The B`Twin triban 3 got a spectacular press review but......

Raffles

The latest issue of Cycling Active in terms of bang for the buck outright value made the £299 B`Twin triban 3 bike the winner in a test group including the £900 Vitus Decium which comes with 105 / FSA groupset. CA said the triban represented stagerring value for money and the reviewer bought one for his own use.

My question is , who here Would or Would not be seen riding one on a club run ?

What is the reason for the choice which you made ?

A female rider in the club which I am a member of has a triban 3 and spoke very highly of it.

dw300

I liked the bit where you linked us to the bike spec ..

Gizmo_

dw300 wrote:

I liked the bit where you linked us to the bike spec ..

It is pretty well known around here.

Basically: alu frame, carbon fork, Sora.

I thought people went to great lengths to say that club rides *aren't* cliquey and snobbish? So if someone turned up on a £300 bike, why should anyone blink? Yeah... right.

Raffles

The deafening silence in terms of responses is precisely what I expected. Had I have asked if riders would have turned up on a cannondale supersix evo, Im confident it would be the opposite of the silence.

iPete

Perhaps nobody cares either way?

Sure id take it on a club run, guess it would make dusting most people up the hills even more fun

Raffles

iPete wrote:

Perhaps nobody cares either way?

Sure id take it on a club run, guess it would make dusting most people up the hills even more fun

The triban weighs 22lbs, it would probably be you who gets well dusted.

iPete

Raffles wrote:

iPete wrote:

Perhaps nobody cares either way?

Sure id take it on a club run, guess it would make dusting most people up the hills even more fun

The triban weighs 22lbs, it would probably be you who gets well dusted.

The grand total of a Half full bottle over my Allez. What's your point? Actually that's bloody impressive for a £300 bike :shock:

Raffles

iPete wrote:

Raffles wrote:

iPete wrote:

Perhaps nobody cares either way?

Sure id take it on a club run, guess it would make dusting most people up the hills even more fun

The triban weighs 22lbs, it would probably be you who gets well dusted.

The grand total of a Half full bottle over my Allez. What's your point? Actually that's bloody impressive for a £300 bike :shock:

yes it is ,isnt it.

Wirral_paul

Raffles wrote:

The deafening silence in terms of responses is precisely what I expected. Had I have asked if riders would have turned up on a cannondale supersix evo, Im confident it would be the opposite of the silence.

Can I ask what your point is? I cant decide if you're trying to decide on buying one yourself, or looking for ammo to be snobbish to the girl in your club who did buy one?

Raffles

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Raffles wrote:

The deafening silence in terms of responses is precisely what I expected. Had I have asked if riders would have turned up on a cannondale supersix evo, Im confident it would be the opposite of the silence.

Can I ask what your point is? I cant decide if you're trying to decide on buying one yourself, or looking for ammo to be snobbish to the girl in your club who did buy one?

Girl in the club is a lovely girl and id never do what you are suggesting Paul. Already got bikes so I dont need another , but I wanted to see how well a bike would be received where price was the focal point.......especially a well reviewed SUPER CHEAP bike

verylonglegs

What if you don't bother with the press and have never heard of it? I'd be concerned about the sanity of anyone who knew the cost, spec and reviews of all the bikes that could potentially roll up at club runs, they should get out more..on two wheels or otherwise!

Hidden Hippo

I'd ride it. I'm seriously debating getting one, after all, will a beginner really notice 1kg? Not sure, but I'll certainly notice an extra £350 in my bank.....

jonnoak

Interesting read.. I've been using a mtb for while and doing quite a bit more road mileage so have been seriously been thinking about buying a triban 3 and joining a local club to be a bit more social

Raffles

Jonnoak wrote:

Interesting read.. I've been using a mtb for while and doing quite a bit more road mileage so have been seriously been thinking about buying a triban 3 and joining a local club to be a bit more social

the reviewer sure dug it didnt he. kind of underlines that not only hi-mod carbon , expensive pricetag and sub 1300g wheelset is what you need to put a cycling smile on ones face. those who flash the credit card and pick up a triban 3 for club run or whatever.........respect to them for not worrying what others may think.

