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review

B’Twin Triban 100 Road Bike

8
£249.00

VERDICT:

8
10
A good package of frame and components for very little money
Weight: 
11,610g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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  • Excellent
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  • Bad
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The B'Twin Triban 100 costs less than a lot of the shoes we test here on road.cc and it's not just a bicycle shaped object either. It's a decent riding, comfortable, smooth handling bike that is great for those who are just dipping their toe into the water, or as something to get you across town, or even gentle rides into the country with the kids. It'll do it all.

  • Pros: Stable handling with decent, functional kit ideal for the beginner
  • Cons: Steel fork is weighty, bottom gear too high for beginners

I've ridden a few B'Twin aluminium alloy frames over the years and I've always been impressed with their ride quality, and it's no different here with the Triban 100.

> Find your nearest Decathlon store here

> Buy this online here

Its box section down tube and triangular seatstays give the impression that you are going to be in for a firm ride, but while it doesn't quite have the refinement and smoothness of those in the Ultra range, it is still far from harsh. The 32mm tyres take a little bit of the sting out, admittedly, but it is actually a very pleasant place to be.

btwin_triban_100_-_riding_2.jpg

You've got quite a short top tube and a tall head tube which gives a relaxed position. It takes quite a bit of weight off your wrists and places less stress on your lower back, making it ideal if you are new to the sport, giving your body time to adapt. It also gives you a higher viewpoint in traffic should you use the Triban for commuting.

Our test model came with plenty of steerer length and spacers so, if needed, you could get a near-level saddle to bar height.

btwin_triban_100_-_stem.jpg

With its weight of 11.61kg (25.6lb), you might think the 100 could feel sluggish, but surprisingly it doesn't. It accelerates reasonably well and climbs okay too, especially if you put the power down while sitting in the saddle rather than standing up and trying to wring every last little bit of performance out of it.

Most of the weight is in that full steel fork and the wheels, so you'll notice this mostly when trying to lift the front end over kerbs or bumps.

When it comes to the head and seat angles they are reasonably slack at 72.5 and 73.5 degrees respectively, similar to what you'd expect to find on a relaxed endurance or gravel bike.

btwin_triban_100_-_front.jpg

The handling is pretty neutral, and this combined with the 1,005mm wheelbase means the Triban offers plenty of stability through the bends and when descending. It'll give any rider the confidence they need to take things possibly a little quicker next time.

btwin_triban_100_-_riding_3.jpg

The tyres are semi slick with a bit of knobbly tread on the sidewalls so are ideal for hardpacked towpaths and bridleways. The B'Twin's mild manners also make it easy and fun to ride on this type of terrain.

btwin_triban_100_-_tyre.jpg

It all adds up to a good all-rounder that you can use for a multitude of different riding situations without having to change parts over.

Frame

The Triban 100's frame is made from 6061-T6 aluminium alloy and while the welds may not be the prettiest you'll ever see it's not bad for the money.

btwin_triban_100_-_decal.jpg

There are some hydroformed tubes, where you use a mandrel and high pressure fluid to shape the finished product like the oval top tube (wider than it is tall), which is thicker at the head tube end for more stiffness and reduces in size towards the seat tube for a little more flex.

btwin_triban_100_-_seat_tube_detail.jpg

Those angular seatstays and the boxy down tube are also far from a traditional round setup.

btwin_triban_100_-_stays.jpg

The head tube is compatible with a straight through 1 1/8in fork steerer and the bottom bracket shell is kept minimal in size compared to today's standards. It accepts threaded bearing cups too.

btwin_triban_100_-_head_tube.jpg

The silver paintjob is very robust, I wouldn't expect to see any marks and scuffs appearing easily from being locked to bike racks or street furniture. The logos, though, are a different matter as they are literally just stickers and scratch easily.

btwin_triban_100_-_head_tube_badge.jpg

It's good to see a set of bottle mounts plus points for full mudguards and a rear rack, ideal for year-round commuting.

btwin_triban_100_-_seat_tube_junction.jpg

The fork, as I said, is weighty but it is plenty stiff enough for the type of riding the Triban is likely to see. The narrow legs give a little bit of give for comfort as well.

btwin_triban_100_-_fork.jpg

B'Twin offers five sizes, with top tube lengths ranging from 525mm to 580mm, and it's available in a flat bar version too.

Finishing kit

For the drivetrain, the Triban uses a bit of a mish mash of kit but it all works. On the top of the handlebar you'll find a 7-speed Shimano A050 gear shifter, which is basically an old-school indexed SIS job that you operate with your thumb, moving the gear up or down. There is none of the return to centre shifting like you see on integrated brake/shifter technologies like STI. You need a bit of a light touch to not shift too many gears in one go, but you soon get the feel.

btwin_triban_100_-_shifter.jpg

The shifter controls a long cage Shimano Tourney rear mech. The shifting is fine up and down the range, if a little clunky. It's hard to believe the thickness of that 7-speed when you are used to seeing modern 11-speed systems.

btwin_triban_100_-_rear_mech.jpg

The cassette has a range of 14-34t sprockets, with the bottom six in quite a close range and then a jump up to the Megarange 34-tooth ring for tackling those hills in the saddle.

This is paired with a single chainring; well, 1x is all the rage these days... Here you get a 48-tooth chainring. Even with that 34t sprocket at the rear, this doesn't give that low a bottom gear, basically it's the same bottom gear 38in as a classic race bike running 39/28 inner chaingring bottom sprocket would give you. In fact most modern race-oriented bikes would be running something lower than that 36/28 or 36/30 so if you haven't got the legs for it, stay on flatter terrain.

btwin_triban_100_-_crank.jpg

As the Triban doesn't use STIs you get a set of Tektro RL340 brake levers and with their rubber hood they are quite comfortable, although I didn't find myself spending lots of time in them as I was often on the tops to change gear.

btwin_triban_100_-_bar_and_shifter.jpg

The unbranded callipers are dual pivot and provide reasonable stopping power at cruising speeds. If you're descending and your mph is above the mid-20s you'll find there is quite a bit of flex in them, which takes away a bit of the responsiveness. Stopping power in the dry is still okay, though, and just as good if not better than some of the cheaper cable-operated disc brakes I've used.

btwin_triban_100_-_rear_brake.jpg

The handlebar is B'Twin's own and looks unbelievably small with its 25.4mm diameter and it isn't the stiffest, with a hint of flex there if you really yank on it. Each bike size gets the same width of 420mm although the stem is size-specific: this medium gets a 100mm length, for instance.

btwin_triban_100_-_bars.jpg

The seatpost is another B'Twin model and it's easy to adjust. The saddle perched up on top is quite padded – a little too much for my liking – but for more sedate riding or bimbling around it's probably fine.

btwin_triban_100_-_saddle_and_post.jpg

Wheels and tyres

The wheels and tyres are both B'Twin's own brand.

I've mentioned that the tyres have a semi-slick tread and that they are 32mm wide, suiting the all-round riding style of the Triban. They have reasonable grip and for the money you can't really complain about the rolling resistance. The test period didn't bring any issues with punctures or cuts either, which was good especially since it was hedgerow cutting season and the rain has returned.

btwin_triban_100_-_front_brake.jpg

If you are going to stick completely to the road, a lighter set of full slicks will suit you better, though.

