Advice on buying a new bike?

[pumaz]

I currently have a 2004 specialised hard rock sport disc that I use for my 10 mile round trip commute to work ( when it's dry) I've been very happy with this bike but it is getting a little old now (still in great condition)

I've also been on a diet since the start of the year and as a treat for reaching my target weight I promised myself a new bike. Well I'm only 6lb off now

Initially I wanted to buy a road bike as I don't really go off road anymore and quite fancied doing some distance and dare I say it the roadies look kind of cool! But two things worry me about road bikes, 1) how strong are they? The roads on my commute are in poor condition and I worry about buckled wheels and worse. 2) expense? It seems you have to spend allot more on a road bike to get something decent and then there's the kit like pedals and shoes etc.

I've also just learned I can get a bike under the cycle to work scheme which sounds like a good idea. Essentially I could have £1000 worth of bike for about £700 spread over 12 months. Can't see any negatives really.

It would be very easy for me to go and buy a Boardman Comp MTB for £650 to replace my ageing hard rock knowing it would cope with the roads but would I regret not going for a road bike?

If you were me what would you do with up to £1000 on c2w scheme?

 

[charlaph]

I'd buy a cyclocross bike. All the positives of a road bike but built a bit burlier so they'll take a hammering from UK roads. Generally any sub-£1k road bike will likely have strong enough wheels to handle any pothole/kerb bashing so it's largely pointless getting an mtb for road work. You'll have shorter gearing (I used to spin out in top on my mtb) and it'll be a lot heavier.

I know what you mean about getting what you pay for with road bikes, but if you can get a Boardman on the cyclescheme I doubt you'll be disappointed by it. Also think about extras on the cyclescheme. Panniers, clipless pedals and shoes, locks etc...it might be cheaper to buy then via cyclescheme than just getting sale items.

 

[pumaz]

I'm really against cyclocross and hybrids, can't explain why, for me it as to be one or the other. Yeah I do plan on getting any accessories at the the same time under the cyclescheme of cause that's if the bike doesn't take up all the budget!

Went in to my LBS (leisure lakes) today initially to look at the hardrock sport disc 2012 for £500 and tbh the Boardman at halfords for an extra £150 seemed a far better bike (looked nicer to) but I found myself eyeing up road bikes although they only had a couple in for less than £1k

In an ideal world I would buy a new MTB for my commute and a road bike for weekend rides but sadly can't afford both

 

[charlaph]

Sounds like you want an MTB then. It's no issue if you're not going to top out, but it really annoyed me knowing that I couldn't go any faster without swapping chainrings or cassettes. For the money it's hard to beat a boardman tbh, the spec level is generally better than anything else £ for £, although they do tend to mix and match components quite a lot, so it's not so easy comparing like with like from other manufacturers. Focus and Cube tend to also be quite aggressive with spec levels at certain price points. For that sort of money I like the Cube Analog Disc. £50 more than the hardrock but Shimano hydraulic brakes and a Rockshox fork seem like decent upgrades for the money.

FWIW I have a Scott with Shinamo componentry which has served me very very well, and I have a friend with an upmarket Genesis Core which is a lovely bit of kit, and he got it on Cyclescheme so it would have been under the magic £1k mark.

I also have a Kona Jake cyclocross bike, which is fine, but has a very heavy and harsh frame. If I could choose again I'd go for a dedicated road bike with an eye on comfort. The Kona is very tiring to ride as it transmits so much through to the contact points. I swapped bars and run fat tyres but it's still not as comfortable as a well designed road bike. Of course comfort is a given with a MTB.


Have you considered a 29'er? they tick a lot of boxes.

 

[touch]

I don't really go off road anymore

If you do all of your riding on the road, get a road bike. I find that my road bike is roughly 1.5times faster than my MTB on the road for the same effort. It's so much easier to cover the distance on a road bike.

A road bike wont break on rough roads but it will be more expensive compared to an MTB.

 

[pumaz]

Used to do quite a bit of off road and always thought I would return one day but never did and find myself yearning for a nice stretch of clean tarmac in the countryside!

Any recommendations on road bikes in my budget?

My LBS seems to mostly stock Specialized, I know Boardmans both MTB and RB get great reviews but unfortunately Halfords doesn't and I'm a little scared to buy from them! should I be?

 

[charlaph]

the Boardman bikes are at least finished of and tuned in store at halfords so the quality can be a touch variable with them. If you have competent staff at your local store or know how to tweak a bike yourself then you'll be fine. If your store is staffed by shaven monkeys then it could be less than stellar. There will be nothing with the spec of the bike.

 

[pumaz]

Going to Halfords today to have a look at both Boardman MTB and RB, Also going to ask them to give me a quote on each bike.

Keeping my options open till the last!!!

 

[pumaz]

Been to Halfords and my minds made up, I want a road bike

The Boardmans were nice and I was instantly drawn to the Boardman Team Carbon road bike at £1,299 which is £300 over budget

Could have sworn they were doing the Team Carbon last year for £999, I can afford the next model down "Boardman Road Team Bike" at £899. Interestingly this can be had for £799 online, Not sure you can buy online under the Cyclescheme though?

So options I've got are Boardman Road Team Bike or I forget the Cyclescheme, save up and buy the Team Carbon or is there some other bikes I should look at?

