After drooling over road bikes over the years, finally got myself the Btwin Triban 3 from Decathlon. A great starter bike for recreational road cycling and probably the best value for money road bike available.
After drooling over road bikes over the years, finally got myself a road bike from Decathlon, a Btwin Triban 3. Initially, when the Sport 1 was available, had missed out on the opportunity of buying a road bike then due to money constraints. But this time, didn’t want to delay or miss out on having a road bike, moreover this one comes with carbon fork which is even better. Am 5 feet 11 inches tall and there was a dilemma of which frame to choose – 57 or a 60, and after much reading online and with recommendations from staff at Decathlon, I chose the 57 frame and it fit me well. The triple crankset on this bike instead of the standard double, would help me in uphill climbs and overall endurance rather than flat out speed. So, overall am totally thrilled with owning this road bike.
Few noticeable features on the bike are the eyelids on the seat stay and at the area just above the drop out to fit a rear rack or a mudguard, which is a plus. The bike however didn’t come with toe clips and the crankset comes in steel finish and not black as shown in the picture / mentioned in the description on the Decathlon website. The bike also comes with a 5 years guarantee on frame and 2 years on parts which excludes wearable parts.
A bell came as a freebie, that which I removed as its too flimsy and will be be rendered useless with the slightest of impact. Instead of which I fitted on the stem an entry level wireless cyclo-comp - Count4 that shows time, speed, current distance covered and total distance. Retained the front and rear reflectors that came on the bike which will be foolish to remove, since it’s meant for the safety of the rider.
About Btwin Triban 3
Triban 3 is a great starter bike for recreational road cycling. The frame size range (available in India) are 51, 54, 57 and 60. This bike is of size 57 and weighs about 10.5kg.
Below are the specifications of the bike:
Frame : Aluminium 6061 with integrated headset
Fork : Carbon with aluminium pivot tube
Crankset : 52 x 42 x 30 Triple (silver and NOT black color finish)
Groupset : 8 speed Shimano 2300
Wheels : Btwin sport
Tyres : 700 x 25 c B’twin FRC stiff bead
Pedals : Resin (toe clips NOT included)
Experience on Btwin Triban 3 bicycle so far…
After a year of ownership of the Triban 3, have enjoyed every ride on it with no complaints at all. Done just over a 1000km on this bike unfortunately, as I prefer riding my RR 5.3. Replaced the stock pedals with Shimano SPD clipless pedals and this seemed to be a much needed upgrade that was worth it. The brifters were a bit getting used to although would have preferred SRAM or STI shifters to them instead. But for the price, this was and probably still is the best value for money road bike to purchase. Having done a 400km and 200km brevet apart from a few 100km rides over the weekends, enjoyed every ride.
On a general note to those looking to buying their first bike – if one likes to experience speed and/or enjoy riding distances then this bike would be it, but if the purpose is to do short rides to the market, commute to office or ride trails/off-roading, then this bike is not the preferred choice as it’s neither practical nor safe (for the bike from theft). Please don’t ruin the bike by fixing a side-stand onto it. Also, do not leave the bike out of your sight, even if its securely locked in the basement or garage, unless you have the financial luxury to afford new ones.