Shedding weight is another thing you could do with the wheels, as they make up quite a bit of the overall heft. They use a shallow alloy rim with unbranded hubs, but again for the cost of the bike there is nothing to complain about really.

btwin_triban_100_-_rear.jpg

The wheels have 28 spokes front and rear, and although they remained true over the test period, spoke tension isn't massively high and I could get some sideways flex if I pushed them hard.

btwin_triban_100_-_front_hub.jpg

The front is equipped with a quick release lever, though the rear has a solid threaded axle which also adds to the weight.

btwin_triban_100_-_rear_dropout.jpg

Value

It's easy to criticise various parts and components on the Triban as not being the most up to date or heavy, but for the £249 asking price you can't go wrong. It all works, it's simple to use and there is a fair amount of durability there.

As for the opposition, we don't have a lot come through the door at this price, with most of the larger brands not pricing their bikes much below £500.

There are a few to be found in our bikes under £300 buyer's guide, though. Halfords' Carrera Crixus CX bike is £350. It does get a Shimano Claris groupset and a double chainset for the money, which would justify the slightly higher price.

For £250, though, probably the only way to get such good bang for your buck as you are getting with the Triban 100 would be to go secondhand.

Verdict

A good package of frame and components for very little money

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road.cc test report

Make and model: B'Twin Triban 100 Road Bike

Size tested: Large

About the bike

List the components used to build up the bike.

From Decathlon:

FRAME

Comfort-oriented frame geometry with a higher steering socket and a shorter top tube that offers a more upright position than a classic road frame. 6061 T6 aluminium sloping frame with semi-integrated headset. Frame weight, size M: 1830 g.

FORK

Straight steel fork for greater comfort and precision.

Aheadset 1"1/8 head tube makes the steering assembly strong and rigid.

HANDLEBAR / STEM / STEERING

Aluminium B'Twin Sport handlebar - Handlebar width (axle-axle):

420mm

B'Twin Sport aluminium stem

Length: XS: 90mm

S: 90 mm

M: 90mm

L: 110 mm

XL: 110 mm

DRIVETRAIN

Speed changes using 7-speed Shimano A050 indexed shifter on the handlebar.

Ergonomic and very comfortable: change speeds without letting go of the top part of the handlebar.

This ergonomically-shaped lever fits the palm of your hand perfectly.

Shimano Tourney 7-speed rear derailleur.

CRANKSET / CASSETTE

Single chainring is easier to use and reduces weight significantly: 48 teeth.

Cranks: 170 mm.

Freewheel Cassette: SHIMANO 14 x 34.

The 34 Mega Range helps riding up steeper hills easier.

BRAKES

Tektro RL 340 brake levers offering good grip and excellent rigidity.

WHEELS

B'Twin 700 double-walled sport wheels.

Quick release attachment (9mm) at the front for easy manoeuvring and transport.

Nut mount for the rear wheel.

TYRES

B'Twin Sport 700 X 32 hybrid tyres.The tread has small studs for increased performance. The sides of the tyres have larger studs for better grip in bends on consolidated or loose ground and on gravel.

SADDLE / SEAT POST

B'Twin Sport 100 Black saddle

B'Twin Sport aluminium seat post.

Diameter: 27.2 mm for added comfort thanks to its flexibility Length:

250mm in XS / S

350mm in M / L / XL

PEDALS

Hybrid platform pedals (good grip for use on trails).

ACCESSORIES / EQUIPMENT

Comes with a front and rear reflectors and a bell.

Tell us what the bike is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

Decathlon says, "Designed for moderate distances over flat or gravel terrain, thanks to hybrid tyres. B'Twin's Triban 100 road bike is the perfect choice if you're just starting out with road cycling. It has plenty of tyre clearance and can accommodate mudguards and a rear pannier rack."

I think that pretty much sums it up, especially the part about being ideal for those new to riding.

Where does this model sit in the range? Tell us briefly about the cheaper options and the more expensive options

The 100 is the entry level to the Triban range with a £349 500 model using Microshift gearing, a 520 Shimano Sora model for £499, and a 540 with 105 costing £679. Decent value throughout.

Frame and fork

Overall rating for frame and fork
 
7/10

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

For the money it's well built and finished, with only those fragile stickers being a bit of a pain.

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

The frame uses an aluminium alloy frame made from the 6061-T6 grade, while the fork is chromoly steel.

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

With quite a tall head tube and short top tube, the position on the bike is quite relaxed, complete with angles at the head tube to give a bike that is easy to live with.

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

This medium has a stack of 580mm and a reach of 376mm, which is about what I'd expect for a bike of this type.

Riding the bike

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

Yes. Not as refined as more expensive alloy frames but not harsh.

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too flexible?

For the type of riding the B'Twin is likely to see, I'd say stiffness is ample. I could get flex at the bottom bracket but only if I was absolutely smashing it.

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

Reasonably efficient. It's not really a bike for the greatest of power transfer, you get more from it if you ride in a steady way rather than massive accelerations or power outputs.

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so was it a problem?

No.

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively neutral or unresponsive? Neutral.

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

The handling is very steady and perfect for the market it is aimed at. There won't be any twitchy surprises, on or off-road.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's comfort? would you recommend any changes?

I'd change the saddle, personally, as I found it a little too padded.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's stiffness? would you recommend any changes?

There is flex in nearly all of the components if you push the bike hard, but if you are out for a steady ride around the lanes it all adds to the comfort.

Which components had the most effect (good or bad) on the bike's efficiency? would you recommend any changes?

The 34t largest sprocket does offer a decent enough low gear.

Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for sprinting:
 
6/10
Rate the bike for high speed stability:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
 
7/10

The drivetrain

Rate the drivetrain for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the drivetrain for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
 
7/10

Tell us some more about the drivetrain. Anything you particularly did or didn't like? Any components which didn't work well together?

Personally, I'd spend the extra £100 on the 500 model to get the Microshift brake/gear levers combo rather than the SIS lever on this 100.

Wheels and tyres

Rate the wheels for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for weight:
 
6/10
Rate the wheels for comfort:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels for value:
 
7/10

Tell us some more about the wheels.Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the wheels? If so what for?

The wheels are pretty basic but did the job throughout the test period without issue. An upgrade to something stiffer and lighter would transform the bike as you as a rider grow.

Rate the tyres for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the tyres for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the tyres for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the tyres for comfort:
 
7/10
Rate the tyres for value:
 
7/10

Tell us some more about the tyres. Did they work well in the conditions you encountered? Would you change the tyres? If so what for?

Decent enough across the board for the budget. Grip is good and their size and tread give you plenty of options.

Controls

Rate the controls for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for value:
 
7/10

Tell us some more about the controls. Any particularly good or bad components? How would the controls work for larger or smaller riders?

It's exactly as you'd expect for a bike at this price, quite basic. And seeing things like a 25.4mm diameter handlebar is a blast from the past but it all works. The drops of the handlebar are quite shallow so most people will be able to ride in them without issue.

Your summary

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes

Would you consider buying the bike? Yes

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes, especially if they were looking for a first bike.

How does the price compare to that of similar bikes in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's pretty much the cheapest bike we've tested and there are very few out there for the money other than the Carerra mentioned in the review.

