UPDATE June 2024 - TRIBAN RC 120 Decathlon Road Bike - Owner's View On a £350 Road Bike
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- Summary of a ''cheap'' but well praised road bike. Is it worth it ? Well nearly 18 months / 24 months in now, can't quite remember when I bought the beast ! But I absolutely LOVE this bike I really do. Best £350 I have ever shelled out on .
It just keeps on doing its thing and it NEVER has let me down. In 2023/24 the weather has been windy and wet so I did ride it less, but it rewards any sort of riding and I have kept it fairly standard. I bought some rechargeable LED lights from Halford's and they are chaeap but effective and NO BATTERIES either.
I am now almost 2 years in and this bike is still giving me the grin factor ! I still give it 5 out of 5 and no never crashed it and bent the frame either LOL. Apparently you can bend the frame as the rear mech. doesn't flex, so I am told ?
When I wrote this I was four months in and here is what I said:
''....... with a (cartridge brake type as opposed to disc) Triban RC120 mens road bike (medium frame size) . This has shown itself as a capable road bike and a good one for all levels, except perhaps those who wish to spend lots of £ thousands, on an all carbon bike with bells and whistles etc.
Why the good reviews in the cycling press? Is it worth all the praise ?
I think that an owners review is generally better than a bike journalist review (but they can be useful as I say it helped me buy one after reading a review in ''Bike Radar'') ; someone who uses the bike for one day or a weekend if you're lucky will have a shallower view ; but a good indicator of the broad qualities of the bike. So here is an owners review of the Triban RC120 by DECATHLON which is the French giant sports shop, that has spread to Britain and beyond. Triban is it's own in house bike brand.
I rate it out of 10 and see if the journalistic praise and hype is deserved and whether this bike is a good entry level road bike for £350.
If you look at my video review you'll see that , bearing in mind value for money, this is a capable and very decent road bike. Ideal for the entry rider as well as the more experienced rider too, like myself, who wants a decent but inexpensive road bike. I think if I had a mind I'd change the tyres to give them a dual gravel/trail and road capability. But to be fair the stock road tyres are good enough and will cope with some basic light trails. The stock tyres are excellent on normal road surfaces.
Okay so I said I'd rate it out of ten. Fair enough I will. For the ride experience, quality, cost and ease of use it has to be a brilliant : 10/10. See the Bike Radar (2019) review in comment section (they give it 5 out of 5) on this bike, which did prompt me to eventually buy one ! This bike has no right to be so good. If it were £1,000 plus I'd not have been surprised, but this is a superb bike for the money ; it is £350 well spent and absolutely no regrets on my part. I have no hesitation in recommending it to you. I don't think you'll be dissapointed. If you want the disc brake version I think it is £150 more to purchase.
The ''Bike Radar'' review was totally correct and he gave it 5 out of 5 so bike reviews can be a good indicator and fair play to ''Bike Radar'' ! ''
ADDENDUM : August 2023 update: a 30.5 mile mixed trail and cycleway plus road ride today (7th August) and the TRIBAN RC 120 handled it so well. It is solid, but lightweight, is predictable in handling and the micro shift is superb. This bike even handled some muddy trails well today, not something I'd normally do with a road bike but I took a path which I had to continue down. Very inspiring ride and I know if needs be this bike is good for a 100 miles a day riding if I go down that path. When the tyres wear out I will replace them with a more hybrid tyre to give it light trails capabilities. Still very pleased with this bike.
I have criticised journalists who review bikes, that is they don't own them longer term. However, Simon Withers from the site: 'Bike Radar'' said this: ' In 20-plus years testing bikes (from at least 120 different brands and counting) I rarely award five stars - in fact, I can’t even remember the last time I gave top marks. But this Triban deserves it and is the best sub-£400 bike I’ve ever ridden.''
His review did influence me and made me curious to find out more, Decathlon in the TRIBAN RC 120 has created a stonking bike IMHO. I have owned the TRIBAN for about 3 months now and am very happy with it.
Bike Radar review - this is the fullsome praise review where the bike journo gives it full marks. Partly this is why I got the bike on the back of this review. It is from 2019.
www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes/triban-rc120-review/
Hello!!!...I bought it 1 week ago...I have a Cannondale hardtail MTB and a Ghost double suspension MTB...it looks so good as the other
ones just for less than the half price!!!
Yes I have only one bike at the moment. It is so good that I am reluctant to get an electric MB/Hybrid. The Triban is a well designed and great value machine.
This bike is stunning - why pay £1,000 plus for a road bike ?