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For those who can't wait or read it all:
Very very comfortable bike.
A truly versatile bike (#gravel and road).
A calm sporting performance, but one that holds up over the distance.
Shimano GRX mix component and good quality.
Fulcrum wheels a little heavy but very good grip thanks to the Hutchinson tires.
Poor quality bottom bracket.
Intro
Titanium has something sacred that we can't explain. We sometimes find it old-fashioned, but sometimes extraordinary, we loved it, then rejected it and it is coming back into favor in the world of cycling and more particularly in Gravel and long distance. It is one of the most durable and strong metals on earth. It rivals steel in terms of resistance, but is less dense and therefore lighter...
A famous watch brand says: “You will never completely own it. You will just be its guardian for future generations.”
Well maybe a titanium frame bike won't really be mine, but in any case, I'll enjoy it to the fullest before my descendants do.
I'm not going to compare it to steel or anything.
materials, there are enough websites for this.
A titanium bike is an exceptional bike, handmade and often very expensive… Before…
Presentation
...Decathlon arrives in 2020 with its Triban GRVL 900 Ti mounted in GRX mix for 2400 euros! Bam, the stone in the pond. Only 401 copies made hand in hand with the Italian factory Dedacciai.
A plebiscite at the time. Renewed in 2022 drop by drop… And I was able to get one thanks to a successful connection at 2 a.m. to log in and buy the precious. I had been connected since 5 p.m., but the site was a mess. And I almost refreshed the page frantically to have access to this bike… Finally, I have it, it's at home…
The head tube is imposing like the diagonal tube which must stiffen the
beast. I find it super well proportioned and very pretty to look at…
The titanium used is grade 9 (the strongest), this titanium should allow excellent comfort thanks to vibration absorption and explosive capacities thanks to its elastic properties. In a way, it is as if we compress a shock absorber with each pedal stroke that suddenly relaxes… The bike is just brushed and with a fork
carbon with eyelets.
Tiagra and Shimano GRX group mix. 800 derailleur, 600 40 tooth crankset, 600 brake levers and 400 brake caliper.
For me, the fault is the box which according to initial feedback does not last 2500 km, especially if you use it in mud and bad weather.
The wheels are Fulcrum rapid red 900 in 700x22. Hutchinson Touareg tire. Saddle, seat post, stem and handlebars are Decathlon. There you have it, the technical part is done, now the emotional test with all the fun.
The “emotions” test
During my life, I have been able to test many bikes with different materials, but never titanium. So this test is the test of the Triban Gravel 900 Titanium bike but is also the test of titanium for me, because it is my only reference.
Before this gravel bike I had an aluminum Canyon Grizl 6.0 with which I did the Gravel Tour du Mont Blanc which was really incredible for 1500 euros.
I am 1.84 m tall, I took it in L and I had it fitted at MyBikefit.ch with Peter… A reference. The length of the stem was good (90mm) we just played on the saddle height and its position. I didn't change anything on it during my tests apart from the seat post and the saddle which is from the brand "Selle Idéale" , for gravel. I rode with an inner tube then tubeless. I did both very muddy gravel for 100km, very technical descents but was also able to chain 150km on the road with Mavic wheels and 4-season tires around 0 degrees.
Well, wow, I was amazed!!! I loved it!!! But why?
I felt like Aladdin on his flying carpet. Little vibration going up the back, a very pleasant position and much less aggressive than my old gravel. The hands fit super well on the handlebars. It is precise and you feel super good on it. We can press on the pedals without the bike twisting too much and the relaunches are very good. So yes, it does not have the same resistance, hardness, relaunches as carbon, but we still have on it a pleasant feeling of a machine that would like to pick up a little speed.
On the road, you don't have to look for performance, we have here an ultra comfortable bike, which filters everything, but which is not a fighter plane. In the passes, I still had the impression of being stuck to the road as if the seat stays wanted to sink into the tarmac.
The “mix of components”
All the components are of good quality, and even filled with mud, I had no problem with noise or gear changes. It turns well and strongly. Everything happens on the right control to change gears, nothing to say, it does the job.
Is it braking or what?
The brakes have not given me any problems whether on the road or on the trail, and in 1,500 km, I still have not needed to change them. It brakes hard, it whistles a lot in the rain, but it holds.
And what affects the road?
I put the tires in Tubeless in a second time and we gain even more in comfort. I almost only talk about this, because it is the key word of this bike. A real flying carpet. I bought myself a second pair of Mavic wheels for the road, I put the same cassette. Like that, I have one bike and two practices. And it's really too cool. In road mode, we stay on a bike that easily accumulates miles. With a good position, we feel that we can go on a world tour. We can attach panniers to the carbon fork.
Conclusion all in “emotions”
And here is the time for my conclusion… Well bravo… Bravo to Decathlon, bravo to Dedacciai for offering a bike like this. A real flying carpet that will remain my property for the rest of my life. It is the perfect bike to do everything, to discover everything, to experience everything. A special relationship is formed with this bike.
It's a bit like the old friend who will always be there, always present, in good days and bad. You feel good on this machine that will not be able to let you down.
It's also like the good old-school, ultra-comfortable "chesterfield" sofa, where you feel like you're on a unique, handmade frame... You can feel the passion of the makers... And that? It's titanic...
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