Rate the bike overall for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
 
8/10

Use this box to explain your overall score

On the whole I found the Triban fun to ride in most situations, and for the money you can't knock the kit. A tyre and wheel upgrade for pure road use would be beneficial.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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44 comments

Avatar
bikezero | 5 years ago
0 likes

Yet there are no reports of broken or failed Btwin road bike frames with the current series a few or so years old and the series before that maybe 10 or more years old so it would seem quite clear they are perfectly solid budget frames in terms of durability and weight tolerance. They are marketed as touring bikes with ability to fit luggage holding racks and hold luggage on top of user weight. 100 is fitted with hybrid style tyres suggesting rougher use than normal road bike use. Doesn’t sound like Decathlon are very worried about any weak weight tolerance level on these bikes all despite the fact the average customer is probably an overweight 45 year old man.
I’ve used my Triban 500 near every day, often very roughly like an MTB, for 15 months straight. No problems.
Like I said, companies can be conservative with specs, even ultra conservative in some cases. Sometimes they can also just be lazy and the fact that that PDF shows the same weight limit for ALL their adult bikes furtherly suggests it’s probably not an accurate list unless every adult Btwin frame from a 100 euro city bike to an expensive road bike is the same frame quality with same weight tolerance.

Anyhow, putting aside your argument that there were/are better value buys for the money than the 100 (I didn’t personally research it and i’m not saying you were wrong, but KoenM seemed to feel not for his specific needs) KoenM has got his bike and seems to like it so I think we should be happy for him. I highly doubt he, or anybody except you suspects he’s going to run into frame problems.
And with the Tourney gears, it may well be the absolute bottom of the barrell in terms of feel, but looks like he is merely stating that it is still reliable and works for his needs when it comes to this particular bike.

p.s. the frames, just like the ultra AF, have a thick sticker stating Made in France on the bottom. Where they are actually made i have no idea.

Avatar
KoenM | 5 years ago
0 likes

Again the muddyfox and the other bikes u linked to ARE NOT the same bike, they have skinny tires, bad brakes, old frame design, old geometry and no mudguard/rack mounts. The Triban is made for gravel/commuting and a bit of road, while the bikes u linked are meant as purely beginner roadbikes and they look horrible! Btw if the frames were that bad they wouldn't have passed the test in flanders (trust me I live there) and it would be in big letter on the website. The pdf u linked to is just a general file about all the bikes, again I wouldn't be worried at all! Btw how many frames and components have u ever seen break because of weight, because I haven't seen any or read any. 

Avatar
bonzobanana replied to KoenM | 5 years ago
0 likes
KoenM wrote:

Again the muddyfox and the other bikes u linked to ARE NOT the same bike, they have skinny tires, bad brakes, old frame design, old geometry and no mudguard/rack mounts. The Triban is made for gravel/commuting and a bit of road, while the bikes u linked are meant as purely beginner roadbikes and they look horrible! Btw if the frames were that bad they wouldn't have passed the test in flanders (trust me I live there) and it would be in big letter on the website. The pdf u linked to is just a general file about all the bikes, again I wouldn't be worried at all! Btw how many frames and components have u ever seen break because of weight, because I haven't seen any or read any. 

They are clearly not the same bike obviously but many of your criticisms of them clearly aren't true. Certainly the geometry on some of them is as valid and usable as the Triban 100. The Triban 100 has passed it's tests and at the end of them it is rated to a 100kg total load much less than competing bikes. 

People seem to be working hard to defend or ignore actual parts of the Triban 100 spec. I think it's one of those things where we will just have to agree to disagree. The Triban 100 looks total junk to me and absolutely no way would I pay £250 for that with its garbage drivetrain and I just can't see it any other way. Semi-plastic tourney derailleurs and junk freewheels are rubbish on £70 bikes and even more appalling on £250 bikes. I honestly don't think if a low end brand came up with the same spec and same low weight limits and £250 pricing it would get a 4/5 review it would likely be 1 or 2 out of 5. That's just the way I see it but then I have absolutely no brand loyalty I look at bikes indivdually. based on their components and specification.

Avatar
KoenM replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
0 likes
bonzobanana wrote:

ly not the same bike obviously but many of your criticisms of them clearly aren't true. Certainly the geometry on some of them is as valid and usable as the Triban 100. The Triban 100 has passed it's tests and at the end of them it is rated to a 100kg total load much less than competing bikes. 

People seem to be working hard to defend or ignore actual parts of the Triban 100 spec. I think it's one of those things where we will just have to agree to disagree. The Triban 100 looks total junk to me and absolutely no way would I pay £250 for that with its garbage drivetrain and I just can't see it any other way. Semi-plastic tourney derailleurs and junk freewheels are rubbish on £70 bikes and even more appalling on £250 bikes. I honestly don't think if a low end brand came up with the same spec and same low weight limits and £250 pricing it would get a 4/5 review it would likely be 1 or 2 out of 5. That's just the way I see it but then. based on their components and specification.

No the specs aren't that bad, and the bikes u showed aren't that much cheaper, and some of those were only cheaper because of a discount! 
Like I said, stop worrying about that load, no bike part has ever been broken because of someone weighted to much! And on most of the other cheap bikes u don't even get told the maximum load, and here it's about every triban, so not this bike specific. 
The Tourney derailleurs aren't that bad as u think, really, I do have experience with it and not a bad one! If there was a bike like this (the same specs and be able to put bigger tires and mudguards/racks) on it people would buy it and review it to, but that's the thing there aren't any like it! 
Also maybe read the review once, the reviewer clearly states that it's a very fun bike to ride and that the specs aren't a compromise. 
" I have absolutely no brand loyalty I look at bikes indivdually" well clearly u do have something against BTwin?
And last but not least, TRY IT BEFORE U GIVE YOUR OWN REVIEW! That's what this reviewer did instead of giving an opinion without the knowledge. 

Avatar
bonzobanana replied to KoenM | 5 years ago
0 likes
KoenM wrote:

[

No the specs aren't that bad, and the bikes u showed aren't that much cheaper, and some of those were only cheaper because of a discount! 
Like I said, stop worrying about that load, no bike part has ever been broken because of someone weighted to much! And on most of the other cheap bikes u don't even get told the maximum load, and here it's about every triban, so not this bike specific. 
The Tourney derailleurs aren't that bad as u think, really, I do have experience with it and not a bad one! If there was a bike like this (the same specs and be able to put bigger tires and mudguards/racks) on it people would buy it and review it to, but that's the thing there aren't any like it! 
Also maybe read the review once, the reviewer clearly states that it's a very fun bike to ride and that the specs aren't a compromise. 
" I have absolutely no brand loyalty I look at bikes indivdually" well clearly u do have something against BTwin?
And last but not least, TRY IT BEFORE U GIVE YOUR OWN REVIEW! That's what this reviewer did instead of giving an opinion without the knowledge. 

