Decathlon b'Twin Forme / Fitnes 5

jancreighton

Got one these in size 57 a couple of months ago and I have to say it really is a fantastic machine. Very quick, very light and so manoeuvrable but also really easy to ride.

I fitted SKS Longboard mudguards in gloss black to mine which look really ace... tho they were quite tricky to fit due the minimal clearances.

I've also gone with a "Satori Heads Up 1" to raise the stem about 1 3/4 inches - so in terms of posture it's a bit more relaxed with this set-up... but the bike is just so light and devilishly quick

comparing it with Trek, Specialised or Giant etc. you have to spend an extra £250 to get near the spec of this bike. The frame on this is a gem. Light, tight and stiff but with carbon forks and seat-stays to smooth things out. To be fair the frame on this is in a higher league than the Group set that it comes with, which is Shimano Sora with Deore triggers. The group set is of course perfectly adequate (even to race with) but obviously there is a weight savings to be had with higher-end cranks and wheelsets... but hey, I'm not a weight weenie and this thing is rolling at 10.5 Kg as it is, with full-length mudguards... which is plenty light indeedy

Comparable frames from other manufacturers are on bikes that they are selling at £700-£1000 (albeit usually, but not always, with slightly higher spec'd running gear)... I paid £429 for this... ...yes, I'm happy, very very happy


Just a really fab all purpose light-cruiser

jancreighton

Couple of pics.... SKS Long boards took time to install as they required some significant modification to mount. Stem raiser is a Satori Heads Up 1 and for me it's ideal as it tranforms the bike from racer-prone to a more relaxed sport/commuter posture . Platform pedals have plenty of grip and are lightweight .

That slightly bizarre looking entity beneath the saddle is a LT Thudbuster (needed because of a sports injury, otherwise I wouldn't bother)... makes the ride feel more like a sprung saddle on low pressure 42 section tires rather that the high-pressure 23's that it is shod with - Su-weet

This thing advances through traffic like a shark in the shallows - out on the open road it wheels along like a happy sea-gull

jancreighton

One more.... perhaps a better perspective... the other pic makes the setup look somewhat ungainly...which I don't think it does in real life

jancreighton

In daylight

jancreighton

...

uriahpete

Hi,

I see there are a number of owners of this bike. I want to buy it but I wonder if I will be able to exchange tires for 700-32. I know it may require to change brakes but I'm not sure if fork is wide enought for such a tire. What do you think?

matt@theforce

uriahpete wrote:

Hi,

I see there are a number of owners of this bike. I want to buy it but I wonder if I will be able to exchange tires for 700-32. I know it may require to change brakes but I'm not sure if fork is wide enought for such a tire. What do you think?

700x25c are fine but you might get away with 28c (at a push). I've just fitted some Mavic Aksium wheels and some Continental Ultra Sport 25c tyres, they fit fine however you do need to fit the wheels before you pump the tyres up due to clearance issues

jancreighton

with mudguards the way i have on mine (pictured above) then the most you can do is 700x23 tires.

Without mudguards you can certainly do 25c, maybe 28, but that might already be too much...

32c will not fit - the frame geometry and clearances are just too tight.

any particular reason you want to run a 32c tire?

uriahpete

I used to have 700-28c and they were great on the street, but even on the weaker pavement or a bit off road (but still quite flat surface) I felt that a bit wider tire would be better suited. I need the bike for a city where I have to combine riding on the street and on pavements. I simply want to keep a balance between great performance of a narrow tire on a road and better comfort of the wider tire on the weaker road or pavements.

jancreighton

I hear ya! I really love this bike. As a light urban cruiser and an all weather audax-y road bike it is just superb... but it is not the holy grail that you seek ... I think maybe a cyclocross might be more suited to you requirements... roadbike lightness on a 28 or 32 high pressure tire so even forest paths are on the menu... plus many cyclocross will better accommodate mudguards than the forme 5 does .... it was some work getting those long boards on

jancreighton

I think my ideal bike would be this forme 5.... But...with just a little more clearance to accomodate up to a 28 tire with a zero hassle mudguard installation.... 8)

davidtalbot

Looks great with drop bars on! Base on what a Decathlon bike tech told me today you've essentially got a Triban 5 now, think my Forme 5 is going to get drops soon, it goes far too well to be sat up like on a mountain bike!

RideOnTime

matt@theforce wrote:

Update.

I've now had the bike for just over 1 year and thought it appropriate to let people know my experience of this bike & dealing with Decathlon.

During my 1yr, 2500miles my bike has required the following maintenance items
x1 new chain
x3 pairs of brake blocks
x1 rear mech (SRAM powerlink snapped and got lodged in the rear mech snapping the mech as I pedaled)
x1 gear/brake cable set

Other items bought for the bike
* Crud Catcher Road Racer2 mudguards
* FSA Drop Bars
* Tiagra 3x9 shifters/brake levers
* Shimano HG80 11-28 Cassette
* Charge Spoon Saddle
* Superstar 80mm stem
* M520 SPD's
* Red Anodized bottle cage bolts/cable ends (sad I know but it adds a little colour)

Visits to Decathlon
1, Service around 8months, spokes in rear wheel tightened and re-trued

My commute is 34miles per shift (2day shifts every 8 days), I have used the bike in Sunshine/Wind/Rain/Snow/Sleet/Ice/Floods etc etc and has been used on all types of road but mainly A/B roads around Sheffield.
It has coped extremely well with the potholes and bad road surfaces and for its money it has put other higher branded bikes to shame that my collegues ride. I'm still running the Decathlon Slick 23c tyres too, they are starting to square off but haven't punctured.
Not only have I used this bike for Commuting I've also used it for pleasure and have completed many 50+mile rides and 1 60+mile ride (would have done more but my own fitness is the limiting factor)

Having bought it through the cyclescheme I have saved more than it has cost me (including maintenance) and am approximatley £200 ahead

Decathlons service has been great for the 1 visit I've had, I shall be visiting again for another check over and the get the wheels trued again but this is only because I intend to give it to my brother (if he wants it for our York100 ride later in the year) & want to make sure its 100% right for him.

