Sunday, March 16, 2008

Motobecane Fantom 29 vs Specialized Rockhopper Disc 29er

Kozy.com of Chicago has a Specialized Rockhopper Disc 29er on sale for $759.99. The shipping is free. So right off the bat it is $164.04 more expensive than the Fantom 29.

The detailed specs can be found on the Specialized website at http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34097



Both have Avid BB5 Brakes but the Fantom 29 has larger 185 mm rotors while the Rockhopper has 6" rotors.



Both have similar 29 x 2.1 tires. I will assume the difference is small.



Both have the RockShox Dart 3 Fork but the Rockhopper only has 80mm travel vs 100mm on the Fantom.



The Motobecane and Specialized frames are aluminum. I like the Fantom 29 black color over the Gloss Orange of the Rockhopper.



The Fantom 29 has Shimano Deore Mega-9 Rapid Fire 27 speed trigger shift at $90 for pair vs Shimano Acera SL-MC40 at $18 for the Rockhopper.



The Fantom 29 has Shimano Deore XT long cage rear derailleur RD-M761 at $85 vs Shimano Alivio RD-M410 at $29 for the Rockhopper.



The Fantom 29 has TruVativ 5D 22/32/44T Crankset vs Shimano FC-M341-8 for the Rockhopper. I will assume they are similar price and quality.



The Fantom 29 has Shimano Deore FD-M510 front derailleur $26 vs Shimano Altus FD-M310-6 at $10 for the Rockhopper.



Conclusion:

The Fantom 29 has $144 more in parts and costs $164 less. Therefore the Fantom 29 is a better value. The Fork is basically the same on the two bikes. The Fantom 29 has a better drive train, and brakes (larger rotor).



I like the Fantom 29!



As an on going recap here is a list of the bikes I reviewed. They are ranked by a Relative Value Factor (RVF) . The RVF is the price of the Fantom 29 + or - the value of the major parts difference (Delta) divided by the price of the bike. So far the Fantom 29 is the best value of the bikes I reviewed.



Bike Price Delta RVF

Motobecane Fantom 29 596 0 1.0

Raleigh XXIX+G 1100 368 0.876

Diamondback Overdrive 600 -122 0.790

Marin Alpine Trail 29er 667 -122 0.711

Specialized Rockhopper Disc 29er 760 -144 0.595

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