Is it worth getting a dedicated bike fitting? Plus spec me a trail/commute bike

And a good shop should be able to tell if it is in the right ball park for you, or if there's something majorly out of place. The extent to which a lot of Halfords stores can be considered a "good shop" is debatable but there's usually someone who knows what they're doing.
 
I've been reading some fairly dodgy stuff about those mechanical brakes. Are they not as bad So the boardman hybrid team is quite tempting.

I'm also kind of interested by the CX Team, it does seem a lot more bike with Tiagra, drop bars and hydraulic disks. It's double how much I wanted to spend but it looks like one of these bikes (gravel/cx in general) could actually do most of the off roading I do so I'm going to cautiously increase my budget to £800ish
 
You can read dodgy stuff about anything really. Sure they're not the best, but they should at the absolute minimum be safe and offer better performance than rim brakes if you look after them. I think most of the people who say they're not fit for purpose probably don't really understand much about disc brake maintenance - keeping the rotors free of oil and degreaser, and keeping the pads well adjusted and close to the rotor. If you're interested in doing longer distance rides at all then I'd say the advantages of the drop bars far outweigh any differences in spec compared to an equivalently priced hybrid.

As I say if you did get the VooDoo and after riding it for a while you decided you weren't happy with the brakes you could always upgrade them to TRP Spyres for less than £100, which are probably the best mechanical discs around and you've still got less of a total investment than what some are asking for an equivalently specced bike. There's honestly not much to separate that and bikes for £700 or so, and generally keeping some money aside for clothing/accessories/upgrades can be a better idea (and make much more of a difference to your actual riding experience) than trying to go all out getting an ever so slightly better level of spec.

Evans have this, but only in small. They may be bringing in new models soon. Same groupset but TRP Spyres as standard and a well regarded frameset;

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-arkose-1-2017-adventure-road-bike-EV275622

Otherwise all I can really find is steel framed offerings from online manufacturers;

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substance-sora-2017-adventure-road-bike-navy-52c/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-substance-tiagra-2017-adventure-road-bike-green/

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-substance-gravel-bike-sora-2018/rp-prod159907

Which would probably be a bit heavier, maybe not ideal if you don't specifically want a steel frame.
 
Thanks @PermaBanned for your help. One more question - OK there really isn't much in the difference in spec, however, there is a difference in weight, the Boardman Hybrid Team comes in at 10.3kg on reviews, while the Nakisi is stated as 12.3kg, is that difference not significant? Or rather, is it a case that I personally probably wouldn't notice a couple of kilos either way?
 
It's a noticeable weight difference, but not the end of the world, 10 is more preferable certainly if your commute is hilly. If it's flat then it's much less significant.

I went from mechanical disk to hydraulic mainly as I do a fair few miles and adjusting the pads was becoming a hassle I didnt want.
 
The way I read it, the nakisi has cable brakes, which given its weight and price, makes it less favorable imo.
I suppose you really need to decide if you want flat bars or drop bars to narrow the choices down.
 
Well again, if they've already ordered it in for you you might as well go and try it out, see how the weight feels to you. Manufacturers spec weights are just guidelines at best, since it depends so much on how you spec the bike out and what sort of riding you do. Weight is only really the biggest factor when you're doing a lot of hills, and even then it's easier to lose weight from, well, the rider.
 
Hehe, I think a heavier bike will help move some of that weight anyway #pies. I'll go look at it tonight, I'm definitely more leaning towards giving the drop bars a go, spending the difference on nicer and more kit. Panniers and mudguards, are they all much of a muchness or do any particularly stand out?
 
Mudguards, think SKS Chromoplastics are still the top choice really, £25 from wiggle. Panniers, Ortliebs are king of the hill but they're pretty ridiculously expensive. You can get cheaper ones like Altura which are almost as good, but it really depends what you're actually carrying in them - Decathlon can be good for stuff like that too, I have the £10 ones and while they're usable I'm not sure I'd recommend them for regular use, the next model up is probably fine though. If it's just a change of clothes or something then a large saddle bag could be worth considering.
 
Normally it's just a change of clothes, office shoes etc. I think I'll have to resign myself to always having shirts that are a bit crumpled, I tried the alpkit panniers when I had my hardtail and while they were pretty good they just weren't the best shape for tidy, folded packing
 
shroomz said:
Thanks @PermaBanned for your help. One more question - OK there really isn't much in the difference in spec, however, there is a difference in weight, the Boardman Hybrid Team comes in at 10.3kg on reviews, while the Nakisi is stated as 12.3kg, is that difference not significant? Or rather, is it a case that I personally probably wouldn't notice a couple of kilos either way?
Click to expand...

2Kg is roughly the difference between my Cube road bike and my Voodoo fatbike (using my alternative 29er wheelset and a decent light pair of ~320g 28mm slicks), it makes heck of a difference when I do local hill reps on inclines in the range of approximately 6-20% over ~0.5 miles... It's even more intense at the mo using 38mm studded tyres that are ~750g each.;)

I chose the Voodoo Wazoo as a bike to give my riding confidence again, after a big RTA, where I tried to make a jigsaw out of my maxilla and right hand. If I was looking for a commuter, the Boardman Hybrid Team would be on my shortlist, 10Kg for a flat bar bike under £600 with BC discount is very hard to beat.

But drop bar bikes do have their advantages, such as reduced aero drag downhill and on the flat. The Nakisi is a bit of a tank at ~12Kg, but I'd put money of those 40mm wire bead Speedster tyres being 500+ grams each, so you could save some weight there along with upgrading the finishing kit to go sub 11Kg. However, personally, I would not want the agro of regularly having to tweak cable disc brakes (they are not self-adjusting like hydraulic brakes).
 
Turns out the bike will be ready tomorrow. Went to the local bike shop, the guy there did a fantastic sales pitch, got me drooling over the Orro Terra Adventure Carbon. That's a beautiful bike... And 4 times my original budget
 
We do have cyclescheme at work but my understanding is that you basically have to stay the full 4 years to get the benefit of being tax free and the choice at the end, I don't know if I'll still be working at the same place by then. Is that correct?

Yeah it's so pretty though :D. I could definitely stretch to £1000 if the bike did everything I want to do and so on but 2100 plus pedals is what I spent on my car lol

There's an Evans nearby as well, I'll go chat to them tonight if I'm not impressed by the nakisi.

How would you rate the Pinnacle against, for example, the Boardman CX Team?
 
So I tried the Nakisi, you know what? It was fine. Yeah brakes are a bit pants but meh. For £396 it'll do. I didn't bother with cyclescheme, seems hardly worth it for this price, I'd have to wait 6 weeks for payroll to process it and I'm spending about £15-20 a week sitting in traffic at the moment

Thanks everyone for your help :D
 
It was great this morning, and not so great on the way back just now :D. I'll try to take some not too bad ones over the weekend, all I got is potato quality from last night

Edit - here's one from installing the panniers last night:
2iiiusn.jpg
 
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