I didn't know anything about cycling. My first bike was Triban GRVL 120 – for less than 800eur it was more than competent and gotten me into the hobby. It was a lot of bike for the money. When there was a time to upgrade I was very keen to give decathlon another shot.
After doing some research though, the decathlons bike offer pales in comparison to brands like Cube. Their bike weren't expensive but far from best value. For similar price you could get a better equipped And better looking cube across the line.
Just compare the whole Nuroad line – a night and day difference. Is decathlon missing the plot or am I missing something important?
by Gloomy_Jicama6194
18 Comments
Cube has been a good value for a long time.
Decathlon has stopped fighting with prices few years ago, not only in cycling gear, also in backpacking.
I absolutely detest the online hate for Decathlon. It’s an absolute haven for those wanting to give stuff a go and, honestly, the quality is generally very solid for the costs.
My current gravel bike is a GRVL 520. The thing is an absolute tank; and I’m just as quick on it than I am with my old carbon Canyon Endurace for a sixth of the cost.
The only thing that it doesn’t have is a certain “coolness” factor by a few gatekeepers on Instagram or snobs in cycling clubs. But many will recognise it for what it is — a solid, utilitarian frame that’s fit for 90% of riders.
I think of it in the same way as a Suzuki Jimney compared to a modern Range Rover. I’d prefer to own the former, if it was my money.
They are both good value compared to bigger and traditional bike brands. Cube in particular has been unmatched for quite some time, in terms of value for money.
That said, buying a bike also means buying a machine you like and enjoy riding. I was gonna buy a cube until I came across a Bianchi Arcadex on sale. I love looking at it!!
van rysel stuff is good, very good
but the examples shown here are bad, I’d rather pay a bit more and get more future proof bike
Used Cube Nuroads are super cheap here in germany. Some look brand new too.
Sometimes like 1 year old for half the cost.
No need to buy a new bike
I have read a lot of posts regarding broken Cube’s no-name hubs and very little regarding Decathlon/Triban hubs.
It doesn’t have to mean anything, but it might.
the alloy van rysel with axs is an insane deal
Decathlons Van Rysel Grvl AF line is still great value imo, especially AF 2.
I always get lost in Cubes lineup, they have quite a confusing naming scheme.
I had decatlon in the past, I would say the decatlon of now is not the same than 5 years ago, they got way better now, but the value on marketplace is really low, so don”t hopping you can sell it for a good price if you change, and they usually put the cheapest thing on it, and will change a bit every years, so you can find easilly on marketplace
the nuroad have a speed of 10-51T(10= max speed, 51T= minimum speed) 40T(in front) 12 speed when decatlon have a 11-44T – 40T, so the cube have a wider range of speed et honestly, 10 is rare at that price, the cube is better in max speed, slow speed, also if you plan to add accessories, the cube nuroad as way more possibility
I mean Van Rysel is not trying to vendor lock you the same way Cube does in a few points.
I also very much appreciate their guarantee policy and the fact that there is a dedicated service at my nearby Decathlon. Provides me with a peace of mind.
The only thing missing is an influencer community to ‘make it look cool’ (spoiler it is).
Cube is great nevertheless. It would be better option for a rider how is comfortable with fixing their bike and taking care of it.
Few years ago Triban 520 was 890€ with 11s 105 and hydro brakes-that was crazy good deal.
Nowdays Van Rysel NCR AF with full 10s Tiagra is 1289€, and that’s like average at least here where i live,in that price range you can get pretty much any brand, not so bang-for-buck anymore.
Not that they are bad of whatever, 90% of my gear is from Dechatlon.
I see that you are from Czechia, here where i live Superior bikes are pretty good bang-for-buck.
Cube is a very much under the radar brand in a lot of places, even despite Biniam Girmay winning the TdF green jersey on a Litening a few years ago. I was all set to buy a Canyon Endurace last year when I wanted a road bike, and ended up with a Cube Attain as the Canyons were always out of stock in my size and the Attain was cheaper for the same spec.
Their hubs aren’t “no name” as someone has suggested, wheels and hubs are made by Newmen which is Cube’s in-house brand, with much of the finishing kit made by Acid (also an in-house brand). r/Cubebikes is worth a look if you have specific questions about a model though, lots of Nuroad owners there.
Since U come from the Czech Republic, really good offer from a Polish shop: https://szybkierowery.pl/produkt/felt-breed-advanced-carbon-grx-810-2×11-nowy-w-super-cenie/
How do You guys get those Cubes? I remember checking Bike Discount during mid-season and none of them were available for pre-order.
I live in Poland.
You’re right. For me, Decathlon hasn’t innovated in anything significant and isn’t my go-to choice in either cycling, hiking or climbing gear anymore. It’s really good for every-level stuff, no matter the sport, but the higher you go the worse it gets and I’ve been disappointed with anything beyond the basic stuff. Even for the basic stuff you can usually find a better offer.
Van Rysel grvl AF is a beauty. Plus the perceived quality look better than cube, but it’s just a opinion 😉
Cube is a bit of an outlier when it comes to the spec. you get for the money, I don’t think anyone else competes with them on that apart from the odd model here and there rather than entire ranges (although I personally think Cube have too many offerings and they have an issue with stock on popular price point models, surely reducing the number of models would allow them to order/stock more of the each remaining model).
Triban stuff is generally good value but aimed at the lower end of the market and is usually pretty generic (not really a criticism – most bikes are in that price range). Van Rysel is the performance line and where Decathlon invest most of their R&D, I think to date though they’ve mostly focused on the road side (makes sense alongside the World Tour team sponsorship). I assume they’re probably working on refreshing the gravel side though, hopefully that should have some decent models with good spec. for the money.
Cube definitely has been a good value find on the used market. i have one as a backup to my cannondale