trek from local bike shop vs motobecane online

[callmej]

my friend is purchasing his first road bike. he's been riding an old huffy for a couple of months. he recently took a beach trip with his brother and rode a road bike for several days in a row and now has been bitten by the bug.

i've emphasized to him a number of things ad nauseum such as test ride a number of bikes and that fit is the most important thing, etc.....

he road a trek 2.3 (full 105 alum. with usual carbon parts) tonight and really liked it plus as a 2010 model it was on sale.

however, he is more inclined to buy a bike online and wants to get as much bike as he can for his money. i don't think he is really interested in test riding a bunch of bikes. he is looking at a motobecane full carbon with ultegra and 105 mix. the trek and the motobecane are almost identical in price.

i've compared the geometry on the two bikes and i think the motobecane will fit, but i for one just could not bring myself to buy a bike that i have not test ridden, nor one that i have never heard very much about. i think that he would be better served to buy from the local bike shop and get a good fit plus would get a bike with name recognition that he could more easily sell if decides to upgrade.

i guess what i am looking for here, is to see if any of you have an opinion or any experience with Motobecane that might lessen my concern about his buying online.

[7rider]

If he wants as much bike as he can for the money and the 2 bikes he's looking at are about the same price, then it seems a no-brainer to go with the local purchase. He'd get much more than a bike. He'd get a shop that would stand by what they sold him and be an ongoing resource for him as he learns and grows as a cyclist. I doubt the online retailer would do much more for him than take his credit card info.

[Trek-chick]

I have never bought a complete bike online. I agree with above poster about buying from the LBS. When I bought my Trek 520 at the LBS I actually drove 18 miles out of my way to go to the best bike shop around, even though there is a big Trek dealer right up my street 5 min. away! I always try to support the bike shops. A good quality bike shop is priceless.

[indysteel]

Suggest that he read reviews of the bike at www.roadbikereview.com. Motobecanes are typically reviewed, but it would be worthwhile to read reviews of the specific bike and retailer he's considering.

I generally like to support local shops, but I think he should get the bike that most excites him to ride. It is possible to build a relationship with a shop regardless of where you buy the bike. There are good and bad shops out there, so the mere fact that it's local doesn't necessarily sway me one way or another.

[Becky]

Has he factored in the cost to have the Motebecane assembled?

I'm not against buying bikes online. In fact, I've done it 3 times now. But it took me a long time to figure out what I liked fit-wise enough to be comfortable spending $1k+ based on the geometry charts. I also have the skills and tools to build a bike from scratch, so there's no additional cost there.

[Cataboo]

Ditto what Becky said - if you know what you're doing and either can assemble yourself or have a friend that can - you can get great prices for bikes online. If you don't know a lot about what geometry will fit you, then it can be an expensive mistake.

[SheFly]

We are lucky enough to also have the skills and knowledge to purchase bikes online and assemble/service ourselve (ok, not me, but DH ). I have purchased entire bikes from an LBS, and online.

That said, many LBS's get a bit indignant about servicing a bike not purchased at their shop (especially if it was purchased online). Your friend should take that into consideration unless he is planning on building/servicing the bike himself.

And Motobecanes are relatively good bikes, and have gotten better in the past couple of years. i have a friend who is riding their 'cross bike this season and she loves it. Another friend has just purchased their titanium commuter, which we are also considering. There is nothing wrong with the brand itself.

SheFly

[indysteel]

Frankly, I don't understand the indignation, especially in this economy. I think it's incredibly shortsighted. If an LBS strives to provide good service to everyone who walks in the door regardless of where they bought their bikesn then they stand to make more money and build a good reputation. The shops around here thankfully don't cop that attitude, and I would take my business elsewhere if they did.

[ny biker]

The guys at my LBS don't mind servicing bikes bought elsewhere, but they charge less if you bought from them.

Add me to the list of people who prefer to ride the bike before buying it to make sure it fits.

[Eden]

The same price? Really?

I don't see a $1,600 CF bike on the Motobecan site, which is what Trek says is the MSRP for a 2.3 (much less the price for one on sale)

but anyway, my comment about Motobecan. One of the ways they save money and make their bikes look better is to put one high end component on them - usually a rear derailleur and then call it an "Ultegra" or "Dura Ace" equipped bike. The rest of the stuff is lower grade - usually the shifters are at least a grade down, the cranks are FSA, cheap brakes etc.

When you look at the Trek and they say its a 105 bike - its all 105.

Do you pay a bit for the Trek name? Probably, but Motobecan isn't as generous as they seem either.

[Cataboo]

I see a couple carbon fiber motorbecane'sfor cheaper than the trek:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rtalpro_09.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...pro_carbon.htm

Op stated in the beginning that the motobecane is an ultegra/105 mix.


