Decathlon bikes

newtriath

I'm not completely new to road biking and have done a few triathlon's on an old (1980's) road bike but need some advice on getting a new one.

I have tried out the Boardman Road Comp at Halfords and after being told to hang around for nearly an hour only to get little/ no help with fitting etc... (was warned by previous posts about customer service and read Chris Boardman's post - still plenty to sort out there !) I was ultimately put off by the the fit, as well as being thoroughly cheesed off about the service.

My LBS is out of stock of the Specialized Allez Double which was my second choice but is selling the Bianchi Nirone 7 with a Sora groupset for around 700 quid. Didn't get a chance to sit on it as they didn't have my size but if I'm honest it's really pushing my budget (the Boardman would have been stretching it).

As a last resort I tried Decathlon where to my surprise I received loads of attention and got some very helpful advice - easily better than even my LBS.

Anyway having sat on one of their Sport 2 models I have discovered that the fit is pretty much perfect for me and having read many posts I know that this is really important. What I am struggling to decide is whether to go with the Sport 2 which has a full Sora groupset for 450 quid (which seems ridiculously good value as all the other bikes I have seen with Sora are at least 600) and is way within my budget or go one up and get the Sport 3 model with a Campagnolo Mirage groupset.

I am not wanting to get into a Shimano vs Campagnolo debate (as I've seen by reading post this is a long running one!) but am just wondering whether the extra 150 quid is worth it as the Campagnolos are a supposedly a 'higher level' product or should I stick with the bog standard Sora and get what appears to be a real bargain. In this respect is 600 quid for a bike that fits well and has a Campag mirage groupset (and apparently slightly better wheels) as much of a bargain as one which is 450 but with Sora stuff on it?

Also are their any thoughts in general on the Decathlon bikes, as I've said they appear to fit me perfectly which I suppose is the most important thing, but I can't help but think that I'm missing out when I see the Bianchi frame!

Just to clarify I will be using the bike for training for and entering Triathlons (obviously at a beginner level) as well as more casual biking.

Sorry for the ridiculously long post but thought I'd better explain where I'm at!

Any advice would be great.

Geordie Mick in Wigan

I have an Rockrider 8.1 MTB which is about a year old and cannot praise either the bikeor Decathlon enough. The spec of the bike is brilliant for £500 and the service from the Stockport store is second to none. That said, when my time cam last week to buy a road bike with a £650 budget I went down there and come sooooo close to buying one but the snob inside me wanted a 'brand' and was also being swayed by the fact that my mate's specialized allez had done mega miles and proved to be uber reliable.

I found out that Specialized have a 'concept' store in Chester, I seen they were shifting 2009 Allez's for about £550 and emailed them a request to see if they had any stock. The next day I was in Chester and next door to the Spesh store is the Bike Factory who had a 2010 model in for £629.99 and they fitted me, gave me great advice and built it within the hour.

When I got home the front mech wasn't tuned properly and had to spend an hour setting it up as it was catching when on the top ring.

Yesterday I got an email from the Spesh store saying they had one left, a week after I mailed them :roll:

If my budget on this occasion was decent but if I was pushed I would've certainly gone back to Decathlon.

macondo01

The B'twin sport 2 was reviewed in issue 235 july 2009 220 triathlon magazine and came out with besy buy. Handling 9, spec 7, value 10, comfort 9. Overall 9/10

bellys

iv had a rockrider 4.2 for 5yrs then changed it for a 6.3 full sus never had any issues with them staff are good and willing to help not like halfords (stockport) the 6.3 has been hammerd and never let me down only thing that went wrong was blow the rear shock took bike back it was over 1yr old they changed it with out any questions.
there bikes are good very good spec for little cash.

chrisf70

I've had a Decathalon hybrid for a few years which I use for commuting and going to the shops. It has done a load of miles, had a couple of services and is still going strong.

When I went to buy a road bike earlier this year my first stop was Decathalon. I really liked their Sport 3 model, but a few things put me off buying it and I went with a Giant Defy 3.

Why didn't I buy the Sport 3? Like an earlier poster said, if I was spending that money on a road bike I decided I wanted a 'name'. Also reading on this forum lead me to believe that if I wanted to trade-in/sell the bike in a few years then a 'name' would be easier to sell and possibly get more money for than a Decathalon bike.

Also, when I started road cycling this year I wasn't the lightest cyclist (the weight has dropped off now though!) and I wasn't keen on the carbon rear stays on the Decathlon bikes combined with my weight and the roads around here.

Finally, I wanted to trade in my Spec Rockhopper MTB if I could to save the hassle of selling it over Ebay and my LBS gave me an equivilant deal to ebay prices on it against the Defy.

newtriath

Hi guys, thanks for all the input - good to hear plenty of positive reports about Decathlon bikes.... especially since I've already been out and bought the Sport 2!

In the end the price was too tempting, am quite skint at the moment so 450 quid for a bike that's easily good enough to get me started was just too good an offer to pass up, especially as it has the same groupset as the 600-700 quid bikes I looked at.

