Decathlon's B-Twin Sport as first road bike?

fastbatard
fastbatard Posts: 137
edited April 2013 in Road beginners
Hi. I'm considering buying a Decathlon B-Twin Sport 1 as my first road bike and am struggling to find any reviews for it.

Has anyone owned or ridden this bike? If so I would very much appreciate your views on it. It seems good value at £279 and as I'm on a very tight budget it's either this or the Carrera Virtuoso.

I have only recently bought a Carrera Subway hybrid for commuting 12 miles per day and have found myself craving a bit more speed! After a few teething problems I am now very happy with the Carrera Subway which is the reason I looked at the Virtuoso aswell.

The B-Twin Sport 1 just looks better though and both have similar spec, I'd just like to hear from anyone who has personal experience of them.

Thank you.

Comments

  • cooper.michael1
    cooper.michael1 Posts: 1,787
    This is only my opinon....

    I bought a commuter bike rather like the Subway that you own (basically a rigid MTB) I liked the frame it fitted me well, but as a relatively budget bike (it was about £300 new) it was kitted out with a rather basic groupset and wheels.

    Now the bike's spec has a Shimano LX/XT groupset, Deore hubs on Mavic 317 rims and Continental Gatorskin 1.2 inch tyres. It ride is brilliant, ultra reliable and is only maybe marginally slower than my £1200 road bike.

    What i guess ii'm suggesting is rather than having two £250 bikes, one £500 bike would maybe offer a better alternative. When I first bought a road bike it was in the £350 bracket, and it was poor, as in the wheels/tyres/brakes were so bad they lasted about 2 months before they needed replacing and it would easily be outpaced by my hybrid.
  • cooper.michael1
    cooper.michael1 Posts: 1,787
    Having had a look at the Spec of the 2010 Subway this is what you could do:

    Wheels: Deore hubs / Mavic XM317 (£89 - Merlin Cycles)

    Tyres: Continental Sport Contact 1.3inch Slicks (£34 - Merlin Cycles)

    Chainset: Shimano Deore (£49-67 - Chainreation) Plus Fitting approx £20.

    Those 3 items would seriously improve your bike and would be the first steps I would take. Good wheels will make a hell of a difference, as will the tyres in terms of the feel of the bike. A quality chainset helps all the effort generated by you get tranferred into propelling you down the road.

    I'd then go on to replace the brakes, mech's with Deore or better level kit, and looks at maybe replacing heavy OEM finishing kit such a handlebars, and fit a saddle which may be better over longer distances. All of that can be done over time, as and when you have the money.

    ...at the end of it though you'll have a really nice bike.
  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    I have an older Decathlon 7.1 sport - I have commutted on it daily without issues. I would say go for it. Decath have dedicated bike staff - and know there stuff - so you are buying good back up as well.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    cooper.michael1 wrote:
    Having had a look at the Spec of the 2010 Subway this is what you could do:

    Wheels: Deore hubs / Mavic XM317 (£89 - Merlin Cycles)

    Tyres: Continental Sport Contact 1.3inch Slicks (£34 - Merlin Cycles)

    Chainset: Shimano Deore (£49-67 - Chainreation) Plus Fitting approx £20.

    Those 3 items would seriously improve your bike and would be the first steps I would take. Good wheels will make a hell of a difference, as will the tyres in terms of the feel of the bike. A quality chainset helps all the effort generated by you get tranferred into propelling you down the road.

    I'd then go on to replace the brakes, mech's with Deore or better level kit, and looks at maybe replacing heavy OEM finishing kit such a handlebars, and fit a saddle which may be better over longer distances. All of that can be done over time, as and when you have the money.

    ...at the end of it though you'll have a really nice bike.

    He'd have a better bike, but not a road bike though.

    My advice given your budget would be to look for something used. For example someone is selling a specialized allez in the classified at the moment that'd be within budget.
    More problems but still living....
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    cooper.michael1 wrote:
    Having had a look at the Spec of the 2010 Subway this is what you could do:

    Wheels: Deore hubs / Mavic XM317 (£89 - Merlin Cycles)

    Tyres: Continental Sport Contact 1.3inch Slicks (£34 - Merlin Cycles)

    Chainset: Shimano Deore (£49-67 - Chainreation) Plus Fitting approx £20.

