Decathlon has a long history in cycling. A bike was the very first product that Decathlon made. Designed and tested in Flanders, near the famous cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix, Decathlon bikes have become globally recognized for their performance and value. So, whatever your budget, Decathlon has a bike that will help you enjoy cycling to the fullest. (Article originally posted here)
How much to spend on your first road bike will obviously depend on how much you have to spend, but generally the more you spend on a bike, the better the bike you’ll get.
What does the extra money get you?
Spending more should get you a higher quality, and usually lighter frame plus lighter wheels and components too. The gears, brakes, tires and wheels should offer a higher level of performance. Less weight means more speed and makes riding up hills easier, and all that shouldn’t come at the cost of durability. However, that doesn’t mean you have to spend big to get a good bike - far from it.
A new road bike can cost anything from $300 up to $10,000 - so when we say there is a bike for every budget, we really mean it. Better still, the technology and developments previously only seen on the most expensive bikes have now filtered down to pretty much every price point, so even the cheaper models offer a far greater level of performance than they would have even five years ago. That means you don’t need to spend the price of a small car on a bike to get into road cycling, and it can be very affordable activity once you’ve made the initial purchase of a bike and if you use your new road bike to commute on it’ll even save you money.
To give an idea of what different budgets get you, here are three examples from the B’Twin range that represent the choice and what difference spending more money makes.
The Triban 100 is an ideal first road bike for a new cyclist and comes in a wide range of sizes.
Designed for moderate distances over flat or gravel terrain, thanks to 32mm wide tires, the Triban 100 is the perfect choice if you’re just starting out with road cycling. It has plenty of tyre clearance and can accommodate mudguards and a rear pannier rack.
Spend a bit more and the Triban RC500 offers a lighter frame and comes equipped with a carbon fork, disc brakes and improved gearing compared to the Triban 100. Featuring Shimano's Sora groupset, the RC500 has been designed with comfort and reliability in mind. It's aimed at regular road cyclists and commuters and comes with tubeless ready wheels should you wish to switch to tubeless set up (no inner tube). The Triban RC520 offers another component upgrade, which increases performance and makes for a lighter bike.
View Decathlon's Road Bike Collection
Going up in price a bit more, the Van Rysel 900 CF (carbon frame) is a high performance road bike featuring a lightweight carbon fiber frame and fork that has been designed for fast riding and climbing. Available for $1,199, the Van Rysel 900 CF, features an ergofit frame equipped with Shimano 105 gears with a 28 tooth bottom gear to help you in the hills. The RR 900 CF offers high class Deda aluminium handlebars and Mavic Aksium wheels which are light and aerodynamic.
It’s not all about the bike though. It’s worth putting aside some money for some important accessories to get your started, we’ve covered those in the road bike accessories section elsewhere in this guide, but look to get some lights, a lock, a helmet and some gloves.
Different Types Of Road Bike Explained
There are many different types of bicycles, from folding bikes to tandems, commuting bikes to racing bikes and lots in between. We’re focusing on road bikes in this guide, and road bikes generally fall into two categories; race bikes and sportive bikes - sometimes also called endurance bikes.
Road race bikes have a size and fit that is designed primarily for racing, and puts you in crouched low position, with the handlebars a lot lower than the saddle. It’s not a position that will suit everyone - especially when riding in the dropped part of the handlebars. The lower your position, the more aerodynamic you are and the faster you’ll be able to ride. As well as being fast road race bikes need to be agile with quick, sharp handling, but the stretched-out and low flat-back position won’t suit everyone, and if you’re new to cycling, can be a little intimidating. If you want to get into road racing, then choose a race bike, but if you don’t have any plans for racing, there may well be better choices.
Sportive bikes take everything that is good about a road race bike - in terms of speed and handling, but offer a more relaxed position that is less extreme than a full on race bike, so they’re a lot more comfortable over long and short distances. No surprise then that sportive bikes are so popular with cyclists and are an ideal choice if you’re buying your first road bike. There other great plus is that the slightly more upright riding position and greater levels of comfort make sportive bikes an ideal choice for so many different types of road cycling from tackling a sportive, to riding to work or weekend blasts in the countryside.
It’s not just the shape of the frame that distinguishes a race bike from its sportive cousin, there is also the matter of gearing.
Race bikes are designed for speed and so the gearing is higher both for the front chainrings and the rear sprockets. Traditionally the front chainrings on a race bike would have 53 and 39 teeth respectively. These day though many race bikes have what is called a compact chainset at the front with a pairing of 50 and 34 tooth chainrings for easier climbing.
Nowadays the big difference in gearing between race and sportive road bikes usually comes at the back. Race bikes have more high gears and less low gears. While more gear teeth on the front cogs equals a higher gear it’s the reverse at the back where the smaller the cog the bigger the gear. So an 11-tooth sprocket is the highest gear, and on a race bike a 23 or 25 tooth cog will be the lowest gear.
Sportive bikes are designed for hilly riding and people who don’t not have the fitness of a bike racer - that’s most of us - so the gearing is typically lower with a bottom gear of 28 or even 32 teeth at the back to get you up even the steepest hills without having to get off and walk. Sportive bikes also usually offer a wider spread of gears - so you won’t necessarily sacrifice that 11 tooth top gear.
Most bikes have two chainrings at the front, but some entry-level road bikes have three chainrings, which offers a low range of gears and ideal for beginners. The cassette, the cluster of sprockets fixed to the rear wheel, varies in number, from 11 on the top-end bikes to 9 on entry-level bikes, but when it comes to riding your bike the thing to remember is that the number of gears is less important than the number of teeth on each sprocket.