Many of the bikes I've shown are a lot cheaper and that discount level is pretty much always available. Aluminium bike frames don't break immediately if overloaded, it accelerates fatigue and can mean the number of years that frame is safe is dramatically reduced. The frame could fail catastrophically 4 years from now in the middle of busy traffic. Decathlon seem to be promoting it as some sort of light duty gravel bike and so could have even more fatigue issues. While I haven't ridden a Triban 100 I have used the components on it on other bikes and they are pure junk in my opinion and not justified at £250.  I don't need to ride a cheap dual suspension steel mountain bike to know its terrible I can work that out by the low end components fitted. There is no pixie dust that magically transforms the Triban 100 into a great bike despite its appalling components and weak frame. The same $3 factory door price Shimano freewheel may be ok on a £40 child's bike which never leaves the garden and will last the lifespan of the bike but I don't expect to see it on a £250 road bike especially as the bike has a simplified drivetrain anyway with no front derailler, front shifter and only needs a single chainring crankset so has already cut down on costs considerably. The light duty weak pretty much Chinese market spec frame will be lower cost too. With all these savings surely a freehub equipped rear wheel was possible with cassette at the very least even if the cassette was 7 speed. On one of their sub £200 hybrid models they fit a freehub based drivetrain. 

As I say we will have to agree to disagree we are poles apart with regard this bike. I'm not just talking about how it rides today, it's simplified drivetrain is probably ideal for such low end components especially with freewheel wobble etc. My point is about it's reliability, increased levels of maintenance and long term safety issues. The only positive thing about it is the low enc components at least will be very cheap to replace. 

Avatar
javi_polo replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
0 likes
bonzobanana wrote:

With all these savings surely a freehub equipped rear wheel was possible with cassette at the very least even if the cassette was 7 speed. On one of their sub £200 hybrid models they fit a freehub based drivetrain. 

I actually think that the main problem of this bike comes from its use of a freehub. There aren't many 7 speed freehub configurations available, actually we can say that the offer is limited to a 14-28 (very small range) or a 14-34 (awfully spaced in the bigger cogs). The 14t smallest cog also kind of forces the use of a relatively big single ring in 1x configurations (such as this 48t) in order to have some gears for descending and riding in the flats.

If Decathlon had specced a cassette, they could have gone for a 7 speed 11-28 with a (let's say) 39t single ring. This would give a range of 7.0 to 2.8 gear inches, similar to the current range (6.8 to 2.8 gear inches) but with a better spacing and IMHO much more usable. And I really doubt it should be THAT much more expensive.

Avatar
bonzobanana replied to javi_polo | 5 years ago
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javi_polo wrote:
bonzobanana wrote:

With all these savings surely a freehub equipped rear wheel was possible with cassette at the very least even if the cassette was 7 speed. On one of their sub £200 hybrid models they fit a freehub based drivetrain. 

I actually think that the main problem of this bike comes from its use of a freehub. There aren't many 7 speed freehub configurations available, actually we can say that the offer is limited to a 14-28 (very small range) or a 14-34 (awfully spaced in the bigger cogs). The 14t smallest cog also kind of forces the use of a relatively big single ring in 1x configurations (such as this 48t) in order to have some gears for descending and riding in the flats.

If Decathlon had specced a cassette, they could have gone for a 7 speed 11-28 with a (let's say) 39t single ring. This would give a range of 7.0 to 2.8 gear inches, similar to the current range (6.8 to 2.8 gear inches) but with a better spacing and IMHO much more usable. And I really doubt it should be THAT much more expensive.

There is no freehub on this bike. It uses a freewheel and threaded rear hub. When you see 14T as the minimum cog size that is indicative on a freewheel, the weaker pawl mechanism, lower grade metal means it's sensible to keep to 14T although I think in Asian markets where people are a bit lighter and weaker 13T is more common on freewheels. When you have a cassette though and a much stronger freehub 11T and 12T is fine. You can have a freehub with a 7 speed cassette and still use the basic Shimano single shifter like the Triban 100. This would have made the bike much stronger, crisper shifting and of course potentially much faster with a 11T small cog. To me that would have been an acceptable option for a £250 road bike and decent value and an interesting configuration that would have suited many  people I think. 

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KoenM replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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bonzobanana wrote:

Many of the bikes I've shown are a lot cheaper and that discount level is pretty much always available. Aluminium bike frames don't break immediately if overloaded, it accelerates fatigue and can mean the number of years that frame is safe is dramatically reduced. The frame could fail catastrophically 4 years from now in the middle of busy traffic. Decathlon seem to be promoting it as some sort of light duty gravel bike and so could have even more fatigue issues. While I haven't ridden a Triban 100 I have used the components on it on other bikes and they are pure junk in my opinion and not justified at £250.  I don't need to ride a cheap dual suspension steel mountain bike to know its terrible I can work that out by the low end components fitted. There is no pixie dust that magically transforms the Triban 100 into a great bike despite its appalling components and weak frame. The same $3 factory door price Shimano freewheel may be ok on a £40 child's bike which never leaves the garden and will last the lifespan of the bike but I don't expect to see it on a £250 road bike especially as the bike has a simplified drivetrain anyway with no front derailler, front shifter and only needs a single chainring crankset so has already cut down on costs considerably. The light duty weak pretty much Chinese market spec frame will be lower cost too. With all these savings surely a freehub equipped rear wheel was possible with cassette at the very least even if the cassette was 7 speed. On one of their sub £200 hybrid models they fit a freehub based drivetrain. 

 

As I say we will have to agree to disagree we are poles apart with regard this bike. I'm not just talking about how it rides today, it's simplified drivetrain is probably ideal for such low end components especially with freewheel wobble etc. My point is about it's reliability, increased levels of maintenance and long term safety issues. The only positive thing about it is the low enc components at least will be very cheap to replace. 

1) Well it's still a discount and no they wont stay that way. And are again not that same bike they are pure roadbike.
2) U keep talking about that 100kg while I repeatedly said that the 100kg is for all there bikes, it's in a OLD pdf so no those specs aren't up to date. Also again, I never have seen or heared of a bike product failing because of weight. 
3) About the components, it's not because they are cheap that they are bad. And u speak without experience while I have alot of experience with it (more than 4000km). And so NO they are reliable as most Shimano components are, and again in my experience (what U don't have) they don't need to be more maintained than my Ultegra Di2 bike. 
4) €260 is NOT alot of money for a bike so no the components are NOT bad for the bike. U keep telling about much cheaper bikes with better components but there aren't alot and if there are it's mostly 1 size, or old bikes that will be sold out. 
5) The frame isn't made in China
 

The freewheel (as I said before) isn't great, but it wont break sooner than a cassette.

The thing is U speak without experience about the bike or the components and that does make me mad a bit, I do speak with experience so I do know what i'm talking about.
Really try it before speaking bad about it, that's what the reviewer did.

As for the Triban 100, I've been riding it for a week now and it rides so much smoother than the bike it replaced (a €500 bike with Tourney to). The breaks are great to, much better than the V-brakes u get on most cheap bikes. 

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bonzobanana replied to KoenM | 5 years ago
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KoenM wrote:

 

1) Well it's still a discount and no they wont stay that way. And are again not that same bike they are pure roadbike.
2) U keep talking about that 100kg while I repeatedly said that the 100kg is for all there bikes, it's in a OLD pdf so no those specs aren't up to date. Also again, I never have seen or heared of a bike product failing because of weight. 
3) About the components, it's not because they are cheap that they are bad. And u speak without experience while I have alot of experience with it (more than 4000km). And so NO they are reliable as most Shimano components are, and again in my experience (what U don't have) they don't need to be more maintained than my Ultegra Di2 bike. 
4) €260 is NOT alot of money for a bike so no the components are NOT bad for the bike. U keep telling about much cheaper bikes with better components but there aren't alot and if there are it's mostly 1 size, or old bikes that will be sold out. 
5) The frame isn't made in China
 

The freewheel (as I said before) isn't great, but it wont break sooner than a cassette.

