Decathlon Riverside 5

[MoG]

Does anyone have any experience of this?? Looks to be pretty well put together, but I am a bit worried that for one thing it is a bit heavy at over 16kgs and I commute around 37 miles round trip daily. Also, do you think that not being able to lock out the forks would be a big disadvantage on this model?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/riverside-5-men-s-141401402/

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I have no experience of this model, but fwiw it seems to me it depends on what terrain you commute on and what sort of load capacity you need. It seems to me the Riverside is designed for slowish, long haul, heavy haulage duty.

Comparing with other bikes, it includes a rack (even light ones are around 700g), full mudguards (around 300g), kickstand (around 250g) and then suspension forks (say 2.5kg vs rigid at around 1kg). It even has a dynamo hub lighting system (no idea how heavy that is). The bike is not designed to be light.

If you want a fast commuter, I would have thought commuterising a road bike (such as their Tribans) or a light hybrid (such as one of their Fitness range) is the way to go with seatpost mounted rack and add-on mudguards. If the terrain requires it, wider tyres running at lowish pressure on a bike that can accommodate them will save weight, cut down maintenance requirements and likely offer better suspension than a pair of suspension forks at this price range.

 

[vernon]

I have a Decathlon Triban7 - the old style hybrid bike not the new road bike. I bought it in Orleans when my Dawes Galaxy frame broke and I judged it to be more cost effective to buy a replacement bike.


I have not been disappointed with the bike. I have subsequently done over 1000 miles of touring and 400km of Audax rides on it and it del;ivers a comfortable ride.

It has a similar spec to the Riverside though my fork have lock out. I'd double check to see if the Riverside has fork lock outs.

Decathlon bikes are under-rated. I have no reservations in recommending the Riverside.

I'd not worry about the weight of the bike it comes with a lot of things that you would have to add to a lighter bike e.g. dynamo lighting, mudguards and rear rack. The additional weight is negligible when considered alongside the total weight of the rider and bike. The weight would only make itself known to a very light rider pedalling up a very steep hill. On the flat the only noticeable difference is the acceleration - at constant speed the pedalling effort is more or less the same.

 

[MoG]

Thanks both for your replies.

My commute can either be 100% on road, mostly flattish with a few steep hills no more than 200metres long, or I can spend about 15 miles or so on the network of canals between Langley Mill and Sawley (for those of you who know the area).

I start work at 5 am, so both options will be very quiet. The return journey starting at 4.30pm is a different matter though!

I am (a young) 48 years old, so no longer worried too much about fashion or breaking any records, but do want to get home at a reasonable time!
My large family means I am on a tight budget, and can only afford one bike, which I need to be solid and reliable, so while I would dearly love a drop bar sports bike, I would worry about it being a bit fragile.

Thanks again for the advice, it is very much appreciated.

Edited to say - Riverside 5 forks deffo have no lock out - Riverside 6 does but its another £250! ( and Im not bothered about disk brakes anyway.)

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I was browsing in Decathlon today and they do look well-built in almost an over-engineered-tank kind of way.

I'd be tempted to look at the Carrera Subway from Halfords as an alternative, without any sapping suspension, or the Ridgeback Speed