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Motobecanes Titanium FatBike final specs and release date.

85K views 504 replies 82 participants last post by  tankhead10 
#1 ·
#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
 
#247 ·
Hey Joe from bikes direct, could you speak about the prep of these frames with components? If it is something the consumer should be doing no prop, just give us a little insight of frame prep while installing components. Or should we be taking to motobecane. Thanks for your time..

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk
 
#253 ·
I've run the stock wheels (80mm) with 4.8 Knard and 4.8 Lou on the frame, no rub. The Knard is a huge tire too.

I know that doesn't answer your question but I wanted to throw that out there :)

According to this site (How Fat can we go? | Blog | Surly Bikes) the Lou on a 100mm rim is 10mm wider than on an 82 mm rim.

I'll post some pics of clearance of the Lou on 80mm rim so you can hopefully get somewhat of an idea of how much clearance Lou on 100mm will have.

While I'm at it I'll grab some pics of my Bud w/ a Framed Alaskan carbon fork. I went with the Framed fork because it is available in white, which matches the aesthetic of my Sturgis Ti better (white logos and white Bluto). Based on photos of the BD carbon fork I wouldn't be surprised if they are manufactured by the same company, as they are very similar in appearance.
 
#257 ·
Here's my bike in winter mode. In addition to previous modifications I have mounted studded Bud and Lou tires and a Framed Alaskan Carbon fork and Moose Mitts pogies. I also tend to leave my frame bag and seat pack (Oveja Negra) mounted since changing temps and weather in the winter can dictate layers being added/removed.

Tire Wheel Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle tire Bicycle fork
 
#258 · (Edited)
I received my large NTB Ti a few days ago but have been too sick to assemble it. Today I felt good enough to give it a try. I have to say I'm impressed.

It weighs 34lbs 8 oz without pedals.

Tire Wheel Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel rim Automotive tire


And 35 lbs 5 oz with the cheap 520 SPD's.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle tire


I'll swap out a few things and lighten it up some, but it's lighter than my early Pugs with a bunch of upgrades already, which comes in at just over 37 pounds.

And there is a ton of room for tires. I did not see it posted, so I thought I'd post up the clearances on the stock Snowshoe's (120 tpi, 4.5").

Finger Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle tire Rim Bicycle part

Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle part Rim Automotive tire

Finger Automotive tire Metal Tread Rim


And this is on the front:

Automotive tire Rim Fender Synthetic rubber Automotive wheel system

Bicycle tire Automotive tire Bicycle part Rim Bicycle wheel rim
 
#264 ·
Looks good!

Just outta curiosity, what size is your frame? It weighs the same as my size small Sturgis Bullet ti.
Sorry, it's a large frame, I added it to my post.

I also never noticed the brake mount.

I thought I'd post clearances because the Ti and Al frames are made in different factories and people have mentioned different clearances.
 
#263 ·
Chupathingee,
Looks sharp with the Framed fork. Did you have to change any headset cups or races to fit the fork?
Also, with the Bud, you're running a 1X front so what clearance do you have and how do you think that will fit a 2X when it comes to chain rub?
H
 
#266 ·
I purchased an FSA 1.5" crown race, specifically this one for $11 from Universal Cycles:

FSA Crown Races
Orbit Xtreme-Pro 1.5" (49mm)
10605-67311

The Framed fork came with two split crown races (my LBS said you can install them without a press), compression plug, and axle.

Regarding the chain clearance I'll take a pic this evening of the chain in the biggest cog. I purchased a smaller chainring to get my granny gear ratios back for the winter, and I'll switch back to the current larger chainring in the summer.
 
#268 ·
I think they weigh 'relatively' the same. I'm sure the frames are the same. The tires are actually different. The Sturgis gets 72tpi Snowshoes and the NTB gets a nicer (presumably lighter) 120tpi version. The crankset is probably a quarter pound lighter, as well. And there are a few other minor weight losses in other components, but nothing significant. So, if you compare the same size frames, the NTB will likely weigh about a pound less (as a guess). That's why your size Large NTB weighs the same as my Small Sturgis Bullet.

If you convert to tubeless, weigh your tires separately so we can get an idea what they are at.
 
