Decathlon Triban 650c

Anonymous

Have had a 'tip off' 8) and confirmation from other BR members that all Tribans with a frame size of 51cm and below come with 650c wheels.
This seems a great option for children's road bikes as 650c bikes are usually only one frame size and very expensive.

Have just bought my daughter (11 and small to medium height) a Felt which fits her very well. I am far happier with it than sticking her on a 700c small framed bike as one LBS (who did not sell 650c!) suggested.
She has far greater control and it has quite a bit of room for growth.

I know all but the Triban 3 are still expensive for a kids bike, but it's about the best news I have heard for children's road cycling since our 'generation inspiring' :roll: Olympics last year!

Shaun67

I purchased my 8 year old son a 45cm framed Triban 3 a coulpe of weeks ago and that has 650c wheels.
He has a Giant XTC Jnr mountain bike but was very keen to get a "road bike" after joining the local cycling
club.

I looked at lots of bikes, Moda, Vicini, Battaglin to name a few but not the Felt !!!! The B'twin was
by far the cheapest I looked at and I have to say the best spec.

He liked the Battaglin and I must say it was very nice but at £600 and only a steel fork, this for an
8 year old that's growing like a weed was just too much.

The B'twin Triban 3 is an excellent bike and the ride is quite nice, I've had a go.....

Anonymous

The Battaglin looked the nicest (in photo form and some of the spec anyway) but I only saw it after getting the Felt (what do you not like about Felts Shaun?) . I also did not like the steel fork or the cost. It's probably more for a boy too (I told myself lol).
I got the 2013 Felt for just under £500 and still feel it may be the best option for daughter. Love that it has the new Sora, and the levers are even better for her than the new Sora ones. The T5 or 7A. would certainly be tough competition at full price of the Felt and even more so for a boy in the case of 7A

Shaun67

I like the Felt very much, I didn't much care for the £650 I found it for.

With my son only being 8, already having another bike and growing so quick
the Felt and the Battaglin were just a few quid too much.

Anonymous

Oh, I see. I thought you meant that you looked at the others, but would not look at the Felt.
The Battaglin was £699 when I first saw it :shock:

I got a pretty good deal on the Felt. Even the 2012 one only ever seemed to be discounted to £600.
I used my 12% wiggle discount + £50 voucher they were doing + selling the free stuff that came with 2013 bikes. Not sure if I could have used Quidco too, but did not know about that at the time.

Am hoping daughter will get quite a bit of use out of it. She is around the minimum size for it now and she may not grow as much/fast as a boy. I can always modify it a bit too I suppose.

eskay

The best thing you can do is buy a bike that is the correct size for a child. Too many people buy them 'to grow into' and the kids are uncomfortable on them and wobble around. Kids also struggle with the brake reach on adult bikes. They normally have a good resale value so even if they only last a couple of years you won't be too much out of pocket and you will have enhanced their early cycling experiences.

Anonymous

Could not agree more eskay.

It's not made any easier for people when bike shops do not sell small/junior road bikes (and suggest a small framed 700c for a small 10 year old girl to grow into :shock: ) or even worse, deny that they exist!

Decathlon deserve all the trade they get now IMO. If LBS do not want to help get the next generation into road cycling then its another nail in their coffin as far as I am concerned.