If you intend to ride in all weather, then it’s worth adding mudguards. Some road bikes, but not all, have small eyelets on the frame and fork that allow you to fit specific mudguards that wrap around the front wheel and wheel keep you much drier when riding in the rain than without them. Even if the bike you want doesn’t have mudguards eyelets you should still be able to fit a clip on mudguard - just so long as you have enough clearance between the frame and the wheel - that shouldn’t be an issue on a sportive bike but may be on some race bikes.
The Different Frame Materials
Road bikes are made from a range of different frame materials, and which you choose depends on personal taste and budget. Most road bikes priced up to about $1,000 are made from aluminum alloy; it’s the most common material on entry-level and affordable road bikes. It’s a good material for a road bike, light and stiff. The more costly aluminum frames are made from fancier alloys supplied from highly regarded tubing manufacturers.
In more expensive frames, carbon fiber becomes a lot more prevalent. It builds a lighter, stiffer and generally more comfortable frame than an aluminum one, but it commands a premium compared to aluminum. More of the budget on a carbon road bike goes into the frame, and this can result in downgraded components and wheels, so sometimes an aluminum bike with a better parts package can be more appealing because it’s lighter, potentially faster, and cheaper too.
Carbon is very sought after by performance minded cyclists, but it is worth remembering that you might not always get the lightest or most well kitted out bike if you do choose a more affordable carbon road bike.
Steel is a less common frame material, though up until relatively recently nearly every bike was made from it. There are few manufacturers mass producing steel frames these days which has meant smaller bespoke frame builders now specialize in steel, and a high quality steel frame, despite being heavier than aluminum or carbon, is a very desirable choice.
Titanium offers a similar performance to steel but is lighter, but it’s a very expensive material and rivals carbon fiber for price. Many are drawn to the unique looks and longevity of a titanium frame and its particular ride characteristics - titanium frames are generally noted for their comfort. It’s a material that in recent years has gradually become more affordable, though titanium bikes are still not cheap. It’s popular with touring cyclists looking to build a comfortable long distance steed equipped with racks and mudguards.
Different materials are used for the fork, too. On entry-level bikes with an aluminum frame, steel and aluminum forks are common. If you spend a bit more and get a bike with a carbon fiber fork, you’ll notice the bike is lighter, and the carbon fork provides a slightly smoother ride with less vibrations from the road.
Road Bike Sizing Guide
Bike types, gears, and frame materials are all important, but to get the most out of any bike it has to be the right size for you. Riding a bike that’s too big or too small is nowhere near as enjoyable as riding one that fits.
Road bikes are available in a wide range of sizes for men and women so there’s something to suit the many different shapes and sizes that cyclists come in, so it’s not difficult getting the right size.
Like most major bike brands, Decathlon has an easy-to-use sizing guide.
If you want to take things a stage further many companies now offer professional bike fit services, where they measure you and fit you onto the correct size bike and change components to ensure the bike fits you. The bike should fit you, not the other way around.
Getting the right size frame for your height is key because the other components - saddle, seatpost, handlebar, and stem can easily be adjusted for height and fore/aft position on the frame to get a good comfortable fit. Handlebars come in many different shapes and widths to suit different shape cyclists. Stems come in a range of lengths and rises, and saddles can be adjusted forwards and backwards on the seatpost to get your bike fit just right.
Road Bike Accessories
If you’re just getting into road cycling, an important consideration to make when buying your first road bike is to budget for some essential accessories. You don’t really need much to get started, but there are a few items you might want to consider.
It’s important to have a few tools, the minimum would be a compact multi-tool, for making adjustments and ensuring all the bolts on your bike are tightened up, especially when first setting up your new bike. A pump, tire levers and spare inner tube are a must as well - as is knowing how to change an inner tube but we’ll cover that in the maintenance section lower down.
With a small saddle bag means you can carry these tools so they’re always on your bike when you need them. Punctures are rare but unavoidable part of road cycling and it pays to be prepared so you don’t get caught out 40 miles from home with no mobile phone reception.
A helmet is something you might want to factor in, but it’s entirely down to personal choice whether you wear one or not. Helmets costs from as little as $20 and are available in many styles, colors and sizes. Choose one that provides a comfortable snug fit with a good range of adjustment for making sure the helmet doesn’t easily move around on your head - it’s a piece of safety equipment so it needs to fit and stay in place all the time.
If you intend to cycle to work, as a lot of new cyclists do as it’s a great way of staying fit, a set of good front and rear lights are a sound investment. Most cycling lights are inexpensive and with the latest LED technology, extremely bright and with very long battery lives. A high quality lock is another good purchase, especially if you have to keep your bike outside the office.
Beyond that there’s not much more you need. You can cycle in any clothes and use a pair of trainers, there’s nothing wrong with that at all, many do just fine in normal sporting attire. The more you get into cycling the more you might want to consider cycling-specific clothing, like padded shorts, which can make sitting in the saddle on longer rides more comfortable, and technical breathable fabric jerseys that remove sweat better than a cotton t-shirt.
Maintenance
Modern road bikes require very little maintenance, many will provide many happy hours of cycling between servicing, there really is very little to go wrong. The main advice is to keep it clean and rust free and to regularly lubricate the chain. Parts such as brake pads, tires and bearings do wear out but with a regular maintenance schedule you can easily keep on top of that. Alternatively you take your bike for a regular service at your local bike shop or Decathlon store.
The most important maintenance lesson to learn when buying your first road bike is how to change an inner tube when you get a puncture (because one day you will). It can seem daunting having to change an inner tube, but it’s simple once you know how, so find a friend to show you, or a good online video guide. Youtube is actually a great source of advice for anything to do with bike maintenance.
Now all you have to do is get that bike and enjoy the ride.
