Triban 3 update.

[Alan57]

Well after 12 weeks of riding I returned my Triban 3 to Decathlon . The trouble was ,after lots of attempts to adjust the front mech I was still getting intermitent rubbing of the chain when on the outer chainring. I checked it and was sighting down the chainring from above and noticed there was about a quarter of an inch side to side movement in the chainrings , hence the intermitent rubbing and no amount of tweaking would resolve it and the pedals, bottom bracket were tight. I contacted Decathlon and they picked the bike up for inspection. When I called to ask what they would do they said because of the scratches on the bike they would replace it anyway , don`t know if got damaged by the courier re the scratches. However, I had been toying with the idea of putting a shorter stem on the 57cm triban as I felt a little stretched and my arms were stretched straight out. Also when I used the forearm from front of saddle to handlebars, I know it`s only a basic guide, there was about 30+cm gap between the handlebars and my fingertips. So I asked if they would replace the 57cm to a 54cm. I am just a little over 5`9" with 32 " inseam, I must say the 54 feels a better fit for me , the forearm distance is spot on and , again I know it`s only a basic guide, but I cannot fully see the front hub from the bars whereas they were way out past the bars on the 57cm. I will probably keep this for a little while longer but am really looking at a Cube Peloton for my next bike and there are 2 dealers near me so I can check out size wise before I buy . Still like my Triban though and decathlon are A1 as far as i`m concerned for customer service.

 

[Dangermouse]

Its nice to see a shop giving great after sales service, this may come as a supprise as Halfords normally take a slating, but our local Halfords has some very good mechanics who do know their stuff when it comes to bikes and really do give great aftercare.

 

[stephen.rooke]

get some spd pedals, youll enjoy the bike more :d

 

[Alan57]

Looking at getting some Shimano M520 SPD Pedals soon seen them for £16.99 inc p&p which seems like a good price.

 

[stephen.rooke]

i love riding with spds, just makes me feel safer on the bike especially in the wet, with normal pedals my feet slip

 

[biggs682]

glad to hear you are enjoying and that you had a good decathlon experiance

 

[Banjo]

Bit of luck being able to change the size.It definitely sounds like the 57 was too big.

 

[Brodel]

They allowed you to return it after 12 weeks of riding? I recently purchased the 63inch as I'm 6'4". I have felt it's a bit too big for me and bought a shorter bike stem but may look at returning it if they are that easy going.

Also, my gears began to make an odd noise so I took it to the shop and ended up getting it serviced, they said that it hadn't been put together too well. They guy mentioned that the rear wheel was not running true and that it could have started to buckle.... not very good after just a few weeks of owning it.

 

[rowdin]

Maybe the demand for these bikes is so high now, the build quality is starting to drop. As they have so many to build they have to rush through the build to get them all done?

 

[Rob3rt]

Maybe the demand for these bikes is so high now, the build quality is starting to drop. As they have so many to build they have to rush through the build to get them all done?

I would say to some degree this is true, I picked one of these up for my girlfriend who wanted to start cycling with me (she chose the bike, not me - she also tried several others including a selection road and road based hybrid's by Bianchi, Marin, Trek and Pinnacle but prefered the Triban in this case) and they were selling them by the dozen! They had about 6-8 of these lined up waiting for assembly for collection, plus some in process of being built up and a few rolling out the door when we went to pick her's up.

You also have to consider the price of the bike, £300..... the wheels are not going to be built like a set of £100+ wheels or a pair of £150 hand built wheels so if they go out of true, re-true them.

Further, cables will stretch fairly notably during the 1st few weeks, unless you pre-stretch them and you may need some adjustment to bring it back in line. A new wheel can also go out of true in a similar way. Not necessarily the fault of Decathlon.

It could be that they didn't quite get it right though, I am not denying that, they are fallible, as are we all, but it may just be a case of settling in.