Gizmodo

Raffles wrote:

My question is , who here Would or Would not be seen riding one on a club run ?

What is the reason for the choice which you made ?

A1: Yes, I would ride one on a club run.

A2: I had an amount of money I wanted to spend, I wanted the best new bike I could get for that money.

Is there any point to your questions?

Wirral_paul

How was she received at your club then on her £300 bike? If any club member was to make any snide comments about the bike - well it says more about them than the owner really. Simple fact is that not everyone has £2k+ to spend on a bike...... and there will always be someone with a better bike out there.

Personally, I wouldnt ride a £300 bike but thats just me - i earn a good wage and can afford expensive gear. Equally I wouldnt criticise anyone who did ride a cheaper bike either.

snoopsmydogg

Raffles wrote:

the reviewer sure dug it didnt he. kind of underlines that not only hi-mod carbon , expensive pricetag and sub 1300g wheelset is what you need to put a cycling smile on ones face. those who flash the credit card and pick up a triban 3 for club run or whatever.........respect to them for not worrying what others may think.

why the question in the first place? did someone on the local run comment or was this just a thought of yours?

BOYDIE

Hi,

I own a Triban 3 size 54, just purchased it a few weeks ago. Now, I'm a mountain biker first and foremost, I have dipped my toe into road bikes in the past, I owned a 2009 allez, alu frame, carbon fork Sora groupset, basically the same spec as the Triban.

I have been out on club runs and took "my turn" on the front, 17 mph average, sitting with guys on vastly more expensive bikes, and no one said a word against it, infact I had some very nice comments as some of the riders had read the article. I don't give a rats ar$e what someone thinks about my ride, It's what i could afford, and when you compare it to most other brands it compares very well spec wise, this I'm sure is down to the massive buying power decathlon have in the EU.Compared to the Allez I owned before, its a comfy bike not as racey as the Spez, more relaxed like a Giant defy, but value for money wise better than these two bikes.

I'm going to change the bar tape to something better, but apart from that I'll just run it as is, I mean the wheels are made my mach 1, and the frame is designed in France and made in Italy.
Overall I'm quite happy (smug).

whyamihere

I was strongly considering buying one to use as my winter bike, but decided that with the number of parts I already have and I would want to change (I'm a massive Campagnolo fanboy) that it was slightly more economical to build a bike up from parts. For anyone else who didn't have the same situation as me, I'd recommend them to take a good, long, hard look at it.

slowbike

Raffles wrote:

iPete wrote:

Perhaps nobody cares either way?

Sure id take it on a club run, guess it would make dusting most people up the hills even more fun

The triban weighs 22lbs, it would probably be you who gets well dusted.

yer right ...

The ability to climb hills is not linked to the weight of the bike ... put Froome on a rusty sit up and beg bike with a basket full of flowers and he'd whoop your arse up any hill you like ...

Anyone wants to comment on my ride can do - whether I take any notice of them depends what they say!

hobbydoc

just a few reasons to go for decathlon b'twin:

christophe moreau - ag2r:

http://www.letourdefrance.com/2007/TDF/ ... A2R_us.pdf

david millar - cofidis:

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/tech.php ... es3/CH2899

french u19 cycling team:

http://www.u19racingteam.fr/

and of course 'raffles' if you really want to spend more than £300 & want to impress the 'lovely girl' in your club:

http://www.u19racingteam.fr/le-projet/t ... n-facet-9/

lets hope she's still talking to you!!

Martin818

Gizmo_ wrote:

dw300 wrote:

I liked the bit where you linked us to the bike spec ..

It is pretty well known around here.

Basically: alu frame, carbon fork, Sora.

I thought people went to great lengths to say that club rides *aren't* cliquey and snobbish? So if someone turned up on a £300 bike, why should anyone blink? Yeah... right.

I think you'll find it has Shimano 2300 rather than Sora groupset.

I was seriously considering one and after a ride in the shop was very impressed - unfortunately the only 63cm they had had a faulty rear wheel so I ended up with something else similar but with Tiagra (Merlin Malt-R @ £559)

You definitely can't get close for <=£300

lostboysaint

The 5 has Sora.

