Winter/commuting bike - Boardman CX?
Discussion
Currently looking for a winter bike, primarily for commuting use. Definitely need mounts for full mudguards and disc brakes, so am looking at a CX bike. I very much doubt I can do better than this but any suggestions/comments welcome:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/b...
Reduced from £899 to £649, minus their current £60 off, minus 10% British Cycling discount, minus 10% off the vouchers should bring it in below £500.
A couple of questions:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/b...
Reduced from £899 to £649, minus their current £60 off, minus 10% British Cycling discount, minus 10% off the vouchers should bring it in below £500.
A couple of questions:
- Does anyone have the link to buy the discounted vouchers. I've used them before but can't seem to find the link now!
- I'm assuming the bike has mudguard mounts but can anyone confirm?
t, and wear out quickly.Go and have a look at the bike and see if its possible to make the clip on mounts work. It all depends on how the cables for the disc brakes are routed.
Sadly you can't mount clip on mud guards my Planet X CX because of the cable routing
No matter what, you should be able to make a crud catcher work along with a whale tale style rear guard. Bit clunky, but should keep some of the water off.
Also if you are commuting on the road, ditch the knobbly tyres and replace with 28mm gatorskins, Four Seasons or Marathons. Useless complaining about knobblies wearing out quickly if you are using them on the road all the time. They aren't designed to be used on the road!
Sadly you can't mount clip on mud guards my Planet X CX because of the cable routing
No matter what, you should be able to make a crud catcher work along with a whale tale style rear guard. Bit clunky, but should keep some of the water off.
Also if you are commuting on the road, ditch the knobbly tyres and replace with 28mm gatorskins, Four Seasons or Marathons. Useless complaining about knobblies wearing out quickly if you are using them on the road all the time. They aren't designed to be used on the road!
I think you're right. I had looked at those but my head was turned by the potential for a bargain on the Boardman!
My question on the Planet X is whether it's worth paying £799 for SRAM Rival over the £699 SRAM Apex version?
Also, any thoughts on which tyres are best? The options being Continental Sport Contact Wired 37mm, Vittoria Randonneur II wired 35mm, Hutchinson Top Slick 2 Protect'air Wired 32mm or Hutchinson Gotham ProtectAir Wired 32mm.
Know nothing about any of these tyres, but would probably err towards the 32mm options rather than anything wider.
My question on the Planet X is whether it's worth paying £799 for SRAM Rival over the £699 SRAM Apex version?
Also, any thoughts on which tyres are best? The options being Continental Sport Contact Wired 37mm, Vittoria Randonneur II wired 35mm, Hutchinson Top Slick 2 Protect'air Wired 32mm or Hutchinson Gotham ProtectAir Wired 32mm.
Know nothing about any of these tyres, but would probably err towards the 32mm options rather than anything wider.
I think CX bikes make sense for commuting if you have tow paths/canal paths/briddleways etc. I always dismissed them, but now realise its probably by best option for my commute (8 miles road/2 miles gravel/rocky railway line)
Lots of guys I ride with have CX bikes they use for longer runs in Winter, they all get frustrated at how the bikes numb the pace on road quite a lot, even with road tyres, they are a bit of a compromise, which is great in some respects but flawed in others. The shorter position/frame would do me proud off road/or in cities but grates a bit on longer open road sections.
Lots of guys I ride with have CX bikes they use for longer runs in Winter, they all get frustrated at how the bikes numb the pace on road quite a lot, even with road tyres, they are a bit of a compromise, which is great in some respects but flawed in others. The shorter position/frame would do me proud off road/or in cities but grates a bit on longer open road sections.
I ride a 2013 Boardman CX Pro for my commute into Waterloo, and I wouldn't swap it for anything, especially in bad weather!
That definitely has full rack and mudguard mounts on the rear, and from memory it also does on the front, although on the brake caliper side, zip ties are involved, as from memory it was impossible to actually use the front mount without it fouling the caliper.
Whatever you go for, I'd thoroughly recommend getting something which will take full length mudguards. It's all well and good having a crud catcher on the front and an arse protector on the back when you're playing around on muddy trails, but if you're commuting in the pissing rain, your feet will love you for fitting full length guards, as it massively reduces the degree to which they'll get soaked!
By way of tyres, I've got a pair of these --> http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-cyclocross-spe...
They're dirt cheap, very comfortable, and fast enough that I've got a fair few PRs on my commute on them rather than the 23c tyres on my other bike.
That definitely has full rack and mudguard mounts on the rear, and from memory it also does on the front, although on the brake caliper side, zip ties are involved, as from memory it was impossible to actually use the front mount without it fouling the caliper.
Whatever you go for, I'd thoroughly recommend getting something which will take full length mudguards. It's all well and good having a crud catcher on the front and an arse protector on the back when you're playing around on muddy trails, but if you're commuting in the pissing rain, your feet will love you for fitting full length guards, as it massively reduces the degree to which they'll get soaked!
By way of tyres, I've got a pair of these --> http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-cyclocross-spe...
They're dirt cheap, very comfortable, and fast enough that I've got a fair few PRs on my commute on them rather than the 23c tyres on my other bike.
Buy the Boardman and some P-Clips for the mudguards. I used them on my Cube X-Race with no issues although as above, you'd need to check the mounting position with regards the caliper.
For an alternative bike I can throughly recommend the Specialized Diverge: http://www.freeborn.co.uk/specialized-diverge-a1-2...
For an alternative bike I can throughly recommend the Specialized Diverge: http://www.freeborn.co.uk/specialized-diverge-a1-2...
Edited by benny.c on Tuesday 22 September 12:12
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/equili...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-on...
All have discs and proper guard mounts - I have the Day-One and it's a great commuter bike, if a little heavy. Obviously more money than the Boardman but all of the above will be much nicer to ride on the road.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/equili...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-on...
All have discs and proper guard mounts - I have the Day-One and it's a great commuter bike, if a little heavy. Obviously more money than the Boardman but all of the above will be much nicer to ride on the road.
jamiebae said:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/equili...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-on...
All have discs and proper guard mounts - I have the Day-One and it's a great commuter bike, if a little heavy. Obviously more money than the Boardman but all of the above will be much nicer to ride on the road.
Having tried my Boardman CX Pro and a colleague's Croix de Fer back to back, I would definitely disagree.http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/equili...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-on...
All have discs and proper guard mounts - I have the Day-One and it's a great commuter bike, if a little heavy. Obviously more money than the Boardman but all of the above will be much nicer to ride on the road.
The Fuji Tread 1.3 for £580 at Evans looks a decent deal as a winter commuter.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/tread-13-...
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/tread-13-...
Barchettaman said:
The Fuji Tread 1.3 for £580 at Evans looks a decent deal as a winter commuter.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/tread-13-...
Looks good, but they're sold out in my size. Think I'm gonna go for the Apex version of the London Road at £699.http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/tread-13-...
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