Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Motobecanes Titanium FatBike final specs and release date.

85K views 504 replies 82 participants last post by  tankhead10 
#1 ·
#217 ·
Hello everyone! I ordered my new Night Train Bullet Titanium last Sunday and it arrived on Friday. No complaints with BD or UPS with packaging and shipping. The bike is in perfect condition. I'm waiting to finish putting it together until a few component upgrades arrive. I've been riding my "better half's" Sturgis Bullet while she's away visiting family, so I'll have a good comparison of the two after I get on the Ti bike. I'm setting them both up tubeless, 1x with wolf tooth and raceface components, eTen dropper posts and carbon handlebars. I'm a bargain hunter, so I'll wait until the right parts come up for the right price. Her bike is a 2015 and it has the 120mm bluto and mine came with the 100mm, so I'll probably swap those out. We're up in the Lake Tahoe area and plan on using them in the snow as well as the dirt. I'm looking forward to seeing and reading about everyone else's adventures and tinkerings with these fun bikes.
 
#220 ·
Couple Questions on 1X10 or 1X11

What is the formal designation for the freehub we have? HG Shimano style?

Can you run a 11-42t 10Sp Cassette with the X7 rear derailleur, if yes, what if any adjustments should I look for? Was thinking the new Sunrace CSMX8 11-42t 10spd. Wide ratio but only 10sp with a 28t up front.

Is the Ride 36/22 crank on the Sturgis a 104/64mm BCD? Can you run a 28T on the inside spider and adjust it outward and a bashguard on the 104mm BCD?

Cheers,
H
 
#223 ·
Well the bike is here. It is huge, beautiful and in PERFECT condition. Stand over is basically my nuts split between the top tube. It is SO tall up front. But once on the bike all is well.

I have one question. The crank arms had washers zip tied to it, do I need to use then for the crank pedal interface? Are they necessary?

This is a huge bike. I don't mean that it doesn't fit me, it's just a huge bike. Doesn't feel heavy at all. Wow what a quality frame!!! Just as sweet as my Merlin Agilis was. And the rock shock is beautiful also. Can't wait to hit the trails early thanksgiving morning... Thanks for all your help, pics to follow...happy thanksgiving everyone.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
 
#228 ·
That warning label was removed from my bike about 30 seconds after I removed the dork disc (which was the first thing I did after the full assembly). It's like the mattress labels that say "do not remove under penalty of death" or something to that effect. It's just a manufacturer CYA decal.

And yeah.. it seems like a really big frame, doesn't it? I've seen aluminum frames with smaller tubes.. LOL. But it rides really nice so I'm not complaining. Just imagine if BD could get the frame designed with hydroformed tubing to get the sizing a little more user friendly. It would be the best bang you'd ever find for a fat bike.

Btw, I tried going tubeless again this weekend and STILL can't get the tire to release its death grip from the rim. I even carefully put a heat gun on the tire to get it a little more pliable with no help. I think I'll just ride it tubed for the winter and worry about it next spring. If anybody wants to come over and show me how to do it, I'll buy you a case of Fat Tire ale. :)
 
#230 ·
JoeFriday,

I'm 6'7" 260lbs and I just stomped on it. It can handle my weight flying a rocky trail. it's not that fragile so put some @ss into it or get your biggest next door neighbor to step on it. It did take 3 plastic tire irons to get it off the rims after the bead was released.

Look at it this way. A flat on the trail and walk is no fun. At Home, with appropriate beverage in close proximity, you can work this thing over and not face the long walk of shame on the trail. Don't give up and Happy thanksgiving.
H
 
#231 ·
Thanks for the help, guys. Shelterock, I'm literally half your weight, so I might not have quite the influence as you do. I'll try the c-clamp method first. I wasn't all that worried about damaging the tire, but was afraid I'd tear the tube inside and not be able to finish the job, resulting in an unrideable wheel until I did something drastic.
 
#233 ·
WOWOWOWOWOW. 2.5 hours of laughing out loud FUN. Everything functioned as it should. I like the shifters more than I thought but still miss grip shift.

The only problem is that the seat post slipped twice while riding. I am just at about 3+ on the seatpost but it slipped down to 2 the first time and just above 3 the next. Don't know if I put too much ti prep on post or what but this happened when I had another ti frame mountain bike. It became a problem...... Hopefully not on this bike.

