New Decathlon adventure bike

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Post Reply
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by thelawnet »

Oldjohnw wrote:
markjohnobrien wrote:
Oldjohnw wrote:I have very limited technical knowledge but here is an observation:

Despite the huge buying power of Decathlon etc, I can get a Genesis or Dawes or Oxford Bike Works or many other well established tourers from many outlets (or from the manufacturer) for less than the price of the bike mentioned at the start of this thread.


Yes, but you are comparing apples and pears. The bike at the start of the thread has SRAM Rival which is more expensive. Rival, while good, wouldn’t be my choice on a touring bike but it’s not something you’d find on Oxford Bike Works or Dawes, etc.


I am sure you are right. As I said, I am no expert. But then, I would have thought it was me that the Decathlons and Halfords were marketings too, not the people who know about these things.


Similar bikes from Genesis are much more expensive

E.g.

https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/genesis- ... vargn21300

That is £1600 with SRAM Apex, the next level down, and mechanical discs.

The steel frame is £2300 with Apex hydraulic

https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/genesis- ... vargn21310

It's also missing the Brooks saddle, dynamo hub and charger.

This is more of a MTB with drop bars and less of a touring bike

https://www.cyclesolutions.co.uk/36786/ ... black.aspx

but it's £2100 and adds dropper post but lacks the touring features such as dynamo and charger
markjohnobrien
Posts: 1037
Joined: 4 Oct 2007, 8:15pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by markjohnobrien »

thelawnet wrote:
MarcusT wrote:Not sure one can compare the 920 and the 520. Other than the frame, most components are different.
The 520 has entry level components and the 920 has pretty close to top of the line.
I would most likely not use either to tour the world, but where many touring bikes are becoming extinct, it's comforting to see some new models.


The 920 has a Brooks C15 (rubber) saddle, which is a complete waste of money if you don't want a Brooks, or even if you want a leather saddle.
The 520 has a generic saddle.

The 920 has Thunder Burt 2.25" tyres, which are good tyres but not necessarily what you want. The 520 has some generic 1.75" jobs.

The 920 has Sun Ringle Duroc 30 wheels, which are 32-spoke with big 30mm rims and the 520 is more traditional 36 spoke with 19c rims.

Both have the same dynamo hub, but the 920 has a USB port in the stem, while the 520 has some cheap lights

The 520 has a rack & the 920 does not.

Both are the same frame and fork, but the 520 is 36 x 11-46, whereas the 920 is 32 x 11-42, which seems like a very low top gear for a drop bar bike that might not do much touring.

SRAM Rival is 105 level, nominally. The 520 is Microshift. Both are 11-speed.

The Rival is dropbar and the 520 is flat bar + bar-ends.

The problem with the 920 is it's £700 worth of stuff that you might not want. The charger, saddle, and tyres are all accessories you could fit yourself.



Good and useful comments.

You’ve just made me laugh, however, as it’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone complain that a touring bike(920) has too low gears (or low top gears) -32 chainring 11-42 cassette for what many people may use it for.

It’s normally the opposite that the bike isn’t sufficiently low geared. Decathlon are to be commended for the field testing that showed the need for a lower gear (as they initially used a larger chainring). They did extensive testing, using testers all over the world but especially in very hilly and mountainous regions of France with the bikes heavily loaded. If anyone’s interested, they have a very long Instagram thread detailing the testing in different parts of the world (good marketing if one is cynical).

Of course, there is more than one way to skin a cat and you may think that the lower gearing could have been reached by a bigger cassette rather than a smaller chainring - I’m still pleased that the gearing is suitably low for a loaded touring bike that was tested both on and off road.

147BBA15-1F5C-43EC-80C4-1711EC8E8BB4.png
Raleigh Randonneur 708 (Magura hydraulic brakes); Blue Raleigh Randonneur 708 dynamo; Pearson Compass 631 tourer; Dawes One Down 631 dynamo winter bike;Raleigh Travelogue 708 tourer dynamo; Kona Sutra; Trek 920 disc Sram Force.
Jamesh
Posts: 2963
Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by Jamesh »

Is Microshift the same ratio as Shimano 11spd?

Cheers James
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by thelawnet »

markjohnobrien wrote:

Good and useful comments.

You’ve just made me laugh, however, as it’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone complain that a touring bike(920) has too low gears (or low top gears) -32 chainring 11-42 cassette for what many people may use it for.

