Summary of a ''cheap'' but well praised road bike. Is it worth it ? Well nearly 18 months / 24 months in now, can't quite remember when I bought the beast ! But I absolutely LOVE this bike I really do. Best £350 I have ever shelled out on .
It just keeps on doing its thing and it NEVER has let me down. In 2023/24 the weather has been windy and wet so I did ride it less, but it rewards any sort of riding and I have kept it fairly standard. I bought some rechargeable LED lights from Halford's and they are chaeap but effective and NO BATTERIES either.
I am now almost 2 years in and this bike is still giving me the grin factor ! I still give it 5 out of 5 and no never crashed it and bent the frame either LOL. Apparently you can bend the frame as the rear mech. doesn't flex, so I am told ?
When I wrote this I was four months in and here is what I said:
''....... with a (cartridge brake type as opposed to disc) Triban RC120 mens road bike (medium frame size) . This has shown itself as a capable road bike and a good one for all levels, except perhaps those who wish to spend lots of £ thousands, on an all carbon bike with bells and whistles etc.
Why the good reviews in the cycling press? Is it worth all the praise ?
I think that an owners review is generally better than a bike journalist review (but they can be useful as I say it helped me buy one after reading a review in ''Bike Radar'') ; someone who uses the bike for one day or a weekend if you're lucky will have a shallower view ; but a good indicator of the broad qualities of the bike. So here is an owners review of the Triban RC120 by DECATHLON which is the French giant sports shop, that has spread to Britain and beyond. Triban is it's own in house bike brand.
I rate it out of 10 and see if the journalistic praise and hype is deserved and whether this bike is a good entry level road bike for £350.
If you look at my video review you'll see that , bearing in mind value for money, this is a capable and very decent road bike. Ideal for the entry rider as well as the more experienced rider too, like myself, who wants a decent but inexpensive road bike. I think if I had a mind I'd change the tyres to give them a dual gravel/trail and road capability. But to be fair the stock road tyres are good enough and will cope with some basic light trails. The stock tyres are excellent on normal road surfaces.
Okay so I said I'd rate it out of ten. Fair enough I will. For the ride experience, quality, cost and ease of use it has to be a brilliant : 10/10. See the Bike Radar (2019) review in comment section (they give it 5 out of 5) on this bike, which did prompt me to eventually buy one ! This bike has no right to be so good. If it were £1,000 plus I'd not have been surprised, but this is a superb bike for the money ; it is £350 well spent and absolutely no regrets on my part. I have no hesitation in recommending it to you. I don't think you'll be dissapointed. If you want the disc brake version I think it is £150 more to purchase.
The ''Bike Radar'' review was totally correct and he gave it 5 out of 5 so bike reviews can be a good indicator and fair play to ''Bike Radar'' ! ''
2 июл 2023
