The infamous Motobecane HAL E-MTB. I bought one…

I rode today with one of my sons. He had my Motobecane Elite and I was huffing it on my analog Giant FS circa 2001.. I was actually cursing and hating life trudging up those rocky inclines vowing NEVER to ride those sections ever again except on my emtb. We hit 1000 miles on my emtb on this ride. Anyway, I did one additional upgrade to my emtb and that was to add a chain keep. While riding a 20 mile section of the El Dorado Trail with a buddy of mine, my chain kept coming off the front chainring as I down shifted at high speed anticipating the next climb. In a low gear going fast on bumpy terrain, the chain (the length is correct) had too much play. The chain keep COMPLETELY solved the problem. It should've been my 2nd purchase after better pedals or better yet, it should come pre-installed. The only downside is that the required proprietary tool to remove the front chainring from the Shimano motor cost more than the chain keep.
Anyway, once again, I must say how much more I enjoy true hard core tecky mountain biking on my emtb compared to my analog bikes. The climbs are nearly as fun as the descents. Oh, and my Motobecane Elite is still a beast.
Here are all of my fixes thus far:
Tighten the seat clamp (twice)
Tighten the rear shock top mount (once)
JB Weld a crack on housing of the right brake lever after a crash. It's holding nicely but will replace in the spring.
Replaced 1 tire due to wear.
Minimal chain wear still well within "stretch" limits.
1 "quicky" brake bleed at the levers.
Replaced all 4 brake pads.
Trued both wheels (twice) after crashes due to the over-confidence this bike inspires.

Still rides like new. What a great bike at a great price...
 
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Hi There, Payton here again. After almost 4k on my Motobecane E-Bike, I am happy to report back that so far, the bike has served me well. Here are the following changes that I had made when I got it from BikesDirect.
  • Added Di2 shifter and derailer
  • Switched out the grips
  • Added XTR SPD Pedals
  • Added a drop seat - today's model comes with it
  • Added a Neoprene Chainstay protector.

What I had to replace so far
  • Set of Tires - worn out
  • New Chain - worn out
  • Break Pads - worn out
  • Break Disk - worn out
  • Cassette - worn out as I did not pay attention that the chain was worn
  • One Battery - died on me, and Shimano replaced it under warranty.
I do regularly my own maintenance on the bike and update the software when anew version is available. This bike is worth every penny. My recommendation, lube the chain every time you go out. It will extend the life of it.
 
Payton said:
Hi There, Payton here again. After almost 4k on my Motobecane E-Bike, I am happy to report back that so far, the bike has served me well. Here are the following changes that I had made when I got it from BikesDirect.
  • Added Di2 shifter and derailer
  • Switched out the grips
  • Added XTR SPD Pedals
  • Added a drop seat - today's model comes with it
  • Added a Neoprene Chainstay protector.

What I had to replace so far
  • Set of Tires - worn out
  • New Chain - worn out
  • Break Pads - worn out
  • Break Disk - worn out
  • Cassette - worn out as I did not pay attention that the chain was worn
  • One Battery - died on me, and Shimano replaced it under warranty.
I do regularly my own maintenance on the bike and update the software when anew version is available. This bike is worth every penny. My recommendation, lube the chain every time you go out. It will extend the life of it.
Click to expand...
Congrats on 4,000 miles... post a few photos of your mods if you have time.
 
Can someone with a HAL e 42cm or 46 post some measurements? Lay a tape measure across from the seat to the steerer with a weighted string hanging down to the crank so that we can see the reach to the front and the set back to the seat clamp. These are offered again and I am thinking about buying one in lieu of the much more expensive Orbea Rise. I have a HAL Boost in size 43 and it fits well but barely. I am within 10 mm of the maximum extension of the seat post and the seat rails are all the way back to the bend. My concern is that the HAL E like yours is listed with sizes the go from 42 to 46. I need the seat post to go up to 68cm/ 26.75 inches from the crank center to the rails. The geometry states a virtual top tube of 0f 605mm for the 42 but neglected to list a value for reach. Which not only tells us how far forward from the crack to the stem, but also the remainder of the difference designates how far the seat rails will be back from the crank. My 43cm HAL BOOST has a 590mm top tube and is a bit too short with 415mm reach from the crank vertical to the bars, and 176 from the crank vertical to the seat clamp. I would order the 46cm HAL e but this adds 10mm to the height of the stem.
 
