Hi everyone,

I used to ride trails a long time ago 10+ years and am thinking of getting back into the game.
(Slowly! - due to a bad back)

I've researched some of the comments here on Moto bikes and a number of opinions seem to point to bikesdirect.com

I'm deciding between the 600HT or 700HT. I'm not sure that the $100 differential is justified.
Also, the Phantom Trail DS for $800 has everything that I would want. (Full suspension, Fr/Rr Disc and Fr/Rr Lockout)
http://bikesdirect.com/products/mountain_bikes.htm

Can you guys give me some opinions?
Namely are these bikes worth the price?
There seems to be opposing opinions with regards to good frame but sup par components etc.
I also went to a LBS and looked at a Giant Yukon 07 for about 499.

Decisions, decisions
Thanks in advance. :madman:

the minimum you wanna get into is the trail ds....dont go with the 700ds series....atleast if you get a fantom ds, you can upgrade everything on it over time, and still have a killer bike.....if you buy a 700ds, and upgrade stuff, you're still going to have a poop bike....

why is a 700DS considered a poop bike, even if upgraded? whats the diff between the phantom and 700?

their 300-400-500-600-700 anything series are pretty much poop in my opinion.
The frame is of quality around the $300 dollar bike range. The things they change are adding higher level deraillers and thats pretty much it.

I Have 2 700ht's. I Bought One From Bikesdirect.com And The Other On Ebay From Bikes Direct. The One From Ebay I Bought Was For My Wife. Its Not The Same Bike As The One I Bought Direct From Bikes Direct. The Frame Is Different And It Has Some Lower End Stuff On It. I Did Pay About $100.00 Less On Ebay But Was Disappointed. The Ht700 I Bought Direct Is Great. I Really Shopped Around And None Of My Local Bike Shops Could Come Close To A Bike With The Same Hardware. The Frame Is Not To Heavy. I Hear A Lot Of People Who Dont Own Them Complain About The Weight. My Buddy Has A Gary Fisher And He Paid $200.00 More And My Bike Is Twice The Bike. So The Moral Of The Story Is The Motobecane Is Grea As Long As You Buy It Direct From Bikes Direct.com

I Have 2 700ht's. I Bought One From Bikesdirect.com And The Other On Ebay From Bikes Direct. The One From Ebay I Bought Was For My Wife. Its Not The Same Bike As The One I Bought Direct From Bikes Direct. The Frame Is Different And It Has Some Lower End Stuff On It. I Did Pay About $100.00 Less On Ebay But Was Disappointed. The Ht700 I Bought Direct Is Great. I Really Shopped Around And None Of My Local Bike Shops Could Come Close To A Bike With The Same Hardware. The Frame Is Not To Heavy. I Hear A Lot Of People Who Dont Own Them Complain About The Weight. My Buddy Has A Gary Fisher And He Paid $200.00 More And My Bike Is Twice The Bike. So The Moral Of The Story Is The Motobecane Is Grea As Long As You Buy It Direct From Bikes Direct.com

i'd be willing to bet that the one you got off ebay was a previous model year to the one you got from bikes direct....they way bikes direct does it when they upgrade, is that this years 700ht will be like NEXT years 600ht....and so on and so forth...they always upgrade little stuff here and there to make it and upgrade over last years model...

:skep: Hmm, I have a Fly Pro, which I love, and am shopping for a good bike for my fiance, and was looking at the 700HT. It pretty much spec'ed up with bikes in the $900 range at my LBS's. I was going to pull the trigger on some leftover '07s on eBay that were just plain cheap for what you were getting, even just for the parts, but missed the opportunity.:bluefrown: However, :smilewinkgrin: there are now plenty of '08s on ebay from sprtymama and bikedirectbikes, or from the bikesdirect webpage, including the frame only for $95. Kinesium makes these frames for Motobecane and many other bike manufacturers, and from the closeup shots on ebay, they seen well made, good welds etc. However, there are a few changes, for the better.:thumbsup: For the same money as last years 700HT, you do get a (somewhat) better fork (Dart2 instead of Judy TT), and the frame was redesigned a bit, borrowing from their higher priced bikes. Well worth the extra $100, IMO. For MRMORIN74, did you get those bikes the same year? Does one have the Judy fork and one has the DART2? So long story short, always spend as much as you can afford, but for $450, especially this year, the 700HT is a(n unbeatably) good deal. If I do say so myself.:ciappa: :ihih:

EDIT: This is all for 700HT. 600HT steps down so much in components I wouldn't recommend it, and based on the fact that dozens of last years 700HT sold in a few days on ebay, while the 600HT, for a little less, didn't sell at all and are still there for sale, I think most would agree, 700HT is the sweet spot. And don't forget, you can always upgrade components!

Kinesium makes these frames for Motobecane and many other bike manufacturers, and from the closeup shots on ebay, they seen well made, good welds etc.


kinesis is the company that makes them, and kinesium is their form of 6061aluminum....

kinesis is the company that makes them, and kinesium is their form of 6061aluminum....

:idea: :blush: ...what he said...

I just faced the same decision of 600 HT vs. 700 HT and bought the 700 HT last month. (2008 model.) The better (though still mechanical) brakes, XT instead of LX components, and the Dart 2 fork seemed to be worth the extra $100. I didn't want to risk getting the 600 and then regretting it later. For only $100 more, I thought it was worth the upgrades and the piece of mind that I did the best I could do within my budget.

The bike is great and I'm happy with my purchase so far. I took it out on a singletrack for the first time this week and it performed better than I did. ;) The pedals seem cheap but that' s an upgrade most people probably make anyway. Everyting else on the bike has been great.

Buying from BikesDirect.com was a very positive experience. They were very friendly and responsive when I asked for guidance on the frame size. They shipped the bike quickly with UPS tracking info. Overall, it was a better experience than I got from REI.com when I bought my son's K2 the same week as I bought my Moto. (REI,com was two weeks behind on filling bike orders, but I'm a big fan of the REI store in my town.)

I hope that helps you and anyone else considering the 700 HT.

Mike