The thing is U speak without experience about the bike or the components and that does make me mad a bit, I do speak with experience so I do know what i'm talking about.
Really try it before speaking bad about it, that's what the reviewer did.

As for the Triban 100, I've been riding it for a week now and it rides so much smoother than the bike it replaced (a €500 bike with Tourney to). The breaks are great to, much better than the V-brakes u get on most cheap bikes. 

 

That is the standard btwin manual available now on their webiste and their weight limits and what their bikes are certified to cope with. Manuals like that don't get updated daily they are often years old. I think the one on the Giant site dates back to 2012 when I downloaded it a few months back. Of course freewheels don't last as long as freehubs and cassettes. They are light duty occasional use components which even Shimano admit to in their groupset text.

Where is the frame made out of interest. Bear in mind there is what they call tariff engineering because of EU anti-dumping duties so the country the bike was assembled in may have no connection to where the components were made. Many bikes are merely assembled in Europe or Cambodia, Bangledesh, India, Eastern Europe etc but the frames and components are mainly chinese. Many decent brands of bikes have Chinese manufactured frames but get 'Made in Taiwan' stickers as Taiwan is perceived and is a high quality manufacturing nation so adds perceived value to the bike by assembling in Taiwan. I think the only high volume aluminium bicycle frame factories in Europe are Portugal and Turkey and from what I've read the Portugeuse frames can be very poor compared to far eastern frames. Don't know anything about the Turkish frame quality. It's possible the reasons the bike weight limits are so low is to allow for Portugeuse frame quality but I thought only the higher end frames were made in Europe and the entry level frames were Chinese.

Again though the weight limits are clearly stated in their manual for a reason. This debate gets into farce territory when you start making claims that somehow btwin's own documents are wrong. At that point you have clearly lost the plot and you lose all credibility. If btwin state 100kg total load they do that for the obvious reason they have to and that is what the bike is designed to cope with. Surely there is no debate there. Are you just going to make up random numbers about how strong btwin bikes are to support your own biased view? If you own the bike you obviously cannot be impartial and are likely to be defensive of your purchase, pride etc. I don't have any such bias and have a lot of experience of the components fitted to the bike and know they are terrible. We don't have to debate the frame is weaker than competitors because that is what btwin claim themselves according to their weight limits so no debate there. A weak frame, terrible components and a simplified drivetrain making hills more difficult and a slow bike on the flats. £250 is a truly awful price in my opinion.

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bikezero | 5 years ago
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I guess it’s not that surprising that the odd dodgy (chinese or wherever else) made and sourced cheapskate frames sold by Decathlon may have crept into certain low range bikes over the years.
I’d really hazard the guess Triban 500 (and 100 if it’s the same frame as it is by all accounts) is a good and strong budget aluminium bike though. I’m a 6’2 male and while I’m not heavy for my height I have rather thrashed this bike for 14 months and also covered huge distances (really a very high mileage for a 14 month old bike). Maybe it will all collaspse on me soon but I doubt it given the lack of reports of Triban frame failure and the series now itself being nearly ten years old? (if you go back to the original Triban models).

As for where the bikes are manufactured I have no clue either, although on my Btwin Ultra AF it has a sticker by the barcone saying ‘Made in France’ so when I read Portugal and Italy from a few non-verified sources I thought that might be legitimate info as to where Triban are made (or put together!). Surely in modern times it doesn’t really matter where something is made but more about what standard it is made to (providing the workers are qualified of course).

To recap, I never said i thought Triban 100 was a great value for money bike if you consider the components are very much entry level and available on some cheaper road bikes, but I have faith in the frame presuming it’s the same frame as the 500, since it’s typically a little lighter than those even-cheaper bikes you mention yet at the same time feels to be super solid after so much heavy use.

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bikezero | 5 years ago
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Yeh, it seems strange they didn’t opt for some budget STI’s like you say.
I agree, at 190 euros more, the 500 isn’t that better in value.
Glad to hear you ordered. That bike will be a budget cult classic when the Btwin brand soon retires apparently!
I was in Decathlon just yesterday and they had both the 500 and the 100 on display. I should have riden the 100 but it’s not the biggest store and with the perfectly flat floors it would be hard to get an idea of the difference in cycle feel compared to my 500.
What I did do is lift both of them a few times one after the other and I have to say the higher weight of the 100 was barely even perceivable.
Beautiful bike indeed. Congrats

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KoenM | 5 years ago
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Yeah indeed the shift lever is the worst thing about it, if they just made it like €275 with tourney STI's that would be even better! But I ordered mine, I'll probably replace it myself one day when the shifter bothers me to much! U guys in the UK have indeed a bit more value at the 500 model while here it is €190 more, not really that better in value. 

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bikezero | 5 years ago
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The Apollo Paradox has an “approx” overall weight listed as 12.1kg (it doesn’t mention which size, but the bike only seems to be made in frame sizes up to 54cm) whereas the Triban has overall weight listed as 11,3kg in size M (I believe Btwin’s size medium would be about 54cm) so therefore for that £70 extra you are getting a bike near a full kg lighter.

If the Triban 100 is the exact same frame as the 500 (as people say) then i can attest that it would seem solid as I have heavily riden 500 for 14 months with zero issues despite often throwing it off tall kerbs like it were a mountain bike.
With the max weight tolerances mentioned, I would imagine BTWIN are being highly conservative. These are after all largely marketed as touring bikes with mention of the ability to fit extensive luggage supports (It even has mountain bike type road tires which suggests towards rougher use).
If the frames were going to break or otherwise fail with heavy-ish loads, or moderately hard impacts I doubt Btwin would bother manufacturing and selling such alledgedly weak frames.

I myself said I don’t think this bike is quite the great value for money than the Triban 500 is (only £100 more in the UK and a full kg lighter with more extensive Microshift gears system and carbon fork) but i still think 100 seems to be decent value.
Limited gears and budget chainwheel aside, all I do not much like about the 100 is the gear lever being on the top of the handlebars and totally unreachable from any hand position in which you are in reach of the brakes- an annoyance and not good from a safety point of view.

I have not heard a single report of a Btwin road bike frame ever breaking, nor of a Btwin road bike ever being recalled. It is true that certain entry models of their Rockrider mountain bikes were recalled a couple of years ago (depending on serial number) with the recall notice still present at the Decathlon website but I've not heard of any other bike recalls in Btwin’s history.

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bonzobanana replied to bikezero | 5 years ago
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bikezero wrote:

The Apollo Paradox has an “approx” overall weight listed as 12.1kg (it doesn’t mention which size, but the bike only seems to be made in frame sizes up to 54cm) whereas the Triban has overall weight listed as 11,3kg in size M (I believe Btwin’s size medium would be about 54cm) so therefore for that £70 extra you are getting a bike near a full kg lighter. If the Triban 100 is the exact same frame as the 500 (as people say) then i can attest that it would seem solid as I have heavily riden 500 for 14 months with zero issues despite often throwing it off tall kerbs like it were a mountain bike. With the max weight tolerances mentioned, I would imagine BTWIN are being highly conservative. These are after all largely marketed as touring bikes with mention of the ability to fit extensive luggage supports (It even has mountain bike type road tires which suggests towards rougher use). If the frames were going to break or otherwise fail with heavy-ish loads, or moderately hard impacts I doubt Btwin would bother manufacturing and selling such alledgedly weak frames. I myself said I don’t think this bike is quite the great value for money than the Triban 500 is (only £100 more in the UK and a full kg lighter with more extensive Microshift gears system and carbon fork) but i still think 100 seems to be decent value. Limited gears and budget chainwheel aside, all I do not much like about the 100 is the gear lever being on the top of the handlebars and totally unreachable from any hand position in which you are in reach of the brakes- an annoyance and not good from a safety point of view. I have not heard a single report of a Btwin road bike frame ever breaking, nor of a Btwin road bike ever being recalled. It is true that certain entry models of their Rockrider mountain bikes were recalled a couple of years ago (depending on serial number) with the recall notice still present at the Decathlon website but I've not heard of any other bike recalls in Btwin’s history.