sendler2112 said:
Can someone with a HAL e 42cm or 46 post some measurements? Lay a tape measure across from the seat to the steerer with a weighted string hanging down to the crank so that we can see the reach to the front and the set back to the seat clamp. These are offered again and I am thinking about buying one in lieu of the much more expensive Orbea Rise. I have a HAL Boost in size 43 and it fits well but barely. I am within 10 mm of the maximum extension of the seat post and the seat rails are all the way back to the bend. My concern is that the HAL E like yours is listed with sizes the go from 42 to 46. I need the seat post to go up to 68cm/ 26.75 inches from the crank center to the rails. The geometry states a virtual top tube of 0f 605mm for the 42 but neglected to list a value for reach. Which not only tells us how far forward from the crack to the stem, but also the remainder of the difference designates how far the seat rails will be back from the crank. My 43cm HAL BOOST has a 590mm top tube and is a bit too short with 415mm reach from the crank vertical to the bars, and 176 from the crank vertical to the seat clamp. I would order the 46cm HAL e but this adds 10mm to the height of the stem.
Click to expand...
This should help with a comparison of the frame geometry.

1611375712524.png
1611375683503.png
 
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Unfortunately they do not tell us the reach for the HAL e models (which tells us where along the top tube the crank is positioned) as they do for the regular HAL BOOST for instance.
.
HAL BOOST geometry.jpg
 
Using my tape measure with plumb bob measurement technique for the HAL BOOST 43 I get a virtual top tube of 561mm, reach of 378 mm which leaves a seat clamp set back of 182 mm including the slight seat back of the seat post head on this dropper. My seat rails are about 680 mm extension from the crank with 175 mm arms and 10 mm of adjustment remaining in the tube for this dropper that came with the bike. They state that this dropper is "380 mm" overall.
.
measurements HAL boost 43.jpg

.
My specialized Camber medium (too small for me in hindsight since Specialized's sizing tends to run small) has top tube 590, reach 413, which leaves a seat set back including the (ultra rare) 40 mm set back seat post of 178 mm.
.
measurements Camber.jpg

.
 
FlatSix911 said:
Just do the math as noted above... easy peasy. 😉
TLDR... when in doubt order the smaller frame size.
Click to expand...
Except the stated specs and the measured values are not the same. Especially seat tube angle. My HAL BOOST states a top tube and reach of 591 mm and 415 but the actual measurements of my bike at my seat height and to the top of the stem are 561 mm and 378. Interestingly, the specified seat set back of top tube minus reach at 176 is pretty close to the measured value which includes the set back of the clamp of the seat post and measures 183. Which is about the minimum for me. I wish Motobecane would have published the value for reach of the HAL e as they do for all of their other bikes so I wouldn't have to be bothering anyone to try to find out which size to order. I emailed bikesdirect but of course they never actually handle any of these bikes so they wouldn't know how the the HAL BOOST and HAL e frames compare and never wrote me back.
 
sendler2112 said:
Except the stated specs and the measured values are not the same. Especially seat tube angle. My HAL BOOST states a top tube and reach of 591 mm and 415 but the actual measurements of my bike at my seat height and to the top of the stem are 561 mm and 378. Interestingly, the specified seat set back of top tube minus reach at 176 is pretty close to the measured value which includes the set back of the clamp of the seat post and measures 183. Which is about the minimum for me. I wish Motobecane would have published the value for reach of the HAL e as they do for all of their other bikes so I wouldn't have to be bothering anyone to try to find out which size to order. I emailed bikesdirect but of course they never actually handle any of these bikes so they wouldn't know how the the HAL BOOST and HAL e frames compare and never wrote me back.
Click to expand...
I have purchased a few bikes from BD...
If you don't mind, what are your height and weight, and sleeve & inseam measurements?
We can get very close to your optimum bike fit based on these measurements... hope this helps.
 
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I'm probably going to have to size up to the 46cm HAL e. My HAL BOOST is stated at 43 and I have exactly 10mm more seat post to the min insertion line. And the HAL e is 42cm or 46, so I would be right on the line with the 42. The HAL BOOST 43 is also about 30mm shorter reach than my Specialized even if the seat set back is the same. I haven't ridden my HAL enough to know how it fits since I only received it in October and had to switch to the Fat bike in snow. I measured for bike fit according to the Competitive Cyclist site and got these:
.
bike fit measurements.jpg

.
www.competitivecyclist.com

Bike Size Guide | Competitive Cyclist

New Bike Size Guide Launching 11/17/23
www.competitivecyclist.com www.competitivecyclist.com
.
 
The Competitive Cyclist fit guide is a good one... I was going to recommend it. 😉
Based on your measurements you could go with either the 42 or 46 cm frame size.
I prefer a smaller and lighter bike frame and would go with the 42 for better handling.
 
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The calculator isn't good for estimating top tube although it did get my seat height correct. It is recommending only 520mm top tube and my bikes actually measure 560 and and 590 with specs of 590 and 590. I would still like to see someone post actual measurements of their HAL e.
 
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