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TECH NEWS

Just In: Triban RC 520 Gravel

Triban has tweaked the spec of one of its most popular bikes to give it an adventure twist

Triban has unveiled the RC 520 Gravel, a new version of its RC 520 Disc which is the current road.cc Cycle to Work Scheme Bike of the Year. As the name suggests, this bike is designed to be capable of heading off the tarmac and on to less well surfaced roads and tracks.

When we reviewed the Triban RC 520 Disc towards the end of last year we described it as "a superb value, fully competent workhorse road bike with plenty of practicality thrown in".

Triban RC 520 Gravel - cables.jpg

That bike, still available for £729.99, is built around an aluminium frame with a carbon legged fork, a mid-level Shimano 105 groupset and TRP HyRd cable operated disc brakes.

Read our review of the Triban RC 520 Disc 

Although it has a completely different paint job with a brushed titanium look to it, the RC 520 Gravel uses the same frame, built to what Triban calls a 'comfort-orientated geometry'. This means that the top tube is shorter than that of a race bike, and the head tube is relatively long, putting you into a ride position that's relaxed by road bike standards.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - head tube badge.jpg

If you want the figures, we have the medium sized model here with a 500mm seat tube, 548mm top tube and 155mm head tube. The stack is 569mm and the reach is 379mm, giving a stack/reach of 1.50.

Both the frame and the fork come with rack and mudguard mounts and the cables run externally.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - rear mech.jpg

The shifters and derailleurs are Shimano 105 and the chainset is from Shimano too, although it's a non-series model that's heavier than a 105 equivalent.

The build is very similar to that of the Triban RC 520 Disc that we reviewed, although the tyres are different. Instead of the 28mm Triban Resist+ tyres, here you get Hutchinson Overides in a 35mm width, with a HardSkin puncture protection layer. They're tubeless ready although you'll need a conversion kit – rim strips, valves and sealant – if you want to run the wheels without tubes.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - tyre and rim.jpg

Despite being wider, the gravel bike's tyres are lighter – 350g each as opposed to 410g each, according to the official figures.

The frame and fork will accept tyres up to 36mm wide on the 700c wheels that come fitted, or 42mm if you switch to 650b wheels.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - bars.jpg

The other difference is the handlebar. Rather than the ergonomic drop handlebar of the Triban RC 520 Disc, the bar you get here has a 16° flare. In other words, the drops are positioned quite a bit further out than the hoods, the idea being to provide more comfort and control.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - crank.jpg

So the Triban RC 520 Gravel has different tyres and handlebars from the Triban RC 520 Disc, and the finish is different, but that's the sum of the changes. Even the 50/34-tooth chainset and 11-32-tooth cassette are exactly the same.

Oh, there is one other difference: the price. Whereas the Triban RC 520 Disc is £729.99, the gravel version is £849.99 – so you're paying an extra £120 for a couple of quite small changes. Fair enough, the Hutchinson Overides are good tyres but they're slick by gravel standards, and on the face of it the road model looks better value.

Triban RC 520 Gravel - top tube detail.jpg

That said, the Triban RC 520 Gravel still offers a lot for the money. It's not exactly light at 10.3kg but you're getting a tried and tested frameset and a higher level component spec than you've a right to expect for the cash. 

Triban RC 520 Gravel - seat tube decal.jpg

This bike is available from Decathlon now, but if you're willing to hold on a little longer there's a Triban RC 520 Gravel Ltd in the works with a 1x11 drivetrain. This version comes with SRAM Apex 1 derailleurs and shifters. The 44-tooth chainset is from the Apex groupset too, as is the 11-42-tooth cassette. The wheels are 650b fitted with WTB Resolute tubeless ready tyres in a 42mm width. The Triban RC 520 Gravel Ltd will be the same price as the standard version – £849.99 – when it becomes available in July.

Okay, so it's time to get this bike out on the road – both the tarmac and gravel varieties. We'll let you know how we get on in a full review soon.

Triban bikes are available through www.decathlon.co.uk

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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21 comments

Avatar
Ad Hynkel | 5 years ago
0 likes

Hallelu-jah, a straight headtube. Mr Ritchey will approve for this use.

Avatar
Sriracha | 5 years ago
2 likes

What is it with the current trend to have the seat stays too short to find the top of the seat tube? It looks shit, so I guess there is some supposed functional advantage?

Avatar
leqin replied to Sriracha | 5 years ago
3 likes

Sriracha wrote:

What is it with the current trend to have the seat stays too short to find the top of the seat tube? It looks shit, so I guess there is some supposed functional advantage?

The whole idea is to rip you off by selling you less materials and forcing you to ride around on a butt ugly bike that other cyclists laugh at........ or it is because it allows for changed flex in the rear triangle/seat tube area resulting in changed performance and a more pleasent ride and it isn't a new trend, but then maybe your not old enough to recall bicycles in the past that used the same formula.

Very little in bikes is new. Most everythings been tried before, even as far back as the 1800's. Bicycling is very good at rehashing old ideas as new and revolutionary.

Avatar
mike the bike replied to leqin | 5 years ago
0 likes

leqin wrote:

 ......The whole idea is to rip you off by selling you less materials and forcing you to ride around on a butt ugly bike that other cyclists laugh at........ 