 

Over 4 years prodution of these bikes were recalled.

https://www.bike-eu.com/laws-regulations/nieuws/2017/03/decathlon-recall...

 

I really don't get this seems strong enough to me approach to bike's safety. The weight limits are dictated by the manufacturer and should be followed. They are often a design or engineering choice due to cost or performance and would normally be calculated by the certification product tests. Seems madness to me to just gloss over such critical safety information. Overloaded frames to fail immediately you fatigue the frame at a much faster rate and years down the line the frame is much more likely to fail when you don't expect it. 

 

As for someone else's comment that they are manufactured in Romania. I've not heard that for the frames I would expect that was actual bike assembly or even wheel assembly not the frames. I believe some production of frames has started in Portugal likely high end models only.

There may be limited frame sizes or some other issues on those bikes I listed my point was really about the poor pricing and low spec components. Clearly some people disagree but I certainly feel £250 is far too much for a bike of that spec.

Just to explain another comment the reason those alternative bikes are faster and easier up hills is because of the double chainring. However the Muddyfox bike listed and shown in the video is much faster as it has a freehub and cassette based gearing with a 11 or 12 tooth small cog not the low grade 14 tooth small cog of freewheels present on the Triban 100 and the very low cost road bikes. Hence why while beaten by the carbon aero bike it does actually give a respectable speed result close to it. I suspect the Triban 100 would be considerably slower as well as being a much weaker bike assuming the engineers who certified and tested the Triban 100 were competent.

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ChasP replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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bonzobanana wrote:

 

Over 4 years prodution of these bikes were recalled.

https://www.bike-eu.com/laws-regulations/nieuws/2017/03/decathlon-recall...

What is the relevance of a recall of an open frame electric bike to this model? I'm sure all major brands have recalled models at times and indeed it's a sign of their responsability and commitment to quality that they do so

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KoenM | 5 years ago
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Those are shops I can't order from as i'm not from the UK. 
Also those bikes don't have mudguard nor rack mounts, also they don't support wider tires so not those aren't the same bike at all!
Also those bikes look so ugly and old, they look like a super harsh ride and those brakes!
Don't compare apples with oranges my mother always said.
As for u thinking those are faster u can't know whitout trying, who says those bikes are stiff enough to transfer your power? 
And as I said before alot more people HAVENT complained about the gears. Ok they don't shift as clear as Ultegra  DI2 or 105 (I have bikes with both) BUT I don't have any complaints about it. And yeah I have tested it alot, I had my bike with Tourney for 3 years and most of those days it stoud outside in the wind and the rain, never had it cleaned and only 3x lubricated, didn't even had a chain drop in almost 5000km. I had the precursor to Claris (2300) and it did drop the chain a few times. 
I'm just thinking, why do u hate this bike, did it ran u over?  

Anyways it's easy for me, I can't get a cheaper bike with mudguard/rack mounts, wide tires, caliper brakes and drop handlebars.

edit: as for the bikes u showed except for the halfords those are discounted so it wont always be that cheap or maybe even in supply, while the Triban 100 without discount is €260. 

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bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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I don't get the pricing on this bike. It has a very low end freewheel despite cassette being mentioned in the review with very limited gearing both slow on the flats and hard up hills. It is relatively heavy especially with the low weight drivetrain with no front derailleur or shifter and a single chainring yet only has a total load capacity of 100kg which minus the bike weight, accessories, luggage and riders clothes surely brings it down to a paltry 80kg approx maximum rider weight. Many people criticise Tourney drivetrain's on sub £100 bikes and call the bikes BSO's but it's ok here on a £250 btwin bike? The old Triban 500SE was great at £299 although still had the low weight limits but this looks pure junk at £250 yet gets four stars. Surely a bike of this spec is only worth about £150. I don't get why btwin gets a favourable review with such poor components. Seems like there is a weird bias in favour of the Btwin brand and that a fair critical approach hasn't been applied with this review. I accept the weak frame might have a nice feel, maybe a more springy nature hence the low weight limits to avoid early fatigue damage caused by a lack of strengthening. Admittedly anything with a freewheel I consider pretty much junk and entry level. Too much time adjusting and a relatively short life. Always needs to be kept clean and lubricated to work reasonably well. I would always advise pay more but here there are actually competing bikes for similar money or less with freehub based drivetrains with much better gearing. This is like a child's road bike scaled up to adult sizes.

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KoenM replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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bonzobanana wrote:

I don't get the pricing on this bike. It has a very low end freewheel despite cassette being mentioned in the review with very limited gearing both slow on the flats and hard up hills. It is relatively heavy especially with the low weight drivetrain with no front derailleur or shifter and a single chainring yet only has a total load capacity of 100kg which minus the bike weight, accessories, luggage and riders clothes surely brings it down to a paltry 80kg approx maximum rider weight. Many people criticise Tourney drivetrain's on sub £100 bikes and call the bikes BSO's but it's ok here on a £250 btwin bike? The old Triban 500SE was great at £299 although still had the low weight limits but this looks pure junk at £250 yet gets four stars. Surely a bike of this spec is only worth about £150. I don't get why btwin gets a favourable review with such poor components. Seems like there is a weird bias in favour of the Btwin brand and that a fair critical approach hasn't been applied with this review. I accept the weak frame might have a nice feel, maybe a more springy nature hence the low weight limits to avoid early fatigue damage caused by a lack of strengthening. Admittedly anything with a freewheel I consider pretty much junk and entry level. Too much time adjusting and a relatively short life. Always needs to be kept clean and lubricated to work reasonably well. I would always advise pay more but here there are actually competing bikes for similar money or less with freehub based drivetrains with much better gearing. This is like a child's road bike scaled up to adult sizes.

Sub €100 bikes generally don't have tourney gearing, heck even my €500 bike had tourney, but that's because it was from a real bikeshop. About the weight limit it isn't stated anywhere on the website, so where did u get that info? About the 34, they do say that's it a bit hard  to get up steep hills in this review, but honestly don't think that bike is made for climbing. Yeah the freewheel is bad when u want to upgrade BUT I never problems with mine and it stands out in the rain and wheater most of the day and in 3 years only lubed it 3 times, and i'm ashamed to say that I never cleaned it. 
Also who says the frame is weak? The reviewer says it isn't as stiff as some bikes but he didn't say it's weak. Maybe read the review before commenting first? Also maybe ride the bike before u yourself write bad information about it?

