Kinesium Frames

[Dennis Vaughn]

What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do they last? I am looking at a
bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is relatively low priced....almost too low to sound good. I
don't know the real reputation of the bike source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just
component pricing cause the frame is junk. What to do?

 

[Ajames54]

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 15:35:47 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:

>What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do they last? I am looking at a
>bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is relatively low priced....almost too low to sound good. I
>don't know the real reputation of the bike source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just
>component pricing cause the frame is junk. What to do?
>
Isn't Kinesium just Knesis (sp?) (the fork makers) answer to the Scandium hype? A modified 6061 Alu?
( I could be wrong but that ia what I thought)

Who built the frame? Design and construction are more an issue than material.

 

[Mad Doc]

Originally posted by Dennis Vaughn
What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do they last? I am looking at a
bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is relatively low priced....almost too low to sound good. I
don't know the real reputation of the bike source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just
component pricing cause the frame is junk. What to do?

I'm also looking at a similar bike from Merlin Cycles as advertised in mountain Biking mag. An advert for the fram suggests that the frame got a 5 out of 5 in two mag reviews. Other revies I have seen have all been positive. It's pretty light but I have seen lighterframes on similar priced bikes such as the Giant SE2. However there are swings and roundabouts in terms of other parts of the spec. Pictures of the frame suggest it is nicely butted for extra strength but I can't work out what byhe geometry is.

 

[Dennis Vaughn]

It is a Motobecanne. I have not heard of the bike till I got to FL. I have read good reviews on the
bike in Bicycling Magazine. How should I take the article? Most riders in my area ride Trek,
Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant. I want a bike that is going to be good for long distance riding.
I have ridden the Carbon Trek 5200, and Kestrel Talon. Both bikes are too much in my opinion, but I
did like the feel of the ride. I did not like the ride feel of aluminum (except for Klein) due to
road feel. Would a carbon seat post make a difference with aluminum? I like the ride of steel, but
did not like the look of the bikes that I've tried, and the steel now I think is waaaayy out of my
price range. Any suggestions? Dennis "ajames54" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 15:35:47 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do
they
> >last? I am looking at a bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is
relatively
> >low priced....almost too low to sound good. I don't know the real reputation of the bike
> >source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just component pricing cause the frame is
> >junk. What to do?
> >
> Isn't Kinesium just Knesis (sp?) (the fork makers) answer to the Scandium hype? A modified 6061
> Alu? ( I could be wrong but that ia what I thought)
>
> Who built the frame? Design and construction are more an issue than material.

 

[Ajames54]

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:38:00 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:

>It is a Motobecanne. I have not heard of the bike till I got to FL. I have read good reviews on the
>bike in Bicycling Magazine. How should I take the article? Most riders in my area ride Trek,
>Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant. I want a bike that is going to be good for long distance
>riding. I have ridden the Carbon Trek 5200, and Kestrel Talon. Both bikes are too much in my
>opinion, but I did like the feel of the ride. I did not like the ride feel of aluminum (except for
>Klein) due to road feel. Would a carbon seat post make a difference with aluminum? I like the ride
>of steel, but did not like the look of the bikes that I've tried, and the steel now I think is
>waaaayy out of my price range. Any suggestions? Dennis

Motobecanne used to make great bikes.. Though I've heard nothing either for or against them lately.
Check out some of the review sites. As far as the lbs claim that the frame is worthless I would be
very surprised if that was the case... sounds like poor sales staff to me...

 

[John Everett]

On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 15:35:47 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:

>What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do they last? I am looking at a
>bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is relatively low priced....almost too low to sound good. I
>don't know the real reputation of the bike source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just
>component pricing cause the frame is junk. What to do?

I just did a Google search for "kinesium alloy"; then actually looked at every listing they found.
It seems kinesium only exists in the cycling world, sort of like dilithium crystals only exist on
warp capable starships.

If this was more than a bike tubing specific trademark you'd think it would be found on metallurgy
sites, or aviation sites, or some other technical area. So what is kinesium anyway?

