Discussion
I've narrowed down my search to either the Specialized Crosstrail Ltd Disc or the Boardman Pro Ltd. Both are a quid short of a grand.
On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
Mars said:
I've narrowed down my search to either the Specialized Crosstrail Ltd Disc or the Boardman Pro Ltd. Both are a quid short of a grand.
On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
Thers is only one Boardman Pro Ltd left for sale, its in Ireland, or was a week ago (2010 model size large), so you might want to look at a different option for this.On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
I hunted the last one down for a friend with a BikeHut Manager, he found it in Ireland. You would need to ship the bike over to a UK store too, this will cost you £35 as they use DHL and have a fixed fee for this. I would imangine the Ireland shop will want paying, not the UK shop
Mr F
Mars said:
I've narrowed down my search to either the Specialized Crosstrail Ltd Disc or the Boardman Pro Ltd. Both are a quid short of a grand.
On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
I don't think a Boardman hybrid is designed to accept a suspension fork (even if it could retro fitting a decent sus fork would be expensive) - it is more akin to the Specialized Sirrus i.e. a pure speed road hybrid.On paper the differences are more than "one has a shock fork and the other doesn't". The Boardman has probably a better choice of components, is lighter and with its narrower tyres is more road biased. The Specialized has a more comfortable seating position for me and would be perfect if I could convince my cycling buddies to try out the trails.
Although my intention was always to seek out the trails and decommissioned railways, in practice I seem to be cycling on the roads mostly, if not (lately) exclusively.
My cycling buddies all have road bikes but I don't like dropped handlebars, and wish to retain the capability to ride on the trails in the future, if I can find any and convince them to follow (or lead, I'm slow). However they are leaving me for dead at the moment (I'm on a 15yo Specialized Crossroads hybrid - no suspension but old and heavy by today's standards). I would imagine the Boardman, with its narrower wheels, would be the one to ride on the road - it should be faster, and has only 2 chainwheels (I have finally grown strong enough not to need the granny one on my current bike) but I feel I would be committing myself to road-riding and throwing away the chance to use the trails. I suppose the Boardman would be OK on the trails, but not as comfortable as something with a front sus fork.
The Boardman would need a change of handlebars to the "rizer" type to make it comfortable for me.
Would the Boardman suffer a change of fork (to a sus) if I managed to switch our riding to the trails?
I can't afford two bikes although I suspect I should buy the Boardman now and keep saving for the Specialized but that would take years. It's taken me a while to save up for one of these two, and I'm a little way off yet. I'll probably be ready to buy around Christmas. My company won't join the C2W scheme, sadly.
Any advice?
If you see a need for suss forks it would be better to buy a bike so equipped. You can buy a pair of carbon rigid 29er forks to retrofit from ebay for under £100 if you so wish for days out with your roadie mates.
Have a look at some of these:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx...
Cube and Ghost make some very light/fast 700c hybrids with front suspension, considerably lighter than the Crosstrail:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...
Mars said:
I think the 2011 models will be out by the time I've got the remainder of the cash.
Hardtails use 26" wheels no? Not so good on the road even with slicks.
there is nothing wrong with 26" wheels with slicks on the road, pump them up to triple figures and you will be fine. to be honest, the main issue with regards to speed is going to be the gearing ratio which is 50/11 at best rather than 53/11 on regular road bikes. doesnt seem much but its surprising how much quicker your legs will be turning for less top speed.Hardtails use 26" wheels no? Not so good on the road even with slicks.
Edited by Mars on Tuesday 14th September 12:30
£1000 for a hybrid is mental in my humble opinion. a hybrid is a compromise and despite what people say, their off road limits stretch to forest fire roads and nothing else unless peoples impression of light trails is different to mine. they are simply very well marketed flat bar road bikes.
I've no intention of mountain biking. Trails, to me, are the sort of places that just haven't been paved.
If your head is stuck on one type of riding then I can see why hybrids aren't your cuppa but 700c wheels roll so much better than 26 inchers no matter how hard you try. The geometry of a hybrid places the rider more upright than a road bike which suits me. Hybrids are lighter than MTBs yet are strong enough for the sort of trails I would consder.
They are a "shade of grey" bike, not necessarily a black and white one. And my considering one with and one without a sus fork is a sublety further. I think I probably need to bias more towards road riding and dispense with the sus fork but slightly fatter tyres than an out and out road bike and discs will give me options for tow paths and the type of trails I want to ride.
