Advice on buying a new bike?

pumaz

pumaz

pumaz

Soldato
Joined
7 Oct 2003
Posts
5,693
Location
Nottingham
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 :D

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?
 
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 :(
 
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?
 
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!!!
 
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 :)
 
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.
 
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?
 
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?
 
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?
 
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