Pics of my Btwin Triban 3

[Shawn Lee]

I have one of these, bought it in the spring. I love it, it's a great ride for the dollar & the shop owners I showed it too were surprised at it, one guy admitted he'd sell it for £200 more if it was in his shop & one woman simply would not accept this could have CF forks & alu frame, she went all around the thing tapping it! lol She even called a mechanic over to check. She said the CF must be a dud, a thin skin over steel.
One issue I had, the rear DR literally exploded on me, locking the DR into the wheel & throwing me to the ground. Luckily I had only just swung my leg over, I was doing 2mph. If that was at speed...
I want to lighten it, but fail to see where it can lose weight, maybe the seat post or HB stem, any ideas? Is it worth it?

 

[Rob3rt]

There are plenty places it could lose weight. Most usefully, with the tyres!

 

[Globalti]

Hmmmm.... I fitted the new wheels last night and this has revealed a new problem: the brake calipers are so cheaply made that the rear RH brake block doesn't contact the rim correctly and as it wears it will begin to rub the tyre bead. It's not possible to move it downwards as it's at the bottom of the slot in the brake arm.

About 3 weeks ago my son's rear tyre (a Specialized Pro All Condition) exploded when the kevlar cord actually broke out of the bead over a 4" length. This could have been a delayed effect from a catastrophic "derailleur in spokes" incident that happened when the tyre was on his previous bike - possibly the tyre got damaged and there are some odd scuff marks on the sidewall at each end of the exploded bead section. However I'm beginning to wonder if the brake had already begun to abrade the sidewall when the tyre was on the Triban, causing the failure. Doubtful really because experience tells me that you get ample warning of a brake contacting a tyre, it takes quite a while for significant damage to happen and he just hasn't had the bike that long.

So Triban owners, check your brake blocks and make sure they aren't rubbing or about to rub on the tyres.

The accident bent the bars round and both brakes and now I've discovered that the right hand STI shifter is damaged although it still works, so I'm on the hunt for a replacement 2300 eight speed STI unit.

 

[Edwards80]

Not sure what you mean by them being so cheaply made that they don't contact the rim?

You can move the brake block so that it contacts the rim correctly and just use the barrel adjuster to move the pad closer to the rim as it wears. Not had a problem with mine.

 

[Rob3rt]

Not sure what you mean by them being so cheaply made that they don't contact the rim?

You can move the brake block so that it contacts the rim correctly and just use the barrel adjuster to move the pad closer to the rim as it wears. Not had a problem with mine.

I think he means the maximum drop isn't quite large enough. But is this a case of cheaply made or a design fail (maybe this might be a frame design issue or one that isnt quite right and got through the cracks not a brake issue, i.e. brake mount placed oddly). I haven't taken much notice of my girlfriends Triban 3's brakes, although these posts remind me that I said I would give them the once over and set them up optimally for her. Also need to take it back to the store this weekend, for them to get a stray spoke nipple out of the box section and re-index the front mech (I tried, but I can not get rid of some rubbing issues).

 

[Globalti]

Looking at the brake from behind the bike, the RH brake arm is in a different posture to the left and looks shorter. My initial thought was poor design or just inaccurate manufacture but this would be a bit hard to believe; I haven't quite figured it out yet and need to have a better look this weekend. It might just be more accident damage.

...and don't tell me I need to swivel the brakes on their mounting bolt because I've tried that!

 

[black'n'yellow]

one woman simply would not accept this could have CF forks & alu frame, she went all around the thing tapping it! lol She even called a mechanic over to check. She said the CF must be a dud, a thin skin over steel.

Was she an employee?? If so, make sure you never go into that shop again...

 

[Shawn Lee]

Why? She was annoyed, I think, that I had the audacity to enter the shop with a bargain.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Why? She was annoyed, I think, that I had the audacity to enter the shop with a bargain.

no, what I mean is, anyone 'confused' enough to believe that a carbon fork might actually have a steel core should not be allowed anywhere near bikes...

 

[Alembicbassman]

Wheel bearings seem to be an issue on the Decathlon bikes. My B'Twin Rockrider has pitted cones after 1 year of dry road riding, both front and rear were lumpy. The balls don't seem to be good quality. I would replace them immediately with better balls and lots of grease, then set the cones correctly. They are not covered under warranty and are not checked for correct adjustment on the PDI, I spoke to the cycle dept manager about this. Unfortunate as most buyers will not have a clue how to check them.

 

[Kelvin_C-J]

So Triban owners, check your brake blocks and make sure they aren't rubbing or about to rub on the tyres.

Thanks for the warning.

I checked mine and all seemed fine except for the front right brake block, which I have now adjusted. It seemed the rear most end was fractionally rubbing on the tyre.

 

[Globalti]

Wheel bearings seem to be an issue on the Decathlon bikes. My B'Twin Rockrider has pitted cones after 1 year of dry road riding, both front and rear were lumpy. The balls don't seem to be good quality. I would replace them immediately with better balls and lots of grease, then set the cones correctly. They are not covered under warranty and are not checked for correct adjustment on the PDI, I spoke to the cycle dept manager about this. Unfortunate as most buyers will not have a clue how to check them.

Agreed, the bearings on my son's wrecked front wheel were awful after less than 100 miles. This is why a replacement wheel only costs £24.99! We've fitted some entry-level Shimano wheels, which should do better.

On the brakes, have a read of my thread about Btwin brakes here: http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/strange-triban-3-brake-problem-pictures.109471/

 

[defy-one]

I'm hoping you guys were just plain unlucky with your wheels. Done 100+ miles now and she runs really well and smooth. The adjustable short stem has made her into a great commuter now. A bit of foam under the hoods has made even that contact point comfortable without gloves

 

[nutmonkey]

Hi great looking bike, thinking about getting one but bit concerend about the quality of the gear change with them being lower down in the shimano range, how are you finding them?

Cheers.

 

[defy-one]

Gear changes are fine on my bike. The 105 on the defy are smoother,but the Triban is great too