Boardman or Dolan Mythos?

Squillinossett

I have decided im going to get a carbon bike on the C2W scheme through work.

I have the Trek 1.5 that I have upgraded, and will use as winter hack, but fancy carbon, and after 30% tax saving and vat etc, will work out under £600...so might as well give it a try as its no money really.

Only I have ot do it via Halfords and would like to know out of these two which people would choose and for what reasons?

Boardman had Rival, which is rated higher than the 105 of the Dolan, but I really dont know??

Cheers for any input guys

Squillinossett

Also can Halfords get hold of Ribble bikes?

gregster10217

I don't think Halfords can get Ribble, just like they cannot get Planet X. Shame? I don't think so as the Boardman Team Carbon is a fantasic bike, has been given one of the few 10/10 in reviews, and they've also got the Limited Edition being released in December, which is what I'm waiting for!

As for the Rival groupset, it has been said that it is on a par with Ultegra stuff, but I'm no expert so just going by everyone else's reviews/comments. Might be worth ringing Ribble and seeing if they'll take your Halfords voucher now, but they wouldn;t a couple of months ago when I enquired.

Where abouts are you? If you need a recommendation for a good Halfords, go to Maidstone. ALL of the guys there have been great and really know what they're talking about, and the setup for my test ride was spot on. If your local one is no good, just get the bike from them, go to you LBS/do it yourself and never go back!

Boardman all the way!!!

merlinghnd

I think Dolan will supply Halfords through the C2W, I asked about a fixie and they said no problem but went for something else. However the Boardman gets great write ups. I am sure they are both good bikes and you would not be disappointed. In fact my fixie was a Boardman SC, very pleased with it, complemnts my Focus Cayo which is fantastic which I got last year through Halfords C2W but now no longer possible.

Squillinossett

Im sure they are both brilliant, but I cant decide between the two! arrr

Mothyman

...I'm curious to know how you narrowed the field down to these two..there's so much choice out there

Squillinossett

Through Halfords C2W there is only really these two to choose from carbon wise.

Planet-x.
Focus
Viner
Ribble

All cant be sourced via Halfords.

I already have my Trek 1,5 with now Ultegra/105/FSA mix, so im after a carbon plaything

rake

Squillinossett

bordman stronger?

Which of these would be better if I were to try my havd at a bit of racing?

I prefer the look of the Dolan, but cant find too many reviews, also from my understanding the groupset is quite a bit better?

But the Dolan has Askiums so better wheels than the bordman?

dcj

I was in Halfords today for other reasons and took a look at the £999 and £1599 Boardman carbon bikes. They seem completely unbeatable value from a 'physical' shop and probably even the internet. The £999 bike frame has SRAM Rival, a superb finish and attention to detail like oversized fork and concealed cables passing through the head tube and top tube. The co-moulded tubes look very well manufactured.

The £1599 bike has SRM Force and BB30, better carbon fibre etc. Seeing these bikes in the flesh it is clear anyone in the market at these prices who has done their homework on price/features would be advised to at least take a look.

I have a Focus, Trek and Litespeed in my stable but was shocked at the value on offer at both price levels.

Squillinossett

So general view is Boardman is the better of the two?

dcj

the correct answer is the one that fits you best is probably the best one for you.

I notice the Dolans have quite a short top tube combined with a long head tube compared to the Boardman bikes.

For example in my nearest size the Dolan 55cm top tube is a little too short - the next size up 57.5cm - a little too long. The headtube on the 55cm is 16.5 and a massive 19cm on the next size up. Again that would be too upright for me.

I can clearly see the Boardman would be a better fit for me - it has a 55.5 top tube with 15cm head tube or 57cm top tube with 17cm head tube - a little less extreme than the Dolan.

Have a look how the sizes pan out for you.

rake

Yorkshiredoc

rake wrote:

im a little biased. i have a team carbon.it seems to accelerate very easily i was grinning like a half wit on my first ride. +1 dcj. the wheels are the only debating point. but the trouble they had at the start has probably been sorted.it was a build thing i think, and not the actual wheels.this article says how the wheels were thought up.
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/dual.shtml
the mythos also looks a very nice bike.just been looking. its a hard call. what do you think of sram.

I've only had my team carbon for 3 weeks and so far, touch wood, have had no problems with the wheels. My local Halfords set the bike up well and i just needed to make a minor for/aft saddle adjustment. I love the SRAM brakes, but I am comparing them to the Shimano 105s on my old bike, which have the levers on the down tube. I was considering a Planet X and a Focus Cayo, but favourable reviews on the Boardman and the fact I could see one before buying swayed me and I have no regrets.

sods_law

I've been looking at new bikes for the past 2-3 months, was aiming to spend £1200-1400 ish, and had talked through many options with my LBS. Went to see them yesterday, and they said just get a Boardman TC, and save the extra cash. So, went and ordered my Team Carbon Ltd Edition today

YthanPython

Earlier this year my colleague and I sourced bikes from Halfords through our cycle to Work scheme. I chose the Dolan and he got the Boardman. The Dolan came with Ultegra (though this is now 105) whilst the Boardman is fitted with SRAM Rival.

Dolan could not have been more helpful over the phone when I called them asking for advice on choosing the right size. They even went as far as saying that if I needed to swap the stem for a different size once I had sat on the bike then they would do this. My mate's experience with Halfords was less satisfactory. The head mechanic in the local Halfords store is a mountain biker and knows litlle (by his own admission) about road bikes. If his advice had been followed, my mate would have ended up with entirely the wrong size of bike.

The raw carbon weave of the Dolan is a bit more 'in your face' than the muted black frame of the Boardman. The Dolan was superbly put together before shipping and worked a treat first time out of the box. The Boardman wasn't quite as flawless and needed a few trips back to Halfords to be sorted. I have found the Aksium wheels to be pretty much bomb proof and have put up with quite a lot of abuse over the last 9 months. The Ritchey wheels on the Boardman needed some spoke adjustment after the first couple of months.

We reckon the Boardman is a shade lighter (but as they are not exactly the same size frames this might not be an absolutely fair comparison).

The Dolan has seen me through several 100 mile Sportives, time trials and a fair amount of commuting as well as general riding around. I'm more than happy with it and for the cost to me through the C2W scheme it has been fantastic.