We Bought A £350 Entry Level Bike in 2023 - This Is INSANE Value

Triban RC120 Road Bike - it suprised us.

The following companies (that you'll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:
Attacus Cycling,
SCOTT,
MET Helmets,
Shimano,
fidlock,
Hutchinson Tyres
Sungod
Tailfin
GT85
Garmin
Parcours Wheels

#cycling #bikes #bicycle

[Cade_Media]

Small correction on component sizes, here's what they claim on their website, but our Medium came with a 100mm stem which seems to be an anomaly:
Handlebar width end to end: XS, S: 400 mm
M, L:420 mm.XL: 440mm
Stem Length: XS, S, M: 90mm
L, XL: 110mm

[Pointillax]

I've worked at Decathlon in the bike section in France, and I can tell you they care about it deeply. The goal is really to make some good sport gear at a reasonable price. I had to prove to the shop that I had experience in cycling so that I was able to give good advices to the customers and every bike that comes through the hangar doors is setup in the store by an employee. Sometimes, if the store is crowded and you have to setup a bike quickly you kind of rush some adjustments, but in general the bikes that come out of the shop are ready to ride, for the average cyclists.
From what I understood while working there, the goal is really to get a selling price as close to the manufacture cost as possible, the profit would come from accessories, clothing and insurances.

[kalilebron]

That's my bike! The RC 120! Upgraded the groupset to sora, wheels to Shimano RS100 - all after 15000kms! Thank you for covering this.

[demonstructie]

That's exactly my experience at Decathlon: the people there don't know anything but they're extremely friendly and helpful. Which compares quite favorably to the average bike shop, where they're all too often neither knowledge nor friendly nor willing to help, yet for some reason expect you to pay more 🤷🏻‍♀️

[cameronmcbride]

I work at Decathalon in the cycling department and have been blown away by their value for money and overall service. Yes I may be abit biased but I also agree that some things can be some small improvements with some lower tier models. The real vaule comes with their higher tier models.
I ride their Van Rysel RCX CF GRX “cyclocross bike” and it compares really well with the bikes I have had in the past like cannondale and cinelli.
You should get bike fitter James’ opinion on this bike, it would make for a interesting video.
I love all the videos you guys make but this ones really cool!!

[JakeMay]

Best thing about Decathlon is the magical tills where you just drop what you're buying in a special basket and it automatically knows what everything is

[luigibrioschi]

Decathlon has made gigantic steps in regards to quality for their cycling products... Their VanRysel line, both bikes and clothes, is fantastic and if people gave them a chance they would put most brands out of market

[azenyr]

This comment might be random but... I was never a bike guy, but I ride my bike almost every other day for fun and even take it to dirt roads and have some good afternoons on it. The thing is: its a chinese bike that I got from a random ass store like 10 years ago for like 100€ only, it has full disk brakes and shimano gears and front and rear suspension, and I always felt it was good. I've thrown that bike to the ground, fell down with it many times, smashed through some pot holes, oh my god I've done so much shit to that bike. It still has all the original parts, even original tires, very worn down tho. Never lubed the chain, never cared for it. That bike has seen hell. And it still to this day rides like no problem, everything works, zero squeaking, zero wobblyness. So every time in this video that you guys say that "these wheels are not very high quality, they might last a month or two" I'm like what the fck? Do I have diamond wheels on mine or something? I'm sure that for 99% of people this bike will last literally 15 years or more easily, with ZERO maintenance. I know you guys are used to high end premium bikes but don't forget that cheap ass bikes are unkillable and most people use them until they rust away. This 350£ bike in this video is like gucci to me, but at he same time I kinda laugh that my chinese one has disk brakes and this one doesn't. Oh well, guess I eiher have a unicorn bike or these guys are blind to the low end market and/or biased to their premium bikes.

Just please don't say a freaking wheel on a 350£ bike will last two months... even the cheapest wheel will last many many years

[onemorecyclist]

It's so refreshing to see one of our YouTube cycling stars give a little shout out to a true budget bike. I have a Triban RC520 and it's been absolutely fantastic as a weekend machine, commuter and even tourer. Just converted it to a gravel set up too. Kudos to you guys and all the great content on the channel! Happy cycling!

