THIS BIKE IS FOR SALE - EMAIL ME IF INTERESTED

The price shown below is what M5 Lists for this bicycle as a "Starting Price" as of April 3, 2005.  This is the EXACT SAME bicycle as I am selling, upgraded with the Ti Rack and Seat Pack and Computer.  If you want this bike I am asking a very fair price of $2,600!  I have not ridden this bike in almost 2 years now.  Call FedEx and ask them how much it will cost you to import this bicycle and you'll see this is a great deal.  I'm eating over $1,600 off of what I paid.

newcontact [at] recumbentbicyclesource.com

Here is another sites opinion of the M5 Shockproof bicycle reviewed in March 2005.

As much as I would like it to be lighter and a better climber I still stand by my statements that the construction is top notch.  This bike is exceptionally well built (but you pay the price in weight).  I still hate the brakes - yuck!  They slow you down but don't stop you on the hills.  On the flats the brakes are adequate.

This is a fun bike to ride, gets lots of looks, and I like the color scheme with the Titanium/Black.  In hindsight I wish I had opted for the 650c wheels and less spokes.  I think a little faster wheels would help some in climbing.  I've logged a couple of hundred miles now so I'm pretty comfortable even at slow speeds.  Yes it can be twitchy and you can get some heel strike, but I wouldn't hold that against the bike it's what you get with the "low racer" design.  So overall I think it's a solid bike, I just don't think it's worth the cost I paid.

If you can buy the frame separately you might consider this as an option to build up your own quasi-fast around town fun bike.  Definitely get the carbon fiber seat, build you're own wheels, and spec your own component group.  I'd also advise you have an experienced technician help with the assembly and tuning.  Well I've pretty much said all I can about this model.  Caveat Emptor - enjoy you're ride!

Update:  August 6, 2004

CLIMBING EXPERIENCE

I took the bike for it's first real climbing test - an 8 mile climb up a canyon with a 2 to 3% grade, and the last 2 miles at about 6%.  This bicycle is just too heavy to be a good climber, all the road bikes were passing me.  I maintained about 10mph on the lower part of the climb and it was all I could do to keep about 6 to 7mph on the upper.  And I'm not tooting my own horn, but I'm in hella good shape because I ride on average every other day and already have hundreds of miles on my mountain bike logged this season.  So if you want to go fast in the flats this is a good bike, but if you want to climb with it you will be disappointed like I am.  One MAJOR reason I bought this bike was for it's low weight (billed as 24.5lbs, but actually 33lbs).  So I guess I'll get a Trek 5200 for climbing.  Yes I've heard all the stories how recumbents can climb, but if your idea of climbing is 2 to 4mph in granny gears then I guess you are right.  But if you want to maintain a reasonable speed then I'd opt for the road bike.  How many of you ride centuries anyways?  Most of you probably ride 5 to 20 miles for recreation and fun.

YIKES I'VE BEEN SCREWED!

I have spoken too soon about M5's service. I guess I was excited to be part of the recumbent world. Shortly after my comment about good service I received a bill from Federal Express for additional charges. Turns out nobody ever informed me of these charges and M5 who said the shipping was inclusive is now refusing to step up to the plate and honor their word BUT THEY DID KEEP MY MONEY PROFITED AT LEAST $300 ON THE SHIPPING. Fed Ex never informed me of any extra charges either - otherwise the bicycle would still be at customs - I WILL NOT BE SCREWED FURTHER BY BRAM MOENS OR FEDEX. 

I paid $600 US and the actual shipping according to a Fed Ex rep was about $300. So M5 banked $300 profit off of my ignorance. I've learned my lesson, buy from a local dealer and make sure you know exactly what you are getting for you money. I guess my good service prior to this invoice was based on the fact that they had gouged me so hard in shipping. Did they think I wouldn't find out? But what can you do? Some dealers are honest, some try to take advantage of you. It was my fault for wanting a bike I couldn't buy here. In the future I'll make due with the best American Made product I can find.  PERSONALLY I WOULDN'T PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM M5 AGAIN, BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.
 

Click to See the M5 Shockproof Pictures.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Wow!  That's the feeling I have now after returning from my first full-blown ride.  But about an hour ago my first impression was - ought oh!  What have I done.  So lets step back to the beginning.

I'll spare you all the reasons why I made the move to a recumbent, lets just say the time was right.  I have other bikes which are quite nice in their own right.

THE SHOCKPROOF BUYING PROCESS

After researching for a couple of months everything I wanted in a Recumbent I selected the M5 Shockproof Ti 559 from M5 Ligfietsen!  I wanted the dual 26" wheels and there were not many bikes available with dual suspension and dual 26" wheels.  The suspension ruled out Volae, Bachetta, and Rans.  I choose the Ti Version because I wanted lighter weight (too bad it isn't really light like it's billed to be).  So I committed and sent off an email to M5 which was answered quite promptly by Bram Moen.  A note to website owners - YES PEOPLE REALLY DO BUY BIKES THEY FIND ON THE INTERNET.  You (the reader) might be surprised to know that many of the dealers/manufacturers I contacted via E-mail never responded to my inquiries.  They must have too much business?  IF A DEALER IS GOING TO POST A WEBSITE AND AN EMAIL ADDRESS DON'T YOU THINK THEY WOULD BE ADVISED TO ANSWER THE EMAIL?  I thought so... anyways back to the Shockproof Ti 559!.

After a process of about 6 weeks of writing back and forth (It was not a great experience for a person like me who has many virtues, patience not among them).  I'm not sure they (Bram) thought I was a serious buyer.  I had difficulty with my bank trying to do a wire transfer - In fact they said they could, but failed to be able to do an international wire transfer correctly.  So I ended up putting the bike on the Visa Card.  And was told my bike was on it's way.

The next series of frustrations began.  I received a telephone call from my Sister telling me that there was a package for me from FedEx that was being held for some reason.  She gave me a telephone number and a lady to call.  I called and of course received "voice mail".  Yikes I thought, this is going to be another hurdle.  Fortunately she called back within the hour.  Due to the Homeland Security Act here in the USA my bike was being held while until I filled out the necessary Import Paperwork.  Yikes how long was that going to take?  I downloaded the application (Adobe Acrobat Format), and emailed it off.  Surprise - next day my bike arrived!  The funny part (in hindsight) of the story is that FedEx didn't know how to contact me, so they opened the telephone book for my City and called a person with the same last name, who turned out to be my uncle.  He in turn called my sister, who called me.  Lucky?  NOPE!  Written in BIG BLOCK LETTERS right on the top of the box was my Telephone number!  How FedEx missed that I'll never know!

continued Ti 559 Shockproof Review

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