Other than that; it really is just what I was looking for. Something new. Something exciting. A new type of riding in the woods. How wonderful! It is a beast and I am the beast master. Thanks BikesDirect for such a wonderful package. Thanks everyone here for your valued information. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
 
#235 ·
Maybe it's been answered before, but what is the deal with the Motobecane and BD hate?

I was at my LBS and test rode some bikes in the last few weeks. The 2016 Kona WO was particularly interesting because it was a good fit while the Carver Ti was a little out of my price range. I had not told them about deciding on a NTB Ti yet when during discussion one of the owners mentioned how heavy a current bike build was going, and said "It'll be heavy, like Sturgis Heavy". Since I was interested in all bikes that fit my criteria (to replace my aged Pugs), I knew the weight of the Sturgis to be the same as the WO, around 35/36 pounds. I did not mention this since the Sturgis was obviously the distant relative no one talked about, but I am unsure as to why. The NTB/Sturgis has a nice build, better than the WO, and very similar dimensions with nearly identical pricepoints. For a few hundred more, I chose the Ti due to it being Ti (I love my early Merlin road bike) and the superior build components.

I know the LBS don't make money off BD bikes but you'd think they'd be happy to get the business from upgrade/maintenance/failures than nothing at all. It's been said many times the LBS doesn't make a lot of the bikes they sell, they make it by other avenues.

Now I'm hesitant to take the bike (when it arrives) to my favorite LBS just for that reason, should it need anything. I don't really want to go to another one since I don't trust them, trust built over years of interaction. So what do you do?
 
#238 ·
Good point. In the 30 years that I've been riding, I've taken bikes to the shop exactly twice. The first time was for a new front dérailleur that I couldn't get to shift right. The mechanic couldn't either and swapped it out under warranty. The second time was to have a bottom bracket installed. It was cheaper to have them do it rather than buy the required tool and I knew I wouldn't be doing it another time.

Seriously, bikes are so simple I could list every single part off the top of my head. It's not rocket science. And aside from messing with cassettes or bottom brackets, you can work on just about anything with a wrench, screwdriver or hex tool. You know those little multi-tools that fit in seatbags? That's what I use for 90% of my maintenance. :)
 
#237 ·
It's a combination of a couple things. First, Motobecane hasn't been a top tier name brand in decades. Sort of like Raleigh was a department store bike at one point. There's no caché behind the brand like there is for Colnago. But with a French name it's sort of looked upon as a poseur brand by the 'elite'.

Then there is the fact that no Tour winners are riding them. And that's mostly how people decide what is 'good'. It doesn't matter if it's an excellent product for the everyday biker. It's how many times they see the brand on a podium that matters to them, even tho the bikes that the pros are riding are a far cry from the bikes in stores.

And along that same vein, there's advertising and magazine reviews. Little to none is done for the Motobecane lineup. So the bike shops sneer at the 'no name' brand. Even tho they all know of it.

The irony is that everyone says you could buy a bike like ours and strip off all the parts and throw away the frame (which is the only 'Motobecane' part) and still get a decent deal. So they know the value is there even if the frame were junk. However, those who have ridden them know the quality is right up there.

There's another thread on here where someone was debating between buying a Ti Motobecane and a Surly. And all the Moto-haters were talking trash about the ti frame and how it was stupid to 'shoot your wad' on a Motobecane frame compared to a 'good ti frame' until I pointed out that none of them ever saw one of the frames in person, and for the price you were not getting just a ti frame, but a full SRAM, Mulefut, Bluto build up. The frame is almost free. Oddly enough, nobody had a comeback for that.

Btw, I had a very different experience when I took my Sturgis into a LBS to find a rear rack that fit. At least three of the guys working in the back came out to look it over. It was probably the first Moto fat bike they'd seen. They looked it over pretty closely and all seemed to approve. But I think that's the difference between actually seeing one and just hearing about a 'mail order bike'.

Of course, if you brought yours into their shop, their first thought would be 'he didn't buy from us'. But if they have any common sense they'd treat you as a valued custom still. If they don't, they aren't worth doing business with anymore.
 
#239 ·
I grew up in Belgium, France, U.K. And now 25+ years in NY. I rode several original Motobecane bikes including the full suspension deal they made in the 80s. Their mopeds were awesome too, what a way to get around when you were 14.
The lbs got a shot at my money, and 6 months of reading told me that these bikes are a great deal. I work hard for my cash. I choose these guys. We're in an area where there is little competition and with my size, no inventory on the floor. These things made the decision easier.
I took my bike in to get the derailleur tuned up And didn't have A torque wrench so they secured the front rotor too. I asked them to inflate the bluto too but they forgot. Getting value for your money is hard.

