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When I got back into riding I ended up buying a used Haro as a second bike. I got it dirt cheap ($45). Boy, I loved that bike...I think it was a 2002 model, but the geometry worked really well for me. In fact, I credit that Haro with sensitizing me to geometry so when I decided to start throwing serious coin at the hobby, I took the time to get pretty educated & informed about geometry. Great bike. I'd love to own a more recent one as a spare.
They put together some decent bikes at decent prices. GREAT customer service IME also.
 
I vote to close the thread. Little good can come from it based on the topic and it's been discussed ad nauseam. Just beating a dead horse.
I second this. This thread is now over a year old; personally I can't believe people are still arguing over brand snobbery (on one hand) or feeling picked on because they chose the budget brand they did (on the other.)

Run what ya brung. Enjoy or don't - it's your call. Be accountable.

Bob, please lock this thread. It's accomplishing nothing besides fostering arguments plus taking up space that it doesn't deserve. Thanks.
=sParty
 
1/128th of an inch? I call BS. And what part is 2mm?

But I agree with Slappy on 1/2" being very noticable.
Steel wire spokes, and their diameter.

Shall I bring up how people seemingly feel a big difference regarding tubing diameter (e.g. 34 vs 35mm fork stanchion), rear hub engagement, suspension, handlebar sweep and roll, 0.1" or 2mm tire width, lubrication oil?

P.S. to add to another post asking why I'm here, I got a negative rep from the guy who thinks it's all a joke. He tried to be sneaky, giving it to one of my posts in a different thread.
 
Bob, please lock this thread. It's accomplishing nothing besides fostering arguments plus taking up space that it doesn't deserve. Thanks.
=sParty
You just described a solid percentage of the threads on this site. :)

Nobody is saying anything terrible here. While somewhat off-topic (oh no!), there's nothing but fairly standard discussion of bike geometry going on.
I've been on this site a long time, and there's nothing in this thread that remotely rises to the level of what typically gets a thread locked, unless there's a bunch of deleted posts I'm not aware of.
 
Steel wire spokes, and their diameter.

Shall I bring up how people seemingly feel a big difference regarding tubing diameter, rear hub engagement, suspension, handlebar sweep and roll, 0.1" or 2mm tire width, lubrication oil?

Oh ya, part of the reason I'm here is that I got a nice negative rep from the guy who thinks it's all a joke, but he tried to be sneaky giving it to one of my posts in a different thread.
Yeah, some people believe that they can feel the difference between the same tires at the same pressure if tubed or tubeless. I'm not very sold that anyone can do that in a blind taste-test, but 1/2" on a frame or fork can make a noticeable difference. Not anything most people can't adjust to quickly and easily, but still noticeable to many people who spend a lot of time on bikes.

Positive rep given to cancel out the negative and then some.
 
P.S. to add to another post asking why I'm here, I got a negative rep from the guy who thinks it's all a joke. He tried to be sneaky, giving it to one of my posts in a different thread.
Negative reputation received from Varaxis :
03-22-2020 02:29 AM
Thread: Motobecane Owners: Are You Taunted by Fellow Mountain Bikers?
"Demonstrating terrible reading comprehension"

Negative reputation given to Varaxis:
03-22-2020 04:58 PM
Thread: Help with removing ebike crank.
"Mind your own business"

Sorry didn't mean to hurt the tender feelings lol
Nobody is sneaking, ALL reps given out come with our names attached. If anything you "sneaked" in and gave me some negative without being part of the conversation so I dished it right back to you.
 
Steel wire spokes, and their diameter.

Shall I bring up how people seemingly feel a big difference regarding tubing diameter (e.g. 34 vs 35mm fork stanchion), rear hub engagement, suspension, handlebar sweep and roll, 0.1" or 2mm tire width, lubrication oil?

P.S. to add to another post asking why I'm here, I got a negative rep from the guy who thinks it's all a joke. He tried to be sneaky, giving it to one of my posts in a different thread.
Ok, I'll give you partial credit on the spokes. I'm lightweight and I doubt I'd notice a difference in the flex between 2mm and 1.8mm but maybe. But not on 1/128th of an inch difference on the other stuff you listed. There is a big difference between 0.1" (1/10th) and 0.0078125" (1/128th)

I bet you can find variances of that amount on a lot of our gear. I'll notice my stem isn't quite 100% on straight visually while riding and it will bother me briefly and then I'll forget about it and not notice it at all.

Possibly on the thickness of the tubing on a steel frame.
 
You just described a solid percentage of the threads on this site. :)

Nobody is saying anything terrible here. While somewhat off-topic (oh no!), there's nothing but fairly standard discussion of bike geometry going on.
I've been on this site a long time, and there's nothing in this thread that remotely rises to the level of what typically gets a thread locked, unless there's a bunch of deleted posts I'm not aware of.
Can't argue with you there. Guess I'm just tired of what I perceive - right or wrong - as whining.

My bad.
=sParty
 
I second this. This thread is now over a year old; personally I can't believe people are still arguing over brand snobbery (on one hand) or feeling picked on because they chose the budget brand they did (on the other.)

Bob, please lock this thread. It's accomplishing nothing besides fostering arguments plus taking up space that it doesn't deserve. Thanks.
=sParty
Ive had two separate requests to lock this now but really there's nothing here that really warrants it to be shut down. It had not had any activity in almost a year until a few days ago. There are many threads like that on this site and I don't see any of those shut down either.

I'm continuing to get updates when replies are posted (maybe a little slower as I'm not on my work email everyday at the moment) so be assured I am continuing to watch this thread.
 
