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Opinions about Micmo bikes wanted
In article ,
Artur Yelchishchev wrote: Hi all, Recently I've got a French-made mountain bicycle Micmo. As I understand, Micmo isn't widely-known brand, but it seems to be a part of Gitane group: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Fra...ne/history.htm The bike is very similar to this one: http://www.micmocycles.co.uk/specifi...modelcode=1314 Uh-oh. What do you people think about this brand? I'm especially interested in one's personal experience with it - any recommendations, warnings about weak parts, advise for replacing or tuning something, etc. It's probably not reasonable to make generalizations about this brand, which is being used as a marketing label for the low end of a big bike company's bicycles. The bike you linked to is very typical of a low-end Taiwanese or Chinese-built bike. Lots of good bikes are built in Taiwan or even China, but nothing in Micmo's mountain bike lineup would qualify. The basic sins: -very low end components such as Microshift shifters, steel (probably stamped steel) V-brakes, and on the "Ionix Z1" you have indicated, a high-tensile steel frame. That's basically the heaviest, most indifferent bicycle frame material available. And the particular frame design looks very heavy indeed. -The suspension design is simplistic, and features completely generic components. This drives you into a hell where the rear suspension especially will be very inefficient at transmitting power, but useless for serious off-road action. I could go on in this vein. The only part of this bike that isn't completely dreadful are the wheels, which are at least specified with alloy rims, meaning the brakes will work properly in the wet. I went and looked at their hybrid and hardtail bikes to see if there was anything worth looking at. No. The most rideable bike in the lineup is probably one of their "high-end" hardtail MTBs, and it still features an extremely low-end fork and numerous other marginal parts. The hybrids are rideable, but not nice bicycles, again cheaping out in all the usual places. What is likely to fail on this bike under regular use is the drivetrain, the wheels, the pedals, and the rear suspension pivot. The saddle looks okay. Don't bother replacing parts on this bike in an attempt to upgrade it. Depending on the kind of riding you want to do, you will be better off with a lightly used hybrid or hardtail MTB, or if you are seriously contemplating mountain bike trail riding, you'll have to dig a little deeper and either buy a well-used hardtail and work from there (in my case, I bought a 1997 Kona Kilauea with blown fork seals. Steel frame, short travel, but tough and well-equipped. Replacing the seals made it into a tough little mountain bike), or spend some money on a serious full-suspension bicycle. Here's a link to Norco's pretty good full-suspension "entry level" all-mountain bike, the Fluid 3: http://norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/fluid3.htm Here's a hardtail mountain bike that's pretty serviceable: http://norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/bigfoot.htm Here's a dead-simple, fairly cheap flat-bar hybrid that would still be pretty light and very rideable on the road or bike path. This has a lot of cheap components on it, but the spec is reasonable and the components won't slow the bike down. I'm just using Norco as an example; they also make some fairly dreadful bikes that are the match of anything in the Micmo line. But the ones I have highlighted are decent bicycles that would give you good service and be worth upgrading. -- Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com Verus de parvis; verus de magnis. |
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#2
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Artur Yelchishchev wrote:
Hi all, Recently I've got a French-made mountain bicycle Micmo. As I understand, Micmo isn't widely-known brand, but it seems to be a part of Gitane group: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Fra...ne/history.htm The bike is very similar to this one: http://www.micmocycles.co.uk/specifi...modelcode=1314 What do you people think about this brand? I'm especially interested in one's personal experience with it - any recommendations, warnings about weak parts, advise for replacing or tuning something, etc. Actually the other way around. Gitane (Gypsy) is a brand owned by the corporate entity Micmo. And good luck with a general opinon. Like asking 'do you like Toyotas?'. Micmo built a wide range of bikes, both domestic and export lines, for many years. Not to mention they sold rebadged Japanese bikes and Vitus 979-framed bikes too. French mountain bikes are called "V.T.T." by the way. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#3
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Artur Yelchishchev wrote:
