Decathlon BTwin Bottle cages- time to take them back for a refund!

A review of the Decathlon BTwin 5 Water Bottle Holder

BTwin Bottle Holder on Planet X RT 57

I have to admit that despite the numerous pieces of carbon bicycle exotica i've owned over the years I have never actually owned a carbon fibre bottle cage. For their use I cannot see the logic in spending such a large amount of money so here's a short review of the product.

Decathlon  BTwin Bottle Holder 5 in Black on Planet X RT 57

I generally purchase simple thermoplastic or metal bottle cages which I know I have no issues replacing in case of an accident during a race. Usually they last a fair length of time however recently i've purchased a number of such items which i've had issues with and feel that Decathlon need to review.

For my new Planet X RT 57 I decided to pic up a set of pair bottle-cages from Decathlon's BTwin line. You'd think that a multinational sports company like Decathlon and their BTwin brand would be able to get a simple bottle cage right- and you'd be wrong sadly. For £3.99 per cage they're on the lower price range but that shouldn't make a difference as i've had similar products in the past.

Close up of the BTwin 5 bottle holder whih doesn't actually hold a bottle for long. 

So far I've lost 3 waterbottles on sections of roads which weren't exactly rough. If I'd put on of these cages on my cyclo cross bike then I would have lost a lot of money worth of waterbottles over a very short space of time. It seems the reason for the lose is that the cages whilst having the traditional wrap around style do not have a lip at the top of the body as shown below on a Zefal Spring water bottle holder below.

Zefal Spring Water Bottle Cage Showing the 'lip' that the Btwin 5 Bottle Holder is desperately missing

Time to head back to Decathlon for a refund!

Planet X RT 57 with Sram Red and Decathlon Btwin 5 Water Bottle Holders Before they go back to the shop). 

Planet X RT 57 Bike Problems after a month of use

I previously showed a selection of images of my new Planet X RT-57 and after a months worth of riding I thought it's be a good time to take you through a few negatives to bear in mind if you're considering buying  a Planet X Bike and looking for reviews and feedback



Planet X RT 57 Review and Problems

Planet X RT 57 Bike Problems (A review)

1. I found that when I collected the bike Planet X's builders hadn't done the best of jobs in tightening the various nuts and bolts. Particularly the bars and stem. The handlebars slipped on their first use and I was rather fortunate I'd bought a set of allen keys for the ride. Therefore I have to mark Planet X down on the bikes build quality
2. I had to spend time myself setting up the rear brake which hadn't been fitted centrally. I wanted to simply get on the bike and ride- finding that you needed to adjust the brakes before your first ride is a real annoyance
3. Bottle cage bolt placement is too close together. If you look at the monochrome photo above notice how close the bottle cages are together. It means that water bottles will not fit correctly into the cages i have. I'm currently on the lookout for a set of bottle cages which sit high up and close to the bolt fixing positions
4. The Planet X CNC Ultralight brakes are pretty weak on stopping power. As someone who previously was used to the strong yet stable breaking of Dura Ace Calipers. The Planet X Ultralight CNC brake set looks good but is relatively weak and in return takes a lot of work to stop- particularly in emergencies. I'm even at the point of considering changing to a set of Sram or Shimano Caliper brakes once I get paid next. 

Planet X CNC Ultralight Calipers offer lightweight and light feeling braking

To be honest most of these are minor issues. The bolt tightness I would recommend anyone to check before they ride a bike anyway but my real worry is the bottle cage bolt fixings being so close together. This is a size large (56cm) RT 57 frameset so I would expect the bolts to be closer together on smaller framesets as well. 

This Planet X bike deep deep is a great bicycle. The frameset is fantastically responsive and I absolutely love it however the above have been a few minor issues I thought best shared with the world and blogosphere.