I think there are good bike shops and bad bike shops - and everyone's rosy picture where they buy a bike and have really good results and a happy relationship ever after doesn't always happen. IT didn't the one time i bought a bike at a local bike shop. But I've been lucky enough ever since to be able to do any work I needed or the BF can. So I've bought most of my bikes online ever since, and I'll unapologetically state that I've saved a ton of money. Op probably knows the bike shops around her and can recommend a good one to her friend.

I helped a friend last week - she just bought a new surly LHT from a LBS a couple weeks ago, and while being fit on it she told them that she didn't think she could use the brake levers, it was too long a reach - they said they thought it was fine, and she should ride it a while to try it out. She rode it a while, came back and told them it was too long a reach - they wanted to charge her $70 labor on top of the price of the new levers. So she bought the levers herself and I put them on for her. $70 to change brake levers on a bike that you've bought new from a shop is a bit much.

I will say that possibly local bike shops in the DC area can get away with things like that - because there are still a lot of people in the area who are making reasonable amounts of money and can afford bikes - and realize that they have to spend a lot of money on bikes and their upkeep.

[Eden]

I see a couple carbon fiber motorbecane'sfor cheaper than the trek:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rtalpro_09.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...pro_carbon.htm

Op stated in the beginning that the motobecane is an ultegra/105 mix.

Ah - I was comparing list price to list price via the Trek and Motobecan web sites. I'm sure the Trek sells for less than list too...... (though half is probably pushing it a bit).

Like I said - you have to look carefully at what you actually get on the Motobecan - its not just a mix of Ultegra and 105. The rear derailleur and shifters are those - other parts are other stuff - low end Cane Creek brakes (their good brakes are good, the low end ones I had on a bike and hated), FSA cranks (can't comment on those).

I'm not sure why people expect free service at bike shops... You don't get free service at your auto dealer if you buy the part there...... The Maytag guy doesn't throw in the service on your washing machine for free just because you needed a part.... I can see if you get a brand new bike and you know you want different components *before* the bike is assembled that they shouldn't charge extra, but otherwise I think that expecting them to do free stuff for you is unfair.

[Cataboo]

Upgrading the brakes is probably $50-$100 ebay prices - I think it's about $35 for tiagra brakes on ebay, $50 for 105, and I'm not sure for ultegra. Brakes are something almost anyone should be able to swap, as long as they have allen wrenches.

FSA cranks - I've never had a problem with, it's been easier for me to find high end FSA cranks in 165mm than it has been to find them in shimano - so I've had carbon FSA cranks on almost all my bikes.

As for free service from bike shops - generally the argument in this thread is that you should buy the bike from the LBS, because after buying the bike from them, they're more likely to work with you to get it to fit you or give you deals on service. I'm just mentioning that that is not always the case. I do think that if you mention before buying a bike that you don't think a part will work, and you want it swapped out - and they assure you that it'll work or you should try it for a while - that they shouldn't charge a lot of labor later to make it right after you've bought the bike from them. Now I suppose if it could be that it would have been $100 labor if she hadn't bought the bike from them. Either way, it's a lot to pay for labor in a job that really doesn't take very long since they're brake levers and not brifters.

[Eden]

Whether or not you can change the components or if you like them is not relevant to my point.... my point only is that that while the Trek may have some $$$ added for the name, there are actual differences in the components. While Motobecan may have thrown on an Ultegra rear derailleur for the bling factor of being able to say its got Ultegra, they've cheaped out on some other components. Regular retail, the brakes and crank alone are worth about $200 less. The wheel set that is standard on the Trek has more value than the upgraded one on the Motobecan.

So they put the Motobecan drastically "on sale" and make it sound like a great deal, but if you look at it carefully, its not necessarily as great as they make it out to be. The biggest thing would be the frame alu vs carbon. Trek's comparable carbon model (the 3.1) which has very similar components (including the down graded cranks and wheels) has an MSRP that is actually a lot less than Motobecan lists for theirs..... On sale the Trek, especially now at the end of the year on a 2010 model, is probably pretty similar. In the end you usually get what you pay for. Sometimes you pay a bit more for a big name or a good reputation, but not as much as you might think.

Not that I'm in love with Trek, by no means.. I just think that Motobecan is misrepresenting themselves a bit by touting an "ultegra" bike by putting one or two small components on it in that range and by highly inflating their MSRP so that they can put it waaaaaaaay on sale.

[callmej]

I'm in awe of all the info this forum has provided. I'm just going to direct my friend here so he can read the replies for himself.

I wish I had been more explicit in my original post in comparing the two bikes. Here is the link for the motobecane:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rtalpro_09.htm sale price $1299

and here is the link for the trek bike specs from bike pedia: http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...9917&Type=bike

Again, I appreciate everyone's input on the topic, and they were pretty varied across the board.

I'm still of the opinion that shopping, researching, and test riding bikes before you buy is all part of the fun. However, i was happy to see that there were no horror stories about Motobecane bikes.