Bad Diagnosis from Decathlon

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nickAKA

Über Member
Location
Manchester
You are all a funny lot. I started this thread to have a whinge about Decathlon's shoddy after-sales care, but everybody only seems interested in how the mechanics of the fastening device for the bottle cages work.

I'm an engineer by trade and have been cycling 'seriously' for a couple of years; I suspect I've learned more about bike maintenance & repair on here & other online sources than a lot of chain store employees will learn in their entire employment. To most of the employees it's just a job, they have no passion for it, they'll move on to something else as soon as an opportunity arises... in the meantime they just toe the party line and follow procedure and I wouldn't knock them for that tbh. You get the odd one who does know their stuff & cares enough to share their knowledge with you, the consumer, but they are the exception. Imagine how many daft questions they have to field on any given day, it must be soul destroying...

In summary, gain as much knowledge as you can on the subject (here is a good place to start, as is youtube) so you don't have to rely on the (let's be honest) poorly paid staff in multinational businesses who are trained to be largely be corporate drones or find a LBS who share you enthusiasm.
 
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Lozz360

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
So you knew way back in 2017 that his knowledge was extremely limited and yet you went back to him seeking advice for a more complicated problem. And now you have been able to diss Decathlon for not having expertly trained sales staff. :whistle:
No, no, no! I had every confidence in his opinion back then when I made the purchase. As I said it was his assistant that advised that the seat height could be adjusted!
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
That shop assistant was talking complete rubbish, we have great big heavy combined head light/ indicators lamps fitted on various fork trucks at work held in place with guess what, yep riv-nuts, they sometimes come loose and you just nip them up again, the bolt & two nuts & washer method is very effective, they don’t come loose due to over tightening!
 
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Deleted member 26715

Guest
That shop assistant was talking complete rubbish, we have great big heavy combined head light/ indicators lamps fitted on various fork trucks at work held in place with guess what, yep riv-nuts, they sometimes come loose and you just nip them up again, the bolt & two nuts & washer method is very effective, they don’t come loose due to over tightening!
Again not strictly true, when on a flat surface they get 360 degree grip if installed correctly, however when installed on a curved surface i.e. a tube they grip more on the two sides, if you over tighten them they can turn to a stop where they have not crushed quite as much & hence are loose.
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
Again not strictly true, when on a flat surface they get 360 degree grip if installed correctly, however when installed on a curved surface i.e. a tube they grip more on the two sides, if you over tighten them they can turn to a stop where they have not crushed quite as much & hence are loose.
Don’t think that’s really the case, these are not mounted on a flat surface, the upright leg of the over head guard is rounded steel, not tubing, but not far off, some do come loose, but as I say these lamps are heavy on steel brackets being bounced about outside on rough floors, that’s why I say the alleged bike mech is spouting B S, the only way I can see for bottle cage bosses to loosen due to over tightening is if you cross thread the bolts and really try to force them in, as they are usually supplied with Allen key head bolts you would probably round the inside of the bolt head with the Allen key first, my guess is the riv-nuts weren’t installed correctly in the first place, £259 for a new frame is a complete Mickey take.
 
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Lozz360

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
I just want to clarify a few points.

1) I did not over-tighten the bottle cage bolts. A fact that I have proved, to myself at least, as the bottle cage is now fastened, with the very same bolts and rib-nuts as before, and is now completely secure. The mechanic decided that I had over-tightened the bolts without properly looking at them. Somewhat annoying.

2) The down-tube on the B'Twin Ultra AF720 is not a circular tube. It is hydro-formed aluminium and as such is flat where the bottle cage riv-nuts are fitted.

3) Decathlon supply bikes at very good value and for this reason alone I would not want to put anyone off from purchasing a bike from them. However, after buying three of their bikes new since 2015, observations I have are that they can be very economical with providing enough grease in bearings and just not tightening stuff sufficiently. @DRM is spot on when he guessed that the riv-nuts were not installed properly in the first place.
 
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DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
I just want to clarify a few points.

1) I did not over-tighten the bottle cage bolts. A fact that I have proved, to myself at least, as the bottle cage is now fastened, with the very same bolts and rib-nuts as before, and is now completely secure. The mechanic decided that I had over-tightened the bolts without properly looking at them. Somewhat annoying.

2) The down-tube on the B'Twin Ultra AF720 is not a circular tube. It is hydro-formed aluminium and as such is flat where the bottle cage riv-nuts are fitted.

3) Decathlon supply bikes at very good value and for this reason alone I would not want to put anyone off from purchasing a bike from them. However, after buying three of their bikes new since 2015, observations I have are that they can be very economical with providing enough grease in bearings and just not tightening stuff sufficiently. @DRM is spot on when he guessed that the riv-nuts were not installed properly in the first place.
Exactly that, their bikes are good value, but the after sales experience is only as good as the employee that you speak to, it could have been vastly different in the next nearest store, I think the moral of the tale here is don't be afraid to have a go at keeping up with the maintenance of your bike yourself, there is always the option of a decent lbs for jobs that you don't feel comfortable doing, a quick post on here usually brings up some good recommendations.
Also I have found both the GCN how to videos and the Park tools videos on YouTube very helpful.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
Decathlon is French for Halfords.

The cheap bikes are just that, the dearer ones are decent and decent value, and the service is very variable.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
They are decent bikes but they're not built with longevity in mind. Last time I asked, a replacement front wheel was £25, which would explain why the bearings don't seem to last very long.

Decathlon kit is aimed at folk who want to use it for three weeks a year somewhere nice and warm and dry, I don't think their target market includes hardline commuters who want reliability in all weather conditions, all year round for many years.
 

Rocky

Hello decadence
I’ve been reminded by a dear friend that Halfords was established as a hardware store. Decathlon was established as a sporting goods store. So they are quite different.

Decathlon bikes are, on the whole, of good quality and keenly priced. If you’re ever in Lille, a visit to the Decathlon Campus is worth it.
 
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