B'twin Triban 3

I'm waiting for delivery of a 54 for the OH at the moment - I'll let you know what I think once it gets here.

merc230ce wrote: »

Do you live in the UK or did you arrange delivery from there?

I ordered from Belfast for delivery to Dublin - costs £14.99 for delivery. If you want to get something delivered from them, then for your postcode you have to use "EIRE 123". When you find your product and click "Buy Online" on the Decathlon website, it will ask you for the first half of your postcode and will then direct you to the Belfast site.

Original notice here

merc230ce wrote: »

That's a great price! Sure it'd cost more than that in petrol to go up and get it. I wonder how much assembly is required? I'd be grand fitting the front wheel and straightening the handlebars, maybe raising the saddle, but not sure how I'd get on with anything more complicated :-/

Bike arrived yesterday and it comes fully assembled with the handlebars loose so all you need is a set of allen keys to get it ready to go. It seems to ride pretty well and it looks pretty sweet. It'll probably need to have the gears adjusted after a few weeks - but there's nothing unusual about that, you can always drop it into your lbs for a tune-up if you want.

For 400 euros delivered to the door, I haven't seen anything else out there to match it.

merc230ce wrote: »

That's good to hear. Now I just need to figure out what size would suit. Most likely the 54cm (I'm 5'8'')

If you want to try the 54 in south Dublin, then send me a PM..

route66 wrote: »

In the August 2012 issue of cycling active, they test the B’Twin Triban 3 against 3 other road bikes. What makes the test interesting is that the prices on all the bikes vary from the dearest at £900 (The Vitus Decium) to the cheapest @ £300 (B’Twin Triban 3)

And the winner is (drumroll) ...

The B'Twin with a rating of 92%!

They said it was great value for money, had good kit and rode well - i.e. not like a BSO. They also liked the Vitus and gave it 91%. Obviously if money were no object, it's the best on test, but they didn't think the price - at 3 times the B'Twin - was worth it. The Pinnacle @ £500 was third and the GT (£700) last.

I've also just noticed that the B'Twin is the same weight as my 2 year old Focus Variado ...

Right, so here's my conundrum ... And apologies in advance if this is a stupid question.

I'm looking for a road bike for doing the odd 100km run at weekends and maybe some commutes when my touring bike is taking a rest. Should I go for the Triban 3 even though Decathlon aren't signed up for the Irish bike to work scheme? (yet - they're thinking about it after I suggested it).

OR should I put the same €400 towards a bike from somewhere else that is registered on the BTW scheme and get a bike priced at around €800 but save on the tax?

That magazine review has me confused about whether the Triban 3 is so good it beats even much more expensive bikes...

Any and all advice gratefully received - thanks.

route66 wrote: »

I got the impression the Btwin won based on a good setup & super-low price. The Vitus in the test was a better bike. If you have a btw option available ( up to 1/2 price discount) then I'd say spend the extra (gross).

Ok - thanks, that makes sense. I'll have a look at other threads to see what bikes are being recommended in that higher price range...

mcgratheoin wrote: »

I ordered from Belfast for delivery to Dublin - costs £14.99 for delivery. If you want to get something delivered from them, then for your postcode you have to use "EIRE 123". When you find your product and click "Buy Online" on the Decathlon website, it will ask you for the first half of your postcode and will then direct you to the Belfast site.

Original notice here

I'm trying to order a 51cm at the moment, but it doesn't let me fill in the second "postcode" field? It's meant to say Ireland but when I click on the drop-down menu an error message comes up.. Really want to get one ordered asap! Can anyone work it out?

It's actually the Area part - the bit that's supposed to say Ireland. When I click onto it it says "error with the field Area". I've emailed the Belfast shop to see if I can order directly or if they can sort it!

merc230ce wrote: »

Yeah not only have they stopped delivering to Ireland, there's now a glitch on the website so you can't even purchase it online for in-store collection.

I drove up last night to buy one of the two 51cm models they had in stock. I think it's a bloody brilliant bike for the money. I got it for my son for Xmas so I haven't taken it out for a spin yet, but I really like it. The only bit that I thought seemed a bit inferior to my '08 Trek 1.2 were the (Shimano 2300) brifters - I don't like the way the entire gear indicator bit moves with the levers - but that's it. All in all it's deadly.

Did you get one for yourself as well?

how about its slightly cheaper version?http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-road-bike-white-id_8239800.html
if the other doesnt get stocked soon

Can you not buy and use Parcel Motel in Belfast as the delivery address? - There might be a charge and you'll need to pick up from the depot but might work out cheaper in the long run.

Mrqpr, I'm not sure if you got sorted or not, but I just got delivery of my triban3 from Belfast decathlon yesterday.
It doesn't quite let you do it online, I went via customer service and dealt with a guy called Ron in their workshop. He guided me thru a process online to reserve the bike (dummied the cost of postage in, under his direction, by adding a specific helmet to the order), then let him know when order was completed and gave him my address for postage via email with copy of order. Took a week to deliver.
I know it sounds convoluted, but worth it if you still want to get the bike.
Took it for a spin last night..... Sweeeeeeet!

Ah damn, sorry you had to go the other route and get such sh!t service. ��
No, unfortunately I used my cycletowork scheme to get a mountain bike last nov not realising that I was going to get sucked into triathlons. Raging..
Hope you are at least enjoying the new bike?!

Yeah, the bike is great thanks. There are a couple of killer hills where I feel I'd need an engine under me, but overall it's very comfortable and quick too !! Went for a defy 1 in black.

Any tips for the hills? Maybe I am being too ambitious perhaps, but I am doing fine (generally!!) in Dalkey but as soon as I tried Stepaside Lane my lungs and legs went ballistic!