Hi all, Recently I've got a French-made mountain bicycle Micmo. As I understand, Micmo isn't widely-known brand, but it seems to be a part of Gitane group: http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Fra...ne/history.htm The bike is very similar to this one: http://www.micmocycles.co.uk/specifi...modelcode=1314 What do you people think about this brand? I'm especially interested in one's personal experience with it - any recommendations, warnings about weak parts, advise for replacing or tuning something, etc. Actually the other way around. Gitane (Gypsy) is a brand owned by the corporate entity Micmo. And good luck with a general opinon. Like asking 'do you like Toyotas?'. Micmo built a wide range of bikes, both domestic and export lines, for many years. Not to mention they sold rebadged Japanese bikes and Vitus 979-framed bikes too. French mountain bikes are called "V.T.T." by the way. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
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On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 10:41:42 -0700, Ryan Cousineau
wrote: It's probably not reasonable to make generalizations about this brand, which is being used as a marketing label for the low end of a big bike company's bicycles. Ok. I just wanted to know, how reputable this name is! :-) The bike you linked to is very typical of a low-end Taiwanese or Chinese-built bike. Lots of good bikes are built in Taiwan or even China, but nothing in Micmo's mountain bike lineup would qualify. Maybe, but this particular one seems to be manufactured (or at least, assembled) in France indeed: except for the "Made in France" labels, it's equipped with Nervar crankset (also French maker), and finally, it was bought in French town. The basic sins: -very low end components such as Microshift shifters, steel (probably stamped steel) V-brakes, In my case, they're made of alloy. and on the "Ionix Z1" you have indicated, a high-tensile steel frame. That's basically the heaviest, most indifferent bicycle frame material available. And the particular frame design looks very heavy indeed. Yes, that's correct. -The suspension design is simplistic, and features completely generic components. This drives you into a hell where the rear suspension especially will be very inefficient at transmitting power, but useless for serious off-road action. Perhaps, it will be adequate for my needs for a while - I'm mostly using it for short trips (like friend's party out of city), sometimes for going from home to work & back, and so on. Somewhere in forest around the town, even that basic suspension gives me an ability to ride, while "hard-tailed" friends prefer to walk, holding their bikes alongside. I could go on in this vein. The only part of this bike that isn't completely dreadful are the wheels, which are at least specified with alloy rims, meaning the brakes will work properly in the wet. They are. What is likely to fail on this bike under regular use is the drivetrain, the wheels, the pedals, and the rear suspension pivot. Ouch! :-) The saddle looks okay. I like it, too. Don't bother replacing parts on this bike in an attempt to upgrade it. The only thing I'm thinking about, is a fork - maybe, I'll replace current low-end one ChiliWorks (currently known as Zoom) with something better. I don't want to spend too much time & money upgrading that bike, but if particular part could be used in the future for my next one, perhaps I'll do that... Depending on the kind of riding you want to do, you will be better off with a lightly used hybrid or hardtail MTB, or if you are seriously contemplating mountain bike trail riding, you'll have to dig a little deeper and either buy a well-used hardtail and work from there -snip- or spend some money on a serious full-suspension bicycle. Well, I'm not a 'professional biker' of course, but after several years or riding I've concluded that I like full suspension very much, so I believe my next bike will be an used FS. New (high-end) ones are too expensive for my current budget. Here's a link to Norco's pretty good full-suspension "entry level" all-mountain bike, the Fluid 3: http://norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/fluid3.htm Here's a hardtail mountain bike that's pretty serviceable: Beautiful! I'm just using Norco as an example; they also make some fairly dreadful bikes that are the match of anything in the Micmo line. But the ones I have highlighted are decent bicycles that would give you good service and be worth upgrading. Many thanks for your comprehensive reply, Ryan! I've got all the information I wanted. Have a nice day, and good luck! WBR, Artur |
#5
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On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 10:41:42 -0700, Ryan Cousineau
