Interesting looking 'gravel' bike from decathlon this summer

[bludger]

Being the cheapskate stinger that I am, I'm interested in the looks of this bike. It's been under development for the past year and set for release in decathlon this summer.

Looks like an alloy frame and carbon fork with SRAM 1x rival ith hydros where I'm looking.




Note the planet X luggage. Will decathlon release it's own line of 'bikepacking' gear to go with the bike...?

More info as we get it. A big plus about decathlon for me is that they give a full refund within 365 days of purchase of the bikes in ok condition and you just don't like it.

Details in this Spanish language article from December http://xn--javierbaonizu-pkb.es/riverside-touring-920-by-decathlon-bikepacking/ which also mentions ashimano dynamo wheel.

[grams]

Isn't that a mountain bike with incorrect brake levers? 

I quite like the seat stay bottle cages.

[bludger]

Honestly I think it's more like their hybrid range with drop handlebars and some other gubbins like the baggage bosses. Looks like there's bosses on the inside of the seat stays too.

[Kim]

At some point they'll work out that all these bosses weigh more than a pannier rack 

[guidon]

It's their new all road touring range - the 920 is top of the line (riverside is a re-introduced brand by decathlon)...ally frame shimano bits etc

[Kim]

Previously the Riverside series were extremely competent German-style trekking bikes.

[bludger]

Yeah I liked the look of them, it was just a shame they nearly all featured those big silly suspension forks.

[fuaran]

Maybe more like a touring/trekking/bikepacking bike, than a gravel bike as such. Decathlon already have a few gravel bikes with the Triban brand.

What's the bit sticking out of the stem? Some sort of dynamo charger?

[Kim]

Yeah I liked the look of them, it was just a shame they nearly all featured those big silly suspension forks.

Like the Germans, I think suspension forks make a lot of sense on flat-barred bikes where you're going to ride on crap surfaces and weight isn't the primary concern.  Especially if you've got disc brakes.  It's just that the ones fitted to most hybrids fall foul of the "low-end suspension is worse than no suspension" rule, and it's one more thing to maintain^[1].


_{[1] Suspension maintenance not being a high priority amongst the hybrid-buying demographic, they'll rust solid and become dead weight after a couple of years.}

[bludger]

For those instances I'd rather just have room for wider comfy tyres to run at lower pressure. I'm convinced the forks are on those bikes because Mr and Ms average consumer think 'I want to be comfy so I'll get one with suspension like on my car' when really most tyres wider than 35mm will give all the comfort required.

But then of course everyone's been taught that wide tyres are slow and heavy... 

[Kim]

It's 'and', not 'or'.  Tyres are better at absorbing the high-frequency vibration from surface texture, spring-and-damper suspension absorbs transients from holes and lumps.  Suspension does more than wide tyres alone.  The question becomes one of whether it's actually worth it.

...Which comes down to things like wheel size, what sort of riding you're doing, and how much ulnar nerve (or in the case of recumbents, spine) abuse it takes to ruin your day.

But yes, it's also a feature they can add to the bike to make it 'better' than the other model, and the average newbie doesn't see a suspension fork as a thing that goes wrong if you don't strip it down and re-grease it every year or two.

[Peter]

The beard is a real turn-off.

[spesh]

Maybe more like a touring/trekking/bikepacking bike, than a gravel bike as such. Decathlon already have a few gravel bikes with the Btwin brand.

What's the bit sticking out of the stem? Some sort of dynamo charger?

It looks about the right shape to be a Cycle2Charge USB stem cap: https://www.cycle2charge.de/index.php/en/

The other possibility is Cinq's Plug5 Plus: https://cinq.de/en/power-supplies/433/plug5-plus

But from what I gather, that's somewhat more expensive than the Cycle2Charge offering.

[mzjo]

Yeah I liked the look of them, it was just a shame they nearly all featured those big silly suspension forks.

Are you too young to remember when the Riverside series nearly all featured rigid forks (except the top of the range - was it a 720?) and a lot featured Sachs transmissions? It was a long time ago!!! It may have been before they had a UK presence of course.

[joy of essex]

Yes, that looks like the Riverside frame but without the suspension forks.

I recently brought a little-used 900 for £150. It's handling was a bit odd as was my position. So far I 've lengthened the stem from the 70mm to a 90mm but not ridden it yet. I  think a better bike might emerge.....

[Blodwyn Pig]

If it's the same as the current rc  520 gravel range, the fork is only guaranteed for 2 years....

[Davef]

On the subject of suspension forks, last years Paris Roubaix, the winner and I believe 8 of the top 10 including Sagan had suspension forks. I am unlikely to meet much pave but the British road surface can throw the odd surprise. I have.a shoulder issue and it has made a big difference to me on longer rides.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DuncanM]

Not sure I'd call the FutureShock a suspension fork. The suspension is between the stem and the headset, meaning the stem and bars are suspended, but the rest of the bike is not.
Specialized accounts for 5 of the top 10, then there was a Giant, a Bianchi, two Cannondales and a Look(?). Not sure any of those brands offer suspension on their road bikes.

[Davef]

I thought the decathlon gravel bike fork was something similar but I think I am completely wrong !

[joy of essex]

Having looked again at my Riverside 900 I now need to correct myself. It's not the same frame. The Riverside has a hockey stick-shaped top tube.  Mind you, the geometry looks similar.