Francis, I think the affordable / entry-level segment is where this channel can really shine. This is the info people need to know.

This is what I would think of (as a roadie) when I think of an entry-level road bike. With this, a person newer to the sport could ride thousands of miles per year and participate in any type of an event, including just starting with racing and have a bike that could last years and not hold them back. With a price of less than $1,000, this is a complete winner.

I bought this bike at the start of COVID, was my first ever "proper" bike. I absolutely loved it. As value for money it's aboslutely insane, like you say in the video it gets compared to bikes worth over twice as much. The 105-ish groupset was such a dream. It got me everywhere as a primary mode of transportation on road, I went on adventures on it over gravel and dirt, even got panniers for it to use it for bike packing and touring, and it was largely responsible for me getting back into shape. Early on I put Schwalbe Marathon tyres on the wheels and never once had a puncture, crash, anything. A month ago it got stolen from my garden. I've never been so sad about losing an object before. The monetary value was one thing, but the sentimental value was a real hit. I still haven't really replaced it properly. I hope whoever gets that one you gave to Recyke y'bike enjoys it as much as I did!

I bought such a bike for my 17Y daughter as her first road bike and this was in point. I have only changed the tires and back cassettes on 11-34 . The rest setup is perfect. She made this season 3000km. She loved it very much. Size of bike form 2XS, I have bought XS for 164cm and was perfect. No one offers such spec . Brilliant.

Really great to see you guys showcasing the RC520 (and others in the range in the earlier videos). I've been riding one of these for nearly 5 years now and I absolutely love it. It's taken me all over the UK on various tours, as well as been used for daily commuting and weekend rides. Never missed a beat. For the money it's a complete steal. Happy cycling!

I've been riding this bike for 2 months now. Here in Czechia they are selling it with a 10-speed Microshift groupset and Vittoria tires, purportedly due to component shortages. Either way it's an excellent bike and I am happy it's getting some recognition here on UKposts as well.

Bought the Gravel version for my wife earlier this year. Changed to 11-34, and made the tubeless ready 38mm Hutchinsons there tubeless. I'm happy she is loving it and actually wants to ride a bike now. She did not like riding her 2 y.o. Touring/Cross bike, so making her want to ride a road/gravel bike, and go for a ride with me is a big win. Definitely one of the best investments so far.

Just want to say, really love this format! You manage to cram a ton of infomration and testing/riding/opinions into such a shor video, while still covering all the areas and even explaining a bit of tech (mech/hydro brakes). Bravo!

These videos are really cool and hopefully get a lot of people into cycling. love the humor and direction, I used watch the vlogs a lot and have to say having more content from both of you delving into bike tech is just awesome.

Great review gents!! I bought an RC520 @3 years ago was £729 at the time. Absolutely bomb proof , great spec. I did change out the old stock wheels, as getting tyres off/on when on the road was a nightmare, for Mavic Aksium other than that its all as shipped. Must have done north of 5000 miles on it. The relaxed geometry is great for comfort have done a few 100 milers on it with no issues. Bang for your buck this bike cant be beaten imo. Keep up the great work Francis & Jimmy. Cheers

I got one of these when they came out like 4 years ago after having my previous bike stolen and it's been great for commuting and the occasional weekend ride. This year though, I got an itch for adventure and it's also taken me on longer rides up and down proper mountains. It's started to show its limits on steep gradients (both up and downhill) but it's a great gateway for serious beginners or rusty riders on a budget.

While I've been following quite a while now, with the new format, your podcast and the stuff you guys cover this channel has quickly become one of my absolute favourite cycling channels! 👍 Well done for showing beginners that you don't have to drop a large amount of money to get a new, well made bike with good warranty. You just have to be able get over your ego and ignore the big brand snobs.

Well done guys for being a one stop shop for all things cycling & great podcast

I have this bike, it's three years old (pretty much same spec). I've just upgraded the tyres to some GP5000s. Really love it, glad you do too. One thing you could have said is that the frame is not UCI compliant for racing, if that were an issue for someone. It's more of a comfortable geometry, really good for long rides and also has mounts for bags etc. you might want to put on it.

The Triban RC520s here in Asia come with 105 cranksets too, which is neat! Still the same KMC chain + Microshift cassette set-up though, but some regions have a near-full 105 kit, brake callipers aside.