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Scott Gates]

Dennis, Last year I bought a Motobecane Le Champion Team. As far as the frameset, It's what you
would expect from an Al bike. If the geometry fits your fancy, I would say it's as good as most
bikes in the category. I've got around 6K on mine now. I've changed to a C post and handlebars, a
seat that fits me, a stem to fit better, and changed the wheelset. The carbon bits do help dampen
some vibration. The factory wheels need to be tensioned and stress relieved, if you plan on riding
them. My 2 cents worth - Scott "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do
they
> last? I am looking at a bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is
relatively
> low priced....almost too low to sound good. I don't know the real reputation of the bike
> source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just component pricing cause the frame is
> junk. What to do?

 

[Matt J]

ajames54 wrote:
> Motobecanne used to make great bikes.. Though I've heard nothing either for or against them
> lately. Check out some of the review sites.

I think I read somewhere (on here maybe?) that the new Motobecane is a different company from the
old one. http://tinyurl.com/es97 Matt

 

[Scott Gates]

The bikes currently marketed in the US as Motobecanes, are not made by the Old French Motobecane
company, I think they still sell bikes in Europe under the MBK brand. My understanding is that the
use of the Motobecane name was purchased by a US group, who orders the bikes to their specifications
from Taiwan, and markets them as Motobecane USA. The gentleman who owns the Cycle Spectrum chain of
bike shops, and WWW.Bikesdirect.com is a player (perhaps the only one?) in bringing the name back to
the US market. I believe it is his wife who sells them on Ebay as Sprtymama. You might be interested
in the warranty on them, check it out at www.motobecane.com They warranty the frame forever, and in
the event of a failure they replace the bike, not the frame.

"Matt J" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> ajames54 wrote:
> > Motobecanne used to make great bikes.. Though I've heard nothing either for or against them
> > lately. Check out some of the review sites.
>
> I think I read somewhere (on here maybe?) that the new Motobecane is a different company from the
> old one. http://tinyurl.com/es97 Matt

 

[A Muzi]

"ajames54" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:38:00 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >It is a Motobecanne. I have not heard of the bike till I got to FL. I
have
> >read good reviews on the bike in Bicycling Magazine. How should I take
the
> >article? Most riders in my area ride Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, and Giant. I want a bike that
> >is going to be good for long distance riding.
I
> >have ridden the Carbon Trek 5200, and Kestrel Talon. Both bikes are too much in my opinion, but I
> >did like the feel of the ride. I did not like
the
> >ride feel of aluminum (except for Klein) due to road feel. Would a
carbon
> >seat post make a difference with aluminum? I like the ride of steel, but did not like the look of
> >the bikes that I've tried, and the steel now I think is waaaayy out of my price range. Any
> >suggestions? Dennis
>
> Motobecanne used to make great bikes.. Though I've heard nothing either for or against them
> lately. Check out some of the review sites. As far as the lbs claim that the frame is worthless I
> would be very surprised if that was the case... sounds like poor sales staff to me...

When the trademark/tradename Motobecane passed into open use, someone though there might be some
residual value remaining. Similar to Weyless and Mercier, these USA-marketed Chinese products bear
no relation to the classic manufacturers.

When the LBS spoke disparagingly he was upholding a long-honored practice in bicycle stores that
anything not sold on premises is called "junk" or worse. Shabby behavior. But there isn't a whole
lot to say about a frame contracted to the low bidder in China to fill out a marketing project. They
are probably no better and no worse than any similar no-name Chinese aluminum bike.

--
Andrew Muzi http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

 

[Dennis Vaughn]

so my next question is this: Does a carbon fiber seat post, and handlebar make enough difference in
road feel to warrant aluminum bike purchase? I have not found an aluminum bike that has the ride of
carbon other than Klein. I like the road feel of carbon, but think it's a bit pricey. I rode a
Lemond Zurich today and I thought the bike felt a bit like the aluminum that I have ridden. I wonder
if the tires are what transmitting the road feel? The reason I say this is cause this is the first
steel bike that felt like this. I have an old steel Murray 10sp that does not feel anything like
this. Of course it could be that the tires are not inflated to 120psi (55psi max is on sidewall) and
it is a 26x1 3/8 wheel. Hmmm....