One more thing I'm aware that you have to buy pedals separately but I've only ever used normal pedals. My knowledge is not great but I think I'm going to need pedals, shoes that clip to pedals, helmet (don't wear one on my MTB) and any associated clothing that helps make me look the part!!!

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

[touch]

Cyclescheme, save up and buy the Team Carbon or is there some other bikes I should look at?

If you dont need to stick to halfords for the cyclescheme, there are a few other options worth looking at. PlanetX and Ribble both offer good value for money.

One more thing I'm aware that you have to buy pedals separately but I've only ever used normal pedals. My knowledge is not great but I think I'm going to need pedals, shoes that clip to pedals, helmet [...] and any associated clothing that helps make me look the part!!!

You'll be looking at around £200-300 for all the clothing etc that you need.
I like shimano SPD-SL pedals, but entry level pedals from most manufacturers are all around the same price (usually ~£30 for pedals).
Any shoes will work with any pedals as long as you dont mix and match mtb stuff and road stuff. All road shoes will work with all road pedals.

A helmet is obviously important as well, but dont skimp on shorts. Get a decent pair of bib-shorts (the ones with the straps over your shoulder - dont get anything else), should cost around £40-60.
Also consider a small pump, tyre levers and spare tubes to fix any punctures, but that lot shouldnt cost more than £20-30

edit: actually, it may not be quite as expensive as i thought. Chainreactioncycles have a sale on with some good discounts on shimano pedals and shoes.

 

[pumaz]

Thanks for the tips, I don't need to stick to Halfords, I can use anywhere that does the Cyclescheme

Only reason I was highlighting Halfords so much is because it's the only place that stock Boardmans and from my limited research Boardman MTB and RB's offer the highest spec for money and the bikes get consistently good reviews.

 

[Streeteh]

The boardman alu road bike (the one for 799 online) is what i ride. I've only had it for two weeks but i'm very pleased with it. Thanks to the carbon seatpost and forks it's a pretty damn smooth ride for an alu frame. The gearing is very aggresive though, the rear casette is not very forgiving, i'm already contemplating swapping it out for something less taxing, but i'm slow and fat. It only wieghs a fraction more (less than 1/2 a KG iirc) than the full carbon one and has the same wheels and groupset, the only thing they've cut back on in comparison to the carbon is the brakes which are tektro instead of 105 and the saddle is not quite as good (but still more than sufficient imo). I also like the fact that the've opted for BB30 as that seems to be the way the industry is going, with Shimano apparently releasing their serious attempt at BB30 based groupsets later this year, giving you hopefully a little bit of freedom come upgrade time. I'd wager for the above price you'll struggle to find another bike with such a good spec.

I will warn you though, the Halfords branch that built mine were appauling. I ended up having to spend a good 2 hours sorting out all the things that were incorrectly set up and there's still a few niggles i'm not entirely pleased with. Obviously this will differ from store to store, so do some research online. Some Halfords branches have very positive reviews.

 

[pumaz]

Thanks Streeteh, pretty much come to the conclusion that £799 alu road bike is the way to go would love the team carbon but it's £500 more!

Would it be too cheeky once I bought the bike to take it round my LBS and get it checked out?

Also do you know if it's possible to buy online with Cyclescheme?

 

[Streeteh]

Would it be too cheeky once I bought the bike to take it round my LBS and get it checked out?

I would certainly do this. I gave it a once over myself, but that's because i already own most of the kit required for it, it would have been cheaper to take it to my LBS if i needed to purchase it all.

 

[Brenn]

Thanks Streeteh, pretty much come to the conclusion that £799 alu road bike is the way to go would love the team carbon but it's £500 more!

Would it be too cheeky once I bought the bike to take it round my LBS and get it checked out?

Also do you know if it's possible to buy online with Cyclescheme?

You can actually reserve the bike online and produce your cycle2work voucher as payment when you collect from store.

 

[pumaz]

Just tried to go through the motions on the cyclescheme website and I came undone when it wanted a number from the quote form.

I asked a guy at Halfords for a quote on the Boardman but he said I didn't need one and just enter the cost when asked.

Is this a sign of things to come dealing with halfords?

My LBS (leisure lakes) as the Cube Attempt at £999 which gets a good review on BikeRadar. Any thoughts on this or should I try and get the Boardman?

 

[Streeteh]

I would probably go for the Cube if i'm honest. Yes its spec is probably on par with the boardman, but i'd say buying it from a LBS is well worth the expense.

 

[pumaz]

Going round in circles lol

Decided not to go with Halfords and stick to my LBS as Halfords isn't even showing up on my Cyclescheme website anymore when I type my postcode in and it's only 2 miles away! I just have a bad feeling about Halfords and would like the expertise and support of a LBS.

I'm going to budget the Max £1000 on a bike through the scheme and purchase pedals, shoes, helmet and everything else I need from the LBS out my wallet so to speak

I've made a short list of bikes I'm looking at

Cube Attempt - £999
Giant Defy 1 - £999
Focus Variado 2.0 CP Compact Road Bike 2012 - £898
Trek 2.1 C H2 Racing Road Bike 2012 - £1000
Moda Rubato Racing Road Bike 2012 - £999
Cube Peloton Race Racing Road Bike 2012 - £999
Cannondale Caad8 6 Tiagra Compact Road Bike 2012 - £950

I'm also considering just carrying on using the MTB for commuting and saving the Road Bike for weekend runs etc. may even join a club

Any thoughts on those bikes?