Some bike advice please!?

[Skittles001]

I'm searching for a bike to use for a sprint triathlon (20km) but plan on using the bike beyond that (road riding eg to work etc).

I have a budget of about £1k and was hoping to get a carbon bike.

I'd be grateful for any advice on:

1. Is it better to get a road bike or a hybrid - will be on road use (not sure how different they are)?

2. I like the flat bars on hybrids but can these be fitted to road bikes?

3. Any thoughts on the 2014 boardman range at halfords?

4. Are there any must haves or must avoids?

Thanks in advance!

[shalmaneser]

Skittles001 said:

I'm searching for a bike to use for a sprint triathlon (20km) but plan on using the bike beyond that (road riding eg to work etc).

I have a budget of about £1k and was hoping to get a carbon bike.

Basically looking at a Boardman for that cash if you simply must have carbon.

I'd be grateful for any advice on:

1. Is it better to get a road bike or a hybrid - will be on road use (not sure how different they are)?

Road bike. Much faster

2. I like the flat bars on hybrids but can these be fitted to road bikes?

Obviously it's possible, but it's very expensive and the geometry is all wrong. Better off just buying a hybrid if you want flat bars

3. Any thoughts on the 2014 boardman range at halfords?

Pretty good value

4. Are there any must haves or must avoids?

You're limiting yourself if you definitely want carbon - there are lots of good aluminium frames out there.

Thanks in advance!

[nammynake]

Are you planning future triathlons or is this a one off? For commuting I'd say a hybrid is possibly the better choice, particularly if you ride busy roads or through cities - the flat bars on a hybrid make them much more agile than a road bike. It will only be marginally slower too - and I do mean marginally.

Basically you need to pick the main purpose of the bike and decide which type of bike suits that purpose, be it triathlons, weekend rides or commuting.

[TheLemming]

Personally not a fan of flat bars, they lack versatility of hand holds for comfort - that said I do 90% of my mileage on drop bar bikes.

I do know someone who fitted flar bars to a brand new aero giant - it wasn't a cheap exercise looking at the cost of bars, new shifters, new brake levers.....

What you could do as a possible halfway house is fit chicken levers (or interrupter brakes). These sit on the flat bar section of the bars and allow you to brake from there.
Personally I love them - opinion is divided however.

There's a 10% off everything online at the moment at halfords, which does stack with the British cycling discount and the voucher discount - meaning 30% off is achievable till Wednesday. Which makes a good deal even better.
Its not unusual for them to run that offer though, might have to wait a month or so for it to come back however.

Ps - the new pro carbon would drop neatly into yourbudget with that discount although the very impressive SLR would stretch it a bit....

[Fairbridge]

Get the 2013 model Boardman Pro Hybrid. It's got some better components than the 2014 and it's slightly lighter. 40 quid will get you a decent pair of drop-able bar ends. You'll save yourself a couple of hundred quid by opting for the 2013 model as well.

[anonymous-user]

There are a good few carbon bikes around for £1000 because its the most keenly fought price point, the big question is how happy are you determining the right size and buying unseen. Boardman isnt the only answer!

I found these which are superb value for money
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/battaglin-pro-team-105/ 105 groupset and fulcrum 5s
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/moser-bikes-111-105/ as above but fulcrum 7s
http://www.dolan-bikes.com/road/road-bikes/road-bi... Dolan Etape, spec it as you want, Tiagra and Aksiums is a shade over £1000.

[Barchettaman]

Cyclocross bike with two wheelsets.
These have more clearance for the slightly fatter tyres and mudguards you will need for commuting.
Stick on a cheap spare wheelset shod with skinny road tyres and it's a road bike.

Thanks me later. They're wonderful things. Forget road bikes.

One thing - mini V brakes are easier to set up and adjust than traditional straddle cantilevers, so keep an eye out for a CX bike equipped with mini Vs.