Anyone have a Decathlon Sport 1?

toybhoy

Currently using a Specialized Expedition Elite for commuting to work which is fine but looking for a new road bike to replace it as its too heavy and not really suitable to the road which is what am on 80% of my journey.

Only have about £300 to spend so have decided to check out the Sport 1 for sale for £269. I will probably have a look on gumtree/ebay etc. but wanted to know if anyone has any expierence of this bike and is it worth it? fun to ride etc?

If not, does anyone have any suggestions I can look for around £300 give or take a £100.

I have a carbon Felt Z35 as my main bike so this new roadie is really only for battering around

Cheers!

symo

A great starter bike, Decathalon kit is heavily undervalued in my opinion, however once you get above the £600 figure it is good to look elsewhere.

toybhoy

Cheers Symo,.

I think its between the B'Twin Sport 1 and the Carerra Virtuoso.

Both are around the same price. Only thing is, being used to Ultegra groupsets, am wondering how I would get on with 2200. Didnt even realise there was a 2200, thought it was 2300.

Both bike comes in at around 10.5kg. You think this is light enough of a comfortable and fairly lively ride?

UndercoverElephant

toybhoy wrote:

Both bike comes in at around 10.5kg. You think this is light enough of a comfortable and fairly lively ride?

The Sport 1 comes in about 10.9 KG. Quite heavy, but you'll feel like you flying when you get on the good bike.

An upgrade of tyres and tubes would probably help enormously with the weight.

toybhoy

10.9KG is actually quite alot.

I believe that figure is for the 57cm model and include pedals. I'll be going for the 54cm and will use my own spd ones, that along with lighter tyres and tubes will hopefully bring it down a bit.

Wappygixer

Remember the Decathlon warranty of 2 years on parts and 5 years on frame.
I've sold several of the sport 1's over the past year and I've not had a single one come back.
The frame has been used for a few years and is tried and tested and the fininshing kit is ok.It used to come with Sora until the Yen became so strong and pushed up Shimano prices.

phil s

I do not have a Decathlon Sport 1

toybhoy

Does B'Twin bikes come pre-built and tested by Decathlon or is it boxed bought?

I have a store near me which is where I would go to pick up.

deptfordmarmoset

toybhoy wrote:

Does B'Twin bikes come pre-built and tested by Decathlon or is it boxed bought?

I have a store near me which is where I would go to pick up.

If it's like the one in Surrey Quays, they finish building it and test it, after you've decided to buy. A wander around the shopping centre or a leisurely coffee should cover it. But, I don't know about Saturdays in spring - they'll be bound to be a little busier than usual.

Wappygixer

All bikes come ready to ride.
Bikes are build to go onto the shop floor and then recieve a final check when you buy it.This rules out people tampering with it while its been in storage.

toybhoy

Cheers guys!

Any idea what their reputation is like when it comes to building the bike?

It's not like Halfords rep or anything is it?

Also, final question. Is a road bike such as the B'Twin Sport 1 okay for going on canal towpaths etc as well as roads?

Thanks for the help!

Wappygixer

toybhoy wrote:

Cheers guys!

Any idea what their reputation is like when it comes to building the bike?

It's not like Halfords rep or anything is it?

Also, final question. Is a road bike such as the B'Twin Sport 1 okay for going on canal towpaths etc as well as roads?

Thanks for the help!

It may depend on which store you go to.I help to train the guys at my branch (Stockport) and most of the guys are pretty serious riders and know what they are doing.Decathlon do train all staff on all the critical safety points for bike building.

As for towpaths it all depends on how rough they are.Some near me are tarmac which is fine.If they are stone or mud then your just asking for trouble really.
If this is your plan you'll be better off with a cyclo cross (£800) or get something like a Rockrider 5.2 and change the tyres to a more road based tread pattern.
The wheels are just not strong enough on a sport 1 for anything other than roads.

cyberknight

If you get a good guy at halfords then you get a good bike for the money if you avoid the BSO priced bikes, my local one has a competent guy who is a keen rider and offers good advice.

If the people are good then the carrera virtuosso is in your price range and has points to mount gaurds+panniers if you so wish and got best budget bike in cyclingplus last year .

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Just in case you are interested, thought I would let you know I spotted medium sized (they have other sizes too) GT Transeo Ltd Nexus bikes going for £350 at Rutland's Ebay store.

8-speed Nexus hub gear
SR NEX-4610 50mm travel fork (has disc mounts but has cantilever brakes I think, direct pull)
700C wheels using Alex ACE17 rims
Frame looks very similar to the one used on the GT Peace model (pretty good rep)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GT-TRANSEO-LTD-NE ... 4ced8075e0

nadir

i got a sport 3 from the decathlon store in avranche, quite nicely specced with campag mirage gears, truvativ chainset, nice comfortable ride, good value for the 649 euros i payed for it, only downside was very uncomfortable saddle and rubbish wheels- that was easily sorted

toybhoy

Thanks for that guys!

Still undecided between that and the carrera but will go test out the Sport 1 tonight!

adrianb1066

toybhoy wrote:

Thanks for that guys!

Still undecided between that and the carrera but will go test out the Sport 1 tonight!

Boing - How did the test ride go?

Wappygixer

toybhoy wrote:

Thanks for that guys!

Still undecided between that and the carrera but will go test out the Sport 1 tonight!