I bought one, on the recommendation of your channel. As my first road bike in decades (been using MTB for a while).... I am REALLY happy with it. Comfortable and practical.

Great review. I got one of these in about 2019 on the cycle to work scheme. With that £1000, you've got extra budget for upgrades to tyres etc. It's a no brainer really if anybody is looking for a road bike. It's my first modern road bike after riding an 80s Pat Rohan with a Campag groupset. By the time working from home started, I'd put about 2500 miles on the bike and absolutely loved them all. It's great all year round.

Guys! I’m so happy you are reviewing the Decathlon Road bikes!! I love their Triban Road bikes and bought a 120 myself but it’s good to have this review for future reference if someone else still debating on which one to get. Keep them coming guys, I love Decathlon bikes so I’m really happy to see you reviewing it!

I like to think that Decathlon said something like "yeah, we will give you one for testing. Yeah, you can say anything you want. Yeah, you can give it to charity." Just because they know the sales will go up after this video.

Been waiting for this. Good one 👍

8:58 this is already the case, but it is not an issue. on some hubs you just replace the endcaps, while on others you slot an adapter into the thru axle hub and it becomes QR

This would make a great winter bike. Good timing you have.

Got the 520 as a gift. It feels heavy and sluggish but the shifting is solid and I feel so confident descending on it

Great bunch of guys there, spent a couple of days taking donations apart for them and got a few replacement bits for my own bikes there.

This is it! Great coverage for bicycles like this. Superb stuff. Will you be covering Van Rysel as well?

Love this sort of content. Crackin video

Love to see you testing the van rysel bikes.

Great gesture at the end guys

I purchased the RC520 in July as my very first road bike, had a fitting from bike fit James, to get it dialed in and it's been wonderful. I have had two crashes (thanks TFL busses) and the bike has held up like a champ. Highly recommend. Looking forward to getting my fitness up and possibly grabbing something a bit lighter in spring.

Have this bike and converted it to a gravelbike, just fitted 38c tyres. Decathlon says max is 36c but mine fit fine (Hutchinson Override). Amazing bike, very durable, simple to work on yourself. Even did bikepacking on it with no problem at all, thanks to the many options for bags and racks. 😊 Got it used but like new for 600€.

You guys are just getting better! 💫

Cant speak highly enough about this bike. I bought a second one last winter as my winter commuter / wet weather steed. Best move i made in ages🙂 What it lacks in outright speed it more than made up by offering superior ride quality (thanks in part to running a tubless set up) and usability by offering multiple mount points. Lighter wheels ( Cadex AR 35's) have also helped sharpen things up. Without doubt one of the best value bikes out there!

My first ever road bike was a 2020 Triban RC500 (basically the RC520 but with shimano Sora, mechanical disk brakes) and it was amazing. Great value, super robust, reliable, not too heavy and looks alright for the price ! Perfect as a first "proper" road bike.

I had one a while ago before I sold on ,I changed the wheels for fulcrums and ran with 700x38 maxxis ramblers and it was a nice comfy machine

Had two bikes from Decathlon, Btwin Triban 3 ten years ago and more recently Van Rysel EDR Ultegra rim 3 years ago. Both been great bikes.

I have had this bike for 2 years and love it. I switched to a tubeless set up and that’s the only change I have done. I have used it for events as well. For the average rider, we don’t need more than this. Bikes like this and the Poseidon are making quality bikes at an entry point for most riders

I brought the sora 10 speed version of the 520 about 2 years ago. Upgraded it to hydraulic disc brake 105 last winter (when they were knocked out cheap) and a new set of wheels and tyres over the summer.

Had one of these for a while before getting the riverside 920 drop bar. Great bikes for the money and another good vid lads

I was waiting for this review!!!!

