My experience with the 2015 Motobecane Le Champion SL Titanium

[jovian]

I purchase a 2015 Motobecane Le Champion SL Titanium back in January. Since then I have put about 700 miles on it. The miles I put on it vary widely. Some are just a 10 mile round trip commute to work while others are 3k feet climbs and descents.

Its been a wonderful bike, the fame is such a great value. I checked over all the welds when I got it and they were very well done. Actually pretty amazed at the quality for the price they charge. Weight was a little more than the site quoted but thats not a huge deal for me. Building it out of the box was very easy for me and only needed minor adjustments once together.

Most of the components they picked were excellent, especially the 6800 groupset. The seat I switched out almost immediately due to having wide sitbones the stock one was not comfortable for me. I expect most people to want to change the seat out. Ended up going with a Specialized Romin Evo Pro. I also traded out the drop bars, didnt like the weird hump on the drops and wanted something a little wider due to my wide shoulders. Put on a 3T Ergonova LTD and so far loving it. I wanted tires that were a little more robust for commuting, there is debris in the road and the thin sidewalls of the stock tires didnt fit my needs. I put on the Conti 4000s II 's. These changes are all personal fit/preferences changes and nothing specifically wrong with the bike build itself.

The wheels are the only thing I think they made a mistake on. They are super light and a great value but putting a 20 spoke count wheel on the rear of this bike is a bit crazy. Its way too light duty for the type of person who would be purchasing it. I dont think the average weight of someone looking to buy this bike is below 180lbs. I myself am 205lbs and find that the rear wheel "tings" under pressure like when I am climbing or really cranking it. That said it still hasn't given me a problem yet, I am just a little wary of it due to the noises it makes. I have brought the wheels to a reputable shop and they attempted to true then but they were already pretty true and confirmed I was a little too heavy for them. I think they should of included a 28 spoke count wheel for the rear due to their type of clientele that would be interested in this bike. At some point I plan on replacing the wheelset once I can afford to.

My previous bike was a used 2006 Specialized Roubaix /w 105 groupset. Great bike very comfortable but too many things were worn out and needed to be replaced. This is what I am comparing the Le Champion against.

The Le Champion is very comfortable when riding, even more so than the Roubaix which is well known for its comfort. I assume this is mostly due to the titainium being more flexible than aluminum even though the Roubaix had carbon rear. But it doesnt feel like its floating all over the place either, cornering feels solid and I feel like I carve through corners much easier.

With the exception of the rear wheels tinging, climbing has been awesome. I assume this is mostly due to the weight compared to my old bike but also the comfort it offers.

Over all I am extremely pleased with the 2015 Motobecane Le Champion SL Titanium and despite the wheels would still recommended it to friends.

Let me know if you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them.

[biker]

Has your opinion changed since posting in July ?
Pros/Cons

Thanks

[jovian]

Nothing has changed other than the amount of miles I have on the bike. Still loving it and think its one of the best values out there. Friends are always impressed with the quality/price ratio.

I still say the wheels are the only real weak point and plan to replace them with the November Alloy Nimbus Ti's 24/28 next month. After that I dont see me needing to make any more changes.

[Hiro11]

The wheels are the only thing I think they made a mistake on. They are super light and a great value but putting a 20 spoke count wheel on the rear of this bike is a bit crazy. Its way too light duty for the type of person who would be purchasing it. I dont think the average weight of someone looking to buy this bike is below 180lbs. I myself am 205lbs and find that the rear wheel "tings" under pressure like when I am climbing or really cranking it. That said it still hasn't given me a problem yet, I am just a little weary of it due to the noises it makes. I have brought the wheels to a reputable shop and they attempted to true then but they were already pretty true and confirmed I was a little too heavy for them. I think they should of included a 28 spoke count wheel for the rear due to their type of clientele that would be interested in this bike. At some point I plan on replacing the wheelset once I can afford to.

1. The Ksyrium Equipe S wheelset does not have a weight limit. I don't know why you insisted on swapping them out. The Ksyriums are a very durable, well established wheelset. New wheels commonly ping as the spokes bed in, this has nothing to do with your weight.
2. Why do you assume to only people at 200+ lbs will be buying this bike? Did you buy a large size or something? Seems like a strange assumption.
3. The Conti GP 4000s II is an expensive lightweight racing tire, hardly a "robust commuter". In my experience, they're great handling tires but actually fairly cut-prone.
4. The word you're looking for is "leery", not "weary". ;)

[Dresden]

4. The word you're looking for is "leery", not "weary". ;)

Or "wary". ;)

[Mike T.]

New wheels commonly ping as the spokes bed in, this has nothing to do with your weight.

