Thursday 24 May 2012

Again on the Rockrider 5.29, and the RR BIG 5.3

It was about two months ago when in this post I wrote that I was very happy to see the Rockrider 5.29 in the Decathlon catalogue. Finally a low cost 29er mountain bike.
Too bad that it seems impossible to buy it. A good friend of mine is really determined to have one so he went to both the Decathlon stores of our area. In the first one they said that it will not be available before september (I mean, what's the point of a new bike model sold in september?), in the other one they sais they don't know anything about the 5.29 model.
It's out of stock also in the Decathlon website.
But there is something more. Seems like the RR 5.29 will not be the only Rockrider with 29" weels, as in the Spanish version of the Decathlon site there is also another model called Big RR or Rockrider Big 5.3, and it looks like an upgraded version of the 5.29 (like the 26" 5.3 is an upgraded version of the 5.2 I suppose).
Here it is:

It looks nice, but it's not available.
If someone konws anything about the 5.29 or the Big 5.3, please send me a note.

10 comments:

FlipFlopper said...

Hi, I just bought a big RR yesterday, and have quite enjoyed about 100km of trail riding in the past 48 hours :-D

It's quite good spec for the money, way better than entry level trek/felt, and it came in at 400 Euros, so quite cheap for a mountain bike with the spec, let alone a 29er.

Aluminum frame (L for me)
Suntour XCR LO 100mm
Sram X5 Shifters and Rear Derailleur
Shimano Tourney Front Derailleur
(Weak spot to save money, but if you're going to make cuts, front mech is where to do it, no?)
Hayes mx5 Mechanical Disc brakes (potential weak spot, but at this price?)
Wheelset is unmarked, but the rims are "reinforced rigida" and the hubs are from formula. I imagine they'll last for a little while, as this is supposed to be the "Mid-level" 29er on offer, probably not quite bottom end wheels.

Quite happy with the purchase, and it rides very well!

seb. said...

Hello and thanks for the comment.
Glad to know that the RR 29" are now available, I suppose that here we have to wait a little more...
Specs seem good too.
Congrats for your purchase!

FlipFlopper said...

Thanks, it's a nice ride. Decathlon here only had 2 of them, and they'd been assembled the morning I bought it (fresh arrivals). The other was picked out as mine was going through it's final prep/check, so I imagine that they might already be out of stock, but they'll probably be in soon. They also are not yet up on the German website, so I'd take a look at the store if you're interested.
Also, I don't know about another 29er under this one (5.29?), but I didn't see anything else with 29 inch wheels, and they didn't mention another one.
Cheers!
Chris

seb. said...

A friend of mine phoned at our local decathlon store but still no news.
the 5.29 is supposed to be the downgraded version of the big 5.3, this one:
http://www.btwincycle.com/IT/rockrider-5-29-214269985/

again, thanks for your comment, very appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Hi all,
just bought the Big RR 5.4 in Decathlon in Cascais (Lisbon). First impression is quite ok, I like very much the feeling of the tall 29inches. I need now to see how it behaves in steep climbing though

Simone

seb. said...

Hi Simone, thanks for your comment and congrats for your purchase.
If you are interested in writing a review or just some thoughts on the Big RR I would be very glad to publish it here in the blog. If you want you can send it to seb0932(at)gmail(dot)com

ps: I have very good memories of Cascais, wonderful beaches! :-)

Unknown said...

Hi all
have you had any more reviews of the BigRR as I am looking to get one, trying to find how the component parts compare with other bikes like the giant talon 29


Regards ian

seb. said...

Hello Ian and thanks for stopping by.
No, at the moment I didn't find more reviews.
Will update when I have more details.

Zak said...

Hi, I bought a 5.29 at the weekend as a budget starter Mountain Bike and I have to say I'm really happy with the bike. People told me the pistol grip gear changers are a pain but I find them ok and the changes are really smooth. The 29" wheels also make the ride a lot smoother and the bike handles steep climbs with ease (I'm not the fittest and I have been hardly out of breath going up some long steep hills). All in all I'd recommend the bike to anyone thinking of buying a budget starter bike, the components will obviously not be as good as a more expensive bike but the 5.29 is great value in my opinion.

seb. said...

Hello Zak, thanks for stopping by and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the 5.29.
If you want to share more thoughts or opinions, or some pictures of your new 5.29 I'll be glad to post them here on the blog. You can send them at seb0932 (at) gmail (dot) com
Congrats for your purchase and happy riding!