Opinions on Decathalon please ....

[John Hunter]

I've had a Rockrider (old style) for a year and a half now ..... done 3,651 miles. It's done me proud but I haven't treated it well in return

Last night I got a phone call from Decathalon where the bike was in for a service saying it was going to cost £108 to fully service due to the faults my mistreatment have caused. (Not all my fault - the skewed rear wheel was caused by a woman driver who wasn't watching the road well enough first thing in the morning).

Rather than spend that amount on a bike which only cost £150 anyway and might not last much longer even with all the repairs I plumped for buying a new Rockrider (5.2) for £200 - any excuse eh!?

As a whole I've found Decathalon really good value both in terms of the bikes and equipment that they sell and the servicing that they offer also .....

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[glueman]

Yeah, not bad at all. I had a tandem wheel break in France and the guy in the shop took one of their MTB wheels and completely rebuilt it in 45 minutes and it's still on ten years later - and he only charged me for a normal factory wheel. Whenever I've spied into their workshop areas the mechanics seem to work slowly and methodically and look like they're well trained.

We've had two kids bikes from them and they are intelligently thought out, with fully covered chains and drum brakes and v.good value. They kit all their bikes out with extras like LED lights too. They seem fine to me but brand snobbery probably supresses wider takeup.

[mark_w]

I've not got a Decathlon bike, but I have plenty of their other stuff - both Cycling and watersports based. All of it is good kit, and I've always found their service to be brilliant.

If they sold online I'd use them much more - it's just a bit of a pain that the only two I reasonably visit are Sheffield and Birmingham.

I visited their head office/Flagship Store in Villeneuve D'Asque in north-eastern France earlier in the year as I was stopping in a hotel right opposite (was doing a WWI tour). Just a vast place - biggest sports shop I've ever been to with masses of stock and decent prices. My credit card got a bit of a hammering!

[JohnChell]

I've got an older Steel framed Rockrider, It cost £60 off ebay, it has been used as a spare commuter bike, a general ATB, and (when fitted with Magura hydraulic rim breaks and rebuilt wheels) it introduced me to mountain biking. It completed a very muddy 50K merida in the Brecon Beacons last june. It has now had the mudgaurds and rack put on ready to once again be the winter hack. my oppinion of my Decathalon bike? Basic but bomb proof.

[gbnz]

Quite an old post!

I've always liked Decathlon in the "flesh" I.e. you have a look in one of their stores in passing and are faced with a huge range of products, some of which are excellent quality for the price.

That said, their website is *^%$$%^&*(). 40 minutes trying to buy something today, forced into subscribing for their inhouse magazines, endless requests to obtain data relating to myself, three online discussions with their "online staff".

In the end, went to Sports Direct. Almost twice the price for what I wanted (£17.49 rather than £8.98). Purchase took 3-4 minutes and required nothing more difficult than paying for the stuff I wanted

[Airsporter1st]

I've not got a Decathlon bike, but I have plenty of their other stuff - both Cycling and watersports based. All of it is good kit, and I've always found their service to be brilliant.

If they sold online I'd use them much more - it's just a bit of a pain that the only two I reasonably visit are Sheffield and Birmingham.

I visited their head office/Flagship Store in Villeneuve D'Asque in north-eastern France earlier in the year as I was stopping in a hotel right opposite (was doing a WWI tour). Just a vast place - biggest sports shop I've ever been to with masses of stock and decent prices. My credit card got a bit of a hammering!

They do sell online.

[Bez]

They probably didn't in 2009 when that was written

[Airsporter1st]

They probably didn't in 2009 when that was written

You might just be right!!!!

[foxyrider]

Was in the Sheffield store today as it happens. I've bought all sorts of stuff over years and compared to a few years ago they are much more likely to have branded goods rather than all in house. In fact their range of road tyres was wider and more useful than the IBT a couple of minutes up the road and better priced too.

It's not all fantastic quality but if you pay a pound for a light don't expect £50 performance!

[crazydave789]

they do several grades of stuff but their bikes have always been good quality, their own brand stuff is decently priced and retain quality.

[resus1uk]

Used their Nottingham store next to IKEA to get away from the meatball crowd. I needed tubs and tape for my trike spare wheels. Found them on the shelf and track pump parts. I had to return one tub with a faulty valve. No problem to exchange.

[Chris LS]

I was employed at Decathlon. They are a very good company and I enjoyed my time working in the cycle department, where all my colleagues and manager were passionate cyclists. We had days trying out and extensively riding a range of bikes. We visited B Twin village in Lille and met and talked to designers and technicians and were entertained with good food and drink. all expenses paid including Eurostar. Oh and the staff discount was good as well. I have been, and still am, a customer.

[Cyril Haearn]

I was employed at Decathlon
..

Why did you leave? Do you work at h******s now, or in an LBS?

[Paulatic]

I bought some tights in the Spring which are excellent value. But I’ve only just realised they are Left Hand Drive
The clue is the position of reflective bits.

[gbnz]

To be fair, had the chance to call into a Decathalons the other night.

In the "flesh" a staggering store; spent 20-25 minutes browsing through bikes and bike related stuff. Huge no. of items worth looking at, though time was too short.

That said, surprised that the bottom grade road bike was clearly of low quality and to be honest, could quite easily buy a brand name bike of better quality for the same price. Still a fantastic experience (Nb. And what an evening; had the chance to call in for Evening Song at the cathedral - bikes and choral song in one hit; what an experience )