well...i just bought my first mountain bike. i purchased a motobecane fantom 3.0. the bike shop was running a huge sale and it was marked down from $1395 to $895. i will use it around town mostly as i've decided to park my truck for a while and just bike around. i live downtown so everything i do is within a 2 mile radius...gym, work, school, etc. i'll be hittin' the trails soon though!

the specs are:
20"
Shimano XT 27 Speed, SuperLite 4bar Double-butted 7005SL Aluminum frame, RockShox Judy XC Fork 100mm, SID BAR 4" Travel RR, ProMax PowerDisc Brakes/Levers, Alex Disc Wheelset, Stainless Double Butted Spokes 32fr/32r), TruVativ Cranks BB, M-Wings Aluminum Riser Bar, MWings Stem and MicroAdjust Seatpost, PanaRacer FireXC Pro Tires.

i'm really into bodybuilding, so i'm a fairly heavy rider @ 6' 220. the front shok feels a little soft, but i guess that's normal? the rear is adjustable and feels great. i'm finding that i need to bunnyhop curbs constantly...is there some trick to getting higher? i can only hop about 8" i guess....

anyway...
hello all.

well...i just bought my first mountain bike. i purchased a motobecane fantom 3.0. the bike shop was running a huge sale and it was marked down from $1395 to $895. i will use it around town mostly as i've decided to park my truck for a while and just bike around. i live downtown so everything i do is within a 2 mile radius...gym, work, school, etc. i'll be hittin' the trails soon though!

the specs are:
20"
Shimano XT 27 Speed, SuperLite 4bar Double-butted 7005SL Aluminum frame, RockShox Judy XC Fork 100mm, SID BAR 4" Travel RR, ProMax PowerDisc Brakes/Levers, Alex Disc Wheelset, Stainless Double Butted Spokes 32fr/32r), TruVativ Cranks BB, M-Wings Aluminum Riser Bar, MWings Stem and MicroAdjust Seatpost, PanaRacer FireXC Pro Tires.

i'm really into bodybuilding, so i'm a fairly heavy rider @ 6' 220. the front shok feels a little soft, but i guess that's normal? the rear is adjustable and feels great. i'm finding that i need to bunnyhop curbs constantly...is there some trick to getting higher? i can only hop about 8" i guess....

anyway...
hello all.

That's a heck of a lot more bike than my first one! And a great deal to boot. My one piece of advice would be that at your size, you're at the upper limits of what that frame was designed for (more of a lightweight xc race bike) so treat it well. Under your weight it probably won't hold up to a lot of abuse. But, welcome to the forum, and welcome to our obsession!

hope you get some good rides out of it.

My one piece of advice to you is to have your bike shop swap out the springs on your fork if it does not already have heavier springs in it. Bike manufacturers tend to mount forks on all their frames with the stock springs in them. The springs are usually medium springs meant for the average weight rider, maybe around 160 to 170 lbs. If this is true in your case, it would answer your question regarding the soft feel of your shock.

A good bike shop would not let you ride out the door without swapping them out or at least letting you know. See if you shop will swap them out for a heavier spring set if you are not happy with the fork. Don't know if they will charge you or not, but if I'm paying good money for a bike that is suppose to fit me right, I think that the fork should be tuned to my weight. Since the bike was discounted alot, they might charge you for the springs.

Good luck.

Since the bike was discounted alot, they might charge you for the springs.

but the above is the key part of your post. Since the shop probably made no money on the sale of the bike, it'd be kinda of insulting to insist that they swap out the springs, as the dealer would have to eat that cost. My advice to the original poster would be to hang on to the original springs as they'll come in handy when he wants to sell the bike.

thanks for the advice! i figured my weight was pushing the limits of the bike but i'll just be putzin' around town for the most part. i don't see myself getting crazy on the trails for a while. i'll look into getting some new springs for the front. when i stand up to peddle there is a lot of bounce. it's fine sitting though.

That's one sweet ride you got for the price, I'm jealous. Just keep in mind that this bike is made more as a lightweight XC racing and singletrack bike than anything else. It's not meant for any kind of hucking and while it's a great bike, you're at the upper weight limit for someone who has much business doing any serious riding this model (and I weigh more than you do, so I'm not ragging on you).

Your fork is a lower end model selected for its price and weight. See if you can get your LBS to install firmer springs more appropriate for someone your size.

I'd be careful with the curb hopping and stuff and other urban riding with this bike. Also, the weak point I've heard about the current Motobecanes is the quality of their wheelbuilds. They're machine-built wheels and I've read people saying over and over that they have to have the wheel retrued and tensioned, or sometimes just rebuilt properly. I'd love to get a Motobecane Fly or Fantom (at least after I can lose a little more weight) and I'd probably handle this issue by throwing the wheels on my truing stand and giving them a good tensioning right out of the box, then stay on top of them if any problems started to appear.

Take care of that thing and have loads of fun. You got a great bike for a bargain!!!