I bought the Motobecane Fatom 29

Today I decided to buy the Motobecane Fantom 29.

Let me tell you how got there. I started riding a road bike 3 to 4 times a week starting in June 2007 for fitness. I completed 1001 miles in 2007. I bought a 2006 Raleigh Grand Prix for $700 at Shirk's Bike Shop in East Earl, PA. I am very pleased with the bike and continue to ride it.

This winter in order to get more variety in my fitness rides I started mountain bike riding on an old non suspension Mongoose Pro. The bike is too small for me as it was my son's when he was about 12 years old. I started riding at Marsh Creek State Park and loved it!. The rides are great workouts and I don't need to worry about slippery roads when I ride my road bike.

At first I thought I wanted a full suspension bike and was looking at the IBEX Ignition 3 because of its affordability at $799. http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/IGN-3-Details.html Then I started reading about 29ers at mtbr.com. The 29er forum at mtbr http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=61 has a wealth of information. Ibex's also had a 29er at $899.

I had also been looking at the Motobecane Fantom 29 and it was a reasonable $595 http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom29_08.htm for the 29er.

I decided to go to Shirk's and test a full suspension and a 29er. My plan was to pick the one liked the best and buy it there assuming it was just $100 or so more than I saw online. I test road a full suspension Raleigh and a Raleigh 29er. I liked the feel of the 29er better. It felt more stable and like the idea of the big wheels to roll over obstacles on the trail. I also thought the hard tail and wheel size would be good for taking long trail rides like on the C&O trail. You can ride this trail 337 miles from DC to Pittsburgh.

Anyway, the Raleigh 29er discounted was $1092 plus $65.55 sales tax. At that point I decided it was crazy to spend over $1000 for a bike primarily for fitness.

So I decided to order the Motobecane Fantom 29 at $595 no sales tax no shipping charge.

I ordered the 17 inch frame My actual inseam measurement is 33.75 inches. The 17" frame would give me about 2" clearance while the 19" frame would only give me about 1". The top tube length is only 0.4" difference and is about the Raleigh 29er was riding at Shirk's.

By the way don't expect much help from bikesdirect on sizing even though they tell you to email them with sizing questions. The following is an email exchange had with them when I was researching the Fantom 29:

My email 02/11/2008 at 11:03 PM

I am interested in purchasing a 2008 Motobecane Fantom 29 but am not sure what size to order. I am 6' 0" 170 lbs with a 33.75" actual leg inseam.
Thanks
Mike

Bikesdirect response 02/12/2008 3:14 PM
hi

sizing is personal preference so i cant tell you what size to buy but i can give you some tips.

most riders your height fit 17 to 19" bikes.please check out the geometry sizing chart and compare to bikes you have ridden.be sure you have enough room when you hop off the bike.

smaller bikes will give you lower handle bars and more aggressive handling.larger bikes will give you higher handle bars and less straddle room.

the final choice is up to you

thanks

joe