BTwin Rockrider 8.2...

Jeast

I'm considering going for the BTwin Rockrider 8.2, currently in the sale at £619.00 which seem like a bargain, but I'd appreciate some comments on the spec.

details here: http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider-8-2-25131873/
and here: http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider- ... ities.html

The negatives I've noticed with my untrained eye are;

1. Rockshox Reba Race are 2008 model. From what I've read, 2009 are a vast improvement.

2. They have included the Poploc feature, and I can't find a good word said for it.

2. Frame is 6061 aluminium, I can't find much info on this but it seems that not many manufacturers use this grade of aluminium anymore. Only one I have found is Cannondale, but they call in 6061-T6, which for all i know could be completely different!

But can these negatives be ignored with that £619.00 pricetag? And are there any other negatives i've missed?!

Thanks...

Jeast

Any thoughts guys and gals?

blister pus

What can you say, it's a great price for a nice spec and a nice bike.

Just make sure you get the right size.

blister pus

Put it like this, what's your alternative(s)?

Jeast

Well, the alternative is that I wait and save up for either the Boardman MTB/HT Pro or the Scott Scale 40, both going for £999.

I guess I'm just thinking, is the Rockrider a deal not to be missed? And is it actually such a good deal with the forks being 08 models?

Steve_b77

2008 Reba Race's are very good forks, I paid £270 for mine in the sale earlier this year.

Mavic 317's on own brand hubs - not bad wheel set for the money

SRAM X9 shifters & Mechs, worht nigh on £200 by them selves

Own Brand finsihing kit, it looks ok

25.5lbs for full bike

It's a good bike for the money

swelsbyuk

Don't mean to pour water on your plans for the 8.2, but have you checked that they stock your size in your local store?

I have looked online and they seem very short on sizes at each store. In fact, all I can find is a Medium at one store and an XL at another and that seems to be it, I'm afraid (unless I'm doing something wrong, which is a definite possibility).

Jeast

Yeah, checked stock. They are short over here, but still have hundreds over in France. They can get them into stock in 2 days if you put down a 20% deposit, which is refundable if you decide not to go for it.

swelsbyuk

That's pretty good - which store are you using for this?

The French stores are still selling it at 999euros, which is about £3000 or somewhere close

http://www.decathlon.fr/FR/vtt-performance-3792446/

djcombes

Jeast wrote:

2. Frame is 6061 aluminium, I can't find much info on this but it seems that not many manufacturers use this grade of aluminium anymore. Only one I have found is Cannondale, but they call in 6061-T6, which for all i know could be completely different!

Wouldn't worry about it. 6061 refers to the composition of the alloy, T6 is the temper which you get from heat treatment. It will always be heat treated, and it's most commonly T6. I bet they've just missed it off.

I was under the impression that 6061 was a very common frame material. It's got a yield stress of around 250MPa. 7005 has a figure of around 300MPa, so there's not a huge difference, and stiffness will be the same (which is I suspect a major design criteria in frames). 7075 is quite a bit stronger (500MPa), but it's not weldable, so no frames from that.

supersonic

The 2009 Reba Race is nigh on identical to the 2008.

As above, nothing wrong with 6061 alloy. It is used quite a bit as is easier to form than 7005.

Jeast

swelsbyuk wrote:

That's pretty good - which store are you using for this?

Well I spoke to someone at the Nottingham branch, but I'm pretty sure they'll do it at any of their branches.

swelsbyuk

You are right, they will do it at any branch. I have just put my order in for a Large at the West Midlands branch (4hour round trip!!).

Thanks for the tip-off.

Jeast

Cool! Are you definitely going ahead with the purchase?

I'm gradually coming round to the idea...

blister pus

If either of you are 6 foot / 33" inside leg type shape n size then you might want to try the XL.

swelsbyuk

Yes, definitely going ahead with the purchase - although they told me that it would take a week for it to come into stock.

Ordered a Large, even though I am 5' 11"as I prefer bikes that come up a little short.

Here's the stupid thing though (and you really couldn't make this up). I am buying the 8.2 as a second bike, which will be kept in France at the in-laws, so I can use it when I'm there and don't have to keep lugging my bike back and forth on the plane every time we visit.

So, I am buying it at £619 in the UK, it is 999 euros in France (about £850). The shop is shipping it over from France, to sell to me so that I can then take it back to France!!! I hate to think what the carbon footprint of this bike will be!