It’s normally the opposite that the bike isn’t sufficiently low geared. Decathlon are to be commended for the field testing that showed the need for a lower gear (as they initially used a larger chainring). They did extensive testing, using testers all over the world but especially in very hilly and mountainous regions of France with the bikes heavily loaded. If anyone’s interested, they have a very long Instagram thread detailing the testing in different parts of the world (good marketing if one is cynical).


Well the point was more that the cheaper bike has a wider cassette. This is a limitation of specifically using a 1x 'road' system for the pricey bike whereas the latter is MTB components, which is also limited by being 1x, but less so.

I daresay the testing is valid for the testers, but as supplied it's not a touring bike as it lacks luggage, so I'm slightly suspicious that people will be riding these unloaded, in which case the gearing is too low.

As I understand it these sorts of bikes are intended to.have odd shaped bags jutting out from them, which you can remove and then ride the bike around unladen, whereas if it came equipped with racks and was 15kg or whatever that would be less likely

Anyway 1x is daft but probably at some point gear ratios with decent laden as well as fast gears will be common on all kinds of 1x bikes, but that's not yet the case.

32t X 10-50 is standard on MTBs these days but this is only 11t small cog and it seems like it should have a significantly bigger gear there as it's fitted with tyres that are about the least grippy MTB tyres you could get, and drop bars.

Whether that then means you can't get up the hill with your load suggests that the 1x Rival system is not fit for purpose , but that's another question and perhaps one for buyers of this bike.

Maybe at some point they'll make a more sensible posh version.
nsew
Posts: 1006
Joined: 14 Dec 2017, 12:38pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by nsew »

Yep. If you’re sold on 1x better to wait for 12sp 10-51 to become affordable coupled with a 34 or 36 chain ring. 18-90 gear inches is a good riding range for a loaded all terrain bike. Whenever I see reviews of a bike I just look at the frame itself, Chinese Decathlon Riverside isn’t a frame to cherish. After all that’s what marketed complete bikes are, a frame with parts attached. Better to buy a quality Reynolds frame from Genesis or whoever and build it up with carefully selected used and new parts.
Bonefishblues
Posts: 11010
Joined: 7 Jul 2014, 9:45pm
Location: Near Bicester Oxon

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by Bonefishblues »

What's the issue with the frame in your eyes?
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by thelawnet »

nsew wrote:Yep. If you’re sold on 1x better to wait for 12sp 10-51 to become affordable coupled with a 34 or 36 chain ring. 18-90 gear inches is a good riding range for a loaded all terrain bike. Whenever I see reviews of a bike I just look at the frame itself, Chinese Decathlon Riverside isn’t a frame to cherish. After all that’s what marketed complete bikes are, a frame with parts attached. Better to buy a quality Reynolds frame from Genesis or whoever and build it up with carefully selected used and new parts.


Genesis say:

"All our bikes are designed at our HQ in Milton Keynes but we’re extremely proud to be able to use some expert workshops in Vietnam and Indonesia for production. All our frames are put together by hand in batches and then assembled before being shipped over to our warehouse."

How is that different from Decathlon, who design bikes both in France, and in individual local markets and then make it in their production facilities in Portugal, China, etc?

I imagine Decathlon have a good deal more control over their design than Genesis.

Ok if you want a steel bike then this ain't it. But otherwise pretty much all brands including those with the most marketing $$$$$$$ thrown at them, such as Trek, outsource in whichever country is cheapest this year, e.g, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. I think Decathlon are big enough to have a good deal of control over their manufacturing, which most small brands aren't going to be.
User avatar
foxyrider
Posts: 6044
Joined: 29 Aug 2011, 10:25am
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by foxyrider »

thelawnet wrote:
I imagine Decathlon have a good deal more control over their design than Genesis.

Ok if you want a steel bike then this ain't it. But otherwise pretty much all brands including those with the most marketing $$$$$$$ thrown at them, such as Trek, outsource in whichever country is cheapest this year, e.g, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. I think Decathlon are big enough to have a good deal of control over their manufacturing, which most small brands aren't going to be.


Not really true. I speak from experience here having worked for a bike manufacturer for most of a decade, providing you order in sufficient quantity (iirc min order was/is 50 units) the Taiwanese factories will build you anything in any material - you supply the drawing and @ 6 months later your frames arrive. Genesis, Ribble, Planet X, Airnimal, Rose etc, etc all do this as well as the 'big' brands. The advantage that Decathlon have over the niche brands is volume, simply put they pay less for everything from frames to wheels to drivetrains, smaller operations are always at a disadvantage, to be competitive they need to work on smaller margins.

