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OPINION
In homage to Decathlon...
decathlon.jpgHaving just placed my first order on their new online service I am possible tempting fate by writing this piece but I just wanted to say how much I love Decathlon!
Some cycle snobs may think this statement is mental but I have nothing but praise for them in general and even in a cycling context.
Forget the clothing that keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer, although that is most welcome.
In a cycling application you can't beat their entry level machines and I should know, when I came back to cycling I used one for training and time trialling.
Yes, there were sniggers on the start lines as I rocked up on a machine badged up with the name of a discount sports superstore but it didnt phase me one bit. That bike is five years old and despite selling it on to a mate, I know it is still going strongly and is being enjoyed.
My winter jacket from there was £27.99 about four winters ago and despite not being a sleek racy cut or sporting as many features as something from Assos or Rapha keep the cold and wet out... these things are important to me !
I have even ridden in a B-Twin (their new cycling brand) helmet for three years now and found it airy and strong (£35.99 was its cost).
My advice to anyone thinking about going to one of their stores but feeling a bit of shame or apprehension is to give them a try.
Its worth it for the £7.99 fleece offer !
If only they could fix the weather, it looks like a turbo heavy weekend of cycling for me again...
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Latest Comments
- Patrick9-32 8 min 59 sec ago
2020/2021: Bike companies place large orders to attempt to fill pandemic orders which go unfulfilled due to massive lead times. Leaving many bike...
- a1white 9 min 52 sec ago
I cycle along this route. in the last couple of weeks I have seen all of these scenarios, so what you are describing is not that far fetched!
- David9694 29 min 40 sec ago
'I racked up thousands in Ulez fines - I misread the rules and my dog ate the letters'...
- KDee 51 min 15 sec ago
It's the mass that's the issue. Two people on a petrol powered scooter can really mess up a cyclist. Also the fact so many of the petrol scooters...
- james-o 1 hour 46 sec ago
"if we’ve got to fly there we’re not going" *applause from over here*
- KDee 1 hour 1 min ago
"Strumpjumper"...sounds like a euphemism for something else 🤔
- andystow 1 hour 18 min ago
The new RH tubes claim to solve that issue, but price and availability is a problem. I tried to get some to try out, but they went out of stock on...
- brooksby 1 hour 42 min ago
Cough - cough - Clevedon seafront! - cough cough
- Secret_squirrel 5 hours 13 min ago
Those calipers arent the prettiest. Makes them look like Post-mount.
- Dnnnnnn 5 hours 56 min ago
I'm all for a much more socialist approach to the sorts of things you mention, where there are clear market failures and a need for decent...
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2 comments
i heart decathlon too ... last trip to france i came back with a cycling jacket for the missus, quite smart in black and pink, with unzippable sleeves to convert to a gilet, in their sale inexplicably reduced €30 to €6. and she loves it
Been a big fan of Decathlon ever since the late 90s when I regularly holidayed in the Pyrenees at the ex's parents who had retired there, Irish family, very into horses, so I got kitted out for learning to ride there for next to nothing (horse I rode on was called Spartacus - nowhere near as fast as Cancellara, though)
Couldn't believe it when they opened in Surrey Quays, down the road from us when we lived in London.
First birthday present I bought my missus was a bike from Decathlon
The day it got nicked (together with mine) in Broadway Market, after we'd recovered them both at Brick Lane a couple of hours later (now there's a story...) the wife told me that me buying her that bike help prove I was "the one" because I was showing that I was thinking ahead to weekend spent out and about on our bikes together...