C2W Advice - Thoughts Appreciated

jmillen

Afternoon Folks

Well its that time of the year again, the voucher will be here in a couple of weeks so the decision making process has started. Last year I got a Boardman Pro (hardtail) but thats now gone and replaced with a Stumpy Carbon (for offroad use obviously). I'm currently commuting on an old Carrera Kraken with slick tyres which is too small for me so the plan for this years voucher is to sort out a decent bike for the trip to work....

The way I see it, I have a few obvious options:

1. Spend £1000 on a Boardman Team Carbon
2. Spend £1000 on a Boardman Hybrid Ltd Edition (the one with the red decals)
3. Go for a lower priced road/hybrid, say £500 and then spend the rest of the money on spares and stuff. (i.e stuff for the commuter and my offroad bike).

Reasons for and against:

1. I can't really see that I need a full road bike for a 4 mile round trip each day?
2. Do I need to spend that much on a Hybrid? Will I notice the difference to the £500 one?
3. I'll have a load of kit and spares, yes, but I'll end up thinking I should have just bought the more expensive bike all along...

What do you think? Anyones thoughts / comments etc are much appreciated

geordiefella

i think most folk here would say there's little point in buying more than a few hundred quid runabout bike for 2 miles each way.

if you're thinking about those bikes, they're both road specific really. and if you're going to be on roads you might be better off with the drop bar for out of town riding.

if you want to max your voucher, you could consider the genesis croix de fer. its take paths, longer rides, road riding, kerbs, forests, C2C rides, studded / knobbled winter tyres etc.

get yourself a rapha winter hat for winter. ideal.

have fun.

DazCr

Have you considered the Boardman CX? http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/CX_Pro.html

Drop bars, brakes on both upper and lower bars and treaded tyres......looks like a good spec for the cash as well.

On my first C2W I spent £650 on the Boardman Hybrid and the remainder on a Boardman helmet, Gore jacket (which Halfords ordered in specially) and other bits and bobs, but on the 2 subsequent schemes I have done through work I have spent nearer the full allowance on the bike itself so it's a tough call. My first instinct would be to max out on the bike (get what you pay for, etc) and do upgrading on a gradual basis....

D_Duke

Same decision as you. I bought the boardman hybrid ltd (limited red decals). Tried it for the first time today and loved it. I have road bike also but didn't want to use it for commute and spoil it by putting panniers on it so the hybrid was best solution.

DazCr

Jealous...!!

Love the look of the Ltd Edition Hybrid and the spec is amazing for the price.....would also have preferred the V Brakes on a hybrid rather than the Avid Juicy's on mine.

Also rather annoyed that about 3 months after I bought mine, they upped the spec to carbon forks.....!

jmillen

I was tempted to get the £500 hybrid and then just spend the rest on a load of tools and spares etc but I do really like the look of the Pro limited with red decals. Thing is, its £1 short of £1000, do I really want that just sat in the bike cage at work with other people resting theirs next to it etc? I'm thinking not.

Was even tempted by one of the £500 mtb bikes, stick some slicks on, and off I go, at least I can pop up and down the kerbs then as I do at the moment and still have plenty of £ spare for bits

The CX is a good option, but similar story ref. bike cage

Aghhhh, I dont know... :roll:

Rykard

jmillen wrote:

I was tempted to get the £500 hybrid and then just spend the rest on a load of tools and spares etc but I do really like the look of the Pro limited with red decals. Thing is, its £1 short of £1000, do I really want that just sat in the bike cage at work with other people resting theirs next to it etc? I'm thinking not.

Was even tempted by one of the £500 mtb bikes, stick some slicks on, and off I go, at least I can pop up and down the kerbs then as I do at the moment and still have plenty of £ spare for bits

The CX is a good option, but similar story ref. bike cage

Aghhhh, I dont know... :roll:

that's what is putting me off. I am now leaning towards using what I have ...

DazCr

Fair point....although if you pay higher rate tax, the bike/equipment costs you approximately half of what you spend making it too good an offer for me to refuse.....

geordiefella

What about a specialized tricross (std, sport, comp etc). They're truly versatile for racks guards or a roadie day out and are able to be fitted with winter studded tyres too as well as slicks.

The Rookie

For a 2mile each way (my neighbour used to do that on an 8" travel Norco DH bike!) use anything you want, personally I'd go pretty cheap on the bike and max out the 'other benefits' such as tools, clothing etc.

If it were my choice I'd run a reasonable MTB HT with 'baloon' slicks, do Halfrauds still do the GT ZUM? (Zaskar Urban Machine) that looked fun and was about £400 from memory.....

EDIT: - yes http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

Simon

rolf_f

The Beginner wrote:

For a 2mile each way (my neighbour used to do that on an 8" travel Norco DH bike!) use anything you want

For two flat miles I'd give this a go!

The Rookie

It would be great fun, but emergency stops can be worrying!

Simon

symo

For that distance what about a boardman singlespeed?

The Rookie

Or a Decathlon Vitamin SS, just £70, think of the extra's you could get with the other £900!

Simon

Aguila

The Beginner wrote:

For a 2mile each way (my neighbour used to do that on an 8" travel Norco DH bike!) use anything you want, personally I'd go pretty cheap on the bike and max out the 'other benefits' such as tools, clothing etc.

Simon

I'm fairly sure you cannot use your voucher to pay for such things. It's only allowed to pay for the bike and security/safety stuff. This limits you to lock, helmet, lights. Maybe high viz at a pinch. Certainly not tools, jerseys etc.

Rykard

Aguila wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

For a 2mile each way (my neighbour used to do that on an 8" travel Norco DH bike!) use anything you want, personally I'd go pretty cheap on the bike and max out the 'other benefits' such as tools, clothing etc.

Simon

I'm fairly sure you cannot use your voucher to pay for such things. It's only allowed to pay for the bike and security/safety stuff. This limits you to lock, helmet, lights. Maybe high viz at a pinch. Certainly not tools, jerseys etc.

I think there has been enough ambiguity in the past that has allowed people to do this.... good maintenance = safety...

UndercoverElephant

Rykard wrote:

Aguila wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

For a 2mile each way (my neighbour used to do that on an 8" travel Norco DH bike!) use anything you want, personally I'd go pretty cheap on the bike and max out the 'other benefits' such as tools, clothing etc.

Simon

I'm fairly sure you cannot use your voucher to pay for such things. It's only allowed to pay for the bike and security/safety stuff. This limits you to lock, helmet, lights. Maybe high viz at a pinch. Certainly not tools, jerseys etc.

I think there has been enough ambiguity in the past that has allowed people to do this.... good maintenance = safety...

From the fishyal guidelines:

Pumps, puncture repair kits, cycle tool kits and tyre sealant to allow for minor repairs
Reflective clothing along with white front reflectors and spoke reflectors

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/c ... df/518054/

That looks open to interpretation to me.

DazCr

unless you get a particularly pedantic salesperson you can pretty much get what you want. On one of the years that I done the scheme I included a child bike trailer at £130.00....

I reckon the trick is not to ask them what you can get but just pile it up on the desk and see if they have a problem with it.....

jmillen

As much as I'd like to be riding a £1000 bike into work, I know that all its going to take is someone leaning their bike up against mine, and that'll be it, paint scratched etc.

I'm thinking of the Hybrid Comp for £500 which seems to do the job I need it for (i.e 4 mile round trip commute). I'll have a look on the Halfords website now, see what I could get with the remaining £500.

Suggestions?

scrumpydave

Don't worry about your bike getting scratched. It will happen sooner or later anyway.

One more vote for the Tricross Sport. I got mine on C2W and it's superb.