#270 ·
I am referring to bikes of the same size. According to each of our scales, my Sturgis Ti in large and his NTB Ti size large weigh the same - 34 lb 8 oz. Breaking down the components:

Crank - Ride weighs 30g more than Turbine.
Tires - 72 tpi tires weigh 90g more than 120 tpi tires (Vee's site is confusing but I think I got this one right).
Brakes - R weighs 5g more than RS.
Rear derailleur - X7 weighs 11 grams less? than X9.
Shifters - X5 weighs 18g more than X7.

The Sturgis Ti only weighs 132g more by spec. Less of a difference than I thought, but still 4.65 oz. We have the same displayed weight probably due to scale inconsistencies.

That being said the upgrades on the NTB are better, though not significantly lighter. Tires make all the difference in the world, and I would imagine the drivetrain on the NTB shifts a lot smoother/quicker. I swapped all the parts off my bike almost as soon as I got it, so I can't really comment on any of the components. I ended up going with the Sturgis because I was selling all the components on my old bike anyway, and I liked the look of white :)
 
#272 ·
yeah, I went with the Sturgis Bullet for the same reason. I think a white fork on titanium looks a lot nicer than black. But that's just me.

After spending much of my morning at work scouring the web for info on the 72tpi Snowshoe, I finally found someone with firsthand experience..

Vee Rubber Snow Shoe 4.5 ? How To Lie About The Size Of Your Unit | Electric-FatBike.com

According to the blogger's scale, it comes in at 1225 grams. Apparently not much different than the 120tpi version.
 
#278 ·
So I think I'm going to get a new fatbike, but I can't decide if I want the TI version or Al. I've always wanted a ti bike, and know I would love it if I got it, but I'm a college student and the $500 difference is a lot to me.
I tend to break frames, and I know the TI would hold up to me better, but I like the shape of the aluminum tubes and the way they did the rear brake.

I also prefer the NT color scheme with the black bluto and labels, but I'm not shelling out another $300 for it.

On an unrelated note: how are the labels adhered to the frame? Would it be possible to remove them or is it too much work? I'm sure that at this level they aren't just slapping stickers on it, but I still think rearranging the letters to say MOOT would be funny.
 
#282 ·
So I think I'm going to get a new fatbike, but I can't decide if I want the TI version or Al. I've always wanted a ti bike, and know I would love it if I got it, but I'm a college student and the $500 difference is a lot to me.
I tend to break frames, and I know the TI would hold up to me better, but I like the shape of the aluminum tubes and the way they did the rear brake.

I also prefer the NT color scheme with the black bluto and labels, but I'm not shelling out another $300 for it.

On an unrelated note: how are the labels adhered to the frame? Would it be possible to remove them or is it too much work? I'm sure that at this level they aren't just slapping stickers on it, but I still think rearranging the letters to say MOOT would be funny.
I say buy it!!! If you would like to take mine for a longer test ride let me know. The only thing I plan on changing is I want a set of 29 plus wheels for the summer and maybe a ridged fork just for comparison purposes. I'm having a hard time dialing in the bluto but that just might be a learning curve.
 
#284 ·
Ok, I've been drooling over the pics and info! Once I knew the BD had a Ti Fatty, it was only a matter of time.

Ordered Monday, expected delivery 12/10 Thurs. I've got a Ti Sturgis 21" on it's way. This will be my 3rd BD purchase (ProSL 29er, and wife's 700HT). What are folks doing for pedals and grips?

Right now I typically use clipless Shimano 545s on my 29er, but may use a used set of Kona Wa Wa platforms I have laying around. For grips, thinking about going Ergon GP1 since I have used them on my 29er and love the comfort.

Thoughts?
 
#289 ·
Ok, I've been drooling over the pics and info! Once I knew the BD had a Ti Fatty, it was only a matter of time.

What are folks doing for pedals and grips?

Right now I typically use clipless Shimano 545s on my 29er, but may use a used set of Kona Wa Wa platforms I have laying around. For grips, thinking about going Ergon GP1 since I have used them on my 29er and love the comfort.

Thoughts?
I bought Xpedo Sprye Pedals. Size 14 shoe works well. They are not that grippy and choice of shoe 5Ten vs street shoe probably helps with the stickyness. I haven't changed the grips, and won't till I upgrade the bars and the X5 shifter when I get to it.
H
 
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