Triban RC 500 Disc Road Bike

The remarkable Triban RC 500 is better than any £500 bike has any right to be. Unless you have serious go-faster ambitions, it's hard to see why you'd buy any other drop-handlebar bike in its price range.

• Pros: Friendly, accessible ride and handling; superb spec for the money
• Cons: Not light

The Triban RC 500 shares a frame with its £730 big brother, the RC 520, which we reviewed at the end of 2018 and rated very highly indeed. To shave £200 off the price Decathlon has dropped the groupset two levels to 9-speed Shimano Sora instead of 11-speed Shimano 105, used cable rather than semi-hydraulic disc brakes and fitted heavier wheels. But out on the road none of this matters very much because many of the components are the same, especially ones that determine ride feel.

> Buy now: Triban RC 500 Disc Road Bike from Decathlon for £649.99 

The result is a bike that's just as reassuring, welcoming and accessible to ride as the RC 520, but cheaper. That's been a very appealing prospect for a lot of riders: Decathlon tells us that the UK's first shipment of RC 500s, which was expected to last six months, sold out in just three months.

For this review, I rode the Triban RC 500 and Triban RC 520 back-to-back. That was an interesting exercise as it brought home to me just how much the frame, tyres and tyre pressure determine how a bike feels to ride. That's fairly obvious, but it was nevertheless illuminating to swap between bikes with a 10psi difference in the tyres, for example.

Let's take a look at the differences between the RC 520 and RC 500.

The Ride

For all practical purposes the ride of the two Triban RCs is indistinguishable. Like its big brother, the Triban RC 500 bowls merrily along when you feed it even relatively modest effort. There's a pleasant, floaty feeling to both bikes. They demand very little in the way of concentration even at significant downhill speeds, and they cruise uphill with aplomb.

The upright riding position inspires a generally unhurried attitude; this is very much a bike for sitting up and admiring the scenery. The position on the drops is deep enough to be useful for fighting a headwind or getting down to bomb a descent, but it's by no means a Mark Cavendish flat-back super-tuck, even with the stem slammed.

I usually like a stretched, go-fast position, but I enjoyed the upright stance of the Triban RCs. It forces you to relax and smell the spring flowers, and we could all do with a bit of that.

The ride of the two bikes is so similar because they're identical in two of the ways that matter most: frame and tyres. The frame dictates the riding position and handling, while the tyres contribute significantly to the bike's feel. With 80psi in them, the 28mm-wide Triban Resist+ tyres roll well for relatively inexpensive rubber, and their width cushions against crummy road surfaces and minor potholes.

I even did a bit of messing around on dirt roads on the RC 500, including losing my way while trying to follow a Roman road and getting an amiable telling off from a gamekeeper in a big twin-cab pick-up. I'd turned when I should have gone straight on, apparently, and put myself on a gravel road that was doable going up, but quite the challenge coming down. Decathlon now offers a gravel edition of the Triban RC 520, with 36mm tyres, which would have been handy. The RC 500's dirt road capabilities are seriously limited by its tyres, though on flatter trails its forgiving handling means it pootles along nicely.

Gearing

Where the RC 520 has an 11-speed Shimano 105 R7000 transmission, the RC 500 gets Shimano's 9-speed Sora shifting. The Sora shifters have a slightly heavier feel than the 105; a tiny bit more effort is required to effect the shift, but it's a barely-perceptible difference and I could easily be suffering from confirmation bias.

Importantly, both bikes have 11-32 cassettes, so the gear range is the same. I think Decathlon missed a trick in not fitting 11-34 cassettes to these bikes. All bikes should have as low a bottom gear as possible; sooner or later you're going to be grateful for it.

One advantage the Triban RC 520 has over the Triban RC 500 is that the RC 520's Shimano 105 GS rear derailleur can be persuaded to work with an 11-40 cassette if you want super-low gearing. This involves bending Shimano's rules a bit but it works.

You can do something similar, but not quite as extreme with the RC 500. All Shimano 9-speed components are interchangeable, so if you want a lower bottom gear on your RC 500, you can fit a £14 12-36 cassette and a £26 Alivio rear mech.

Brakes

The Triban RC 500 has cable-operated Promax DSK-300R disc brakes with semi-metallic pads, while the RC 520 has TRP HY RD disc brakes which are actuated by cables but have a hydraulic final stage. The TRP brakes are undeniably better, with a softer feel, better modulation and more out-and-out stopping power when you need it.

But you know what? The Promax DSK-300Rs aren't bad at all. They've a firm feel, plenty of power and a very decent ability to bring the bike's speed under control. They're not better than good rim brakes, but they are a whole lot better than many of the rim brakes on £500 bikes, especially if those bikes have room for wide tyres and mudguards. And they're completely silent: no rubbing, no brake noise.

Wheels

Both Triban RCs come with tubeless-capable wheels. The RC 500's are heavier at a claimed 2,200g/pr versus the 2,000g wheels on the RC 520. Any reduction in the weight of a bike is a good thing, on paper at least, but you really can't detect the wheel weight difference while riding. However, the rim joints on the lighter wheels are welded rather than pinned so they should be more durable.

Details

The two bikes differ in one small but irritating practical detail. On the RC 520 the cable to the rear brake runs inside the left-hand chainstay. On the RC 500 it sits on the outside. This is unavoidable because it's dictated by the location of the cable stop and lever on the brake itself, but it means your heels can occasionally catch the cable. Other than speccing a different brake, there's not much Decathlon can do about this.

Otherwise, the bar, stem, tape, saddle and seatpost are identical.

Conclusion

The RC 500 is a very, very good bike for £530. It has a welcoming, approachable ride, decent brakes, and a usefully wide gear range. What I like most about it is its versatility. Mounts for mudguards and racks, and plenty of room around the tyres mean it'll make a brilliant year-round commuter, and a great light tourer. It's an easy bike to cover distance on too, so if you're not in a screaming hurry it'll happily take you from your first long-ish rides to 100-milers and more.

There's little else at this price range that comes close to matching the Triban RC 500's level of equipment. You just don't find a Shimano 9-speed Sora transmission on £500 bikes. Cannondale's CAAD Optimo Sora is £750 as are the Norco Indie Drop A and Trek Domane AL 3; the Specialized Allez E5 Sport is £850. Some of those bikes have frames that are arguably better – or at least lighter – than the Triban RC 500's, but an extra £200 is a lot to save a few grams on a frame. The Pinnacle Laterite 2 is the only exception, but it lacks the stylish two-piece Sora chainset and is quite a bit more speed-orientated than the RC 500. Almost everything else in the price range, like the Boardman SLR 8.6 (£550), Trek Domane AL 2 (£595) and even the £649 Cube Attain, has 8-speed Claris gears.

> Buyer's Guide: 10 of the best £500 to £750 road bikes

Its spec makes the RC 500 superb value for money, but that wouldn't count for much if it was no fun to ride. Fortunately, that's far from the case. This is a deeply enjoyable bike, made more so by the fact that as you ride you can allow yourself a little frisson of smugness at how little you've spent on it.

Verdict

Excellent commuter and all-day cruiser that's amazing value for money