Understand what everybody is saying about the name thing though, the Bianchi wins easily in the looks department (it had a Black paint job which looked totally awesome!) as well as having that 'I really know what I'm doing' kind of appeal to it. It would probably have been the one I went for if I could justify not eating for the next few months (I seriously considered this by the way).

Having said all that I really think the Sport 2 still looks like a lovely bike and excels one very important area - fit. It literally just felt right the moment I sat on it which when taken with the price was just too good to pass up on.

So far have only ridden it home but it seems to be a lovely smooth and powerful ride, I can excellerate on it in a way that is just in an entirely different league to my (very) old road bike, an ancient Raleigh Equipe - am now really looking forward to my next triathlon as reckon it cannot fail to improve my times.

Oh and a quick pointer if anyone else was thinking of getting one and lives anywhere near Sheffield go to the Sheffield Decathlon store (as I'm guessing you probably would anyway!) - The bike is normally 500 but they've got 50 quid off the Sport 2 model as a promotion until the end of the Tour de France. Having checked the stock/ prices for the Stockport branch they don't seem to have this offer on - dunno if that's just the website but thought I'd mention it anyways.

Thanks again for all the feedback, all I need now is for it to stop flipping raining so I can go for a ride!

Wappygixer

I had the old Sport 3 which is the same frame as the new sport 2 and I have to say it was pretty good.Reasonably light for the money and very comfy.
If you want mudguards then SKS chomoplastics will fit...just.
I'm probably a little biased as I work for Decathlon but I get to see a side to the bikes that others don't.I've seen all the production side and where they are made and who by etc.
The price Sheffield are offering is a local price, the Stockport price is still the full price.
I'm glad you got good customer service as its my job to train the staff as Stockport and Sheffield, it means I'm doing my job right lol.

newtriath

All I can say is keep up the good work. Out of Halfords and my local bike shop they were definitely the most interested in talking to me/ giving advice but without making me feel like a newbie/ idiot. Also they let me hang around, umm and errr and ride around on the bike for ages but without making me feel under pressure to actually buy it.

Don't know if I speak for everybody but that's what I really want when shopping for a bike, to feel relaxed and not hassled but also to get enough attention/ advice - a difficult balance I know but you seem to be getting it right. It was the bike (and price!) that won me over in the end but customer service like that definitely helps!

grantus

Bargain mate! Jeez the way prices of shimano components have gone in the last year the 9 speed sora shifters are well over £100 on their own!

If you want better groupset then take the Sora stuff off it and sell it as brand new - you'd have enough money to buy old stock Campag Veloce 9 speed stuff with what you get for it probably. There's tonnes of it around - Ribble especially have got super prices on it.

That being said - i've used Sora and found it perfectly good stuff although my new bike has Tiagra and I prefer the location of the shifters.

Haven't used Campag but would buy it now anyday over Shimano due to the ridiculous price of the Japanese stuff this year.

merlie

Wappygixer wrote:

I had the old Sport 3 which is the same frame as the new sport 2 and I have to say it was pretty good.Reasonably light for the money and very comfy.
If you want mudguards then SKS chomoplastics will fit...just.
I'm probably a little biased as I work for Decathlon but I get to see a side to the bikes that others don't.I've seen all the production side and where they are made and who by etc.
The price Sheffield are offering is a local price, the Stockport price is still the full price.
I'm glad you got good customer service as its my job to train the staff as Stockport and Sheffield, it means I'm doing my job right lol.

Liking the look and sounds made by many for the Decathlon brand - Qu - why don't Decathlon join the C2C scheme ? I am in 2 minds about a branded Spesh vs Decathlon. As well as that I dont live too near a store and not being too mechanically minded I worry about servicing and all that.

Landlocked

If Decathlon were on the Cycle to work scheme, i would have bought one of their bikes.

they are amazing value for money, but bought a Cannondale Synapse instead.

I'm even thinking of buying a Sport 1 just for my winter bike

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/sport-1-54-57-69567468/#

Wappygixer

If DEcathlon were to join a cycle to work scheme we would have to put all of our prices up.
All the companies that offer the service want 10% of the sales made through cycle to work scheme which we cant afford to do at our prices.
On many of our bikes we don't even make 10%.
What many companies don't know is that you don't have to go through these online compainies to get cycle to work.Your employer can buy the bike via a cash/card/invoice method and still claim all of the benifits put in place by the government.

Anonymous

My local Decathlon is in Stockport. It's very dangerous going in there. Once I went in for some inner tubes and came out with a power kite the size of a parachute and full horse-riding regalia.

I would have considered on of the top bikes if I had been going 'off the shelf'.

They look excellent value and well made.

Plus the service seems to be pretty good.

Wappygixer

The top of the range road frames are made in the same factory as another very well known Italian maker.
I cant believe you bought a power kite and no buggy NapoleonD but worst of all horse-riding?????

Anonymous

I know, I hate horses too and the kite is still in the pack.

Downwardi

Is it the Sport 3 £600 ish ? Yellow and white - Looks great.

Wappygixer

Its is indeed and it rides pretty well.I had the old black/yellow one for a while as a winter bike