Ok so I’ve found myself thinking “winter bike”. Let hear your experiences, particularly compared to your good bike and any experience of ridicule in club rides please 😀

Or 5’s, for that matter.

triban 3. Used since november for commuting and leading winter club runs. New stem and saddle fitted at outset and front hub packed with grease as it was a little dry. Works fine, not had any issues with the gears or brakes, perfectly capable for club runs, there’s at least one other in our club thats been out during the winter. I use a caradice bag on the rear and sks long blades for commuting. For summer i’ll probably just use it for commuting but that’s because I have two nicer bkes not any real defficiency in the triban. The only comment I had at club runs was that it made more sense using one of them than the carbon bling and electric gears some people were turning up with in the depths of winter.

quick edit, i know you inserted a smiley but tbh if anyone ridicules someone for turning up to a club run on a cheap bike which is fully functional and safe they are probably a bit of a tw*t

Do a search on here, few recent threads on them.

In brief i had one for 6 months or so, simply cant beat it for the money.

Mine has been great – I’ve made a few small mods (saddles, spds from mountain bike), but nothing major. I spent a little time checking that everything was tight and adjusted correctly (the brakes could have been set up a little better), but the shop was very busy when I bought it as it was during the olympics last summer. I used mine for a 100k ride recently without any problems, it was more comfortable than I expected a road bike to be over that distance.

they no longer have the carbon fork. Just so you know…

my bro has one (with Carbon fork) it’s a great bike for the money. sure some of the kit is a bit cheap looking (what do you expect) but the frame is great. it weighs the same as my boardman which was twice the price.

I have a Triban five and am blown away by the value for money. I use it to commute 20 miles a day and its very comfy. I am just over 6 foot and had to go for the XL one so make sure you try before you get one.

The guys in Decathalon didnt do a very good job of setting it up, gears were almost indexed which annoyed me and brakes were way off. So you might need to take it to a proper bike shop if your not happy spannering yourself.

I think I can notice the carbon rear end coming from a very rigid alloy Coppi that I was borrowing from DezB. I managed to rip both tyres pretty quickly so I think they were pretty poor but other than that. Its an awesome fast light bike for £500!

thomthumb – Member
they no longer have the carbon fork. Just so you know…

That’s not what it says on Decathlon’s web site….

and any experience of ridicule in club rides please

Ride what you like ,make it fit,ride it hard and any ridicule will stop.
They soon shut up once they can’t drop you 🙂

Says a man that regularly turns up on a CX bike with midge bars and skinny tyres at club runs.

thomthumb – Member
they no longer have the carbon fork. Just so you know…

That’s not what it says on Decathlon’s web site….

White ones don’t Red ones do, white ones being the new stock coming in

Nice bikes, the wheels and tyres aren’t amazing – the hubs need greasing when you get them, and the brakes are a bit so so.

My Triban 5 is white and has a carbon fork and rear seat stays…

whereabouts are you based? i’ve got a (from decathlon) Viking road bike, they had it last year and it sat between the triban 3 and 5 in terms of spec… good condition, happy to let it go for a low price as its sitting in a cupboard at work and i’m not using it anymore 🙂

new dog and resulting need to get home quicker have stopped me riding it, plus it did its job of helping me shift some lbs before my wedding

Had mine for a couple of years, Sport 2 rather than Triban 5 – think it’s the same model using the previous name, certainly same price. Great bike for what it cost, after a year or so I got some Mavic Aksiums and decent tyres, which made it even better…

Phil, where are you, and what size?

Same for me Phil please – In in London but travel about nationally – email in profile……

based near swinley forest, work in reading (where the bike is at the moment)

viking race ‘san remo’, sora groupset, carbon fork, double at the front not a tripple, i’ve added a charlie the bikemonger sticker and the saddle has been changed for a sgd ‘iFly’ saddle on an i-beam post to whip a fair bit of weight off the bike as the saddle it came with was a bit of a lump. the iFly is in decent enough condition, not shiny but no rips or tears. tyres still in good condition and its even still got the little bell it came with 😀

the size isn’t marked on it annoyingly but i’m 6ft and i think i went for the medium or large… as with all road bikes its worth sitting on as the sizing (Especially on bikes in this price bracket) can be a bit misleading

bought it for £360 in the sale as it was down from 425 i think…. happy to let it go for half (180) that with the original saddle, maybe 200 ONO with the ibeam and lightweight iFly saddle

couple of small scratches to the paintwork but nothing deep enough for rust to get in, kept inside a warm office or warm kitchen, never outside 🙂

EDIT – oh yeah, its done less than 400miles if i’m completely honest with myself and my pathetic attempt to commit to riding to work 😆

Great bike for the money, go for the older stock of the 3 (red) or 5 (white) as they have more carbon. The new stock is down graded to no carbon on the 3 (white) and only a carbon fork on the 5 (black).

Though the new 5 (black) is also dropped in price to £429.99

Phil – I’m 5’11 and 3/4 so sounds good, I’m definately interested as I especially wanted a double (compact). I normally ride 56/57 but with 100mm stem.

Can you send me some pics to my email which is in my profile, and let me know when would you be about to have a look at at / potential purchase? FWIW I’m coming working near Reading next Tuesday 🙂

email sent 🙂