"A Muzi" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> "ajames54" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 18:38:00 -0400, "Dennis Vaughn" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >It is a Motobecanne. I have not heard of the bike till I got to FL. I
> have
> > >read good reviews on the bike in Bicycling Magazine. How should I take
> the
> > >article? Most riders in my area ride Trek, Specialized, Cannondale,
and
> > >Giant. I want a bike that is going to be good for long distance
riding.
> I
> > >have ridden the Carbon Trek 5200, and Kestrel Talon. Both bikes are
too
> > >much in my opinion, but I did like the feel of the ride. I did not
like
> the
> > >ride feel of aluminum (except for Klein) due to road feel. Would a
> carbon
> > >seat post make a difference with aluminum? I like the ride of steel,
but
> > >did not like the look of the bikes that I've tried, and the steel now I think is waaaayy out of
> > >my price range. Any suggestions? Dennis
> >
> > Motobecanne used to make great bikes.. Though I've heard nothing either for or against them
> > lately. Check out some of the review sites. As far as the lbs claim that the frame is worthless
> > I would be very surprised if that was the case... sounds like poor sales staff to me...
>
>
> When the trademark/tradename Motobecane passed into open use, someone
though
> there might be some residual value remaining. Similar to Weyless and Mercier, these USA-marketed
> Chinese products bear no relation to the
classic
> manufacturers.
>
> When the LBS spoke disparagingly he was upholding a long-honored practice
in
> bicycle stores that anything not sold on premises is called "junk" or
worse.
> Shabby behavior. But there isn't a whole lot to say about a frame contracted to the low bidder in
> China to fill out a marketing project.
They
> are probably no better and no worse than any similar no-name Chinese aluminum bike.
>
> --
> Andrew Muzi http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

 

[gbesq]

Originally posted by Dennis Vaughn
What can anyone tell me about kinesium frames? Are they any good? Do they last? I am looking at a
bike that uses a Kinesium frame that is relatively low priced....almost too low to sound good. I
don't know the real reputation of the bike source. The lbs here say the bike price is really just
component pricing cause the frame is junk. What to do?

Dennis,

I have seen frames from Kinesis on several bikes and I've always been impressed. They make a very good frame. Kinesis is a major manufacturer of aluminim frames based in Taiwan that welds for a number of big name bicycle manufacturers. "Kinesium" is simply their version of a 6061 series aluminum alloy, which is commonly used in many aluminum bike frames. Kinesis also produces some very good quality carbon fiber forks used by a number of manufacturers. The frame is inexpensive because the associated labor costs in Asia are dirt cheap compared to what it costs to produce a similar frame in the U.S. (as does Cannondale, for example). Motobecane U.S.A. is not the same company as the old French Motobecane (which went bankruptcy some time ago). I believe that Motobecane sold the rights to its name, which is where Motobecane U.S.A. comes in. Word on the street, however, is that Motobecane U.S.A. is building very good bikes at ridiculously low prices. The tradeoff is that they have a very limited distribution network in the U.S. and virtually no dealer support. In short, it's a bargain, but don't expect lots of name recognition or any support from Motobecane U.S.A.

 

[itsacarr]

Not really sure if the original question was ever really answered completely so ill take stab at it. I personally love the Kinesium frame that I ride. From what I know it is called Kinesium, due to the fact that it is made in the Kinesis factory. Basically it's there 6061 with titanium thrown into the mix giving it some interesting properties. Stiffness and responsivness (only spelled correctly), and longetivity over time. With the material they are able to make tubes thinner than most on the walls giving it great weight properties, or lack there of All at a fearly good price. So in light it's alot like Eastons Scandium. A fancy material made from a not so completely fancy material that in the end works really well. I hope this comment was'nt too delayed or redundant.