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bonzobanana replied to KoenM | 5 years ago
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KoenM wrote:

 

Sub €100 bikes generally don't have tourney gearing, heck even my €500 bike had tourney, but that's because it was from a real bikeshop. About the weight limit it isn't stated anywhere on the website, so where did u get that info? About the 34, they do say that's it a bit hard  to get up steep hills in this review, but honestly don't think that bike is made for climbing. Yeah the freewheel is bad when u want to upgrade BUT I never problems with mine and it stands out in the rain and wheater most of the day and in 3 years only lubed it 3 times, and i'm ashamed to say that I never cleaned it. 
Also who says the frame is weak? The reviewer says it isn't as stiff as some bikes but he didn't say it's weak. Maybe read the review before commenting first? Also maybe ride the bike before u yourself write bad information about it?

 

Just about every low end bike has Shimano Tourney gearing same as this bike with an identical quality freewheeel. There is no debate on that surely. Some very low end bikes might use a generic lower brand than Shimano but perhaps 95% of cheap bikes have tourney gearing and freewheels. Some even have triple chainsets to give a wider range of gearing.

As for weight limits this is clearly stated in their manual, they have by far the lowest weight limits of any brand of bicycle. For light riders this can give a good feel frame but for those who need a stronger frame, touring etc they are often best avoided.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/ecuk/static/bikes/btwin-instructions.pdf

Not forgetting there has been a wide range of recalls of btwin frames. I don't think it would be unfair to call them low strength chinese market quality frames.

It just seems a lot to me to charge £250 for a junk frame and components. It's an ok beater bike for lightweight people but surely never worth £250 that is ridiculously high for a low quality frame and tourney components.

I'm heavier than 80kg so could never ride it with accessories fitted to the frame, my clothes and a small amount of luggage. Admittedly it wouldn't fail immediately but I would be compromising the long term strength of the frame and it could fail within 3 years through fatigue and create a dangerous situation amongst traffic and I would have no recourse legally as I would be over the weight limits of the frame.

Just seems madness to me to give 4/5 for this bike. I personally would struggle to give it 1/5 however I totally accept if your a light rider and doesn't care it's a weak, very slow bike with low quality gearing then it may be ok for you. However not just difficult up hills but very slow on the flats and downhill due to the '14' tooth smallest cog and single chainring at the front.

I totally accept tourney has been ok for you but that isn't the experience of many but even if tourney is ok for you is it a fair price for a minimalist road bike made of junk components for £250. There are many far superior bikes for far less than £250.

There are entry level road bikes as low as £140. Often they have high tensile steel frames but don't appear to be much heavier. They have triple chainsets and the same low end tourney derailleur and freewheel on the rear. They probably allow for 40kg heavier riders or loads etc and actually much easier to climb hills and go fast on the flats thanks to their triple or double chainsets. Also more comfortable with a frame with greater long term strength and resistance to fatigue. So much better off road taking abuse etc and much of a gravel/cyclocross type bike. I can't think of a single role this bike is ideal for, in every use I can think of it seems exceptionally poor yet gets 4/5.

Just don't get the high review for this appallingly bad value bike. Don't get me wrong some of the btwin bikes are great value although the low weight limits is always disappointing but I'm scratching my head with this one how it got a positive review.

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aegisdesign replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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bonzobanana wrote:

I don't think it would be unfair to call them low strength chinese market quality frames.

Except they're made in Romania.

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KoenM replied to bonzobanana | 5 years ago
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Quote:

Just about every low end bike has Shimano Tourney gearing same as this bike with an identical quality freewheeel. There is no debate on that surely. Some very low end bikes might use a generic lower brand than Shimano but perhaps 95% of cheap bikes have tourney gearing and freewheels. Some even have triple chainsets to give a wider range of gearing.

As for weight limits this is clearly stated in their manual, they have by far the lowest weight limits of any brand of bicycle. For light riders this can give a good feel frame but for those who need a stronger frame, touring etc they are often best avoided.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/ecuk/static/bikes/btwin-instructions.pdf

Not forgetting there has been a wide range of recalls of btwin frames. I don't think it would be unfair to call them low strength chinese market quality frames.

It just seems a lot to me to charge £250 for a junk frame and components. It's an ok beater bike for lightweight people but surely never worth £250 that is ridiculously high for a low quality frame and tourney components.

I'm heavier than 80kg so could never ride it with accessories fitted to the frame, my clothes and a small amount of luggage. Admittedly it wouldn't fail immediately but I would be compromising the long term strength of the frame and it could fail within 3 years through fatigue and create a dangerous situation amongst traffic and I would have no recourse legally as I would be over the weight limits of the frame.

Just seems madness to me to give 4/5 for this bike. I personally would struggle to give it 1/5 however I totally accept if your a light rider and doesn't care it's a weak, very slow bike with low quality gearing then it may be ok for you. However not just difficult up hills but very slow on the flats and downhill due to the '14' tooth smallest cog and single chainring at the front.

I totally accept tourney has been ok for you but that isn't the experience of many but even if tourney is ok for you is it a fair price for a minimalist road bike made of junk components for £250. There are many far superior bikes for far less than £250.

There are entry level road bikes as low as £140. Often they have high tensile steel frames but don't appear to be much heavier. They have triple chainsets and the same low end tourney derailleur and freewheel on the rear. They probably allow for 40kg heavier riders or loads etc and actually much easier to climb hills and go fast on the flats thanks to their triple or double chainsets. Also more comfortable with a frame with greater long term strength and resistance to fatigue. So much better off road taking abuse etc and much of a gravel/cyclocross type bike. I can't think of a single role this bike is ideal for, in every use I can think of it seems exceptionally poor yet gets 4/5.

Just don't get the high review for this appallingly bad value bike. Don't get me wrong some of the btwin bikes are great value although the low weight limits is always disappointing but I'm scratching my head with this one how it got a positive review.

 

Well where I live I can't find any cheaper bikes with Tourney (or better) and a better quality frame for commuting. Because unlike u, I don't judge before I try, and I do believe the reviewers on this website.  Also people will comment/complain when something is wrong more than when something is good, that's why u only see bad things about it. But there are probably 100000's of bikes in this world with Tourney, don't think there are even a 1000 complains about it on the internet so that's not even 1%. And about the low weight limit, I wouldn't worry about it to much, those numbers are generally alot lower (I've seen a test on a weight limit wheel from shimano and it could support almost 3x the weight). 

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bonzobanana replied to KoenM | 5 years ago
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KoenM wrote:

 

 

Well where I live I can't find any cheaper bikes with Tourney (or better) and a better quality frame for commuting. Because unlike u, I don't judge before I try, and I do believe the reviewers on this website.  Also people will comment/complain when something is wrong more than when something is good, that's why u only see bad things about it. But there are probably 100000's of bikes in this world with Tourney, don't think there are even a 1000 complains about it on the internet so that's not even 1%. And about the low weight limit, I wouldn't worry about it to much, those numbers are generally alot lower (I've seen a test on a weight limit wheel from shimano and it could support almost 3x the weight). 

 

Loads of complaints about tourney gearing giving problems across many forums and a very popular drivetrain on bikes thrown away at recycling centres. It's an entry level drivetrain that can give many problems with part plastic derailleurs, weak springs and many issues. It's entry level and common on sub £100 bikes. It seems to me a double standard when many cyclists complain about the rubbish drivetrain of entry level bikes and how they throw up problems but stick exactly the same components on a more respected brand and somehow despite the components being identical it is somehow ok. It isn't ok it's rubbish on sub £100 bikes and even more rubbish on a £250 bike. 