Martin818

lostboysaint wrote:

The 5 has Sora.

The Triban 5 also has carbon rear stays and an proper (external) BB. Not sure those three things justify +£200 on the 3, but 'you pay your money, you take your choice'

They didn't have that in my size either :roll:

snowjho

Raffles wrote:

The latest issue of Cycling Active in terms of bang for the buck outright value made the £299 B`Twin triban 3 bike the winner in a test group including the £900 Vitus Decium which comes with 105 / FSA groupset. CA said the triban represented stagerring value for money and the reviewer bought one for his own use.

My question is , who here Would or Would not be seen riding one on a club run ?

What is the reason for the choice which you made ?

A female rider in the club which I am a member of has a triban 3 and spoke very highly of it.

Why wouldn't you turn up on one? Much rather be a beginner on a bike that represents the best value for money on my first club run then turn upon some fancy all carbon machine and get dropped on the first climb.

Raffles

snowjho wrote:

Raffles wrote:

The latest issue of Cycling Active in terms of bang for the buck outright value made the £299 B`Twin triban 3 bike the winner in a test group including the £900 Vitus Decium which comes with 105 / FSA groupset. CA said the triban represented stagerring value for money and the reviewer bought one for his own use.

My question is , who here Would or Would not be seen riding one on a club run ?

What is the reason for the choice which you made ?

A female rider in the club which I am a member of has a triban 3 and spoke very highly of it.

Why wouldn't you turn up on one? Much rather be a beginner on a bike that represents the best value for money on my first club run then turn upon some fancy all carbon machine and get dropped on the first climb.

you have a solid sense of logic.

Defyand

This cycling business sure is ridiculously snobbish. As a previous poster alluded to, surely it is about what you can afford then getting out on the road and enjoying yourself, dork disk and all :shock:

thegibdog

I've been out on dozens of club runs, probably with over 50 different people. Of the bikes on those rides I can remember one SuperSix, an Allez or two, a RIbble and one Cervelo. Don't have a clue what most people were riding, maybe I'm just particularly unobservant?

karlth

I have one - well, it's a Sport 1 (the previous model) with a Triban 3 fork because I bent the old one in an underpass. Lot of bike for the money. I've been warned that some clubs have members who will sneer at the triple chainset. I suspect it would depend on the club.

Manc33

I bought one on 22nd July (ironically the same day Wiggo won the Tour de France) and it has been awesome for the price.

Its all easy to maintain as well, unlike a lot of cheap bikes.

I did have an old Pennine steel tourer (Reynolds tubing, double butted) and this new Triban 3, although aluminium, absorbs shock far better (through the back as well as front).

Its as if the rear triangle is carbon as well, compared to that old steel tourer. They say steel is better for soaking up bumps but it seems a new bike is actually better even if it is made out of alu.

If I had £1 for every time I have read "23lbs is heavy for a road bike" I would have about enough for a new cassette and rear mech.

This bike isn't heavy for the price!

Look at the bikes in Halfords (or hell, anywhere) at this price and you'll know what cutting corners and "heavy" really is. its hard to find one with STI shifters at £300 let alone a carbon fork and Sora front mech as well.

"Basically: alu frame, carbon fork, Sora."

No, it has a Shimano 2300 groupset and only the front mech is Sora.

karlth wrote:

I have one - well, it's a Sport 1 (the previous model) with a Triban 3 fork because I bent the old one in an underpass. Lot of bike for the money. I've been warned that some clubs have members who will sneer at the triple chainset. I suspect it would depend on the club.

Would they also sneer at my 11-32T cassette as well?

If Wiggo and Contador can use them then so can I. 8)

Its the same principle as guys sneering at skinny guys in the gym. Its the skinny guys that never go to any gym that need sneering at. That skinny guy could upstage everyone with 5 years of lifting for all we know. Look at Arnie aged 15, he is as thin as a rake, they all were... and we were all slow once.

♠ChumBucket♠

I reckon the people who would sneer at anyone turning up on one of these bikes are only worried about being shown that they didn't need to spend 5k after all!!!!!!!!!

I'm finding it quite addictive blowing Lycra-clad "pro's" off on my £400 mountain bike!!!