Help Please - Boardman Road Team 08 or Road Team 09

rjbonnell

Hi all,

I wondered if anyone had any advice on choosing between the 08 and 09 version of the Boardman Road Team bikes?

Specs and prices are as follows:-

Team 08

Frame Material: Aluminium
Frame Size: 22+
Gears: 20
Gender: Mens
Suspension: Rigid
Frame Size (cm): 55 - 56
Chainset: Truvativ Rouleur 2.2 Team 53/39T chainset
Exact Frame Size: 55.5cm
Forks: Superlight Carbon Fibre monocoque with full Carbon blades and steerer
Frame-: Ultralight 7005 Aluminium frame with triple butted main tubes
Front Brake: Superlight Tektro R740 dual pivot t
Front Mech: Shimano Ultegra
Gear Shifters: Shimano Ultegra STII
Handle Bars: Ritchey Logic Comp
Headset: FSA Orbit CE
Hubs: ritchy pro
Pedals: No pedals supplied
Quick Release Wheels: Yes
Rear Brake: Superlight Tektro R740 dual pivot
Rear Mech: Shimano Ultegra
Rims: Ritchey Pro
Saddle: CBoardman Road Comp, Cro-Mo rails
Seatpost: Ritchey Pro V2
Stem: Ritchey Pro
Tyre size: 23c
Tyres: Continental Ultra Sport
Wheel size: 700c

Price was £899, is now £699

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Team 09

Frame Material: Aluminium
Frame Size: 21-22
Gears: 20
Frame Size (cm): 55 - 56
Chainset: SRAM S350 compact
Exact Frame Size: 55.5cm
Forks: Ultralight carbon fibre monocoque
Frame Colour: Black
Frame-: Lightweight super butted
Front Brake: Tektro R580
Front Mech: SRAM Rival
Gear Shifters: SRAM Rival 10 speed
Handle Bars: Ritchey OS 31.8mm
Headset: FSA Orbit integrated cartridge bearing
Hubs: Sealed bearings
Number of Gears: 20
Pedals: Na
Quick Release Wheels: Yes
Rear Brake: Tektro R580
Rear Mech: SRAM Rival
Rims: Ritchey Pro 20H front, 24H rear
Saddle: Cboardman, Cro-Mo rails
Seatpost: Ritchey Comp 27.2mm
Stem: Ritchey OS 31.8mm
Tyre size: 23c
Tyres: Continental Ultra Sport
Wheel size: 700c
Approximate Weight (KG): 8.21

Price is £799

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I am new to road bikes so dont really know which is the better specced bike.

Is it worth paying £100 more for the 09 model to have the SRAM gearset, or should I save the £100 and go for the 08 with the Shimano Ultegra gearset?

Your advice and opinions would be appreciated.

Cheers

Richard

alfablue

Ultegra is good (from experience), SRAM is well regarded (no experience), but you may be happier with the compact chainset on the 09. If you change later the cost would be more than the £100 difference.

rjbonnell

oh, I did'nt spot that. Thanks.

Is there a big difference between a compact and standard chainset?

Cheers

alfablue

A standard double chainset has a large ring of 52 or 53 teeth and a small of 39. A compact typically has a 50 large and 36 small. I am not a super-fit rider, and I would rarely need a 53 ring on the 11 sprocket, but I benefit a lot from the 36 to 27 sprocket available on a compact for steep hills. A criticism of the compact is there is quite a jump from the 50 ring to the 36, but this doesn't trouble me personally. If you want to race / ride fast / are fit enough to push a 53/11 then the standard double makes most sense, but I suspect that for most leisure riders a compact is more useful.

rjbonnell

Thanks for taking the time to explain that alfablue

Charco

I actually have the boardman team 09 and it is excellent. The SRAM stuff on it is really good and the compact chainset is surely the way forward. A 3rd/4th cat rider wont be pushing that bigger gear anyway and you can keep your cadence high a la Lance.

rjbonnell

I like the look of the 09 version, and it seems very well equipped.

I have looked around at other bikes but nothing seems to come close in that price bracket with the spec it has.

Can anyone offer any alternatives I may look at?

Once my money is spent thats it for a while, so I want to get it right.

My budget is £800, but I may be able to stretch it to a grand.

Cheers

vimmer

I have bought a couple of Boardman 08 Pro and Comp, the one thing I was blissfully unaware of when I bought these was gear ratios.
For the average rider I believe this is an integral part of choosing a bike.
Putting it simply the compact offers the equivalent of two extra easier gears when climbing, which on stiff climbs can be the difference between spinning and grinding. Also the spacing between the ratios is a lot more even on the compact, and finally if you can maintain a cadence of 90 in 15th gear you will average close to 22mph which for me is a pretty good average.
So in short I would go for the team bike with the compact chain set.

Hope this helps

caws

Yup - i bought the 08 Team at a bargain £550 (last one in store, and had scratch on downtube so got them to knock another discount off it), and the Rouleur chainset is great for charging, although painful on long climbs. Gonna have to convert to a compact chainset before heading to the alps this summer...

Have to add - Halfords have been an absolute nightmare from day one... they lost my bike after paying deposit (last one available), re-found it week later, girlfriend picked it up for me and the headset was incomplete with loose forks and gears hadnt been set up (was put together like a meccano set by a 16 yr old trainee mechanic i imagine..), then saw they'd fitted wrong forks (too long steerer and hacked it down to fit frame) so then demanded a new/correct size pair (and on fitting they dropped unceremoniously in front of me), then the reaer derailleur snapped and they took a week to get me another on warranty (even though the likes of chainreaction could get me one the next day) helping me to miss a training weekend with mates. Anyway, i'm still happy with the bike, but glad i have an independent local shop to service it through...