Triban 520 Winter vs Cube Attain Race

[Twilkes]

£899 vs £1300ish once the mudguards are on - if I went for the Triban it would be 105 and hydro actuated discs, Cube would be Tiagra and cable discs. What might I regret by buying the Triban? I like to be swift but no real sprinting or race manoeuvering.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-rc520-winter-limited-edition/_/R-p-326189?mc=8590037

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube-attain-race-road-bike-2022/rp-prod209256

 

[bonzobanana]

Wow that Cube bike is expensive and I believe some of them are made in quite basic factories in Bangladesh. If you click on the link to the manual of the Decathlon bike its one of the models that has a total load of 100kg including the bike weight. I don't know your weight but that could be restrictive if you are over average weight or plan to carry a lot of luggage or do bikepacking etc. Only 2 years warranty on the carbon forks too.

Boardman do a nice adventure bike which is Bikeradars bike of the year.

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adve...ike-2021-orange---s-m-l-xl-frames-431830.html

It's a lot stronger with better brakes and also gives you some off-road ability. The orange is nice and high viz to get seen on the road too.

Assuming you are within the weight limits the Triban would definitely be my choice of your two bikes.

 

[vickster]

Have a read up about the wheels on the Triban, several threads on the forum abouyt serious challenges getting tyres on and off. People seem to end up changing the wheels & tyres so factor that into your sums.
Merlin often have some decent value bikes

 

[si_c]

The Triban seems to be seriously good value for money. TRP Hy/Rd brakes are very very good, and 105 is excellent. The only downside are the wheels are very heavy and if as @vickster says there are problems with getting the tyres on/off then replacing the wheels would seem to be a good option with a little of the savings over the Cube.

Edit to add: if you replace the wheels consider getting a dynamo on the front, you could then put a decent light on at the fork and have a perfect all weather commuter/audax type bike.

 

[tribanjules]

Plenty of threads on the 520 regarding the tyre/wheel combo. Sold mine before I changed the wheels. Great bike, no complaints at all

 

[Twilkes]

Wow that Cube bike is expensive and I believe some of them are made in quite basic factories in Bangladesh. If you click on the link to the manual of the Decathlon bike its one of the models that has a total load of 100kg including the bike weight. I don't know your weight but that could be restrictive if you are over average weight or plan to carry a lot of luggage or do bikepacking etc. Only 2 years warranty on the carbon forks too.

Boardman do a nice adventure bike which is Bikeradars bike of the year.

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/adve...ike-2021-orange---s-m-l-xl-frames-431830.html

It's a lot stronger with better brakes and also gives you some off-road ability. The orange is nice and high viz to get seen on the road too.

Assuming you are within the weight limits the Triban would definitely be my choice of your two bikes.

I would be out of that weight range but I'm guessing that's the wheels? If I replace the wheels that problem should go away right?

Thanks for all the comments, I'll check the specs and maybe compare a few other models but most things are out of stock in my size so the Triban looks like a safe bet.

FWIW, the Cannondale Optimo Tiagra Disc (which this would replace) has been about £1000-1100 since before Covid, so I don't feel the Cube is particularly overpriced, just that the Triban is incredibly cheap!

 

[Alex321]

I would be out of that weight range but I'm guessing that's the wheels? If I replace the wheels that problem should go away right?

No, I think it is probably the frame limit, not the wheels.

 

[RoubaixCube]

As someone who owns an Attain and paid similar price. The one youre looking at represents very very bad value for money. The Triban is better spec'd and even comes with its own mudguards already fitted.

Its a complete no brainer. Go for the 520 If you want something a bit more racy down the road, consider taking off the mudguards and putting on a set of lighter wheels. There is no reason why the Triban cant be 'fast and nippy'

As for Hydro vs Cable brakes. Only you can answer that question. Thats something that is very personal preference. Some people prefer the predictive modulation of a cable while others like the feel of the hydro.

Hydro tends to also be a little more faff when it comes to maintenance or setup so maybe thats also something you might want to take into consideration if youre doing your own maintenance

 

[Twilkes]

Plenty of threads on the 520 regarding the tyre/wheel combo. Sold mine before I changed the wheels. Great bike, no complaints at all

Out of interest, what bike did you move onto? I'm coming from a Cannondale Optimo (which was kindly alighted from my shed last night...) so wouldn't necessarily want to move to anything less sporty.

 

[Twilkes]

As someone who owns an Attain and paid similar price. The one youre looking at represents very very bad value for money. The Triban is better spec'd and even comes with its own mudguards already fitted.