Bought this last year and it's my first road bike. I took it straight out of the box to a small biking weekend with myself. The shop set it up and they were amazed at the components for the price point. Did 20km on day one and 95km and 800m elevation on day 2. Been biking in amazing places with it since. I like the modularity to just change it to a gravel, etc. I bought now 32mm Hutchinson Sector for the next season. We have a few roads that are a bit questionable and hope to have more grip. Other than that put my Downhill MTB clip less pedals on them :D Also bought the 11-34 cassette now, but still have to try it. There are bunch of steep mountains in my region and I had struggles on some of them, so hope that helps. I have some issues on my home trainer (Garmin TACX Neo 2T special edition) with the derailleur. It does not shift into the lowest gear or in the highest the derailleur rubs against the frame of the trainer. Could also be me noobing around. Overall I am super happy with the experiences I had with the bike so far and also glad about the good 105 shifting experience and the disc breaks. If I stick with the sport, there will be an upgrade to full carbon, electric shifting, 12 gears, etc., but I think this will be a while in the future as this one can do a lot. Thanks for making this video. Helps me understand the differences as well to the other models.

Thankyou for donating to Recyk y bike. They are a great group.

I owned a RC520 for a bit over a year now, and I have to admit that the stock Decathlon tires weren't that great in the end. They're rather heavy and I think they wear out really fast especially when exposed to the sun. They're not really that puncture resistand either. The ones I replaced them with are the Panaracer Gravelking slick, I think 32, and they work much much better. Better at cornering, tubeless compatible, faster and lighter than the original ones, and you can easily go on hardpack dirt roads without fear.

Ive got a 2020 Pinnacle laterite 3, was around the same price. Also comes with Shimano 11 speed 105, but weighs 9.7kg. Great bike, is now my winter bike & my Ribble Endurance SL is my main bike. Pity as the Post Covid Laterite now has 9 SPEED Sora on it instead.

We’ve got these in Australia too, at Decathlon. They’re 1599 AUD which is 835 GBP. It comes with 105 all round, except for the Microshift 11s 11/32 cassette, and the TRP brakes. Definitely a great deal.

I ride this bike since 2 years as gravel / commute bike. Just had a Rs510 crankset. Works perfect. Never had a problem. Changed to tyres to pirelli gravel m tubeless. Even the saddle works perfect for me. Only downside I see is the QR / disc combo. But just in case I want to buy a new wheelset. Qr / disc is hard to find. Not a lot to choose.

Loving the honest review of lower price point machines and hardware. The worlds gone mad in what amateur, low level, relatively new cyclists are prepared to spend on a bike - it’s a marketing triumph and there needs to be a recalibration.

I've been riding with a 11-32 R7000 105 cassette for years, and bought an uprade to 11-34 with vacations in the mountains in mind. I switched it back after the first ride. The 11-32 cassette has 1 tooth increments between the 4 smallest cogs, whereas the 34 tooth cassette starts at 2 tooth increments: 11-13-15-17 etc. It is very noticeable when riding fast in the bunch on the flat. So, I would reommend the 11-32 cassette as an all-rounder option, with a 34 tooth cassette a specialist climbing setup. Now, in the 12 speed world this is not a problem, effectively you get a 34 gear as an extra.

Hey Francis, I love your videos. I think that an alternative to the rc520 could be buying an rc120 and fitting it with Sora or 105 as it works out to be around 350 for the bike and 250 for the upgrade at a shop and if you don't mind rim brakes, it works out to around £200 less, which you could spend on some upgrades such as tyres or wheels or aero bars, which I think would create a better overall experience.

as always great video :) could you review the grvl 520 next :D

Would be fun to see you guys try out the top of the range bikes Decathlon have as well to check out how they compare to other brands in the same price range. Like the Van Rysel RCR and EDR. Those will be in the World Tour next season ridden by AG2R. Nice video.

I got my disc break rc 120 about a month ago and it’s my first bike. I’ve put about 250 miles on it already and I’m just in love, I’ll probably upgrade in another year or so

the achilles heel of all triban bikes are the rims. at some (not too distant) point, they start to crack at the spoke holes. if you want to use them on a daily basis, get a proper 32 spoke wheelset built in your local bike shop. :)

I owned it for a year, it was my commuter bike, in the end also my gravel bike. Solid bike for the money.

i feel like if you have the money and the geometry fits for you, this is a great value. The 105 will be shifting a ton nicer than the

Thanks for this video. I just tried the Triban RC120 and 520 in my local Decathlon store and ended up ordering the 520 with 10 speed Microshift and hydraulic disc breaks on sale for 750€.

