Cycling UK Forum

Vorpal wrote:

pete75 wrote:Just wondered why you said the Btwin drop outs look short for a touring bike. Heel clearance is a function of chain stay length and has nothing to do with drop out length or so I've always thought.

Sorry. That wasn't clear was it? I wrote dropouts, but I was thinking chain stay.

I suspected as much was just teasing ....

FWIW the chainstays don't look that short to me, after all those are 700C wheels aren't they?

It does rather beg the question as to how big Vorpal's panniers are.... (it's rude to ask a lady how big her feet are, isn't it...? )

cheers

That's excellent value, how do they do it!?

How do they do it?

Massive purchasing power: decathlon are I believe the second largest bike manufacturer/ assembler in the world
Low cost business model,: big warehouses on the edge of town

Hi,

Tourer or commuter, I've recommended it in several threads as a bargain.
No part of it is bottom budget level, but with all the accessories its £200 !

Nice grips, pedals, saddle, aluminium frame, brakes, chainset, derailleurs
and shifters, sealed BB, FB Aheadset(adjustable), before you add the
lighting (dynamo front hub), rear rack, mudguards and sidestand.

The tyres are probably better than usual, and the brake pads,
but the latter are always upgradeable on the front, keeping
the original front brake pads as spares for the rears.

Its a no brainer IMO for a lot of people, great value.

rgds, sreten.

Decathlon do seem to produce some good looking bikes. I was in my local store the other day looking at the range of bikes, and they were excellent value compared to the "bigger established" brands.

Brucey wrote:FWIW the chainstays don't look that short to me, after all those are 700C wheels aren't they?

It does rather beg the question as to how big Vorpal's panniers are.... (it's rude to ask a lady how big her feet are, isn't it...? )

cheers

I do have big feet, and tendancy to cycle in hiking boots.

Maybe it's okay, but it doesn't look that different from a hybrid to me. Maybe I'd say otherwise if I looked at the bike in person, or saw it side by side with others. It's hard to tell that sort of thing in pictures.

I know what you mean though; some bike/pannier combinations are a struggle.

I don't have especially large feet (UK 8 /42 Continental) but my big square 'shopping' panniers need to be right at the back of the pannier rails on most bikes and even with a 19" chainstay these panniers are centred behind the rear axle. My touring panniers are bigger inside but because they are tapered in shape they don't cause any problems even on bikes with much shorter chainstays.

Some MTBs have chainstays that are so short I can't use the 'shopping' panniers on them; I don't have a carrier that will let them back far enough...

cheers