A quick look on halfords shows a £180 aluminium road bike with the same crap tourney drivetrain but with a double chainset. The bike has a rider weight capacity of 120kg compared to about 80-85kg on the btwin but admittedly we are comparing 2 very poor road bikes but if anything the apollo is higher spec with a much stronger frame and yet £70 cheaper. It's faster on the flat's easier up hills and your £70 better off. Not that I'd recommend the Apollo. 

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/apollo-paradox-mens-ro...

For me the minimum spec for a road bike would be something like Shimano Claris with a freehub or maybe something microshift based. I honestly don't see why this bike didn't have the far superior microshift based drivetrain with a freehub like the earlier Triban 500SE. They could have lost the carbon fork, simplified the drivetrain with a single chainring like the existing Triban 100 but at least kept a solid drivetrain on it with long term reliability. 

Again you don't have to try this specific bike to know the components fitted to it are rubbish. That's not how it works. No magic pixie dust will transform the garbage components into great ones.

It comes to something when a cheap Halford's Apollo bike is vastly superior to a btwin bike. Apollo bikes are best avoided normally but here it will just about do everything better and safer.

Cheaper high tensile steel road bike here. Same junk drivetrain but easier up hills and faster on the flats that the btwin.

https://outlet.e-bikesdirect.co.uk/bikes/adult-bikes/road-bikes/barracud...

Sub £200 bike here with older groupset but decent freehub based drivetrain.

https://www.sportsdirect.com/muddyfox-race-200-road-bike-933090?colcode=...

That seems like the best option for a decent entry level spec currently although the Carrera Virtuoso does come down to £250 approx regularly and seems the best entry level bike at that price.

Comparison of the muddyfox bike and a aero carbon bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow7MdsSVQuw

No reason to spend out £250 for the btwin for a dangerously weak, slow heavy bike with a dire drivetrain.

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
4 likes

I'd much rather be seen riding a cheap bike than an expensive car.

In fact, there's more kudos to be had riding a cheap bike fast - just overtake any other riders that are on more expensive bikes.

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Master Bean | 5 years ago
1 like

^ Still an extra £500 when some pie key nicks it.

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AdyM | 5 years ago
0 likes

So this bike with a 72.5 Head angle is 'slack' for endurance and gravel. But the article of the new pinarello with a 71 Head angle is pointy!? Well which is it!? Quite frankly poor journalism here, we all know 72.5 is nothing special, very generic geometry dressed up to be something it isn't. 

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KoenM | 5 years ago
0 likes

They are just launched here but they are €650 and €800, which is a good price for them but not for just a commuter bike xD.  As for the wheels, it will be the last part that gets replaced but i'm thinking to do it after the winter, not right away.

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bikezero | 5 years ago
0 likes

Ok, well that all makes a bit more sense now. The Triban 500 where I live is 399,99 euros whereas the Triban 100 is 249,99 euro, so that is a very slightly higher jump than the UK difference between the two, but I didn't realise Decathlon in some countries had such big price differences between such models as you referenced.
I'm sure it'll be a great commuter and even if the supplied wheels on the 500 are themselves very heavy, hopefully the even wider (and perhaps thicker) ones on the 100 (which you intend to replace) are contributing quite a bit to that 1kg overal weight jump over the 500.

Cheers. Hope you get it safe and sound. Since the brand new Tribans released in uk a few weeks ago don't seem to be seing a launch in most of Europe and the rest of the world until 2019 (according to most the big bike sites) hopefully you can feel assured the current series will be around a while yet for you to avail of.

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bikezero | 5 years ago
0 likes

Yeh, I clearly read that in your OP. I too have a technically better bike than the Triban 500 as i briefly mentioned in my post (not sure if it's ALOT better, but better). Congratulations on your bikes. My simple point was that the Triban 500 (a cheap bike) is, at least in my opinion, an even better value for the money deal than the good value 100. You say you want a faster "beater type" bike commuter and I was just saying that the 500 might be a bit faster and more comfortable than the 100 with it's carbon fork, weighing a full Kg less, having more gears (perhaps useful if you work in a town or city) and costing only a mere £100 more. Would seem a particularly relevant point to put to you when you explicity said you want to change the gear shifting system on the 100 if you buy it (and the wheels for that matter, whatever you intend to put in their place). The frame after all of the two bikes is aopparently identical.
I'm certainly not knocking the 100. If it's what you have your heart and budget set upon go ahead and enjoy. Cheers

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KoenM replied to bikezero | 5 years ago
0 likes
bikezero wrote:

Yeh, I clearly read that in your OP. I too have a technically better bike than the Triban 500 as i briefly mentioned in my post (not sure if it's ALOT better, but better). Congratulations on your bikes. My simple point was that the Triban 500 (a cheap bike) is, at least in my opinion, an even better value for the money deal than the good value 100. You say you want a faster "beater type" bike commuter and I was just saying that the 500 might be a bit faster and more comfortable than the 100 with it's carbon fork, weighing a full Kg less, having more gears (perhaps useful if you work in a town or city) and costing only a mere £100 more. Would seem a particularly relevant point to put to you when you explicity said you want to change the gear shifting system on the 100 if you buy it (and the wheels for that matter, whatever you intend to put in their place). The frame after all of the two bikes is aopparently identical. I'm certainly not knocking the 100. If it's what you have your heart and budget set upon go ahead and enjoy. Cheers

Problems is where I live the 500 is almost  2x the price (€260 vs €450), the STI is €50 (don't wanne change the whole shifting system) and a wheelset is about €100 so even with those it's still cheaper. Also the 1x is alot less hassle to maintain and are enough for me. Honestly I just want to pay the least I have to, when the bike gets stolen I want to pay the least amount to replace it. 

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bikezero | 5 years ago
0 likes

Also I would not like the shifter where it is either. It's a very distracting inconvenience to have to move an arm to change gears..surely not safe as you say. Presuming you would need to buy the Tourney shifters that will bring you up another £50, so again I would still consider the 500 (It also comes in black as opposed to red as i'm sure you are aware). You may think the Microshift system on the 500 would be lousy but like I say mine have worked flawlessly for 14 months of heavy use. Very smooth. Never gets stuck changing gears. I love them. It surprised me tbh because when I read online before I got my first model of this bike I didn't hear much anything positive said about that brand.

Interesting that Jterrier used the word schizophrenic, presumably referring to the frame? Very well put. You've hit the nail on the head. I have always thought this frame is quite beautiful with a sort of weird, old fashioned "futurist" look, if that would be the correct word.
It's perhaps even more apparent with the silver 100 model (though most people say the frame is identical to 500, so I believe that to be the case).

I was wondering if any other parts on the 100 were different that I hadn't noticed and I now see that the steerer or the piece that holds the handlebars (if steerer is the wrong term for that part) is not branded like the one on the 500- and on the other higher up models in the Triban series- which say "100" in big capital letters on them.
In fact now I compare the above front view picture in this article to my Triban 500 sitting in my hallway, it's definitely not the same part. The front only has two screws in it whereas the 500 has 4 at the front and an empty middle section which leaves visible the centre of target marker printed onto the handlebars.

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