520 is a great bike...i have one here in Canada. I did some upgrades like switch the casette to a 11-34, raised the bars with a new stem, replaced the saddle with a brooks and added clipless peddles. I also switched the tyes to Gator Skins but omg they're horrible to get off...but that good be the tyres fault. I also use it for gravel with a separate wheel set with 37mm tyres.

I have the Triban RC520 Women - it easily matches my Cannondale Synapse. I changed the saddle though. Fantastic bike all round!!

My brother has this bike, and has been using it for 3 years now and it has been absolutely rock solid. Unbelievable value. He put some carbon wheels on it and it has taken the bike to another level.

Bought this bike a few years ago, still love riding it everyday till now!

I have 2 of them, you can’t be wrong with this one ! The gravel version is awesome although a bit more expensive.

I got the gravel version (GRVL 520) of this bike and I love it

I love Decathlon and that same store you guys go to! I have the their Van Rysel Aluminium EDR Ultregra and got it for 1200 but selling for 1500 now. I'm a beginner so it's great for me!

They have this at Decathlon in Canada, but it sells for the equivalent of over 1000 GBP. There are definitely a lot of competitive bikes from major brands at that price point.

Great video. Im only riding as im injured from running. Aiming to average 90 minutes a day (10 hours a week) so can't compete with the big boys nor do I want to. A bike like this is perfect. I actually have a Cadd12 that was reduced from £1500 to £999 when I bought it. I can't believe today's prices

Good video and I'm pleased that you are covering bikes at this price point. I think that people don't need to spend thousands on a bike and the industry is taking the p**s with their pricing. Glad to see that you echo my thoughts in that there is good stuff out there at budget prices.

I got the RC500 which has the Shimano Sora groupset. Pretty much the same geometry as tghe 520 but has different components. Which serves its purpose well since Im only a weekend biker. Changed my wheels to 35C but since you said it can fit a 40C, next time I’ll put a 40C. Changed my brakes also to a Tourney mech brake. The ProMax was slippery from the get go. Happy to see you review the Decathlon bikes. Its a nice brand for those who are just starting to ride bikes.

I was looking for a relatively inexpensive road bike I can ride through winter might be a good shout. I'd change the chainset and front mech for GRX, I like the 46/30 a lot, stick some 32mm tires on and good to go.

I love this bike, bought it in April, and I managed to ride my longest ride of 80km It fits me almost perfectly in size small, however a bike fit to fine tune the fit would be a nice to have

I got this bike from my GF as my second more "trashable" bike choice instead of using my Carbon (i was eyeing it up myself). I cannot disagree with anything in the video and for normally 850£ (which should be pointed out) its a FANASTIC bike. I changed the tyres for more gripper road ones for more all weather and i would change the cassette but I tried it out on 200m long max 12% local hill and it was fine. if you live near more hills then save yourself the effort and get that 11-34 but if its flat or less than 200 meters elevation over say 30+ km don't bother. I personally changed the crank arm from 170 to 165 and for me it feels better. One thing i have to point out is there is very little adjustment to shorten so fit smaller if in-between sizes, for example the stem is 80mm on the small etc etc.

Great vid. It's shows Decathlon are giving thought to the bicycles they produce. Please can you do a best entry level gravel bicycle?

I just picked up one of the last few 105 RC520's in the UK for £670. I was looking at an alloy Synapse 2 reduced from £1600 to £1075 but £670 for one of these has to be an absolute steal! Thanks for the recommendation, I'm not sure I'd have even looked at Decathlon 🤘

That is a lot of bike for the money, I have the TRP Spyre cable brakes on the road bike and when I was building the gravel bike bought a pair of the cable hydraulic ones pretty good option compared to the price of a full hydraulic set-up. I like that it's a honest review so Decathlon actually get quite a good add and somebody who can't afford a bike will get a nice bike, good job lads.

wheels and tyres are pretty heavy. changes to those two after a while would make a big difference to the bike. I got a set of Vel 28 alu wheels that weight in at 1590g I bought for £200. I considered that bike before I got my ribble endurance AI.

I always seem to come back to Decathlon when lokking at bikes. Great values across the board and they often have sales. Fir example I bought the Rickrider AM 50 S for 1200€ earlier this year.

