Decathlon bikes any good?

Richtea70

Hi,

We have a new Decathlon store opening near to us next month and have seen on here that their bikes are normally preferable to the Halfords lower end stuff.

I use a Carrera Subway 2 for my daily work commute (12 mile round trip) but have started doing some woodland trails on my old mountain bike (Apollo- Boo, hiss I know!) and really enjoying it.

Obviously I want to get something a bit better to go trailing on but I havent got a lot of spare cash. However I've been looking at this, which seems reasonably priced?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider ... 117024744/

Anyone have a Decathlon bike or any opinions?

Thanks,
Rich.

t0pc4t

the ones that I've seen reviewed generally come out pretty well although I have no idea how good the fork on that one is

Kiblams

Decathlon bikes are sturdy, the wife rides a 5.2 that I have upgraded over the course fo the year, nothing has broken or worn out with weekly use at trail centres (even though the winter) before I replaced it.

Good solid value and cheap bikes IMO, and a fantastic starting point if you fancy upgrading parts as you get into MTBing more (forks and brakes would be the first for me on the 5.3)

PXR5

Nothing wrong at all with Decathlon bikes, exceptionally good value for money with well spec'd components - 5 year frame guarantee...

Only problem is they don't have a Big Brand Name, Decathlon didn't seem very inspiring, RockRider does quite well, though the Bike part has now become B'Twin...Some people are just not happy unless its got Scott or Cannondale or Cube or Commencal etc written on it....

Considering the money I paid I'm really happy with my 8.1, though IMHO they've made an absolute pigs ear of the colour schemes this year, with my 8.1 changing from a rather tasteful SemiMatt Grey/Aluminium colour two years ago to a horrible Gloss Black...

Try to contact wappygixer on the forum as he works for Decat in the UK and can now doubt give you any info needed....

PS: I don't work for Decat, just use mine a lot....

Wappygixer

The 5.3 is an excellent bike.
I service them on a regular basis and see very few isues.
The frame has been around for a while and is tried and tested and I've never seen one break or crack.
Components are pretty good too being SRAM X-5 which is pretty much on par with Shimano Deore.The fork is a Suntour XCR which many brands use upto around £500-600 price mark.
If I was to be perfectly honest then I'd say the lowest part is the crank set.Its just a Suntour pressed steel ring component.This aside then the rest of the bike is awesome for £300.
I see many bikes coming in as I'm the Workshop manager for Decathlon Stockport.I see the same issues on all makes of bikes that we also encounter from time to time.
We do suffer failures the same as any other company but we like to think we remedy them better and faster than the competition.

rhext

I reckon my son's Rockrider 8.1 is better than my Specialized Rockhopper which cost a couple of hundred more! Stock tyres were rubbish and it wasn't particularly well set up by the shop, but apart from that a great bike!

My daughter has a 5.3 which is also great value for the money.

Richtea70

Cheers everyone for your input, and particularly Wappygixer for your insider knowledge!!

They look to have some really nice bikes on the website, and wish I could spend a bit more really, but as its only going to be a second bike (in theory) I cant really justify it!

Just gotta wait 'til 21st October now for the Reading store to open.

Wappygixer - Just out of interest what would you class as being the best value for money in the range, bearing in mind you see these bikes on a daily basis?

Thanks again,
Rich.

bellys

good bikes iv had 2 1st one was 5.3 very light and good spec think it cost £400 ish used it for about 5 years then got a 6.4 had that for winter riding and was spot on still got the frame in the shed....wheels are not the best but for the price i would not expect any thing else.
when i was looking at the 6.4 you could not get a bike with the same kit for under £700 pound.

hope this helps

Wappygixer

Richtea70 wrote:

Just gotta wait 'til 21st October now for the Reading store to open.

Wappygixer - Just out of interest what would you class as being the best value for money in the range, bearing in mind you see these bikes on a daily basis?

Thanks again,
Rich.

Why wait for the Reading store?You can order online if you know the size you are likely to need.
As for best value I would probably say the 8.0 (the old 5XC) http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider-8-0-2010-117121662/#infos-techniques
Its the same frame as the 8.1 but with the components from the 5.3 other than the cable brakes as it comes with Avid Juicy 3 and all that for £399.

shm_uk

Wappygixer wrote:

Richtea70 wrote:

Just gotta wait 'til 21st October now for the Reading store to open.

Wappygixer - Just out of interest what would you class as being the best value for money in the range, bearing in mind you see these bikes on a daily basis?