 

Had I ventured this opinion my mother would have said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  My father, less attuned to my callow, teenage anxieties, would have told me to remain quiet lest I convinced people I was simple minded.

Avatar
Sriracha replied to leqin | 5 years ago
0 likes
leqin wrote:

Sriracha wrote:

What is it with the current trend to have the seat stays too short to find the top of the seat tube? It looks shit, so I guess there is some supposed functional advantage?

The whole idea is to rip you off by selling you less materials and forcing you to ride around on a butt ugly bike that other cyclists laugh at........ or it is because it allows for changed flex in the rear triangle/seat tube area resulting in changed performance and a more pleasent ride and it isn't a new trend, but then maybe your not old enough to recall bicycles in the past that used the same formula.

Very little in bikes is new. Most everythings been tried before, even as far back as the 1800's. Bicycling is very good at rehashing old ideas as new and revolutionary.

Yikes! How old exactly are you? And if you're still riding - chapeau.

Avatar
Jimthebikeguy.com | 5 years ago
0 likes

Having seen one if these in a shop, in the flesh, i don't actually think the high value rating applies that well... Pretty grim in the metal.

Avatar
Zermattjohn | 5 years ago
0 likes

These Hutchinson Overide tyres are fairly poor for UK riding I found - mine lasted around 4 months of on/off road riding. Pretty flimsy, especially the centre which is quite smooth and wears down quickly - not sure if that was tarmac doing that or gravel. Replaced with Panaracer Gravelking which are much tougher, despite feeling more pliable, and have a better tread pattern. Even prefer them to the Schwalbe G-One tyres which seem to be specced on most gravel bikes I see.

Avatar
Brendon Noble | 5 years ago
0 likes

The rc520 is very heavy, sluggish and ugly.
Why does it get such great reviews?

Avatar
dassie replied to Brendon Noble | 5 years ago
3 likes

Brendon Noble wrote:

The rc520 is very heavy, sluggish and ugly. Why does it get such great reviews?

Compared to?  It's not carbon, nor very expensive.  10.4kg is not bad at all for the price point, and spec (105).  If you're a 60kg racing snake then maybe look elsewhere, but most people could do with shifting a few kg of body weight anyway...

Avatar
Brendon Noble | 5 years ago
2 likes

The rc520 is very heavy, sluggish and ugly.
Why does it get such great reviews?

Avatar
Alb | 5 years ago
0 likes

Is the geometry for this bike weirdly missing from the Decathlon website or am I being thick? 

Avatar
Spangly Shiny replied to Alb | 5 years ago
0 likes

Alb wrote:

Is the geometry for this bike weirdly missing from the Decathlon website or am I being thick? 

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_855...

Avatar
nnahler | 5 years ago
0 likes

Let's hope that Apex 1x11 version comes with full hydraulic brakes.

Avatar
zero_trooper | 5 years ago
0 likes

As they’ve already gone non-series with the chainset,  a smaller big ring would have been nice for a gravel bike, 48 or 46?

The Ltd sounds great at that price.

Avatar
Stef Marazzi | 5 years ago
4 likes

Why not just buy the £729 version,

Then buy a pair of Hutchinson Over ride tyres for £28 each (£56)

Then some Ritchey Evo Max Comp flared bars (£44)

and... Hey Presto!

A saving of £20 on this gravel version, plus you get to swap between your original slick tyres, and can flog a set of handlebars!

Avatar
KoenM replied to Stef Marazzi | 5 years ago
0 likes

cyclesteffer wrote:

Why not just buy the £729 version,

Then buy a pair of Hutchinson Over ride tyres for £28 each (£56)

Then some Ritchey Evo Max Comp flared bars (£44)

and... Hey Presto!

A saving of £20 on this gravel version, plus you get to swap between your original slick tyres, and can flog a set of handlebars!

True, but at this price alot of people with not much experience (and tools) will buy them for those people 120 extra is ok!
Let me give u an example, a friend of mine payed for bike to be collected, install a new innertube and deliver it back to her house for close to €50! I told her that for €5 for an innertube and €5 for a couple of tyre levers and a youtube video she could have saved €40, but she didn't care about the money, she just didn't want to handle the hassle! I did tell her that I would fix it at her house next time for €20 (including an innertube) xD!

Avatar
bikeman01 replied to Stef Marazzi | 5 years ago
2 likes

cyclesteffer wrote:

Why not just buy the £729 version,

Then buy a pair of Hutchinson Over ride tyres for £28 each (£56)

Then some Ritchey Evo Max Comp flared bars (£44)

and... Hey Presto!

A saving of £20 on this gravel version, plus you get to swap between your original slick tyres, and can flog a set of handlebars!

 

That brushed titanium look is worth more than £20 of my money.

Avatar
jollygoodvelo | 5 years ago
2 likes

Really like the way that B-Twin / Triban have toned down their graphics for recent generations of their bikes, that finish looks really classy.  

What are the chances it comes with a proper BB and not pressfit?

Avatar
Fretwork | 5 years ago
0 likes

Designed and tested in Flanders, France....

 

What did I just read?

 

Avatar
dogthomson replied to Fretwork | 5 years ago
2 likes
Fretwork wrote:

Designed and tested in Flanders, France....

 

What did I just read?

 

French Flanders!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Flanders

Nice paint, £120 scene tax though!?

Avatar
kil0ran | 5 years ago
3 likes

Cor!

That finish heart

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