Earlier this year we spotted Decathlon’s Rockrider brand on some very high-end looking mountain bikes on the World Cup XCO circuit. Turns out, there’s more than just an XC bike (and more than one XC bike), with the retail giant looking to entire multiple disciplines with various levels of bikes.
Word around the booth was they’ll keep the entry level models for beginners, then split the high end stuff into “Feel” and “Race” lines, for enthusiasts and racers, respectively. Energy was high among French media buzzing around there (Decathlon is a French retail chain and brand), suggesting these new bikes are coming sooner than later…
Rockrider FEEL TE S enduro bike
The “TE” in the name likely refers to Trail Enduro, and with 130mm rear travel pair to a 140mm fork, it’s sitting firmly in the trail category. The inline shock (versus a piggyback shock) reinforces that, but who knows what variants might be offered.
Suspension spec is top notch with a Rockshox Pike Ultimate fork and Deluxe Ultimate trunnion-mount shock. The full carbon frame front and rear suggests they’re not playing around, but being Decathlon it’s likely to hit a very attractive price point since they’ll own both the brand and the retail and distribution channel.
A mechanical SRAM GX Eagle group handled shifting, and Mavic Crossmax XLR carbon wheels…
…with housebrand tires round out the spec. Brakes are SRAM G2, and the entire cockpit is Rockrider, including a dropper post with 120, 150, and 170mm travel depending on frame size.
I’m digging the QR code owners manual directly on the frame. Chainguide, flat pedals, and even a computer mount are all listed on the spec sheet as included.
Rockrider RACE 900/900S XC bikes
This RACE 900S (S = Suspension) bike belongs to Joshua Dubau and was raced at the Val di Sole XCO.
Team spec includes Manitou suspension, Hutchinson tires (which are prototypes), Answer cockpit, TRP brakes, and a K-Edge stem-cap computer mount…and Mavic wheels.
I spoke to Mavic while at the Roc d’Azur and while they’re not quite ready to share their full comeback story, there’s a lot of energy there, too. Stay tuned on that.
The stock bikes will come with SRAM & Rockshox builds, with your choice of GX or GX AXS, and for wheels either Mavic Crossmax or Reynolds carbon.
The bike gets 100mm travel front and rear, and the materials suggest the shocks are tuned by frame size, which would be a really nice feature if smaller riders had damping that worked well for them.
The rear end looks chunky on the bottom for better stiffness, but flattens out on the seatstays to allow some flex to make up for the lack of a pivot near the dropout.
The team bikes show dropper posts, this one does not, but there’s a port for internal routing to one. They’re spec’d with an aggressively low -20º stem, another nice touch for a race bike. Claimed weight for the full carbon frame is 1,930g.
The RACE 900 is the hardtail version and will come in this very high-end build…and some much more affordable ones. It, too, uses a 120mm fork.
Definitely like the indents on the frame, which provide more secure mounting points for tube/tool straps and frame protection. Extra ports allow for mechanical drivetrains and dropper posts here, too.
The Rockrider E-EXPL 520S e-mountain bike looks to be part of the entry level lineup, with 140mm travel front and rear handled by X-Fusion fork and shock. A MicroShift Advent-X wide-range 10-speed group handles shifting, and it’s assisted by a Brose T All 70Nm motor and custom 500Wh battery.
The photo’s angle makes it look like a mullet, but it’s running 29×2.4″ front and rear. Tektro brakes and a Rockrider alloy cockpit with dropper round out the spec for what’s likely to be quite a fun bike.
Prices and availability are TBD. We interviewed Decathlon about the new XC bikes and their goals with the design for the Bikerumor Podcast if you’d like to learn more.
