B Twin 520 or 540 FB?

Katsuhiko

I've been looking around for a fast, flat bar road bike for daily commuting & weekend fun riding to replace a now very tired hybrid that is just too slow and heavy

After much research it has become apparent that the B Twin 520 and 540 FB bikes represent really good value for money and fall into my budget of £350 to £500. The 520 is available at £380 and the 540 is £500 on the nose.

I cannot tell from the reviews alone whether the extra money for the 540 is genuinely worth it or indeed whether I would be so delighted with the 520 that I wouldn't know the difference.

Can any experts enlighten me? The technical specs are on the Decathlon site:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520-road-bike-sora-black-red-id_8322663.html
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-flat-bar-road-bike-tiagra-id_8322798.html

Many thanks for any help

apreading

I assume by 520, you mean this one: http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-520-flat-bar-road-bike-sora-id_8322799.html rather than the one you linked which has drop bars.

If you look at the weight, the 540 is half a kilo lighter, which is significant and Tiagra 10 speed gears is both better and more modern than the 9 speed Sora on the 520. Both look good bikes, sure you would be happy with either but I would personally spring for the 540. Actually, I would go a little higher cost again and look at the Boardman Hybrid Team currently £600 but you can get 10% off with British Cycling membership.

mcstumpy

I weighed up the same a couple of months ago and plumped for the 540, mainly because the simplicity of the 2 x 10 tiagra appealed versus the sora triple (my old hybrid had triple chainset and I was constantly switching around the front rings). I certainly have no regrets and love my bike. The one concern I had was wether a lowest gear of 34-28 would get my podgy ass up the steeper climbs, but it does. Although I might yet swap out the 12-28 cassette for a 12-30 just to give me a lower still get out of jail gear.

Katsuhiko

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19724530#p19724530]McStumpy[/url] wrote:

I weighed up the same a couple of months ago and plumped for the 540, mainly because the simplicity of the 2 x 10 tiagra appealed versus the sora triple (my old hybrid had triple chainset and I was constantly switching around the front rings). I certainly have no regrets and love my bike. The one concern I had was wether a lowest gear of 34-28 would get my podgy ass up the steeper climbs, but it does. Although I might yet swap out the 12-28 cassette for a 12-30 just to give me a lower still get out of jail gear.

Thanks for the reply

I'm going to make the same decision and go for it. Afraid I'm a complete noob when it comes to technical specs so have no idea what difference the chainset and gear ratios will make. Just want to enjoy riding again (the hybrid is now a chore to ride every day) and to cover distance quickly which I'm sure these bikes will allow. I'm a huge middle aged fella with a bit of a dodgy back so drop bars are a no go for me & quite likely to be dangerous

One question: would it be wise to change the tyres for something more grippy in the winter time? only snow / ice are going to stop me riding every day

I'll let you know what I think about the bike

mcstumpy

The Hutchinson Equinox 2 tyres have been fine for me thus far, have had them out in the wet without mishap. Of course I'm not on the limit going round corners, mind.

I'm not sure how much I'll get out in the winter, but I was thinking about sticking on 28mm tyres until the spring. Michelin Pro4 Endurance v2 looked a good option.

One thing I did find, even with going for the large size of bike.... It's a road bike frame with a flat bar so the riding position for me, with my sort legs and longer torso, was very upright. I've dropped the bars as low as they can go and replaced the 100mm stem with 130mm to be a little more stretched out and I'm much happier with that set up.

Katsuhiko

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19724953#p19724953]McStumpy[/url] wrote:

The Hutchinson Equinox 2 tyres have been fine for me thus far, have had them out in the wet without mishap. Of course I'm not on the limit going round corners, mind.

I'm not sure how much I'll get out in the winter, but I was thinking about sticking on 28mm tyres until the spring. Michelin Pro4 Endurance v2 looked a good option.

One thing I did find, even with going for the large size of bike.... It's a road bike frame with a flat bar so the riding position for me, with my sort legs and longer torso, was very upright. I've dropped the bars as low as they can go and replaced the 100mm stem with 130mm to be a little more stretched out and I'm much happier with that set up.

I've a super LBS near me used by loads of serious cyclists so I'm sure they'll advise about tyres and all that

Can't wait to get out and ride it, went to Mountain Warehouse today and bought a whole of really good clobber in their 50% sale plus blagged another 10% off at the till for buying multiple items so I'm all set for some good rides with plenty of protective gear on.

Someone said I look like an 'American fridge freezer riding a bike' so unfortunately there is quite a bit of drag when I ride but still I love it and always have since I got my first Raleigh Chipper in 1973.

Thanks for the interest

mcstumpy

No probs, hope you enjoy the new bike