    Those 3 items would seriously improve your bike and would be the first steps I would take. Good wheels will make a hell of a difference, as will the tyres in terms of the feel of the bike. A quality chainset helps all the effort generated by you get tranferred into propelling you down the road.

    I'd then go on to replace the brakes, mech's with Deore or better level kit, and looks at maybe replacing heavy OEM finishing kit such a handlebars, and fit a saddle which may be better over longer distances. All of that can be done over time, as and when you have the money.

    ...at the end of it though you'll have a really nice bike.

    He'd have a better bike, but not a road bike though.

    My advice given your budget would be to look for something used. For example someone is selling a specialized allez in the classified at the moment that'd be within budget.
    More problems but still living....
  • richk
    richk Posts: 564
    I've got a Sport 2 from about 3 years ago (spec isn't dissimilar to the current Sport 1 except it's Xenon rather than Sora). I'm very pleased with it - it's now been converted into my TT bike :shock: I would happily buy their current Sport 1 if I was after something of that nature & budget.
    There is no secret ingredient...
  • fastbatard
    fastbatard Posts: 137
    Thanks very much everyone for your help.

    cooper.michael1, I do get the idea of upgrading my existing bike, I can see this making a significant difference. However as I rely on my bike to get to and from work (we only have one car which the wife uses) I would like to have two bikes as a backup so I can ride one while the other is repaired/serviced/out of action.

    Kingrollo and RichK I think you've reassured me on the Sport 1. I could then start saving again to upgrade my Subway and either upgrade the Sport 1 or replace it after a couple of years.

    Thanks amaferanga, I do like the look of the secondhand allez although at 6' I think the 54cm frame is a touch small. I've always been wary of buying used bikes but I would feel better buying from a member of a forum than off ebay etc.

    Thanks again, I really appreciate your opinions and advice.
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    I service Decathlon sports 1's and other bikes on a daily basis.I get very little warranty work to do on them.
    The Shimano components are entry level but sturdy and reliable.
    The frame has been around for ages and is tried and tested, many staff have one of these.
    At £270 its a good buy especially with a 5 year frame warranty and 2 years on parts.
    What branch are you near?If its Stockport pop into the workshop (ask for the manager, thats me)and I'll help you out.
  • alanswalker
    alanswalker Posts: 27
    Hey,

    Did you end up going for the btwin?

    I've been considering both of these for a couple of months now and i've finally got the cash to part with.


    Thanks

    Alan
  • lanky85
    lanky85 Posts: 82
    I bought one of these about 3 weeks ago!

    Ive always been into MTB rather than road but have recently been increasingly interested in Road cycling.

    I wanted to give it a go but without spending £££ so i popped down to Decathlon and tried the 63cm Sport 1 (Im 6ft6) and bought it... and I love it! I have been out at least 2 to 3 times a week covering about 60 miles a week atm plus myself and missus use it on the turbo trainer. Its seen a lot of use in these three weeks and I am really pleased with it!

    I dont have anything to really compare it with but £279.99 seems a fair price. I dont know if a £1000 bike would feel £700 better if you get what i mean. It does exactly what it says on the tin. :)

    Andy. (happy bTwin Sport 1 owner)
  • fastbatard
    fastbatard Posts: 137
    Wappygixer wrote:
    I service Decathlon sports 1's and other bikes on a daily basis.I get very little warranty work to do on them.
    The Shimano components are entry level but sturdy and reliable.
    The frame has been around for ages and is tried and tested, many staff have one of these.
    At £270 its a good buy especially with a 5 year frame warranty and 2 years on parts.
    What branch are you near?If its Stockport pop into the workshop (ask for the manager, thats me)and I'll help you out.

    Thanks for that, it's reassuring to know you don't have many problems with them. I am in Sheffield and am lucky to have a Decathlon store here but will pop in if I'm up that way.

