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I bought this Vent Noir from Sprtymama on Ebay.
Just the facts
The bike arrived without a mark on it. It was very well packed. It arrived in 4 days.
I put the front tire, handle bars,seat post ,pedals and brakes on it. Adjusted brakes and seat.
I took it out yesterday for a 20 mile tuning ride. I didn't have to adjust anything! Shifters worked smooth as silk. Rims are in tune.
Today I added a Terry Seat, Cateye, air pump and bottle cages. Rode it 30 miles with no issue.
I'm Happy! matter of fact I'm damn impressed. I had some reservations about ordering a bike online. I looked for over a month at just about all brands. I don't think I gave up anything. Especially for the money.
I would recommend Sprtymama and will do buisness with her again.

How much did you get it for?

bfrenchie

Go on Ebay and view Sprtymama's site? It was same as BD. Sprtymama just returned emails and answered all questions.

Know it's an old post, but I'm searching for an entry-level racing bike, and it seems the Vent Noir is my choice. I need to save money in order to be able to buy it, but man, that is a sweet bike. I'll be buying also from sprtymama.

I've never ever ride a serious racing bike, just old cheapos and a 28" monster/heavy touring bike. I hope to get the Vent Noir by January next year

Know it's an old post, but I'm searching for an entry-level racing bike, and it seems the Vent Noir is my choice. I need to save money in order to be able to buy it, but man, that is a sweet bike. I'll be buying also from sprtymama.

I've never ever ride a serious racing bike, just old cheapos and a 28" monster/heavy touring bike. I hope to get the Vent Noir by January next year..

I think I'm need a 58cm frame if Im right, though I will need to contact BD to confirm that.

In the meantime, I'm searching for a part-time job, cuz I'm a 23 year-old student and as said I'm on a budget. Maybe on Xmas I could get some boost thanks to my parents, but at this moment I only have around 300USD handy to buy the bike.

I basically don't know if there will be a lot of difference among the different options I've contemplated, for example the Vent Noir vs the Grand Record vs Mirage Sport (with 2 brake levers on each side)

I want a fast bike without worrying to upgrade components to highten the competitiveness on the bike if I decide to race on it.

Regarding your comment on MTBiking, I've not so much experience on riding off-road and descending pretty hard/rough trails, as a matter of fact I've had 2 not so nice accidents on my MTB, first happended on a race, the second happened about a week ago riding with advanced riders on a very tricky downhill sections, for some reason I put my weight forward and went over the handlebars, resulting on a dented helmet, with bruises on my shoulder and knee.
I find road riding much more easier, and maybe in the future I focus on doing more road races (I've have to travel around 12km) to go to areas with offroad terrain, but here in my town there are no trails, just go where the adventure calls you, no nice terrain, with lots of loose rocks and very tricky conditions.

I recently equipped my MTB with shimano PD520 pedals, I wondering if the cleats on my MTB shoes can be used on the clipless pedals the Vent Noir has. Is it a necessity to buy road shoes, I just bought my specialized bg taho shoes for 75USD a month ago, I don't want to spend again on shoes, but I want to go ride clipless on my road bike.

Thanks again for your help, very informative stuff you've written.

I had a Vent Noir from '05 and it was a great bike. I had quite a few miles on mine before going to the Immortal Force. Unfortunately, the 2007/08 models have lesser components on them than the one I bought, but it is still a great bike and I don't think you would be sorry if you got it. As for your MTB shoes working, the pedals that come with the BD bikes are 2 hole SPD style pedals so if that's what your shoes are you should be good to go. I used mountain shoes with my road bike for years, so no big deal there. In fact, they were more comfortable, but not as stiff. Good luck with your purchase!

It is a very nice bike-a friend wanted a road bike&I told him to order one and I assembled it-nice bike for 699-local lbs had similar spec bike on sale for 1099-plus you would pay like 90 in sales tax-If you make a little more you could go up one more rung to the sprint-just the crankset is like 300 grams lighter-2/3 lb-also has ultegra&105 stuff-but you will enjoy the VN.I ride in mountain shoes as my heel gets sore in my hard road shoes.