestions?

The Bianchi is really nice, but I am not particular to lime green.

The Scotts are very nice bikes, but you'll pay a lot for them.

I'd opt for something in aluminum with Ultegra if you can swing it. Fuji has some nice bikes for the money. A Specialized Allez is anothe one off the top of my head.

Yeah, I looked at the Allez, but I really want a high grade carbon, and the Scott frame definitely caught my eye. I figure I can buy a fixie now. Use that, and sell the old bike once I get my tax return for the Scott.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: DaShen
Hey Fausto,

What do you think of the new carbon Scott's out? The carbon is pretty high grade. I really want it, but dang would that be an expensive upgrade.

Any suggestions?

The Bianchi is really nice, but I am not particular to lime green.

The Scotts are very nice bikes, but you'll pay a lot for them.

I'd opt for something in aluminum with Ultegra if you can swing it. Fuji has some nice bikes for the money. A Specialized Allez is anothe one off the top of my head.

Yeah, I looked at the Allez, but I really want a high grade carbon, and the Scott frame definitely caught my eye. I figure I can buy a fixie now. Use that, and sell the old bike once I get my tax return for the Scott.

The Scott is very hard to argue with. It's stupidly light, stiff, tough, handles well, and they have a nice crash replacement policy on top of all that.

I have two teammates riding them. They come in at about 14lbs with some race wheels and dura-ace with no special lightweight parts. The only crash I've seen that damaged one involved the guy hitting a lamp post at about 30mph in a crit. :Q Scott sent him a new frame for (I think) $700 or so.

 

[Fausto]

Giant and Kuota make some pretty cool carbon framesets as well, by the way.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Fausto
Giant and Kuota make some pretty cool carbon framesets as well, by the way.

I like Giant Carbon frames (my friend has a TCR with Ultegra). But they are manufactured and not hand made like Scott frames. At least with the bindings.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Fausto
Giant and Kuota make some pretty cool carbon framesets as well, by the way.

Can you get me any club deals on a Specialized?

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Fausto
Giant and Kuota make some pretty cool carbon framesets as well, by the way.

Can you get me any club deals on a Specialized?

Nope. We ended up going with Bianchi again. Felt and Specialized only wanted to do frameset deals whereas Bianchi would do complete bikes.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Fausto
Giant and Kuota make some pretty cool carbon framesets as well, by the way.

Can you get me any club deals on a Specialized?

Nope. We ended up going with Bianchi again. Felt and Specialized only wanted to do frameset deals whereas Bianchi would do complete bikes.

Salivating again.... Dang Pavlov's Dog reaction to nice bikes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: DaShen

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
What frame is the Motobecane? How old is it? I had a 70's Motobecane LeChampion w/Campagnolo components and sew ups years ago but it was stolen. I've been thinking of picking up a vintage steel frame and restoring it. I kind of have a soft spot for old Motobecanes (it has to be French made though).

Not French made, not that old

It is a sturdy bike with a classic frame geometry, but not vintage to say the least. I wouldn't put R550s and Continental Ultras on a Vintage bike, now would I.

You'd put Ksyrium SL's on it?

I'm riding a 2005 Felt F65 I picked up a few months ago. It is aluminum with carbon seat stays, fork and seatpost. It is mostly Ultegra but I replaced the non-Ultegra parts with Dura-Ace (crankset and brakes). I got a good deal on the crankset ($120 off retail price) and I picked up the brakes on ebay, they are last year's Dura-Ace and very slightly used so I paid less than Ultegra brake calipers would have cost me. I also upgraded the wheels as I wasn't happy with the wet noodles the bike came with. I am rolling on Velocity Aerohead rims laced to Speedcific hubs. They are lighter and much stiffer than the crappy Alex wheels my bike came with. I only paid $899 for the bike so dropping another $700 into it wasn't really a big deal. I still have a much better bike than $1600 would have bought me. I also canned the crappy pedals and went with Dura-Ace SPD-SL's which I absolutely love!

Here's a pic

Dang it. I am drooling right now. It is so pretty!

Thanks! I love it! I've already put over 400 miles on it.