First Look: Motobecane Fantom 6by6 27.5 all-mountain bike
Bikes cost a lot these days and those newfangled 27.5 bikes with a lot of travel cost even more. $5k is a middle-of-the-road spec and $3k is usually the bargain basement model.
So we were eager to check out the new bike from Motobecane as they’re known for offering bikes with great value. This is a 150mm travel bike with 27.5 wheels so it’s right on the ‘hot’ part of the market. MSRP is $4000 but expected street price is $1800 direct from Bikesdirect.com
The drivetrain of the bike is full Shimano XT and the rear shock is a Rockshox Monarch
The Spec
Our eyes instantly focused on the black-legged RockShox Revelation fork. This is indeed a surprise at this price point. The rear shock is the RockShox Monarch.
Bar and stem are made by Ritchey Components.
Wheels are made by Vuelta and the tires are the Wolverine from WTB. Post, saddle, stem and bar are functional and reliable components from Ritchey.
Tire clearance is excellent as shown here with a 2.2 WTB Trail Boss. The actual tire on the final bike spec is the WTB Wolverine
Crank and derailleur duties are handled by the trustworthy Shimano XTs. Brakes and shifters are Shimano SLX, albeit to save costs but in our experience, there’s no compromise in performance. Only a few grams of extra weight are added.
Brakes are dialed with the Shimano SLX. These brakes have high end performance and reliability and are on par or better than much more expensive brakes.
The frame and the geometry
The frame is a well sorted affair with a four-bar design with free-moving and laterally stiff pivot bearings. Head angle is a just right at 67.5 degrees and seat angle is steep enough at 73.5 degrees.
The frame has some pretty good lines on it with a top tube bend for improved top tube clearance. Tubes are oversized and welds are beefy.
Bottom bracket height is a little high for our tastes as we like it nice and low for Santa Cruz area riding. But this bike should work better for chunkier, rootier areas.
There is no dropper post to keep the price low but Motobecane fully expects the customer to equip this with their favorite dropper post. Bars are a bit narrow but the user can upgrade those as well.
So it’s a very attractive package from Motobecane and it’s a whole lot of bike for the money.
The stock stem of the bike was a way too long at 110mm so we put on a 70mm stem. Here is the steer tube still uncut, before fitting.
Features
- Six inches of travel with 150mm RockShox Revelation RCT3 forks
- Tapered steer tube and thru axle hubs front and rear
- Advanced hydroformed Aluminum frame for a strong and light package
- FULL CNC Aluminum Knuckle Box Multi-link Suspension
- Room for 2.3″+ tires
- Dropper Seatpost routing
- WTB Folding bead tires, WTB Grips/Saddle
- Ritchey Bar/stem/post
Pricing
MSRP: $3999
Street prices: $1799
| Size | HT angle | HT Length | Chainstay | Seat Tube Angle | Effective TT |
| 42cm/S | 67.5 | 110mm | 440mm | 73.5 to 70 | 575mm |
| 47cm/M | 67.5 | 120mm | 440mm | 73.5 to 70 | 599mm |
| 52cm/L | 67.5 | 120mm | 440mm | 73.5 to 70 | 615mm |
For more information visit https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/275-650b-bikes/fantom_275-pro-6by6.htm.
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