New Commuter Bike

hooneeawr · 18 May 2016 at 14:29

I'm considering getting the following bike for general commuting and wetter weather cycling:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-flat-bar-road-bike-tiagra-id_8322798.html

Things I like:
Flat Bars, so a bit more upright cycling
Tiagra level gearing (same as my road bike)
Space for mudguards (probably SKS chromoplastics)
Rack Mounting points

I currently have an older 26 inch hybrid and I also have a reasonable road bike for road bike things.

Does anyone have experience with Decathlon bikes? What might I have missed in my requirements?

jpaul · 19 May 2016 at 18:12

How far do you commute on what kind of roads ?
the larger the distance, the more, exclusively flat bars, would be cumbersome ?
if its a rough road are mountain bike tyres more appropriate, in the dark there are so many pot holes and poor drain covers that would eat a 25mm tyre.
Presumably you have ruled out using your hybrid (or you could not put a rack on the hybrid?)

I have not had a decathlon bike - but do you have a local store for any issues ?

FrenchTart · 19 May 2016 at 18:16

If it's for wet weather riding you might want to consider disc brakes for a bit of added stopping power in the wet. I also use SKS Chromoplastics on my bike and whilst they're great if you're more bothered about coverage there are other options (Bluemels have additional flaps that would keep more water off, for instance).

I've only ever looked at Decathlon road bikes before but around the 300-700 level the options are well regarded so I'd hope the hybrids are similarly good (for hybrids)

PermaBanned · 19 May 2016 at 18:19

Considering the 105 level Triban is £500 atm with Mavic Aksiums I'd say that would be a bit of a strange buy. That takes up to 32mm tyres too.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-road-bike-105-id_8331275.html

Drop bars themselves do not have to be super aggressive, if you get the sizing and setup right you should be comfortable regardless, and the more neutral wrist position helps a lot on longer commutes.

If you don't just want to buy another road bike though, I don't see much point in getting pretty much exactly the same frame but with flat bars. An adventure/gravel bike would probably be more appropriate.

lordrobs · 20 May 2016 at 18:21

If you are going flat bar I'd strongly suggest taking advantage of the fact that flat bars open up a whole range of affordable hydraulic disc brake options.

jpaul · 21 May 2016 at 07:59

do you mean hydraulic brakes less available with an off the shelf drop handle machine, or do hydraulic brakes attached to curved brake levers on drops give poor control. ?
[i have drops on a touring/commuting bike with currently cantilever and had wondered if hydraulic would give sensitivity/linear control] - not trying to derail the thread too much

Vonhelmet · 21 May 2016 at 08:21

Hydraulics on drop bars are expensive.

lordrobs · 21 May 2016 at 15:47

Yup, what Von said. Basically hydraulic brakes have been common place on mid range MTB's and hybrids for years so the price has gone down simply due to economies of scale.

PermaBanned · 21 May 2016 at 16:12

I dunno if it is economies of scale, they pretty much use the same brakes. It's just more a case of road bikes being more expensive in general with the more complex bar and shifter setup, and different spec levels of bikes generally improving "everything a little bit" rather than "one thing a lot".

lordrobs · 21 May 2016 at 16:21

PermaBanned said:
I dunno if it is economies of scale, they pretty much use the same brakes. It's just more a case of road bikes being more expensive in general with the more complex bar and shifter setup, and different spec levels of bikes generally improving "everything a little bit" rather than "one thing a lot".

Yeah economies of scale was the wrong term. It is the filtering down of technology/development that has caused them to drop in price. Hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes, in the grand scheme of things, are new technology where as they are standard fit on mid range hybrids and MTBs. There is also an added complexity with the levers performing a dual purpose on drop bars.

hooneeawr · 22 May 2016 at 17:13

jpaul said:
How far do you commute on what kind of roads ?
the larger the distance, the more, exclusively flat bars, would be cumbersome ?
if its a rough road are mountain bike tyres more appropriate, in the dark there are so many pot holes and poor drain covers that would eat a 25mm tyre.

It's actually only a couple of miles, though it could go more in future. Would be all road though.

jpaul said:
Presumably you have ruled out using your hybrid (or you could not put a rack on the hybrid?)

Actually I already am, this is to be a replacement as it's about 8 years old and everything about it is needing replaced.

PermaBanned said:
Considering the 105 level Triban is £500 atm with Mavic Aksiums I'd say that would be a bit of a strange buy. That takes up to 32mm tyres too.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-540-road-bike-105-id_8331275.html

Dang, make thing confusing why don't you! Actually this one was still £600 when I last checked. But now a £1 cheaper...

Hmm, haw, hmm, haw...

remy87 · 7 Jun 2016 at 16:12

Consider racks and pannier's. Considerable more comfortable. If it's reasonable flat I would go with a single speed/fixed , guards and racks with pannier tons easier to maintain.
On one pompino gets my thumbs up. Can take 30+ tyres

jpaul · 8 Jun 2016 at 13:55

seeing brief reference to mango point AR in main road cycling thread, for 669 you have
tiagra, rack-points, discs and drops ?
may need a nice lock too (that was always my big concern for commuting bike)

[their web site seems bloated took ages to load for me]

Vonhelmet · 8 Jun 2016 at 14:02

remy87 said:
Consider racks and pannier's. Considerable more comfortable. If it's reasonable flat I would go with a single speed/fixed , guards and racks with pannier tons easier to maintain.
On one pompino gets my thumbs up. Can take 30+ tyres

I sold mine because the combination of track ends and mudguards mean that getting the rear wheel off to fix a puncture would be a pig. I now have a Genesis Flyer, which is great, and has forward facing Campagnolo style dropouts which are much better in those sorts of circumstances.

remy87 · 14 Jun 2016 at 18:23

Hmm interesting the flyer. Will look into that.
However if you fit Schwalbes marathons you will probably never get a puncture in normal circumstances apart from the valve that might fail in a years of usage. My 12k miles marathons never once had a puncture but had valve failue each 12-18 months of usage.