Decathlon impressions

byrnem31

I thought declaton would be like halfords in where the mechanics would struggle putting air into a tyre.

Turns out I was wrong. The mechanic I spoke to today was a manager in a city centre shop and a fully qualified mechanic with tons of experience. Flew threw my sons bmx that I tried to set up and made a balls off. Fixed it on the spot in a few minutes.

He was telling me that van rysels are as good as anything yet cheaper cause they don't have the big name. Some serious bikes over there and I might get the next one there.

Anyone have a carbon van rysel, what are they like?

wirelessdude01

byrnem31 wrote: »

I thought declaton would be like halfords in where the mechanics would struggle putting air into a tyre.

Turns out I was wrong. The mechanic I spoke to today was a manager in a city centre shop and a fully qualified mechanic with tons of experience. Flew threw my sons bmx that I tried to set up and made a balls off. Fixed it on the spot in a few minutes.

He was telling me that van rysels are as good as anything yet cheaper cause they don't have the big name. Some serious bikes over there and I might get the next one there.

Anyone have a carbon van rysel, what are they like?

Well he is hardly going to tell you that the bikes are crap in the shop he works in.

07Lapierre

Here's a review of the RR 920:

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/reviews/7757/van-rysel-rr-920-cf-road-bike-review

Wishbone Ash

byrnem31 wrote: »

...He was telling me that van rysels are as good as anything yet cheaper cause they don't have the big name...

In fairness though, it's hardly a neutral opinion. I know nothing about them but it might be like going into your local Dacia dealer and hearing a salesman say that Dacia are as good as anything but cheaper because they don't have a big name.

byrnem31

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In fairness though, it's hardly a neutral opinion. I know nothing about them but it might be like going into your local Dacia dealer and hearing a salesman say that Dacia are as good as anything but cheaper because they don't have a big name.

That's why I was asking what were people's opinions on them that owned one. Dacias are awful now in fairness. The van rysels look like nice bikes. But how do they ride, what are they like in general etc.

CantGetNoSleep

I live in France so have been going to Decathlon for years. Their bikes are great value, in my mind they have replaced Canyon who used to provide the best specs / best value for money (but have now increased prices closer to main brands). They are a bit slow in advancing new technologies though (e.g. almost no road disc braked bikes). I wouldn't say you will find ex LBS managers in every store though.

byrnem31

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

I live in France so have been going to Decathlon for years. Their bikes are great value, in my mind they have replaced Canyon who used to provide the best specs / best value for money (but have now increased prices closer to main brands). They are a bit slow in advancing new technologies though (e.g. almost no road disc braked bikes). I wouldn't say you will find ex LBS managers in every store though.

Thanks for that. Yeah, disc brakes are a must for me.

Tony04

Well obviously components wise their bikes are relative bargains.
Its not unheard of for people to buy a bike from decathlon for the components and to sell the frame, but I cant see why their frames would be no worse.
Firstly theyre raced by junior teams on the continent, if theyre stiff enough and good enough for racing for them theyre good enough for any buyer.
Secondly the majority of carbon bikes are pretty much built to the same standard, as the majority of carbon bikes are built in asia by a handful of unheard if manufacturers. How good a bike is depends on the brands contract with the manufacturer which specifies the quality control hence cannondale is manufactured in the same factories as other brand but has notoriously
sh*te bottom brackets. As with all bikes manufactured in asia the majority will be perfectly fine but with the odd lemon as the qc process for bikes isnt exactly the same as the aerospace industry, which should be replaced under warranty. Personally for me the selling point on a certain brand is the warranty and other customers experience of the warranty as thats the only difference between the majority of brands.
My only gripe with van rysel would be that they could benefit from a bit more R&D, frames could be a bit nicer and could be a little more aero etc.