Wohoo, "my" bike - I am kinda worried before watching this ep :D (bought it last year when it came with 105 crankset back then) Bought it with M-size which is a bit too big for me, so I pushed the seat forward and changed the stem from 100mm down to 80mm. Also I have bought a "true" Shimano R7000 105 crank with 165mm lenght instead of the factory 172,5mm length, love it with my short legs. I bought a Shimano cassette 11-34t so I have 1to1 ratio for climbing as well, instead of the factory Microshift branded cassette 11-32t. Using it RN with 32mm wide Panarecar Gravelking slick tyres with Vittoria latex inner tubes, it got very confortable with these small changes, I am going to go only for endurance road bikes when I look for a future upgrade, for sure

Fantastic road bike. Best bang for bang your buck and also looks good! Ride the hell out of it.

Love giving it to a bike project. We have The Urban Bike Project here that I gave a couple bikes to.

0:25 "Saddley not"😂

Great cause and video

I have the RC520 , lockdown purchase I won’t lie but o love it . Got me into cycling and watching great Channels like this . Wheels and tyres are awful so changed for some hunt wheels

That Triban looks really cool. That's half the battle 😀

I have this bike, it is really solid. Only the brakes leaves more to wish for.

Disclaimer, I work for Decathlon. BUT I love my RC520! It's done me perfectly as a fair weather cyclist and commuter. The Decathlon bikes around this price point are always exceptional value.

Those Hy-Rds are really underrated. Not only do most of them perform better than Spyres (sometimes even Growtacs), they are an upgrade from the Aliexpress hybrid brakes, and they were designed such that changing oil/ maintenance is easy. If Decathlon updated their frame to be like the Poseidon family of gravel bikes (to have interchangeable dropouts) and kept this price, these bikes will be a proper sleeper/ fly off shelves.

I bought mine about a month ago now, getting 105 at this price point is practically a steal. Also had very good reviews. Can always get a different frame etc. in the future and move the 105 parts over along with buying the rest of the 105 parts (cassette and crank)

Awesome & Thanks :)

I had a look at one of these today, I am honestly shocked by how much cheaper it is than other brands with those specs. I am considering either this, or the Riverdale 500, for the more relaxed handlebars and seating

QR wheels are definitely becoming harder to find. Unless you build your own wheels. I am doing that right right now with my Salsa Journeyman. It is QR and I wanted to build 650b wheelset for bike camping. I love the bike and refuse to get rid of it. I am from the US and love the channel. I like what you guys are doing. Keep up the great work!

Love this video! Anyway we can get a full comparison between all the entry level bikes from Decathalon? RC 120, RC 500, RC520 etc? Would love to see your thoughts and purchase decisions on the different bikes?

Love the fact you gave them away at the end but would have been good to see what improvements you could have got from the bike with the money saved by not going with a big brand first.

I have RC520 champagne gravel. I changed the cassette for a 11/34 shimano. The only mistake the bike has is the quick release otherwise is perfect for the price. In Canada the RC520 is 1700 CAD and the Giant, Trek and Canondale with 105 and AL frame are 2500$ - 3000$.

8:15 all that work fitting a 40c tyre and not even including a shot of the clearance.

i ride my 520 disc now for 3 years and arround 25000km... i love it :D i alomost replace anything whats on the bike, but i still love it :D the only thing i dont unterstand, why they use this TRP brakes? the UPE for the TRP brakes and the mechanical 105 STI is higher then the retail price for hydraulic 105 STI and brakes

I've just bought a Merida Silex 400. RRP it's £1600, I bought For £1200 brand new. I researched a lot of bikes before buying. I found this bike is the best all round gravel bike for a fairly affordable price for what you get with it. I was looking at that Triban & Halfords own Boardman but mine was just better and looks awesome.

This bike used to be around £675 iirc. It's since crept up and it's still pretty decent value.

Decathlon has new stores opening in Toronto Ontario Canada 🇨🇦 Thank God!!!

you should review Polygon bikes. they offer great value as well

Sturdy, durable frame and fork plus 105's groupset is perfect combination. Anything else like: chain, casette, crakns, brakes, wheels or tyres are easy replaceable to customize bike to Your pereferenes. Big OK for this price and don't forget about long Decathlon's warranty.

this was my first road bike. it was a great bike!

got the revolt 1 instead for 100$ more with full hydraulic grx and larger clearance, interchangeable dropouts. will replace wheels saddle and tires to get near 9kg from 10.4kg