trek from local bike shop vs motobecane online

[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.