If your head is stuck on one type of riding then I can see why hybrids aren't your cuppa but 700c wheels roll so much better than 26 inchers no matter how hard you try. The geometry of a hybrid places the rider more upright than a road bike which suits me. Hybrids are lighter than MTBs yet are strong enough for the sort of trails I would consder.
They are a "shade of grey" bike, not necessarily a black and white one. And my considering one with and one without a sus fork is a sublety further. I think I probably need to bias more towards road riding and dispense with the sus fork but slightly fatter tyres than an out and out road bike and discs will give me options for tow paths and the type of trails I want to ride.
You're asking for a one bike do everything and simply ending up with a compromise between two good bikes.
If your so adversed to drop bars get a proper flat bar road bike and forget (proper) trail riding unless your prepared to stay at the back and have trouble keeping up, an OE fitted relatively cheap suspension fork will weigh as much or more than the frame.
If you want a fast flat bar road bike, see if the 2010 Giant rapid advance drops a few £ in the new year.
If your intent on riding trails I'd get a proper mtb 26" or 29"er and fit narrow slicks (conti gatorskins 110psi) for the road and change to knobblies for the rough stuff. I used to do this for the winter commute because disc brakes were an added bonus to the extra tire cross section and didn't loose huge amount over my road bike (maybe 2mph average or 10%).
If you try and do both on the same tires you'll be just as compromised.
If your so adversed to drop bars get a proper flat bar road bike and forget (proper) trail riding unless your prepared to stay at the back and have trouble keeping up, an OE fitted relatively cheap suspension fork will weigh as much or more than the frame.
If you want a fast flat bar road bike, see if the 2010 Giant rapid advance drops a few £ in the new year.
If your intent on riding trails I'd get a proper mtb 26" or 29"er and fit narrow slicks (conti gatorskins 110psi) for the road and change to knobblies for the rough stuff. I used to do this for the winter commute because disc brakes were an added bonus to the extra tire cross section and didn't loose huge amount over my road bike (maybe 2mph average or 10%).
If you try and do both on the same tires you'll be just as compromised.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 14th September 14:09
Mars said:
but 700c wheels roll so much better than 26 inchers no matter how hard you try
Owning both a road bike and an MTB with 26x1" slick tyres, I can tell you that is not true. Rolling resistance is down to the weight of the wheel and the tyres and tyre pressures. Mars said:
The geometry of a hybrid places the rider more upright than a road bike which suits me.
You can get road bikes with different geometry as well Mars said:
Hybrids are lighter than MTBs yet are strong enough for the sort of trails I would consder.
The Specialized is 31 lbs which is not light. My 10 year old MTB with front suspension weighs a third less.Mars said:
I think I probably need to bias more towards road riding and dispense with the sus fork but slightly fatter tyres than an out and out road bike and discs will give me options for tow paths and the type of trails I want to ride.
You don't need disc brakes for tow pathsGet a CX bike like this http://www.cannondale.com/gbr/eng/Products/Bikes/R... and just fit flat bars if you don't like the drops
Mars said:
I've no intention of mountain biking. Trails, to me, are the sort of places that just haven't been paved.
If your head is stuck on one type of riding then I can see why hybrids aren't your cuppa but 700c wheels roll so much better than 26 inchers no matter how hard you try. The geometry of a hybrid places the rider more upright than a road bike which suits me. Hybrids are lighter than MTBs yet are strong enough for the sort of trails I would consder.
They are a "shade of grey" bike, not necessarily a black and white one. And my considering one with and one without a sus fork is a sublety further. I think I probably need to bias more towards road riding and dispense with the sus fork but slightly fatter tyres than an out and out road bike and discs will give me options for tow paths and the type of trails I want to ride.
no worries, i guess i'm very lucky to have different bikes for different riding disciplines. i just dont see the benefit between flat bars over riding a road bike on the hoods because body position is very similar.If your head is stuck on one type of riding then I can see why hybrids aren't your cuppa but 700c wheels roll so much better than 26 inchers no matter how hard you try. The geometry of a hybrid places the rider more upright than a road bike which suits me. Hybrids are lighter than MTBs yet are strong enough for the sort of trails I would consder.
They are a "shade of grey" bike, not necessarily a black and white one. And my considering one with and one without a sus fork is a sublety further. I think I probably need to bias more towards road riding and dispense with the sus fork but slightly fatter tyres than an out and out road bike and discs will give me options for tow paths and the type of trails I want to ride.