Maybe the best thing with these particular bikes is to buy whichever one you like the look of, ditch/sell the 1x stuff and fit up with whichever drivetrain you want. I've done just that with a couple of 'off the pegs' to get the bike i wanted. :D
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
thelawnet
Posts: 2736
Joined: 27 Aug 2010, 12:56am

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by thelawnet »

foxyrider wrote:
thelawnet wrote:
I imagine Decathlon have a good deal more control over their design than Genesis.

Ok if you want a steel bike then this ain't it. But otherwise pretty much all brands including those with the most marketing $$$$$$$ thrown at them, such as Trek, outsource in whichever country is cheapest this year, e.g, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. I think Decathlon are big enough to have a good deal of control over their manufacturing, which most small brands aren't going to be.


Not really true. I speak from experience here having worked for a bike manufacturer for most of a decade, providing you order in sufficient quantity (iirc min order was/is 50 units) the Taiwanese factories will build you anything in any material - you supply the drawing and @ 6 months later your frames arrive. Genesis, Ribble, Planet X, Airnimal, Rose etc, etc all do this as well as the 'big' brands. The advantage that Decathlon have over the niche brands is volume, simply put they pay less for everything from frames to wheels to drivetrains, smaller operations are always at a disadvantage, to be competitive they need to work on smaller margins.


Decathlon buy a million frames from the same producer. That's going to give them more influence over the process than Genesis will have.
Greystoke
Posts: 482
Joined: 8 May 2018, 7:41am
Location: Lincolnshire

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by Greystoke »

It's good to see new touring bikes being produced after the recent demise of Dawes, Raleigh, Claude Butler etc.
I do think those traditional touring bikes have been replaced with what the market wants or more likely what the market thinks it wants.
These offer me less than my current drop bar early 90's MTB conversion so I'm happy to stick with what I have.
Astrobike
Posts: 61
Joined: 5 Jan 2019, 11:50pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by Astrobike »

image.jpeg
c
I will stick with my 6 year old triban 520 well traveled never let me down
Touring bikes should have more than 1 front gear in my opinion for what it's
Worth
hamish
Posts: 501
Joined: 5 Mar 2008, 11:29pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by hamish »

pedalsheep wrote:I will not be buying anything from Decathlon. I can't support a company that promotes products like this
https://www.change.org/p/decathlon-deca ... -en-gb%3A0


I think that is my biggest issue with this bike. Not that we here have a good record on wildlife persecution in the UK ... But a bike from a company that also promotes the means of persecution doesn't seem quite right.
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by pete75 »

Sweep wrote:
PH wrote:
Boring_Username wrote:My son seems to spend quite a lot of time sorting out the hydraulic brakes on his MTBs, with bleed kits, syringes, etc. Not sure I would want that on a touring bike?

Some people just like fiddling :wink:
My hydraulics take less maintenance than the cable callipers they replaced. These are on my Deliveroo bike, so it's clocking up the same sort of millage as an easy paced round World tour, though it rarely goes anywhere interesting.

Exactly. That's the point isn"t it? You are never far from home with your hydraulics.


I don't know why people are so scared of hydraulic brakes. The systems are very reliable as shown by being used on almost every motorbike for years now. Some people claim they're complex and difficult to work on but car and motorbike brake system are simple and easy to work on. Why should a bike system be any different?
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
MarcusT
Posts: 443
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 10:33am

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by MarcusT »

I was intimidate by my first set of hydraulics (Tektro), but they have never given me any problems, so never had to touch them after 3 yrs of hard mtn biking. Then, the second bike with hydraulics (Shimano) gave me numerous problems. Watched a number of youtube videos and finally feel comfortable working on them.
On one ride, I heard a ping from my rear disc brake , it still worked and I continued on, but when I looked at it at the end of the ride, the disc pad was too worn and the spring got torn away. I was lucky to make it home. My fault for not replacing the pad before hand, but resin pads wear out very quickly. I still cringe when I hear the ping of the disc hitting the brake pad.

Hydraulics are most useful on MTB, but for my current touring bike, I chose rim brakes because of the simplicity of adjustments, repairs and availability of spare parts world wide. In my life, I have changed rim pad brakes twice because they were worn out, other times because they were old and the rubber had become hard.
I wish it were as easy as riding a bike
User avatar
Sweep
Posts: 8443
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 4:57pm
Location: London

Re: New Decathlon adventure bike

Post by Sweep »

MarcusT wrote: In my life, I have changed rim pad brakes twice because they were worn out, other times because they were old and the rubber had become hard.

You must do very few miles?
Note - am not dissing rim brakes - I use them on all of my many bikes - may well end my days without a disc braked bike.
Sweep
Post Reply