When cleaned it still looks in very good condition and IMO far more expensive than it really was.

Matthew

Useful update. Thanks.

davidtalbot

Well just won an ebay auction for set of Tiagra shifters on Ritchey drop bars for less than a pair of shifters normally fetches so my Forme 5 will soon be a full on road bike!

matt@theforce

davidtalbot wrote:

Well just won an ebay auction for set of Tiagra shifters on Ritchey drop bars for less than a pair of shifters normally fetches so my Forme 5 will soon be a full on road bike!

Excelent news, you may find you want a shorter stem too, I had to buy a shorter stem due to the hoods being that bit further forward than the flat bar.

davidtalbot

Yep, will see how it feels with the current one then decide what to get if I need to change it, at least the stem is the fairly easy and cheap to get part of the whole update. Might be OK as if anything it does feel slightly short at the moment (but the next size up was too big).

davidtalbot

Well bars and shifters here, just need to find my torque wrench to fit it

davidtalbot

And my roadified Forme 5. Still mucking about with the angle of the bars, hoods need to come a but higher than in this rubbish phone pic (sorry!) but think the stock stem is fine for me.
Changes from standard, the Richey bars and Tiagra shifters, £80 from ebay from a guy who has just done the opposite conversion on his Boardman Road Team Carbon, some Shimano A520 pedals and a couple of carbon bottle cages which cost about £1.25 each from a market stall in Kowloon.

davidtalbot

Aggh! tweaked the handlebar position and couldn't get the front shifting properly, then noticed contrary to the ebay ad the front shifter is actually a double not a triple so goodness knows how I got it working in the first place! Case lodged for a partial refund and if that comes off will use it towards a compact chainset and 11-28 cassette

robbyc

davidtalbot wrote:

And my roadified Forme 5.

Not having an issue with it but why buy a forme5 and then spent money to transform it into a triban5?
They are the same right?
Maybe if you bought it cheap and want an racebike or just wanna try if you like the dropbars more?

Gonna buy a forme5 when I am back from travels.
Found this forum when searching for reviews for it.

cheers

matt@theforce

I bought my Forme5 as I wasn't sure how I would get on with drop bars so got used to a road bike on flats 1st, I also prefered the Forme5 cosmetically.

I'm sure there are lots of reasons other people buy a flat bar'd bike then convert it to drops (or vice versa), each to their own

Hebetac

matt@theforce wrote:

Anything larger than 28t I'm 99% sure an MTB rear mech would be needed & and new chain.

Sorry old thread, but it's a good thread

Have put 700x28c Vittoria Randonnuer & deore XT 34t on. No new chain needed. Maybe 2014 model is changed...

davidtalbot

robbyc wrote:

Not having an issue with it but why buy a forme5 and then spent money to transform it into a triban5?
They are the same right?
Maybe if you bought it cheap and want an racebike or just wanna try if you like the dropbars more?

Gonna buy a forme5 when I am back from travels.
Found this forum when searching for reviews for it.

cheers

Sorry only just remembered this thread, basically getting back into cycling thought I wanted an mtb sort of posture but a couple of rides on this and I wanted drops like all the racers I had as a kid. In terms as to what it is it is somewhere between a Triban 5 and 7, frame is part carbon like the 7, carbon forks which seem to come and go from the the range and a mix of sora and tiagra.

baznett

Having got this bike myself does anyone know the actual starting weight of this bike? Not said claimed weight. Curious to see how much weight I've saved from the upgrades on my 54cm lol

Sebi Solomon

hi there,
I am happy I found this thread. i am from Romania. I am looking to purchase a btwin fit 5. I found only 51 cm seat tube size. I have been told that this is the only seat tube size. and the only size that is changing is the tube size. is it true? I could not find anywhere the sizes. I am 176 cm tall. I think is 5.77 feet. would this size be ok for me?
thank you so much.

baznett

Sebi Solomon wrote:

hi there,
I am happy I found this thread. i am from Romania. I am looking to purchase a btwin fit 5. I found only 51 cm seat tube size. I have been told that this is the only seat tube size. and the only size that is changing is the tube size. is it true? I could not find anywhere the sizes. I am 176 cm tall. I think is 5.77 feet. would this size be ok for me?
thank you so much.

Main problem with going to a 51cm of the Fit 5 is that you'll go down to a 650c wheel rather than the standard 700c wheel (effectly a 26" wheel not 28") over any sort of distance you'll notice this difference!

If you keep it flat bar you'll be fine with the 54cm. I have the old Fit 5, ie the one in this thread and of very similar size to yourself.

Since going to drop bars I've found that the 100cm stem is maybe a tad long for me but the bike was perfect fit before I made this change. I'd suggest buying the 54cm