I bought the new Rockrider ST 530 and gave it a better look. See where the difference is between the 520 ST


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The cards have been dealt new.
Decathlon released a new bike which I ordered picked up and immediately tried out.
It’s so fresh that the receipts are still on which I’ll take off.
There it is the All new Rockrider ST 530 it costs in Europe around 380 €. I asked myself what most people asked, is the additional charge from the 520 worth it?
Let’s find out.
The Frame and the Geometry didn’t change, but we got a new painting. The first difference is the additional 20mm, so we got a 100mm fork upfront which unfortunately isn’t tapered.

We still have an 80mm long stem and a narrow 680 bar. On which we find a new brake a hydraulic disc brake from tektro filled with mineral oil, which is more service friendly than dot fluid. The Brake calliper looks good as well.
The shiftlever is from Rockrider which I don’t like. It’s personal the shifter feels wrong the ergonomics are just off for me. And we can only pull for upshifting.
On the other side of the bar many of you are missing something.
The Shifter
Reason being this Rockrider has a 1x drivetrain which means we got only one gear in the front in this case with 32 Teeth. Benefits are less clutter failure points and weight (we save around 500grams)
The downside is a smaller range which this bike compensates with a 9-speed cassette and a 42 cog.
This means you can ride quite easily uphill and fast downhill although not as easy as with the old setup.
Accommodated with this comes our new Rockrider derailleur which is a microshift derailleur.
A huge deal is the clutch which can be switched on or off. I show you what it does.
This Clip is with the clutch turned off so like a normal derailleur, aand we dropped the chain.
If we turn the clutch on, the chain tension is higher, the chain slap smaller and the bike quieter, we don’t drop the chain as well.
Our chain also drops because of this narrow not so narrow chainring instead of a narrow wide ring.
We also got a Square tapered bottom bracket which is okay for this price but could be a bsa which is upgradeable.
Last but not least Tyres and rims.
The rims are tubeless claimed (with the conversion) but the tyres didn’t change.
We still got 27,5 Inch wheels which are paired with 2Inch wide tyres. Although We have enough clearance for 2,2 Inch tyres at least in the back which I would recommend if you want to go into the woods.

I tried the bike and derailleur off camera, before I started, I bedded the brake pads in, which means we accelerate to a good speed around 20-25 km/h and apply the brakes without locking the wheels. Repeat that 10-20 times and your brakes will have the most power and will wear even.

So, what’s the Conclusion.
I rode this bike on an easier Terrain one which most of you ride and I can say it works.
This time the bike was properly set up from the beginning, the rear derailleur works fine the chainring could be wider, and I wish for a 30 tooth in the front for real use in the woods since I have steep hills. For “normal “use or more tarmac the 32 is fine.
Although the brakes aren’t strong enough for some one finger breaking, they are powerful enough be sure to break those pads in.
All in all this bike is definitely worth the money and I do recommend it over the 520 if your budget allows it, however it still is no real mountain bike but it gets as close as possible for this price.
But! go and try the bike first, I personally had a strange feeling sitting on this bike, although It’s the right size. And be sure that the maintance and wearing parts cost more than from the 520.
I hope you found this video interesting or at least entertaining
Leave a feedback for this video or the bike in the comments
Thanks for watching subscribing and till next time

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