Decathlon has introduced new indoor trainers:
I moved this to a separate thread since it’s an a new product anouncement more than a sale or deal which that topic is meant to cover.
Given the current volatility of the bike industry it’s sort of interesting timing to be coming out with new trainers. But I’m sure the plans were started years ago
- This. These typically take one or more years to develop in many cases and are subject to forecasting issues worse than simple planning of existing products. Sunk costs at this point so the only thing to do is charge ahead and try to recoup $$$.
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If it was available in the US, I’d probably consider it at that price. I’m still kicking myself for not picking up a Kickr Bike a while back at $2000.
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Looks like just BLE connection. No mention of Ant+
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Also aren’t Decathlon big enough that they can afford to lose money on all three products for their entire lifecycle, with the tech and manufacturing learnings setting them up to be able to massively out-value nearly the entire market with v2.0?
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Yes, and they’re probably a bit of a loss leader for Decathlon’s higher margin stuff. If someone buys a pair of shoes, two pairs of bibs, and a few pairs of socks at the same time that they buy the smart bike, then Decathlon likely has still made money on that transaction.
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I understand your point re: the potential of these trainers as loss leaders, but I doubt buying a few clothing items offsets losses from selling trainers at or near their cost.
That said, Decathlon has clearly decided to use a different margin structure than the rest of the industry (similar to Zwift or Jet Black). Time will tell if it is successful, but I’m willing to bet they are out of the market within 2 years.
Also worth noting that the units are a bit under-spec’s vs. the norms of the category…”only” @500w and 15% grade simulation. Which is probably fine, TBH, for the vast majority of us.
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https://www.thisisant.com/directory/domyos-challenge-bike-900 → “This product has completed ANT+ Certification to demonstrate interoperability via ANT+ communication.”
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That’s good to know. Thanks
As a matter of interest , how big are Decathlon in The States?
Pretty much non-existent. They had a few storefronts, but shut them all down.
Thanks . They are huge in Europe. Probably the IKEA of the sports equipment world with an excellent reputation. The could sell an awful lot of these bikes and trainers. Now they sponsor AG2R they will also come on the radar of the “serious” cyclists.
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They have sponsored them before and it never really moved the needle much for them……we’ll see if trying a different brand than Decathlon works, but I am skeptical.
Depends where you live I guess. In countries where Decathlon is big they are already on the radar of every cyclist. You wouldn’t (currently can’t!) buy a top end race bike there, but you’d certainly go there for stuff like base layers, good value kit, tubes, bottles, lights, kids bikes, etc. Maybe a winter or commuter road or gravel bike - used to see quite a few B’Twin (precursor to Van Rysel) road bikes out and about, they were good entry level to mid range (105) bikes.
They sell Elite and Tacx trainers already. So if their smart bike, trainer and new race bikes are decent quality at a highly competitive price point I could see them selling them in decent numbers. There’s certainly space in the market for Canyon-level pricing and quality but with a physical store presence and better support/inventory, so if they can deliver it then I for one would be very interested.
Agree that adding smart trainers and high end road bikes to their range is not going to be the game changer that allows them to break into markets like the US where they’re not already present.
Edit: just looked at the Decathlon French page as their top Van Rysel stuff isn’t on sale in UK yet. Their aero bike is listed at €8500 with SRAM Red, Zipp 454 NSW wheels and a claimed 6.9kg weight. That’s ~25% cheaper than an Aeroad with the same spec, which in turn is ~20-25% cheaper than the similar specced offerings from the big bike brands with a traditional LBS sales model. If the Van Rysel is a decent bike and they can get it in good stock quantities (2 big ifs!) that’s a pretty compelling deal.
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Showing as €1,340.00 and €470 (but unavailable) on the .ie site. Kickr bike would €3000. If/ when my original hammer gives up the ghost, depending on the Rainmaker/ Llama lab tests, it’s priced that I’d consider it to be honest.
Just off topic, I don’t get the whole desire for “silent” turbos - the three vac masters make more noise that the above mentioned hammer v1!
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Dcrainmaker has pointed this out many times. Most people use fans which is louder than the trainer. I had the elite direto which wasn’t the quietest but not loud and my fan was far louder than the trainer.
Matters more if you live in an apartment I think. Fan noise doesn’t really travel through to neighbouring floors but a trainer sitting on the floor definitely does.
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Also, with a trainer, you get all the associated bicycle noises. The thing that appeals to me about a smart bike is that there are no clicks, creaks, rubs, etc. My wife uses a Peloton and the only way I know when her ride is complete is that I hear her unclip.
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