Hondo Gravel

I have several Motobecane bicycles and they have been good bikes. I have modified all of them with aftermarket parts to customize them to what I like. I have no problems with them they have been as good as my Gary Fisher and Cannondale. I do 90% of the bicycle mechanics and haven’t notice any difference. With the exception of the paint which isn’t as good but over time all my bikes get scuffed up.

Myosmith

While not an "original" Motobecane, I do have a five-year-old Gran Premio that is my primary road bike. I did replace the wheels with a handbuilt set (the originals are still in service on another bike) and the usual fit and creature comforts like saddle and stem. I have absolutely zero complaints about this bike and it has served me well for several thousand miles.

HerrKaLeun

Assuming you mean newer ones sold by BD.
They have different levels and overall are good for the money.

My motobecane fatbike seems better than my Giant and Trek hybrids. Better frame welds, better components.

If you want better bikes, you need to move up to canyon or YT.

Depending on which model you save 30-50% compared to a comparable LBS bike.

Koyote

I had a Motobecane 10 speed back in the '70s. It was a beautiful bike: lugged construction, pinstripes, etc. I traded it in on a Fuji 12 speed, which was obviously a better bike, since it had 20% more gears.

_ForceD_

I ride a late 1970s Motobecane. The original owner, a former Navy friend, purchased it in Toulon, France when his ship stopped there. He gave it to me when we were stationed together...around 1990. A few years ago I finally had it powder coated and reapplied some MB decals. I've made so many changes and upgrades over the years that the only original item now is only frame itself. But I love the bike nonetheless. -- Dan

wipekitty

I have a 'Motobecane' (Bikes Direct) single speed, the so-called 'Track' model. The frame is steel, and it's heavy but solid; I use it for commuting, SS/FG road riding, and have beat it up pretty well over the past eight years. It's a fine bike, and is my go-to bike for when I want to lock up outside and do not mind getting some scratches.

seoride85

I ride a Motobecane Grand Record. I've owned it about 12-13 years, and put several thousand miles on it. I finally had to replace the front derailleur this summer, and obviously I've replaced tires, but that is the only thing I've had to do outside of routine maintenance.

greatscott

I know a guy who bought a Moto Titanium bike about 9 years ago, and other than going with a stiffer Enve 2.0 fork he's had no issues with it whatsoever.

hillyman

Funny how times change. Once upon a time Bikesdirect fighting words here. Had a few posts about my Motobecane Mirage deleted by a monitor because he owned a bike shop.
Now Motobecanes have been reviewed by Bicycling magazine and Bikesdirect ads show up on my screen before I log in.
So yes Motobecanes bikes are alright. Much better than when the first brought the name back from the Dead.

seoride85

I ended up on this thread because I'm looking to buy a mountain bike, after only road biking or doing multi-use trails for a decade, and I'm looking at BD because I can buy twice the bike. I love my local bike shop, but I don't plan on buying more than one bike, so I want what I buy to last. I was going to go for another Motobecane, but they are all sold out until September, so it's looking like I'm going to go with a Gravity FSX 29. As far as I can tell, most people think it's a good bike for the price.

Chad991

Immortal force, ultegra, carbin frame/fork....sweet ride

Chuckles1

Two of my three bikes are BD Motobecane, a 2007 Fantom Cross and a 2019 Omni Strada Pro Disc gravel road bike. A lot of bike for the money, and whoever designs them knows what they're doing. 20,000 mi. on Fantom, now my road bike. My only issues were the Fantom came with a rear wheel that needed dished, and the Omni is heavier than I'd like, but it does have 36 spoke wheels and hydraulic disc brakes, so not surprising. My steel frame 1981 Raleigh still goes, but i only use it for indoor trainer. The Motobecanes are way more fun to ride, and the Omni has rack mounts, so my last excuse to ride the Raleigh is gone.

MntnMan62

I have a Bikes Direct Motobecane that I bought in 2000 or 2001 or so. It's their Sprintour. The main reason I bought it was because it was outfitted with a full Ultegra kit. Derailleurs, shifters, brakes, cranks, chainrings, cassette. It's light and smooth. And I find it to be a blast to ride. And back then it cost me all of $1,100. If i'm not mistaken, just the Ultegra components run close to that price. Frankly, if I were to buy another bike to add to the stable I'd get another Motobecane from BD, but this time it would be a Titanium frame with Ultegra.

Phil_gretz

...during the bike boom of the 1970s. I rode a heavily upgraded Mirage Sport in the 1980s that wasn't a bad ride considering its humble tube set. Since, I've owned an '82 Jubile Sport (fabulously sporty ride) and a '77 Grand Jubile (lovely bike, uninspiring ride). In the modern Taiwanese and Chinese contract build versions branded by Bikes Direct, you'll find a wide range of bikes.

I ride one as my commuter - aluminum, disc brakes, 105 drive train, cyclocross wheels, endurance geometry - it's terrific for what it is. I have a Gran Premio something that is full 105, RS-11 wheelset, 520 tubing in a compact geometry - rides and fits well for a 21 pound road bike. No complaints, in fact it's a pretty fun ride for anytime that I want to push a bit faster. But it's not a 17lb bike on climbs, so there's that.