New wheels that ping as the spokes bed in are wheels that were not stress-relieved in the building process. They will ping for the first few hundred yards and then will need re-checking for tension and true. Wheels that are built properly and stress-relieved in the building process will never ping or need re-checking.

Wheels that continue to ping (or in the OP's case - "the rear wheel "tings" under pressure") are wheels that are flexing all over the place due to too few spokes and/or low tension. They won't last long.

[jovian]

Thanks all for the feedback.

1. The Ksyrium Equipe S wheelset does not have a weight limit. I don't know why you insisted on swapping them out. The Ksyriums are a very durable, well established wheelset. New wheels commonly ping as the spokes bed in, this has nothing to do with your weight.
I had multiple shops tell me I was too heavy for the wheels. Both shops tried checking spoke tension and both claimed they were fine. Yet for the 1k miles I put on them they pinged on any climb and sometimes other instances where I put down power.

2. Why do you assume to only people at 200+ lbs will be buying this bike? Did you buy a large size or something? Seems like a strange assumption
Looking at people I know and the average customer I see on the road with Motobecane's and similar they are typically not health conscious or maybe trying to become health conscious. Looking at what they have they are typically just starting out with biking.

Yes this is an assumption I has have not run a proper poll on the subject.

3. The Conti GP 4000s II is an expensive lightweight racing tire, hardly a "robust commuter". In my experience, they're great handling tires but actually fairly cut-p
Correct the Continental GP 4000sII's are not robust tires in the grand scheme of things but leaps and bounds more robust than the tires that came with the bike which are the Yksion Comp.

4. The word you're looking for is "leery", not "weary". ;)
Thanks, I have corrected it.


I had multiple shops tell me I was too heavy for the wheels. Both shops tried checking spoke tension and both claimed they were fine. Yet for the 1k miles I put on them they pinged on any climb and sometimes other instances where I put down power.

I have had a few rides in on the November Alloy Numbus Ti's. I still need to put a lot more miles on them before I recommend them or call everything perfect but so far I am very pleased. I went with the 24/28 spoke combo. Not a single ping has sounded from them.

Once I have some more miles in on the Numbus's I will update again with results.

[JasonB176]

Thanks all for the feedback.

1. The Ksyrium Equipe S wheelset does not have a weight limit. I don't know why you insisted on swapping them out. The Ksyriums are a very durable, well established wheelset. New wheels commonly ping as the spokes bed in, this has nothing to do with your weight.
I had multiple shops tell me I was too heavy for the wheels. Both shops tried checking spoke tension and both claimed they were fine. Yet for the 1k miles I put on them they pinged on any climb and sometimes other instances where I put down power.

2. Why do you assume to only people at 200+ lbs will be buying this bike? Did you buy a large size or something? Seems like a strange assumption
Looking at people I know and the average customer I see on the road with Motobecane's and similar they are typically not health conscious or maybe trying to become health conscious. Looking at what they have they are typically just starting out with biking.

Yes this is an assumption I has have not run a proper poll on the subject.

3. The Conti GP 4000s II is an expensive lightweight racing tire, hardly a "robust commuter". In my experience, they're great handling tires but actually fairly cut-p
Correct the Continental GP 4000sII's are not robust tires in the grand scheme of things but leaps and bounds more robust than the tires that came with the bike which are the Yksion Comp.

4. The word you're looking for is "leery", not "weary". ;)
Thanks, I have corrected it.


I had multiple shops tell me I was too heavy for the wheels. Both shops tried checking spoke tension and both claimed they were fine. Yet for the 1k miles I put on them they pinged on any climb and sometimes other instances where I put down power.

I have had a few rides in on the November Alloy Numbus Ti's. I still need to put a lot more miles on them before I recommend them or call everything perfect but so far I am very pleased. I went with the 24/28 spoke combo. Not a single ping has sounded from them.

Once I have some more miles in on the Numbus's I will update again with results.

I would think the opposite as far as weight goes. I weigh 160 and bought a 2012 Motobecane Le Champion Ti bike. People who are just getting into the sport and may be overweight are less likely to venture into online sales IMO.

I also am very happy with my purchase. For the price, the value is pretty hard to beat.

[biker]

I purchased a 2015 Motobecane Le Champion SL Ti 53cm bike end of last year.
After limited riding on roads I decided the frame was too small.
The 56cm bike was out of stock just before ordering, so I ended up returning bike for full refund.

Overall it is a good deal if things fit. I noticed the clearcoat they use on the frame seem to stain a bit if lube gets on it. Even cleaning with soap/water the stain remained.
The Mavic tires that came with it had very thin rubber and would wear quickly.
I swapped tires during test rides with my own tires, so minimized any wear on bike during test. Weather at time was getting marginal and limited time to return for full refund.
You need to do all the setup for front/rear DR which is a little more involved for a 11sp Shimano Ultegtra .