Its a complete no brainer. Go for the 520 If you want something a bit more racy down the road, consider taking off the mudguards and putting on a set of lighter wheels. There is no reason why the Triban cant be 'fast and nippy'

As for Hydro vs Cable brakes. Only you can answer that question. Thats something that is very personal preference. Some people prefer the predictive modulation of a cable while others like the feel of the hydro.

Hydro tends to also be a little more faff when it comes to maintenance or setup so maybe thats also something you might want to take into consideration if youre doing your own maintenance

What spec was your Attain? The 105/full hydro Attain Race SL is actually £1749!

The Boardman SLR Road is an option, and the Sensa bikes at Merlin look interesting and they're in stock - I might try to sit on a Triban in the local store to see how it feels, and compare the geometry on paper, but based on what I've read replacing the wheels would bring the price up close to these other bikes.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Mine was a Attain Race GTC with an ultegra 6800 groupset purchased in 2016 (exact one right here)

So while my bike is obviously on the higher end of the scale specification wise back when i bought it. In 2016-2018, the attain youre looking at would have been priced between £800-899 (maybe even £1000 but for £1000, it would have been a full 105 groupset) and i remember that figure specifically because I was also looking at one with disc brakes to replace my Triban. (ended up sticking with the Triban)

Cant remember the exact figure I paid but I think it was somewhere between £1200-1400. TREDZ had it at an RRP of around £1700 but discounted because it was a new model for 2016

A GTC Race now comes with 105 and retailers seem to want £2000 for one

Im guessing Covid and issues with distribution and supply chains have driven the price right up.

 

[Alex321]

A GTC Race now comes with 105 and retailers seem to want £2000 for one

Im guessing Covid and issues with distribution and supply chains have driven the price right up.

Indeed. That is the exact bike I bought in August, and that is what I paid for it (from Cycle Revolution).

At that time, all the bikes with similar spec were around that price. There were some heavier ones around with 105 & hydraulic discs for about £1800, but if you wanted something under about 10Kg with those, you were looking at £2,000 plus - if you could find any in stock at all.

As you say, it is that lack of stock that has driven prices up in the last year or so.

 

[Twilkes]

Yeah costs have gone up a lot in the last 18 months, although I'm glad shops have got stock again. In some cases it's because everything is sold at RRP whereas their used to be discounts to be had. These are the days we're living in though.

Looking at the geometry I'm leaning towards the Boardman as its closer to my Cannondale. The bars on the Triban would be 4cm higher and 2cm closer which seems a huge difference, not sure that's the kind of position I want.

I also don't need 105 or a carbon frame, so going for a Tiagra Boardman at £800, adding mudguards and switching out the front brake for a Spyr or even Hy/Rd should get me a good bike for £900-950.

 

[bonzobanana]

I would be out of that weight range but I'm guessing that's the wheels? If I replace the wheels that problem should go away right?

Thanks for all the comments, I'll check the specs and maybe compare a few other models but most things are out of stock in my size so the Triban looks like a safe bet.

FWIW, the Cannondale Optimo Tiagra Disc (which this would replace) has been about £1000-1100 since before Covid, so I don't feel the Cube is particularly overpriced, just that the Triban is incredibly cheap!

Yeah maybe I haven't adapted to pandemic pricing yet or I'm resisting it. I think Decathlon frames have been a bit lighter and a tiny bit more flexy but this gives the disadvantage they are weaker but if you are within the weight limits then they could be right for you. They have had some weaker wheels though, some Decathlon models featured 28 spoke wheels where similar models from other brands would be 32 or even 36 spoke. Their lower weight limits would mean the wheels also wouldn't have to be as strong. Halfords bikes for example are rated to a to a total load of 160kg so 60kg more than this Decathlon model. The brand has had a few more recalls than most other brands and that is when a lot of frames have failed. If you overload a frame and forks it doesn't typically fail straight away you accelerate fatigue and take off some of the lifespan of the frame. Maybe it will fail in 4 years of heavy use instead of 7-10 years etc. Frame guarantees are normally for faulty welds rather than general fatigue which is seen more as fair wear and tear so its unlikely they would replace it but you never know if it did fail.

I'm a heavy rider so always try to find out the load ratings of bikes where as normal to light riders obviously don't have to worry about that but 100kg rating is very low for the industry, most brands are between 120-160kg total load.

 

[Twilkes]

The weight thing spooked me a bit on the Triban, and the geometry wasn't what I was looking for, so went for the Boardman Tiagra - I've already got spares for it, was happy with Tiagra on the last bike, and with British Cycling discount it was under £750! Happy with that, yesterday I was ready to buy a Cube 105 at more than twice the price...