I built up a modern aluminum Mirage something-or-other scratch and dent from BikeIsland for my son in law. It needed a drive side crank and shifters (ST-A073), seatpost and saddle. I might've paid and put in $300 for that bike. We rode together yesterday, and he really loves it. Fits him perfectly and he doesn't expect much from a bike, so its' fine.

I've bought a couple of their hardtail aluminum MTBs (29er for me, 27.5 for my wife), and upgraded to decent air suspension forks. Okay bikes for XC, if you're not racing.

So, I wouldn't shy away from them. But if possible I'd buy from Bike Island and replace what's busted up or missing.

joeruge

After a cycling crash in 2010 on my road bike (broken collar bone), I thought a wider tired, Mtb. would allow me to ease back into riding without all the jarring severity of skinny tired road bike. I didnt take it mountain biking, just road it on the road and bike paths. Since I didn't know anything about mountain bikes, I didn't want to spend a bundle, so I turned to Bikes Direct.

I eventuality settled on a Motorbecane Falcon pro, titanium frame mountain bike with XT components and Avid Juicy 7 disc brakes. It's been a great bike. The frame is beautifully assembled with velvet smooth fillets. I don't ride it a lot, but after 10 years, I don't think I've had to even adjust the derailleur cables. The Avids have given me a little trouble, but I attribute that mostly to not riding the bike enough to keep them ' loose.'

Really, no complaints about this Motobecane. Though aficionados and connoisseurs might look down their noses at them, I think they are a very good value.

Phil_gretz

Maybe change the bar tape to a wine/claret color? That yellow splash isn't a fashion statement...

Phil_gretz

It's not clear which one you mean, but generally the suspension components at that price point are sub-par performers. That's easy to correct if you shop eBay for discontinued new OEM components that are a few years old. Buy it, ride it, upgrade it when you can.

EDIT: Or, buy it and order a replacement fork at the same time. Swap forks and sell the original as a new take-off, recovering 25% of the cost of a the decent fork you bought...

Ross520

Bottom-of-the-barrel coil shocks that were released a decade ago, 9 speed, and AWFUL tektro mechanical brakes....

Save your money and buy a hard-tail from a reputable manufacturer.

Chad991

came that way from the guy I got it from...its ugly but I will change it when it wears out...I will let the weight weenie/fashion twerps worry bout those things...I ride it

Hiro11

BD "Motobecane" has nothing to do with 70s Motobecane, just to be super clear here. BD Motobecane are just Taiwanese catalog frames with a bunch of parts.

I have one of their older Ti frames and a 2016 fatbike from them. The Ti frame is likely the best deal. It's a rebadged ORA Engineering frame with nothing fancy neutral/race geometry, rim brakes, QR drop outs, nice looking welds and one of the worst looking forks ever made. I bought this as a frame and I like it in general as an all-purpose backup road bike.

The fatbike is more of a fat tired bikepacking rig than trail bike. It came with a super flexy Rockshox Bluto and old school 2x XT drivetrain but it's been reliable fun in the winter months here. I did have to swap out the absolutely garbage SRAM Guide RS brakes, but I don't blame BD for that..

Overall, these bikes are hardly cutting edge, but they use proven technology, they are reliable and they ride decently. I will say that most of them are absolute aesthetic train wrecks.

Metieval

In my opinion, entry level bikes from Big names have reduced quality in the last 5 years. So why pay more for a name just so they can pay racers to promote their name to get you to buy more of their bikes. Waste of money!

I'd rather buy a bicycle for it's own value vs a bicycle with a "supposed" value in a name.

AndrewJB

I bought a Motobecane LeChampion SL Ti a couple years ago. Nice solid well made Ti frame, comparable weight to other Ti frames, full Ultegra 8000 group set...for $1999!
I like the looks, it was the previous (2018) style and has a flat top tube, a little more classic look to it, compared to the current Moto Ti models which have a sloped top tube similar to many other current Ti brands.
All I changed were the wheel set, seat post, & saddle. Came with a solid, mid-range set of Mavic Ksyrium wheels, nothing really wrong with them, but I had a lighter set that I installed.

MntnMan62

I have a BD Motobecane. Yes, I realize they are made in Taiwan, not France. The only thing I changed was the saddle. The stock saddle started to crack on me and wasn't all that comfortable. Put a Specialized Phenom Expert on instead. I also have mountain bike pedals. Time ATAC Alium. I refuse to have two sets of shoes for the same purpose. I wear mountain bike shoes because I started riding a mountain bike first before adding a road bike to the repertoire. I don't care if roadie snobs look down at me for it. That's their problem, not mine.

DomaneS5

I have a Motobecane Omni Strada Comp with 105 components purchased from BikesDirect in early 2017. Great gravel bike for the money.

Troul 

So far the MB CF bikcycle has been good. Only change thus far is the seat+post. Only issue I have is the crank arms are really close to the frame making the cadence sensor not clear.