The bikes direct 'tude is very common partly because if it doesn't say Gucci, it can't be good. I see it in my RC flying space too. Futaba, JR, Spektrum big bucks, I fly a $50 transmitter, 1/4 of the price, and never had a glitch with my China built unit.
If it ain't a brand, it can't be good. Short sightedness is hard to accept when you spent all your money to look the part versus just getting out and riding.

Consider yourself a savvy shopper and informed consumer. The LBS resents the loss of business to the Internet. It's a growing trend. It's nieve of them to not be nice to You regardless of what you buy. Service it with a smile and you may get more business in the future.
H
 
#241 ·
Having been directly involved in the bike industry and worked with many shops of all sizes I can tell you that bike sales do not drive the success of the LBS. Service/repair, parts and apparel are where we make money. Bring your bikes to them for service and they will be happy. There are far too many brands on the market for shops to cop an attitude.

Forget the mail order nonsense too. It's not like the LBS bikes are delivered by storks. They bulk buy the minimum requirement to maintain the brand......and the bikes come in waves. Assembly and push out the door. Mix in some apparel, a helmet and it's a nice sell.

LBS owners are not in it just for the money. They have to have a passion for cycling because they could work at Costco and make more....with better benefits.

Ride on!
 
#243 ·
I hear you, Dilligaff. I've been riding fairly passionately for several dozen years, and the last bike I built up was only 7 years ago. But when I started to research bikes for a new build a couple months ago, I was shocked how much had changed in just a few years. Through axles and disc brakes being the most obvious. And bottom bracket standards have mostly been thrown out the window. SRAM used to be a smaller entity in the components market but have become much more mainstream. And then there are the minor details like clutch derailleurs and whatnot. It's a different world, for sure. But once you get some of the new technology sorted out, it's still just a bicycle with a limited number of parts.
 
#244 ·
I made a little progress on the tubeless conversion the other day. I finally figured out how to break the bead on those Mulefut/Snowshoe bastards. It doesn't actually require brute force, but just a long time (15 minutes or so) of stepping on the tires, going all around the rim. Eventually they loosen up enough to get the bead broken in one spot and then it's not so bad. Altho, removing the tires from the rims required enough swearing to send my dog running from the room. And I managed to break 3 tire levers, too. So make sure you have a good supply of those if you're doing it the first time.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage a successful conversion. I didn't have the Sun/Ringle tape on hand, but found some 2.88" Gorilla tape in a local store. Another wrench that I threw into the works was that I couldn't find Sun/Ringle rim strips, and was using a 64mm Surly (Rolling Darryl) version, which went on fairly easily but seemed to be a good fit. They didn't look significantly wider than the 60mm stock strips, so I don't think that was much of an issue. But the rim tape definitely wasn't doing the job since I had leaks all over the place. Both wheels would inflate to 20psi with a compressor, but only held air for about 10 minutes even with about 6oz of Stan's. So I'll have to try again with better/wider tape. I might pony up for the approved Sun/Ringle tape.

For now, I'm just glad to have figured out how to separate the rim and tire.
 
#254 ·
Spring for the Sun/Ringle tape. I've done 4 tubeless fat bike setups prior to this one, and between the Mulefut rim and the Sun/Ringle tape this was by far the easiest - and that's even with non tubeless-ready tires (Surly BFL/Knard summer, and Bud/Lou winter).
 
#245 ·
And here's something I figured out that might be helpful for anybody with a Bluto. If you want to put your bike on a car rack with the front wheel removed, you'll need a through-axle adapter. Make sure you get one wide enough for the Bluto fork. Most adapters are set up for a standard width fork.

It looks like the best option is the Hurricane Brutus Fork Up (15x150) adapter. There's another thread about it already, but thought I'd mention it here..

http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/fork-mount-roof-rack-w-bluto-995016.html
 
#246 ·
Hey y'all, I just replaced my water bottle cage bolts with some nylon bolts. I noticed that there was absolutely no ti prep on these bolts. Please check your frames and apply ti prep where needed...luckily I won't need the three locations for anything. I use a camelback for hydration and tool carrying..

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top