I have emailed Decathlon and asked whether I can buy the bike at a Decathlon here (at UK price, of course) but have it shipped to a shop in France but I can't. It has to be sent here, only to be taken directly back to France with me on a plane a week later!.

Madness!!

Jeast

Ha! That's crazy! So what do you normally ride?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for it. I've got one on order, so once it arrives - providing I'm happy with the feel, because I've not actually sat on one yet - I reckon I'll buy it.

custard80

Can you tell me if this is still £619 at your local store. Lakeside are showing it at £659.

I'm just starting on this and have a budget of up to £600 and thought for the extra £20 it was a great deal but at £60 may be out of reach.

If you have some proof of the price i may be able to get them to match another store.

It looks like this or the rockrider 8.1. also looking at the focus fatboy.

Not worried about the brand just want the best bike for the money. Commuting every day and single track are the requirements. I can get it on a "modified" version of the cycle to work scheme!

Jeast

Yeah, not sure what's going on there...the price looks to have jumped back upto £759 on the website. Have you spoken to someone instore and asked about the £619 price?

custard80

Jeast wrote:

Yeah, not sure what's going on there...the price looks to have jumped back upto £759 on the website. Have you spoken to someone instore and asked about the £619 price?

Phoned them this morning after going at the weekend, they had leaflets which i took and lost!!

Guy today said it was £659 and has ordered one in for me to look at. I mentioned the £619 but he didn't know anything about that.

At £619 i cant see anything with that sort of spec around and would almost definetly buy it at £659 that is really pushing my budget limit.

swelsbyuk

I've just had a voice-mail message to say that mine has come into stock. The chap also said that, despite the fact that the price has gone back up, they are happy to still sell it to me at £619.

I am very pleased with this as I haven't paid any deposit etc, just ordered it over the phone.

Oh, and in reply to a previous post, I ride a Giant XTC SX (2006) over here. I am going to look at the two bikes side-by-side and make a decision as to which one I take to France and which one stays here as my 'main' bike.

This will have to be a quick judgement call though, as can't pick the bike up until Saturday, and fly out to France the following morning!

custard80

do you think the price reduction was 1 weekend only? do you have any leaflet or screen print out showing the price that you could scan in for me?

Been thinking about it over lunch and cant see £659 being possible at the moment.

PXR5

Keep an eye on the decathlon website as this often shows which products they are currently discounting. They recently slashed the price of the Rockrider 8.1 2008 probably to clear excess stock.

I picked up the 2008 version (grey) for 499€ new ...the 2009 version same spec in Red is 699€ - at that price you can't even but the Forks and gear set !!

Only negative point is the Michelin tyres which have punctured too many times for my liking, so will soon be changed.

Jeast

custard80 wrote:

do you think the price reduction was 1 weekend only? do you have any leaflet or screen print out showing the price that you could scan in for me?

Been thinking about it over lunch and cant see £659 being possible at the moment.

Found out today that the reason for the sale was to clear all the stock of the high-end bikes, because most, maybe all of the uk stores are no longer carrying these models in stock. I think you can still order them in but they will be at full price now obviously...

custard80

Got in touch with the bike manager today and he said he will only do it for £659.
Is it worth it?

supersonic

If it fits, yes. Superb value.

Jeast

custard80 wrote:

Got in touch with the bike manager today and he said he will only do it for £659.
Is it worth it?

£659 and even the full £759 for a bike of that spec is fantastic value...to put it into some kind of perspective, if that bike had Trek, Specialized or Scott written on the frame, you'd be looking at a MINIMUM of £1000. PLUS you get the 5 year frame, 2 year components warranty which few can beat.

PXR5

Due to the hugh purchasing power of Decathlon they tend to offer exception value for money, so the bikes are generally at least as good as something several hundred quid/euro more expensive.

Its just that Decathlon is not a "brand name" so there is not half as much ego boost in saying "hey guys look at my new Rockrider", compared to "look at my new Cannondale "....

Just suffice to say that several of my pals who have Cannondales and Lapierres could not believe the spec of my 8.1 for the price i payed, they've all had a go riding it and agree that its a nice bike.

Decat recently tried to address this issue by rebranding the bike line as B-Twin (as seen on Tour de France) rather than Decathlon, plus they push the Rockrider name for the Mountain Bikes..

Of course like anything else you could find a fault or manufacturing defect, but with the guarantee on new bikes you really will struggle to get better spec for your money