[thebikepackingadventurer]

Decathlon are so good in the UK and all across europe. Great pricing for lots of gear not just bikes, and always pretty helpful staff.

[oliverstuart]

I've never bought a Decathlon bike, I tend to go for higher end second hand bikes, but I've bought loads of everything else from them. Their cycling clothing is excellent, I've got rucksacks, hiking gear, sailing and swimming stuff. It's all been great and amazing value for money, and often gives more expensive brands a run for their money. They seem to give thought to all of their products. Even if you are buying at the cheap end of their range it's rarely terrible and almost always the market leader in quality at any given price point.

[petertreadway]

My first bike was a Triban 500SE for £250 back in 2016 and it was (and still is) bullet proof. I now use it as my winter beater and can’t fault it. It has a Claris groupset and microshift gears and, for the price, it’s an awesome bike.

I’ve also just put microshift gears on a flat bar hybrid that I’ve converted to a drop bar gravel and, again, they’re working perfectly. 👌🏻

[MA-nxmd]

Love this kinda content. Not everyone can afford super expensive bikes

[kevcycles]

The RC100 was my first road bike. Made me fall in love with the sport. I’ve since upgraded, but I will never forget the amazing rides it took me on! Thanks for covering such a great value bike!

[tyneskipper]

Good stuff gents.
I'm a Decathlon fan.
they're friendly and helpful to people who haven't much road cycling experience.
i picked up a Hybrid because i needed a commuter bike rather than a roadie. plus there's the elephant in the room - i was massively fat when i picked it up. a bit smaller now (30 kilos off)but i will look to Decathlon for a roadie because they've been supportive and helpful to my journey.

their stuff is insane value for money.
for me though - the best thing is that their entire cycling range isn't gated for thin cyclists only. i have commented before that I was a very obese cyclist trying to lose weight and get fit.
they do stock cycling clothing in the 2XL and above range (as someone who's gone from 4XL tops to 2XL it's a wonderful thing to not feel like your size makes you unwelcome in the community).

[TheGrandmasterMan]

Given how insane bike prices have become and not everyone has the budget (or the the will) to spend several thousand, I appreciate this video very much. Can see me buying one of these at some point. As a casual cyclist, who just wants to go out for a short blast, this would do me fine.

[MrKanishq]

I might be too late here, but in 2019, I purchased this bike as a student for a great discount for 199€ from Decathlon, when it was still called as the BTWIN 100. I've have it to date with all stock parts. Only consumed few tubes and on my 3 rd set of tire and second set of brake pads. Absolute workhorse of a bike. I used it for getting to lectures, part time jobs, leisure activities, fitness....you name it. I've even been on a 80km ride multiple times and was as happy and energetic as some fellow riders with 2-3k € road bikes. To be honest I was more comfortable than them because I have a flat bar. I love technology but I really do not see the purpose of having expensive bikes. Reference from my second bike, which is a 1500€ job bike, that I spend more to fit me better but still does not fit me as well as this little guy.

[gavinequinn]

I bought a 2nd hand Triban RC520 in 2020 as a temp winter bike. My summer bike broke, and due to a lack of availability I used it as my year round up to this past winter. Changed the wheelset and serviced it, that has been it. Done plenty of fast group rides, long rides and bike packing and it has been grand. Not the last word in comfort or speed, but even if I bought it new, it was and continues to be insanely good value.

[chrisharvey]

Thanks for posting videos on cheaper end bikes. I still have a PB on Strava when I used the older model of this bike (btwin triban 500) in small with 650c wheels. It made it a lot of fun, and you could rag it around and not really care too much. Great video

[connormcc]

My first road bike back in 2013 I think, was a Decathlon Triban 3 - and even back then it was amazing value for money! So many of us are obsesses with carbon frames, wheels, power meters etc etc... but genuinely as far as a beginner, someone new to cycling, or just someone looking for an everyday bike, it's hard to look past Decathlon to get a reasonably good bike without spending a fortune.