Tony04

And your mechanic in decathlon is right other brands youre paying more for nothing but the brand. Take this review of these colnagos cut up and youll see that the quality is not what youd expect of such a revered brand, i mean the quality isnt awful but isnt 100%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwt5HnIT8y0

But without a doubt there is a brand snobbery in cycling that for the most part is total bs and helps makes the sport the cost it is.
If you want a boutique bike buy a Time as they seem to be the only brand that acctually manufacturers to a higher standard than anyone else. If you want to see this for yourself look at the cutups luescher does.

dom_1000

I bought the new Van rysel gravel bike in October. Its an all carbon frame for 2k.

Its very well put together and the components are fantastic.

my only complaint is that they had only three frame sizes and so the one I got might be a little big for me. but that can be sorted out.

Jonesy101

Ive used decathlon cycling clothing, tents, ski gear, lights, wet suits and and golf clubs and everything is great quality. Their gear comes in varying degrees of quality from low to their high end. Van Rysel is their high end so im sure it is v good quality stuff too. Their clothing looks great as well. Listening to a Decathlon bike mechanic is the same as listening to a local bike shop mechanic you can choose to trust them or not.

byrnem31

dom_1000 wrote: »

I bought the new Van rysel gravel bike in October. Its an all carbon frame for 2k.

Its very well put together and the components are fantastic.

my only complaint is that they had only three frame sizes and so the one I got might be a little big for me. but that can be sorted out.

My defy is slightly too big for me, m/l, cause I can't get down as much with a disc gone in my back. I moved the seat forward to the limit and flipped the stem so it's more upright, fits perfect now. Id say I'd be cramped on a medium in anyway at 5,11.

You could try that.

ED E

byrnem31 wrote: »

I thought declaton would be like halfords in where the mechanics would struggle putting air into a tyre.

Halfords is a car shop. Bikes are just as important as air fresheners to them.


Decathlon are a long time doing sports and doing it well. Apples and oranges.

Does anyone know where Decathlon ship from for online orders?

nilhg

Deleted User wrote: »

Does anyone know where Decathlon ship from for online orders?

Some locally from their warehouse but quite a significant amount from France.

I had an order made in November held up for almost a month before Christmas, quite a lot of the delay seemed to occur once the package had reached An Post and I had a tracking number (notified by An Post via SMS), but today I got an email from Decathlon apologising for the delay and giving me a 30% off my next online order discount code, there doesn't seem to be any spending limit attached either.

That would seem to me to be a decent way to deal with a situation which was somewhat out of their control.

Cheers for that nilhg.

wirelessdude01

Deleted User wrote: »

Does anyone know where Decathlon ship from for online orders?

Locally if they have stock but quite alot of the time they are fulfilled from Germany and especially France.

beauf

ED E wrote: »

Halfords is a car shop. Bikes are just as important as air fresheners to them.


Decathlon are a long time doing sports and doing it well. Apples and oranges.

A lot of of the guys I've dealt with in Halfords have nothing to do with the car side and are knowledgeable about bikes and repairs. I started using them for repairs as their book in and book collection was vastly more reliable and convenient than the all the LBS I've used. Last time I got rear hub replaced.

Using the LBS always felt like a lottery when they would take the bike in and when you would get it back, and even if they would do what was asked. Why they think getting customers to ring "is it done yet" baffles me. Puts me off buying a bike from them.

That's my 2 cents at least.

Haven't tried decathlon yet but hope to do it soon.

wersal gummage

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Does anyone know where Decathlon ship from for online orders?

They have details on their website about this, not sure where or how to find it but I only read it the other day. From recollection, everything is shipped from France unless you contact the Dublin store by phone or WhatsApp and they will then take payment and dispatch directly to you if in stock. Without any experience of this, I'd recommend it as the orders from France are not great and presumably extra delays at the moment.

I also ordered in November like other person mentioned, and was waiting around 3 / 3.5 weeks, just a few small bits.

I ordered again a few weeks ago (bigger items) and still waiting.

