Bike review

Seeing as how biking has become a big part of my day to day life, I thought I would do a review of my bike.

I currently ride a Decathlon b'Twin 5 Daily Hybrid model. I purchased it new for the listed price of 299€, but then spent 30€ to change the handle bar to a more curved one from the standard straight.

Official Decathlon link here. The bike comes equipped with Dynamo lights, which I like because I don't have to worry about them getting stolen off my bike like a removable handle bar light and they don't use any batteries.

I also added on a front basket, which is detachable. The basket is not attached in these pictures because I rarely use it anymore, but you can see the red and black support system attached to the handle bars.

The bike originally had a single kick stand, but it wasn't at all stable if I had a basket on, so B got me a double kick stand (motorcycle style). This was about 30€.

The rear luggage rack comes with a spring set bar that can hook onto a Decathlon basket (basket about 25€).

After using the front basket for several months, I realized I didn't like having lots of weight on the front of the bike. It made steering rather difficult and the way the Decathlon system works on the handle bar, it was very difficult to take the basket off when it was fully loaded and heavy. Since the baskets are detachable (and thus steal-able) I also take them with me when I lock up my bike.

The rear basket is not very deep, so going over any bump will make things fly out, which is why I have to always use my Decathlon bungie cords.

When I lock up my bike for the day or in a place I'm worried about theft, I use two locks: a U-lock (about 45€) on my bike frame, and a cheap Decathlon flexible lock for just my front wheel (lock wrapped around handlebar in pictures). My husband did install some basic Decathlon wheel locks on my bike, but I think the system only has one key, kind of like cheap-o luggage locks. Anyone who buys the Decathlon key could unlock my wheels (but they'll at least slow them down). My husband has more expensive system for his wheels and bike seat.

Why did I buy this bike?
My previous bike was an old bike from my MIL, and at the end of its life the chain would come off if I tried to change gears. I had a more bent over posture on it, and on long bike rides my back always hurt. When I decided to get a new bike for my 26th birthday, I looked for a bike I would be able to use on off road bike rides (like I had done with my old bike) as well as some city riding. I also wanted a more upright position so my back wouldn't hurt. This hybrid model is supposed to work for both off-road riding and city riding.

What happened next?
I went to England in 2011 and realized I could ride my bike in any weather or temperature, so using my bike wasn't just for the summer and outings with friends. I could use my bike for transportation, to run errands, and to go to work.

And then?
I started biking daily in the city, and I realized that this bike is not ideal of daily city biking. For one, the gears and chain are not covered and if I'm not careful I can get grease on my clothes. If I was just biking on dirt road or along the Canal du Midi I wouldn't care much, but I like to be able to wear khaki pants without stressing about the grease! It has a modified body, but the step-through is still rather high, especially when I'm wearing a skirt (I have to tilt the bike to the side to get my leg over the bar). A Dutch style bike with a very low step-through would better accommodate different clothes. Decathlon does sell bikes like this, but when I was purchasing my bike 3 years ago I thought they were two heavy (generally the case compared to VTT or VTC) and that it would prevent me from biking off road.

Overall opinion:
My b'Twin 5 Daily has served me well, especially all last year when I biked to work every single day. That said, the more I get into biking, the more I realize I would like to change bikes and that Decathlon b'Twin bikes should be avoided. One of the main problems I have come up against is that the Decathlon bikes are made to only work with Decathlon accessories. I love some the accessories made by Basil, but in order to use their bike panier, I will be changing out the luggage rack on my bike because the b'Twin bike rack uses non-standard diameter tubes. I now understand as well why you need to spend minimum 500€ on a bike, if not 800€ or more, if you want a well made, comfortable, and convenient bike. I don't think I would spend more than 800€ on a bike just because of the risk of theft, but 300€ is just not enough to get a good bike.

If you're looking to start biking more often but don't have a ton of experience (like me 1 1/2 years ago), I would recommend buying a used bike to see what it's like for 6 months so that you have a better idea of what you like and would you want in a bike, and then go by a nice new bike. Many specialty bike stores let you test ride a bike, but I only gained insight into what I needed after several months of biking. Due to my experience with the heavy basket in the front, I know, for example, that I will probably never bike with a child seat in the front, only in the back.

Decathlon and other sporting goods stores like InterSport are a good generic place to start, but if I had realized that I would be locked into their accessory system, I might have looked elsewhere.

If you want to read more about modern city biking, check out some of these blogs:
Let's go for a bike ride
Bicitoro
Cycle and Style

If you're looking for good biking gear, check out Cyclables.