Which store are you going to?
If its the Stockport store feel free to ask for me and I'll help you out.Just ask for the workshop manager

toybhoy

I'll be going to the Glasgow branch.

I went there last night to check it out and I quite like it for a 2nd bike. The only thing is there was 2 left in Glasgow and both are sitting out with a "Ready to Ride" tag on it. This I don't mind but the tyres were flat and I saw people sitting on them fully when they were testing them and I was worried about buying a new bike with the rims possibly being damaged.

Why do they leave the tyres flat in the shop? I would have thought they would make sure they were inflated.

Anyways, yes, decent bike and I like it, wish it was the Stockport one I was going to now I know a fellow cyclist works there!

richk

Bought a Sport 2 about 3 years ago (similar price - £269 iirc - has Xenon rather than the current Sport 1 has Sora (?)). Has proved to be a good buy for the money.

Would happily buy another bike from Decathlon (got my son's new bike from there a few weeks ago too).

Wappygixer

toybhoy wrote:

I'll be going to the Glasgow branch.

I went there last night to check it out and I quite like it for a 2nd bike. The only thing is there was 2 left in Glasgow and both are sitting out with a "Ready to Ride" tag on it. This I don't mind but the tyres were flat and I saw people sitting on them fully when they were testing them and I was worried about buying a new bike with the rims possibly being damaged.

Why do they leave the tyres flat in the shop? I would have thought they would make sure they were inflated.

Anyways, yes, decent bike and I like it, wish it was the Stockport one I was going to now I know a fellow cyclist works there!

The bikes should be ready to ride if they have a label on.Sometimes for important visit though they just get put on for show.Wrong I know but it wont hurt anyone as thye get checked before they leave the store anyway.
I very much doupt a rim will get damaged but just sitting on it or even ridden on on the kind of floors in the shops.The tube may get damaged but thats easily replaceable and would be found during its check.
Paul the cycles manager in Glasgow is a very keen triathleet and a good friend of mine.Any problems just ask for him and tell him I sent you ;-)

toybhoy

Thanks Wappy!

I will do just that! Going to go pick one up early next week.

Cheers again pal, much appreciated!

alanswalker

hey guys,

Did you end up getting one of these from Glasgow, im sure there is only the one at the fort right?

I cant decide between that or the carrera?

What the post purchase feeling? build quality, service in store etc?

Cheers

Alan

Wappygixer

alanswalker wrote:

hey guys,

Did you end up getting one of these from Glasgow, im sure there is only the one at the fort right?

I cant decide between that or the carrera?

What the post purchase feeling? build quality, service in store etc?

Cheers

Alan

If you don't want the display model they will happily order a ne wone in for you with no obligation to buy.
I've not been to the Glasgow store yet but the staff are pretty good as I used to work with the cycles manager at the Stockport branch.

shouldbeinbed

I got my eldest a sport 1 for a 4 mile lumpy commute on shoddy roads and he's totally happy with it. He has also used on some badly broken up mud paths. It came from the stockport store, the sales & service was spot on. Knowledgable and no hard sell. I've had a few longer rides on it on the road and I'm happy to use it as an occasional bike. Usually I ride a far more sit up and beg style bike and found the sport1 comfy enough and predictable to ride.

fossyant

I don't have a Decathlon bike, but have always had a good look at them, as I spend a small fortune in the Stockport Store...... I've got 4 custom bikes, but always pop in for bits and bobs......

Their bikes are very good value....... and the store customer service is fab, as are the guarantees.... 2 years on 'own brand' clothing........ great.....

PS £2.99 for 2 pairs of bike socks in just about every colour....excellent.

Got 3 of their 2 second tents - amazing..........

PBo

just one thing....don't all the decathlon roadies run triples? are you ok with that?

Wappygixer

Yep all Decathlon road bike run a triple.
I never see it as a problem at this price point.
You don't have to make that extra click to the granny ring.

deptfordmarmoset

I had a couple of servicing issues recently. It started out with what I thought was a bottom bracket problem but it actually needed the whole drive train replacing. After 2500 miles in just under a year. When I got the bike back, they'd replaced the bottom bracket ''under warranty'' yet I still had the clunky noise and, what's more, the freewheel had turned into a semi-freewheel after the new cassette had been put on.

At this point, new crank, new chain, new cassette, plus the new bottom bracket under warranty, I was around £120 worse off and the bike still wasn't in good running order.

They gave me a choice: pay the balance for their next model up - which would have been a fairly cheap upgrade. But I didn't have any money. The alternative was to replace the crank for a more expensive Sora one and to replace the rear wheel/freewheel for free.

I had to go for the latter and it came back well set up.

So, overall, they didn't get it right first time, but they acknowledged that, assumed responsibility and sorted it out. One irritating criticism: they kept on saying that they'd phone me when the parts came in. When I didn't hear, I'd phone them and three times I got the ''It came in 15 minutes ago'' answer.

lardboy

One thing to note about Decathlon is that their smallest sizes come with 650c wheels, so if you're struggling to find a bike for a smaller rider, they're definitely worth checking out. I wouldn't trust the stock indicators on the website, as they seem to say they only have two sizes available, but in the Surrey Quays store at least there was every size of every bike on display.

Good fun to ride a bike around the shop as well! Got my first go on a folder in there.

alanswalker

Bought one from Glasgow this morning, 33 miles run up the campises hills, through the carron valley and back via klysth.

All good apart from maybe so adjustment needed on the front derailuer, time will tell though!