Can't argue with you there. Guess I'm just tired of what I perceive - right or wrong - as whining.

My bad.
=sParty
No, you're right homey, there's plenty of whining in here.
Apparently so much it's spilling over.

But if we start shutting threads every time someone gets all upset about being disagreed with, this whole site would be done for. Someone apparently needs to HTFU. :)
 
I'm continuing to get updates when replies are posted (maybe a little slower as I'm not on my work email everyday at the moment) so be assured I am continuing to watch this thread.
Thanks. I rescind my request to lock this thread. The content is actually quite revealing. People have a right to read it and draw their own conclusions.

And I have the right to not click on it anymore. :)

Thanks for your level headed patience.
=sParty
 
That happens all over the mtbr forums (and elsewhere)--especially when someone is asking for advice about whether to buy a motobecane.

I don't own a Motobecane (yet), although I do own a Windsor from bikesdirect. I'm really interested in Motobecane bikes, and have been actively searching for a good deal on a used one. If I needed a new bike, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Motobecane if it met all my needs.

I think the reason Motobecane/Bikes Direct gets so much hate (online) stems from a few factors. First--people who have been riding for years are (by necessity) coming from a paradigm where their LBS was their only link to the sport. They're extremely biased towards local brick & mortar bikes. But the entire global economy has shifted away from that paradigm and moved towards online purchases. Next, Bikes Direct does themselves no favors with their 2003-era website, coupled with some of their over-the-top marketing claims (e.g. crazy MSRP claims, constant boasting about the value of their tubeless-ready wheels). It's just cheesy and looks relatively low-class IMHO. Finally, Motobecane/Bikes Direct isn't an innovator in any way. They're basically selling Kinesis engineered reference designs. The geometry sometimes lags behind current trends and dudes who are buying new high-end bikes each year scoff at this.

Bikes Direct could do lots to improve their standing with bike snobs, but I honestly don't think they care. They seem to be selling plenty of bikes as-is, and I'm not sure what the benefit to their pocketbook would be if they made any attempts. Personally, I think they should overhaul their website, maybe do some YouTube sponsorships (like Diamondback has with Seth's Bike Hacks), and generally just preach the gospel of Motobecane as a high-end bike at a killer price. But again--it doesn't appear that not doing this is affecting their sales.
They do have a lame website that is for sure..... I am looking at a polygon bike myself.... not to shabby a web site
 
Idk guys and gals. I see ppl running down Bike directs for sure. They are cheaper brand that many ppl can afford to get out on. Isn’t that all that should really matter? I have a few bikes and I just purchased a HAL Boost 29” because I wanted to go bigger wheeled. I’m not hardcore rider and not a rich person. I look at this way if someone has to run me or what I ride down then it shows what kind of a person they are. If I can afford a BD bike and it does what I want it to do for me then where is the problem with that? So it is what it is I’ll get my bike Saturday and ride it. If it sucks shame on me no one else will suffer but me. I sure won’t come on here and put down the company for my decision it will be all on me.
 
I've had several people stop and ask about my HAL. They all say pretty much the same thing: they had looked at HALs and were tempted by the price-to-spec ratio but didn't want to spend thousands on a bike without being able to see one in person - or at least read a legitimate review. No one has been rude or condescending; they were just curious to see if the HAL was a "real" bike or not.
 
They do have a lame website that is for sure..... I am looking at a polygon bike myself.... not to shabby a web site
I cross shopped Polygon, Canyon, Fezzari, and others and kept coming back to the Motobecane HAL Boost. Bike Direct's website sucks and makes it more confusing than it needs to be to search through their bikes/options. As a company, they make false claims to equivalent bike MSRP's, they do not provide bikes for reviews or testing, and they provide linked YouTube videos of bikes that have nothing to do with the particular bike you are looking at.

I tried to find a reason to buy something else, but in the end for the same or less money, I get a bike with better components than the competition and geometry that I am comfotable riding. I am very happy with my purchase, no regrets.
 
Didn't read all the posts here....but after reading enough, I will give my 2 cents.....never experienced any negativity towards my moto. I think the "internet" hate comes from the guys who spend 3x times as much on the big name bike and it has Alivio on it! Also, the haters have never owned or ever ridden a Moto. I love my 2019 Hal boost 27.5+ team bike and it performs flawlessly.

As far as BD goes....BD has always answered all my questions and led me where I needed to go if I needed something. For example...in Varaxis email pics....there is one regarding a novatech hub. I blew out my original hub.....they said the same thing to me. But, they also gave me Novatech's # and I had an upgraded hub in a few days covered under warranty. I chipped a tooth on my X0 50t cassette. BD gave me the SRAM #. Called and got a new $385 cassette covered under warranty.

My next bike will be a Moto from BD too!
 
I own two gravity bikes. The bullseye monster and the hd29er ss. I have only ever had people stop to talk to me about the fat bike and how it rides and about the rigid single speed and how I like that.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
I've only seen three Motobecanes in the wild and I was always curious to see more. Im not the type of person to stop someone and strike up a conversation though. I think if they ran their website better or had more video overviews of each bike they could sway some people. But my brother worked at a bike shop for 10 years and he told me to stay away from them. I took his advice and bought a Fuji. I dont regret it and I dont think I spent much more at all. Looking at getting a Giant Stance now and for $1100 shipped Im not sure its worth looking at Motobecane at all. Plus if I ever decide to sell in the future would the Motobecane hold its value? I think not. Similar reason I buy Toyota over a Kia.
 
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