Triban 3 - review ish.

[Chescadence]

Guys,

Lots of people are looking to get into cycling now so this will hopefully be food for thought:

I had a very basic road bike for a year or so whilst I was getting into cycling; a few months ago I decided to upgrade..I started looking around at bikes from £300-700; tested a fair few but eventually settled on the cheapest one I tested. I honestly can't recommend the Btwin triban 3 highly enough, it felt imho comparable (easily comparable) to the FAR more expensive bikes i tested, it's pretty light for the money with carbon forks which give it a nice ride. Personally, I think the frame is worth investing in, e.g.:

Spend an extra £200 when you can for some lighter wheels/tires and you'll have a really REALLY good, value for money bike for that price- You'd struggle to find anything better for £500. The basic, standard bike without any upgrades is compared to bikes 2/3 times it's price (bike magazines agree).

Seriously worth considering,
C

 

[Widge]

Yup......I for one concur.....I don't think anyone has been SERIOUSLY disappointed by their T3....although it is not immune to a bit of disgruntle.

As you say...a good way to get into tring road-biking for first-timers (like me!) and hey.......we even have a Triban Owners Club starting up for all us sad deluded cheapskate Red and Whobbly-Wheeled Tribanites!



w

Ps...it will be interesting to see how many TRibbles have upgraded to a Pinarello Rokh by this time next year! (or-alternatively - how many Tribs suddenly hit the Wants Ads, eBay and local skips! )

 

[Onthedrops]

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/triban-3-owners-club.121260/ check it out, it's gonna be massive!!!

 

[malcermie]

Still only twenty miles on my Trbian clock and now the snow is coming!! Still soon be spring and I intend to use it on the London to Brighton in June

 

[Chescadence]

Still only twenty miles on my Trbian clock and now the snow is coming!! Still soon be spring and I intend to use it on the London to Brighton in June

Good stuff!! I've been riding mine for a few months; great so far, a lot faster- I avg around 16-19mph over the 30-50mile rides I've done on it. Rides nicely down hills and climbs pretty well.

Once the wheel bearings wear I'll upgrade to better lighter set of wheels and that's me done for a while! I upgraded to clipless pedals and threw on some better tires and that's all.

Happy riding!
C

 

[malcermie]

Yup......I for one concur.....I don't think anyone has been SERIOUSLY disappointed by their T3....although it is not immune to a bit of disgruntle.

As you say...a good way to get into tring road-biking for first-timers (like me!) and hey.......we even have a Triban Owners Club starting up for all us sad deluded cheapskate Red and Whobbly-Wheeled Tribanites!



w

Ps...it will be interesting to see how many TRibbles have upgraded to a Pinarello Rokh by this time next year! (or-alternatively - how many Tribs suddenly hit the Wants Ads, eBay and local skips! )

I certainly won't! With a price higher by an order of magnitude I am sure it won't feel ten times better to me I shall still be polishing my darling Triban, still haven't named her.

 

[Portableaj]

Good stuff!! I've been riding mine for a few months; great so far, a lot faster- I avg around 16-19mph over the 30-50mile rides I've done on it. Rides nicely down hills and climbs pretty well.

Once the wheel bearings wear I'll upgrade to better lighter set of wheels and that's me done for a while! I upgraded to clipless pedals and threw on some better tires and that's all.

Happy riding!
C

do u use clipless pedal if so which shoes and pedals do u use

 

[Biker Joe]

The only negative comments I've heard about the Triban are about the wheels, tyres and the quality of the paint job.
Otherwise I think that they've come up with a superb bike for the cycling masses.
It puts me in mind of when Germany came up with the VW Beatle. Cheap and reliable transport for the people.
The Triban, however, is much prettier than the VW Beatle

 

[Chescadence]

do u use clipless pedal if so which shoes and pedals do u use

I do yes, I changed the pedals immediaely to look pedals; spd-sl pedals would be fine as well but look seemed a bit cheaper.

As. for shoes, I bought seem cheap muddyfox shoes;however they're much too bendy for my liking so I'm in the process of upgrading. My advice would be to look for carbon soledshoes, the added stiffness is really noticable- you can pick up cheapish great shoes second hand (this is what I'm doing now).

Hope that helps!
C

 

[Chescadence]

The only negative comments I've heard about the Triban are about the wheels, tyres and the quality of the paint job.
Otherwise I think that they've come up with a superb bike for the cycling masses.
It puts me in mind of when Germany came up with the VW Beatle. Cheap and reliable transport for the people.
The Triban, however, is much prettier than the VW Beatle

Not too sure about the painjob issues; I've ad no problems or complaints anyway. Tires are OK but replacing is adviceable (pretty cheap fix) I think the main downside to the T3 is the wheels but if you accept that you'll need to upgrade them after 1500 miles or so you've got areally good little machine for £300+the cost of a cheapish wheelset. In addition, it would make a great winter trainer when upgrade arive...

C

 

[Chescadence]

When upgrade time arrives*