wrote: It's probably not reasonable to make generalizations about this brand, which is being used as a marketing label for the low end of a big bike company's bicycles. Ok. I just wanted to know, how reputable this name is! :-) The bike you linked to is very typical of a low-end Taiwanese or Chinese-built bike. Lots of good bikes are built in Taiwan or even China, but nothing in Micmo's mountain bike lineup would qualify. Maybe, but this particular one seems to be manufactured (or at least, assembled) in France indeed: except for the "Made in France" labels, it's equipped with Nervar crankset (also French maker), and finally, it was bought in French town. The basic sins: -very low end components such as Microshift shifters, steel (probably stamped steel) V-brakes, In my case, they're made of alloy. and on the "Ionix Z1" you have indicated, a high-tensile steel frame. That's basically the heaviest, most indifferent bicycle frame material available. And the particular frame design looks very heavy indeed. Yes, that's correct. -The suspension design is simplistic, and features completely generic components. This drives you into a hell where the rear suspension especially will be very inefficient at transmitting power, but useless for serious off-road action. Perhaps, it will be adequate for my needs for a while - I'm mostly using it for short trips (like friend's party out of city), sometimes for going from home to work & back, and so on. Somewhere in forest around the town, even that basic suspension gives me an ability to ride, while "hard-tailed" friends prefer to walk, holding their bikes alongside. I could go on in this vein. The only part of this bike that isn't completely dreadful are the wheels, which are at least specified with alloy rims, meaning the brakes will work properly in the wet. They are. What is likely to fail on this bike under regular use is the drivetrain, the wheels, the pedals, and the rear suspension pivot. Ouch! :-) The saddle looks okay. I like it, too. Don't bother replacing parts on this bike in an attempt to upgrade it. The only thing I'm thinking about, is a fork - maybe, I'll replace current low-end one ChiliWorks (currently known as Zoom) with something better. I don't want to spend too much time & money upgrading that bike, but if particular part could be used in the future for my next one, perhaps I'll do that... Depending on the kind of riding you want to do, you will be better off with a lightly used hybrid or hardtail MTB, or if you are seriously contemplating mountain bike trail riding, you'll have to dig a little deeper and either buy a well-used hardtail and work from there -snip- or spend some money on a serious full-suspension bicycle. Well, I'm not a 'professional biker' of course, but after several years or riding I've concluded that I like full suspension very much, so I believe my next bike will be an used FS. New (high-end) ones are too expensive for my current budget. Here's a link to Norco's pretty good full-suspension "entry level" all-mountain bike, the Fluid 3: http://norco.com/bikes/2004bikes/fluid3.htm Here's a hardtail mountain bike that's pretty serviceable: Beautiful! I'm just using Norco as an example; they also make some fairly dreadful bikes that are the match of anything in the Micmo line. But the ones I have highlighted are decent bicycles that would give you good service and be worth upgrading. Many thanks for your comprehensive reply, Ryan! I've got all the information I wanted. Have a nice day, and good luck! WBR, Artur |
#6
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On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 14:55:15 -0500, A Muzi
wrote: Actually the other way around. Gitane (Gypsy) is a brand owned by the corporate entity Micmo. Ok. And good luck with a general opinon. Like asking 'do you like Toyotas?'. Believe me or not, but abong my friends it's quite normal to like or dislike particular company or brand as such! :-) Some of them are known to be reputable, and some aren't, hence my question. For example, question like "Do you prefer Zoom or Marzocchi forks?" is not meaningless, IMHO... Micmo built a wide range of bikes, both domestic and export lines, for many years. Not to mention they sold rebadged Japanese bikes and Vitus 979-framed bikes too. Thanks, I didn't knew that. French mountain bikes are called "V.T.T." by the way. Interesting! Is it the same as "MTB" in French? WBR, Artur |
#7
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On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 14:55:15 -0500, A Muzi
wrote: Actually the other way around. Gitane (Gypsy) is a brand owned by the corporate entity Micmo. Ok. And good luck with a general opinon. Like asking 'do you like Toyotas?'. Believe me or not, but abong my friends it's quite normal to like or dislike particular company or brand as such! :-) Some of them are known to be reputable, and some aren't, hence my question. For example, question like "Do you prefer Zoom or Marzocchi forks?" is not meaningless, IMHO... Micmo built a wide range of bikes, both domestic and export lines, for many years. Not to mention they sold rebadged Japanese bikes and Vitus 979-framed bikes too. Thanks, I didn't knew that. French mountain bikes are called "V.T.T." by the way. Interesting! Is it the same as "MTB" in French? WBR, Artur |
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