Thanks again,
Rich.

Why wait for the Reading store?You can order online if you know the size you are likely to need.
As for best value I would probably say the 8.0 (the old 5XC) http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider-8-0-2010-117121662/#infos-techniques
Its the same frame as the 8.1 but with the components from the 5.3 other than the cable brakes as it comes with Avid Juicy 3 and all that for £399.

It's certainly well worth opting for the 8.0 with the hydraulic disc brakes, rather than the 5.3 with mechanical disc brakes ...

Richtea70

Wappygixer wrote:

Richtea70 wrote:

Just gotta wait 'til 21st October now for the Reading store to open.

Wappygixer - Just out of interest what would you class as being the best value for money in the range, bearing in mind you see these bikes on a daily basis?

Thanks again,
Rich.

Why wait for the Reading store?You can order online if you know the size you are likely to need.
As for best value I would probably say the 8.0 (the old 5XC) http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/rockrider-8-0-2010-117121662/#infos-techniques
Its the same frame as the 8.1 but with the components from the 5.3 other than the cable brakes as it comes with Avid Juicy 3 and all that for £399.

Well waiting for the Reading branch is two-fold really. Firstly I'd like to take a look at the bikes 'in the flesh' so to speak and secondly, its my birthday at the end of October so that might put me in a better position with the Mrs for getting a better bike!!!

Trouble is I'm now looking at the 8.0! I knew this would happen.

Why are the hydralic brakes better than the mechanical? What could I expect over normal mechanical ones?(please excuse my naivety)

Thanks again,
Rich

Wappygixer

Its all about power.Hydraulic brakes give much more power than cable brakes.Can you imagine how much power you would need to stop a car with cable brakes as opposed to hydraulic.
Hydraulic also self adjust when pads wear.Cable brakes need adjustment every now and again as the pads wear down.

Richtea70

Would hydraulic brakes need more maintenance then or less? Topping up brake fluid etc?

Thanks again,
Rich

rhext

I've got bikes with both kinds: cable and hydraulic. I don't agree that hydraulic brakes are more powerful: either type are more than capable of locking up a wheel if they're clean and well maintained. Pros and cons from my point of view:

1) In normal use Hydraulic brakes are self-adjusting. Every time you use your brakes, the pads wear down a little. Hydraulic brakes will move the pads slightly closer together as the pads wear, so you don't have to adjust them until the pads wear out completely. Cable brakes require you to use an adjuster every so often to take up the slack.

2) Hydraulic brakes are largely immune to build-up of, for want of a better way of putting it, cr*p. It doesn't matter if they're coated in a thick layer of mud and grit, it won't foul cable runs or the lever action on the calipers. IMHO this is largely why cable disk brakes have a reputation for being less powerful: if they're gummed up with muck they won't work as well.

3) In my opinion, Hydraulic brakes feel nicer to use. The lever pull for given stopping power is lighter and I feel that modulation (variation in stopping power vs how hard you have to pull) is more controlable

4) Hydraulic brakes can suffer from brake fade on occasion. As you brake, your disks and pads heat up. If they heat up enough, you can boil the hydraulic fluid, at which point the brakes stop working. This can be alarming, but only tends to happen in extreme circumstances (eg half-way down a particularly long and steep mountain). It's happened to me once, near the bottom of a particularly fast and long descent in Wales. I'm still here.

5) In order to minimise the risk of brake fade, Hydraulic brakes require bleeding occasionally. You need to replace the brake fluid. I always felt that this was an intimidating task compared with changing a cable. Having now done it a couple of times, it isn't. It's straightforward and takes about an hour to do both brakes. When I say 'occasionally', the Shimano brakes on my Rockhopper lasted for 5 years and several thousand miles, the Avid brakes on my son's Rockrider 8.1 lasted less than a year and (maybe) 200 miles...... But while it's straightforward, it's also expensive. A bleed kit can cost upwards of £35......and even though you can re-use it, you'll probably need to spend a tenner on brake fluid every time.

For me, I'd take hydraulics every time because they feel so nice to use and because a bit of mud doesn't interfere with their operation. But if you're not coating your bike in mud every few days, and cost is an issue (both up-front and maintenance), then mechanicals might be a better choice.

supersonic

Hydraulics are great when set up correctly and working correctly. But they are not infallible - just take a look in the workshop forum. Hydro brakes are by far the most problematic devices.

So the key is good set up and care ;-)