PLOCHINGEN, Germany – With a campaign in Germany for its road bikes, Decathlon is introducing two new brand names: Triban as well as Van Rysel. These two are not the only new names coming for the bikes retailed by the sporting goods giant. Next to the already longtime used B’Twin name there is more to come. March 2019 will see Decathlon having “specific brands for mountain bikes, racing bikes, kid bikes, urban-/city bikes, cross/trekking bikes and folding bikes”.
According to announcements made by Decathlon Sportartikel GmbH & Co. KG (Decathlon Germany) the French sporting goods giant decided “To create many small private labels”. This is done in order to better understand the needs of the athlete and to better tailor the products to their needs. This change would of course also affect the company’s bicycle business operating until now under the B’Twin brand. “After all, a mountain bike rider is not a road racing cyclist. Every category has its own needs and challenges. To do justice to this, our brand B’Twin will be split into different brands and will be operating under the umbrella of Decathlon cycling sports”.
What this boils down to is that Decathlon will exclusively offer children’s bikes under its B’Twin brand. Other B’Twin branded bicycles – at the present time there are for example also some e-bikes offered “during a transformation period“ under this name – will be brought to bed. With a view on the launch of new road racing bikes, “two new brands have emerged from the development process”. While the ‘Road Cycling’ bicycles are riding under the new label name Triban, ‘Road Racing’ bikes are being offered under the new Van Rysel brand.
According to Decathlon-Germany, Triban offers “racing bikes with more comfort and for longer distances”. The Van Rysel models are aimed specifically at ambitious cyclists. “Van Rysel road racing bikes have a much more sporty, more agile frame geometry, more powerful components and do not have to hide from the competition with regard to settings”. The top models are for example equipped with carbon frames and hi-end components like Shimano’s Ultegra and Dura Ace group sets as well as Zipp and Mavic wheels.
Decathlon’s new bike collection has been developed at the company’s cycling HQ in Villeneuve d’Ascqnear Lille. Production of the bikes takes place at different locations. The road racers with carbon frames for Van Rysel, for example, are assembled entirely in Villeneuve d’Ascqand shipped from there. “Of course we also have production facilities in China and Portugal, but the assembly of these hi-end bikes takes place in Villeneuve d’Ascq“.
With the new high-quality Van Rysel label, Decathlon wants to offer bikes that go way beyond their current consumer perspective as many would not know that the sporting goods giant also offers such hi-end models. “We aim to change that for which these bikes offer a fantastic price-performance ratio”, assures Deacthlon Germany’s racing bike expert Maximilian Mitterling.
Other new Decathlon brands that are coming this year are Rockrider (for mountain bikes), Riverside (trekking bikes) and Elops (urban-/city bikes).