    Actually I was in the Nottingham store the other day and noticed a slight difference on the Sport 1 models. The 54cm version had silver brake levers with indicators to show what gear you're in but the 57cm had black levers with no indicators. I wondered if this was a spec change and if so did the newer ones come with or without the indicators. This could tempt me into buying now if the newer ones don't have them. Sorry for the extra questions!!

    I was all set to buy one then heard a whisper at work that the long awaited C2W scheme may finally be getting sorted so decided to hold out and see what happens with that. But that could take months and I can have the Sport 1 now :?
  • fastbatard
    fastbatard Posts: 137
    Hey alanswalker, no I haven't got one yet. My work may be starting a cycle to work scheme so I'm trying to hold out and see what happens. I'm not good at waiting though so may find myself in Decathlon with the credit card at any time! The Sport 1 has got to be the best value for money bike after all. I'll give my verdict here if I get one!

    Thanks lanky85 it's really good to hear from someone who owns this bike and is getting on well with it. It sounds like you really can't go wrong for the money.

    Cheers.
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    fastbatard wrote:
    Wappygixer wrote:
    I service Decathlon sports 1's and other bikes on a daily basis.I get very little warranty work to do on them.
    The Shimano components are entry level but sturdy and reliable.
    The frame has been around for ages and is tried and tested, many staff have one of these.
    At £270 its a good buy especially with a 5 year frame warranty and 2 years on parts.
    What branch are you near?If its Stockport pop into the workshop (ask for the manager, thats me)and I'll help you out.



    Actually I was in the Nottingham store the other day and noticed a slight difference on the Sport 1 models. The 54cm version had silver brake levers with indicators to show what gear you're in but the 57cm had black levers with no indicators. I wondered if this was a spec change and if so did the newer ones come with or without the indicators. This could tempt me into buying now if the newer ones don't have them. Sorry for the extra questions!!

    I was all set to buy one then heard a whisper at work that the long awaited C2W scheme may finally be getting sorted so decided to hold out and see what happens with that. But that could take months and I can have the Sport 1 now :?

    I'm not aware of any spec changes, it may just be a supply issues which does happen sometimes if a model is overly popular.

    Its aa shame Decathlon don't operate the cycle to work scheme but all the online schemes demand 10% of the sales, we don't hardly make 10% on bikes though.
  • cread
    cread Posts: 1
    the btwin is superior in every way carbon at this price range is just amazing with aluminium frame i paid nearly 100 pounds more then this for a bike that was aluminuim frame and fork frome raleigh and had roughly the same level of parts and is heavier ive paid half this bikes cost just for carbon seatpost in the past so for the price this is by far the best bike so dont waste your money on anything else :)
  • snowjho
    snowjho Posts: 108
    Wappygixer wrote:
    fastbatard wrote:
    Wappygixer wrote:
    I service Decathlon sports 1's and other bikes on a daily basis.I get very little warranty work to do on them.
    The Shimano components are entry level but sturdy and reliable.
    The frame has been around for ages and is tried and tested, many staff have one of these.
    At £270 its a good buy especially with a 5 year frame warranty and 2 years on parts.
    What branch are you near?If its Stockport pop into the workshop (ask for the manager, thats me)and I'll help you out.



    Actually I was in the Nottingham store the other day and noticed a slight difference on the Sport 1 models. The 54cm version had silver brake levers with indicators to show what gear you're in but the 57cm had black levers with no indicators. I wondered if this was a spec change and if so did the newer ones come with or without the indicators. This could tempt me into buying now if the newer ones don't have them. Sorry for the extra questions!!

    I was all set to buy one then heard a whisper at work that the long awaited C2W scheme may finally be getting sorted so decided to hold out and see what happens with that. But that could take months and I can have the Sport 1 now :?

    I'm not aware of any spec changes, it may just be a supply issues which does happen sometimes if a model is overly popular.

    Its aa shame Decathlon don't operate the cycle to work scheme but all the online schemes demand 10% of the sales, we don't hardly make 10% on bikes though.

    They are part of cyclescheme.co.uk though. Its all over their Reading/Southampton/Surrey Quays stores. I used it. Massive fan of decathlon bikes too.

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