Motobecane Elite FS

This past friday’s UPS delivery brought me a brand new bicycle but not the one I posted about back in August. It’s a Motobecane Elite FS, an aluminum framed hybrid designed for city riding. I took it for a shakedown run yesterday and it performed quite well proving both comfy and quick. Just need to make some minor adjustments to the handlebars, seatpost, and rear derailleur so it’ll be good to go for many new adventures.

Update: This post is showing up in Google searches so I thought I’d add a few more thoughts about the bike. Mine is a 19″ model and it weighs about thirty one pounds assembled. I have a 30″ inseam and I feel like it’s a bit tall in the frame but the next size down is a 16″ and that probably would have been too small. If your inseam is in the 32″ to 34″ range, it should be an ideal fit.

Assembly was a piece of cake. I think it took about 45-60 minutes for me to put it together. The tools required were an adjustable wrench and a metric allen wrench set. I had to install the stem, handlebars, seat, seatpost, pedals, and front wheel. All the hard stuff like the brakes and derailleurs come already assembled and just required some minor adjustments to get them in perfect order. One item of note is that the bike didn’t come with a kickstand.

I’ve made a couple changes to the bike since purchasing it. I replaced both the seatpost and saddle. The stock seatpost comes with a built-in shock which didn’t really improve the comfort of the bike in my opinion. It’s also heavy so I replaced it with a solid aluminum one. The stock saddle is quite plush but I wanted something smaller so I bought one designed for road bikes. The replacements have made the bike lighter and given it a more solid road feel without sacrificing any comfort. This is more about personal preference though than any shortcomings with the stock parts. I have to schlep it up two flights of stairs when I get home so saving weight is important to me.

All in all, I’m very pleased with the bike and my experience with the seller. I bought it primarily for city riding and it definitely excels at it. The front shock and large diameter wheels soak up the bumps on Brooklyn streets with ease. At the same time it’s quite nimble and speedy for getting out of tight spots or taking advantage of any downhills. The upright riding posture is perfect for keeping an eye on traffic and pedestrians while also being kind to your back. I took it for a trip across both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges plus a quick jaunt through Chinatown yesterday and it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

Related Posts

Some posts possibly related to the post you have just read: