Help me!!! - Very Confused!

nstevo

Am starting to commute to work (to try and regain lost fitness!!) , and about to by my first serious bike. It's 11 miles each way with a couple of fairly serious hills. I think I need something that is quite light and fast for the road sections, but also capable of dealing with canal tow paths. I think I also want something with hydraulic discs as I think I'd just feel safer and dont want to keep having to adjust the standard brakes.

The bike I really like is the Boardman Team Hybrid, its light, feels good, has carbon forks and hydraulic brakes - but I'm worried about all the horror stories of Halfords and that my LBS might not touch it after sale!

The other two I'm thinking of are the Felt QX85 (but has Alu forks not carbon ones) or the Trek 7.5 (but doesnt have disc brakes). My budget is £650 to £700.

Please can anyone help - I have been round in circles sooooo many times!!

TwoWheelDrift

You can always buy the boardman boxed from halfords and have your LBS assemble it, for a fee no doubt.

nstevo

My LBS said to me (not knowing I was thinking about buying one) 'anyone bringing a Boardman to me to be put right will get a shock. I will take their money, and lots of it!' Doubt I'll be buying from him!!

cjcp

Welcome stevo.

Going round in circles is common. None of this bike-buying business is meant to make any sense.

Are you thinking of extending your commute or going on longer, weekend rides? If so, a road bike would be better. A road bike will be fine on the canal towpaths, although some hard-wearing tyres would be more suited. Also, you won't need to keep adjusting caliper brakes - they behave very well, but are easy to adjust if you need to.

rolf_f

cjcp wrote:

Welcome stevo.

Going round in circles is common. None of this bike-buying business is meant to make any sense.

Are you thinking of extending your commute or going on longer, weekend rides? If so, a road bike would be better. A road bike will be fine on the canal towpaths, although some hard-wearing tyres would be more suited. Also, you won't need to keep adjusting caliper brakes - they behave very well, but are easy to adjust if you need to.

I wouldn't run a road bike on the towpaths around here. Depends how civilised your towpaths are. Mind you, around here some of the roads aren't suitable for road bikes.

As for the Boardman - I can understand a LBS being irritated by people bringing badly assembled Boardmans in but there is no rule to say that you can only get a bike serviced at the same place you bought it. A good shop should swallow its pride a bit and do its best to ensure it gets your custom in future.
I use a slick shod MTB for the commute and I do appreciate the effectiveness of hydraulic discs when cars slam their brakes on as soon as they've passed you......

nstevo

Thanks - unlikely to be going further in general, but doing the c2c in Sept as a one off. Just unsure about the position on a road bike - I feel more confident on a hybrid.

TwoWheelDrift

Hydraulic brakes are overkill on a hybrid in my opinion ... the tyres will lose traction and cause the wheels to lock just as easily with mechanical discs or even caliper brakes. Unless you are a particularly heavy rider, you won't notice a lot of difference.

Another factor to consider is that if you want to go on a long weekend ride, your wrists will quickly become very sore from being forced to keep the same position on the handlebars for long periods of time - drop bars are good in this situation because you can move your hands around and ease some of the strain.

Not trying to confuse you more, just some things to consider

cjcp

nstevo wrote:

Thanks - unlikely to be going further in general, but doing the c2c in Sept as a one off. Just unsure about the position on a road bike - I feel more confident on a hybrid.

Know what you mean - I was the same. But you quickly get used to it.

nstevo

I think it could be the Boardman then.........stop me now before I jump - is there an equivalent?? Thanks for all your help guys!

garrynolan

I have the Boardman and love it (also have a road bike) - very easy to ride. Don't worry about Halfords, just take the bike to your local LBS if you have any problems. If they look down their nose at the bike go to a different one. If they want your business they'll look after you and tell them that. Good luck.

soy_sauce

i never have any problem with Halfords. it seem to me that some stores are very good and some are close to useless. that just same as any LBS, i guess.

add a pair of bar end and that will sort the problem TwoWheelDrift mentioned regarding the sore wrists.

Mithras

A good compromise on the disc/road bike argument is the Kona Dew Drop, Road bike positioning with discs...after having a paddy wagon from Kona, I'm thinking of getting this as an all rounder.....
Althought the new Bianchi Pista Via Condotti might confuse matters slightly... :oops:

Wallace1492

Get a CX bike - superb on roads, canals and almost anywhere. Great for touring too. Hard wearing, comfortable, equally at ease on a sunday spin on backroads, as on a heavy commute though busy traffic.

I love mine and have no regrets at all.