This is your perfect bike, honestly it is... seriously! If not read below, if it is just ignore it below! It has headset suspension without the weight of front suss. that you can turn on/off with a flick of the headset switch, 700c wheels, eyelets for guards panniers should you want and 700c wheels:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/qui...
Alternatively:
This is a classic case that many of us have had of basing what we need based on the websites and reviews rather than sitting on the bike.
I have ridden the boardman with larger tyres and still have to agree with most of above!!
The crosstrail will be more comfy on/off the road but still keep you off your mates pace unless you are a LOT fitter than them as you'll have to be working a lot harder. And won't allow you to go on proper trails if you go this way in future thus solves no problems.
The Boardman from experience you can ride the kind of trails you're talking about with larger 35c tyres (the boardman won't take any larger tyres than that) and a suspension seatpost and it's fine but it's not an entirely comfortable affair... For my mind most of the comfort comes from the width of the tyres that's why 2" MTB tyres are great on trails.
The boardman will be much faster on roads and you will instantly notice a difference and ease to catch your mates.
I'd be honest with yourself about the type of riding you are mostly going to do and buy a bike for that or buy 2 bikes for £500 each... You can easy pick up a second hand boardman hybrid or racer on ebay for around £500 and get a new or second hand Carrera Fury or Decathlon Rockrider for for the same or less second hand. These bikes will be amazing for all your needs and cost less than £1000 in total.
If there was a bike for all situations everyone would have one and bike manufacturers would have reached perfection... Unfortunately there isn't so you have to be honest.
Personally if I you want one bike i'd get and MTB with slicks (remember the cannondale hybrids have 26" anyway) and accept it'll be harder to keep up with mates or if you're adamant you don't want 26" then get the Boardman but just the Pro, the extra carbon on the LTD is a waste of time and more likely to crack and fail. Spend the money you save on the new bars.
Just to confuse I stopped riding the Boardman and now use this:
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXUJSL/uncle...
It's more comfortable riding position, still plenty upright if you want it and is designed to take light trails with nobbley 700c tyres or slicks and has plenty of braking (you don't need disc brakes on roads or light trails unless you have very wide tyres... you will outbreak the grip of your tyres and skid... i've tried it. Still it won't be as good as a MTB on trails.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/qui...
Alternatively:
This is a classic case that many of us have had of basing what we need based on the websites and reviews rather than sitting on the bike.
I have ridden the boardman with larger tyres and still have to agree with most of above!!
The crosstrail will be more comfy on/off the road but still keep you off your mates pace unless you are a LOT fitter than them as you'll have to be working a lot harder. And won't allow you to go on proper trails if you go this way in future thus solves no problems.
The Boardman from experience you can ride the kind of trails you're talking about with larger 35c tyres (the boardman won't take any larger tyres than that) and a suspension seatpost and it's fine but it's not an entirely comfortable affair... For my mind most of the comfort comes from the width of the tyres that's why 2" MTB tyres are great on trails.
The boardman will be much faster on roads and you will instantly notice a difference and ease to catch your mates.
I'd be honest with yourself about the type of riding you are mostly going to do and buy a bike for that or buy 2 bikes for £500 each... You can easy pick up a second hand boardman hybrid or racer on ebay for around £500 and get a new or second hand Carrera Fury or Decathlon Rockrider for for the same or less second hand. These bikes will be amazing for all your needs and cost less than £1000 in total.
If there was a bike for all situations everyone would have one and bike manufacturers would have reached perfection... Unfortunately there isn't so you have to be honest.
Personally if I you want one bike i'd get and MTB with slicks (remember the cannondale hybrids have 26" anyway) and accept it'll be harder to keep up with mates or if you're adamant you don't want 26" then get the Boardman but just the Pro, the extra carbon on the LTD is a waste of time and more likely to crack and fail. Spend the money you save on the new bars.
Just to confuse I stopped riding the Boardman and now use this:
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXUJSL/uncle...
It's more comfortable riding position, still plenty upright if you want it and is designed to take light trails with nobbley 700c tyres or slicks and has plenty of braking (you don't need disc brakes on roads or light trails unless you have very wide tyres... you will outbreak the grip of your tyres and skid... i've tried it. Still it won't be as good as a MTB on trails.
Edited by Gnarlybluesurf on Wednesday 15th September 20:33
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