They give you no tracking information other than dispatched, then when it arrives in Ireland if its smaller stuff it'll be an post and you'll get tracking then, or if its a larger item apparently they'll ring you to arrange delivery.

Fann Linn

Parcel arrived this evening from Decathlon by An Post. Ordered on 27 Dec and dispatched 29.

ted1

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Does anyone know where Decathlon ship from for online orders?

France and the UK. But contact the Irish store via Instagram and they’ll sort let you order and ship from the store

Gorteen

I ordered some sports equipment a month ago and delivery took longer than I anticipated. I didn't complain. I've now got an email from Decathlon apologising and offering 30% discount on my next order. I like this approach to customer care

cletus

Gorteen wrote: »

I ordered some sports equipment a month ago and delivery took longer than I anticipated. I didn't complain. I've now got an email from Decathlon apologising and offering 30% discount on my next order. I like this approach to customer care

I got that yesterday too. Went about using it, system said voucher was invalid. A series of emails back and forth between yesterday and today, and eventually they had to credit my account with the amount I would have saved with the voucher. I placed my order, and 10 minutes later got an email saying that one of the items I was buying had just gone out of stock before I purchased, so they were giving me a refund

harringtonp

nilhg wrote: »

Some locally from their warehouse but quite a significant amount from France.

I had an order made in November held up for almost a month before Christmas, quite a lot of the delay seemed to occur once the package had reached An Post and I had a tracking number (notified by An Post via SMS), but today I got an email from Decathlon apologising for the delay and giving me a 30% off my next online order discount code, there doesn't seem to be any spending limit attached either.

That would seem to me to be a decent way to deal with a situation which was somewhat out of their control.

Pretty much the exact same happened me and I was put through the wars chasing the order. Ordered well before the end of November, no sign of it, several emails to Decathlon who came back with standard response of xmas delays, eventually it came into the An Post tracking system but was shown in a depot in Dublin for a couple of weeks without movement, rang An Post with tracking and they told me it was an incomplete address and sent back but they didn't update that in the An Post status, got on to Decathlon again and whatever they did caused it to arrive the next day just in time for xmas.

Anyway I got the 30% voucher too. Am in the market for a disc brake, decent tire clearance bike but they their range is limited and there are no discs.

harringtonp

If they had a disc brake equivalent of

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/ultra-rcr-cf-dura-ace-road-bike-black-en-s300815.html

it would be great Wheels alone retail for almost 1000 euro

Actually as an aside I was wondering why bikes with tubeless tires sometimes come with tube and saw this under the above bike description

"Yksion Pro UST Front and rear tread: Single-density 11 Storm rubber UST Tubeless Ready. The tyres are installed with inner tubes as required by law. Dimension"

harringtonp

Actually I don't trust there website. Why is

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/ultra-rcr-cf-carbon-road-bike-dura-ace-di2-en-s326942.html

1800 euro more expensive (di2...) and heavier

Tony04

harringtonp wrote: »

If they had a disc brake equivalent of

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/ultra-rcr-cf-dura-ace-road-bike-black-en-s300815.html

Apparently theyre getting disc specced bikes this year...

Tony04

harringtonp wrote: »

Actually I don't trust there website. Why is

https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/ultra-rcr-cf-carbon-road-bike-dura-ace-di2-en-s326942.html

1800 euro more expensive (di2...) and heavier

It has an integrated deda carbon bar so price makes sense although you would be better getting the cheaper model and using a farsports integrated bar imo

PaulieC

oh temptation. That 30% discount has seemingly no upper limit. I just applied mine to a 2k bike which brought the price down to 1400. What am I supposed to do now ?

MojoMaker

What 30% discount?? :eek:

cletus

If you made a purchase last November/December, most of them were delayed, so Decathlon sent out a 30% discount code to those people, to be used before the end of January. I used mine already, but not for anything as big as a bike. January spending won't allow that, unfortunately.