Specialized Sirrus 2010 Hybrid Bike or Boardman
brucebanner
Posts: 256
Hi,
I'm looking for a bike I can use to cycle to and fro work. It's 6.7 miles or 22 mins by car. I'd also like the bike to double up as something that I could use on dirt trials and such. I used to cycle a lot when I young and I know I'd like to get back into it.
I've narrowed it down to the following
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020018 (Specialized Sirrus 2010 Hybrid Bike @ £399.99)
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499 (Boardman Mountain Bike Pro Medium 2010 @ £999.99)
I'm not sure If I'll be buying the bike from Halfords as they don't seem to be taking part in the Ride2Work scheme.
I'll get getting the cheapest available clothing and accessories.
Many thanks
I'm looking for a bike I can use to cycle to and fro work. It's 6.7 miles or 22 mins by car. I'd also like the bike to double up as something that I could use on dirt trials and such. I used to cycle a lot when I young and I know I'd like to get back into it.
I've narrowed it down to the following
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020018 (Specialized Sirrus 2010 Hybrid Bike @ £399.99)
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499 (Boardman Mountain Bike Pro Medium 2010 @ £999.99)
I'm not sure If I'll be buying the bike from Halfords as they don't seem to be taking part in the Ride2Work scheme.
I'll get getting the cheapest available clothing and accessories.
Many thanks
0
Comments
-
You can only get the Boardmans from halfords, they are the sole supplier.Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
Sun - Cervelo R3
Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX0 -
Between the £400 bike and the £1000 bike, I'd go for the £400 bike.
Don't skimp on the cost of your accessories. You get what you pay for, especially in the critical things like locks, lights and shorts“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
What TailWindHome said. The stuff you're paying extra for on the MTB will be wasted on the kind of riding you describe, and it won't be as good on the road as the Sirrus.0
-
If he wants to hit the dirt tracks though, the MTB will be better there.
Not sure why the two prices are so far apart, why not look at a 1000 quid road bike too?0 -
supersonic wrote:If he wants to hit the dirt tracks though, the MTB will be better there.
Not sure why the two prices are so far apart, why not look at a 1000 quid road bike too?0 -
What I am saying is why have a 400 budget for one type of bike, and 1000 for another?
But as above, if you plan to go offraod then these bikes are a no no anyway - if you plan just the road then maybe the top end boardmans.0 -
supersonic wrote:What I am saying is why have a 400 budget for one type of bike, and 1000 for another?
But as above, if you plan to go offraod then these bikes are a no no anyway - if you plan just the road then maybe the top end boardmans.0 -
@brucebanner can we go back to beginning.
Are you just limited to Ride2Work (i.e. Evans Cycle's own scheme), or is your employer using a different scheme. Depending on the answer to this you may need to forget Boardman's.
What's your maximum or preferred budget - how much of that are you planning to spend on clothing / accessories.
Will you need to carry anything heavy on your commute i.e. change of clothes, laptop, books, lunch etc. Are panniers a requirement?
What's your commute likely to be like - fast level/even roads, a pot-holled hell with plenty of gradient or something a bit muddy / towpathy?
How much are you going to plan to use it for "dirt trials" and how important is this aspect. What type of tracks - rock strewn downhills and muddy forest tracks or gentle weekend outings over smooth park pathways.
Would you have storage space for two bikes if this was a better option?
Think that might be enough to be going on.
If it's any help I have an older (higher spec) Sirrus as my commuter bike. It's fast, has panniers and mudguards and has been reliable. However it's not suited for anything other than tarmac IMHO. I've already had to replace the rear wheel with something stronger, due to cruddy spokes and a heavy laptop not liking each other.
Rufus.0 -
RufusA wrote:@brucebanner can we go back to beginning.
Are you just limited to Ride2Work (i.e. Evans Cycle's own scheme), or is your employer using a different scheme. Depending on the answer to this you may need to forget Boardman's.RufusA wrote:What's your maximum or preferred budget - how much of that are you planning to spend on clothing / accessories.
- Any helmet that does the job
- Cheap, and somewhat relaxed, shorts. I might consider lyrca in the future.
- Cycling shoes.
- Bright vest.
- Longsleeve cycling top.RufusA wrote:Will you need to carry anything heavy on your commute i.e. change of clothes, laptop, books, lunch etc. Are panniers a requirement?
No, I don't intend to carry clothes. There's a wardrobe at work for that.
Panniers; not really, but I guess it'd be great if the bike could also support that.RufusA wrote:What's your commute likely to be like - fast level/even roads, a pot-holled hell with plenty of gradient or something a bit muddy / towpathy?
It's definitely not muddy / townpathy. I'm not really sure how the roads are, but I'd hazard a guess and say it's even 50% on the way and the rest is slightly less even. It's not uphill either.RufusA wrote:How much are you going to plan to use it for "dirt trials" and how important is this aspect. What type of tracks - rock strewn downhills and muddy forest tracks or gentle weekend outings over smooth park pathways.RufusA wrote:Would you have storage space for two bikes if this was a better option?RufusA wrote:Think that might be enough to be going on.RufusA wrote:If it's any help I have an older (higher spec) Sirrus as my commuter bike. It's fast, has panniers and mudguards and has been reliable. However it's not suited for anything other than tarmac IMHO. I've already had to replace the rear wheel with something stronger, due to cruddy spokes and a heavy laptop not liking each other.
Rufus.0 -
brucebanner wrote:I don't mind spending £1000 on a bike, but I'd therefore like the accessories to be rather cheap. Here's what I have in mind;
- Any helmet that does the job
- Cheap, and somewhat relaxed, shorts. I might consider lyrca in the future.
- Cycling shoes.
- Bright vest.
- Longsleeve cycling top.
Not to be smart but you'll need a lock, which should be a good enough quality to safeguard your £1000 bike and some lights to see where you're going and be seen.
These aren't areas to save money on“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
The Sirrus is fully rigid and only has 28mm tyres - it will be rubbish for dirt trials or anything other than the gentlest off road. If you have to have one bike for both, get the MTB it is more versatile."I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0
-
I commute on a sirrus, I've had no problems with it, I've got a rack and panniers too. Panniers are brilliant, cycling with nothing touching your back is much nicer than your back getting all sweaty.
I'm not the most elegant cyclist and i've done a bit of offroading with the sirrus and it has come off fine, and gone over some awful potholes and the wheels have held up pefectly.
If you have any imput into what scheme your employer is going to start, I think it would be best to not go for the halfords one so you have a greater choice of bike available to you.0 -
Salsamander wrote:If you have any imput into what scheme your employer is going to start, I think it would be best to not go for the halfords one so you have a greater choice of bike available to you.
I thought Halfords used to be able to order in any bike from any manufacturer (except possibly Bromptons) even ones they don't usually sell /stock!
Is this no longer the case?
I know Halfords scheme is possibly to be frowned on for variable expertise / bike assembly, but I wouldn't fault them on choice (unless their scheme has changed)!
Rufus.0 -
From the OPs answers, assuming a maximum budget of £1k through a cycle to work scheme, then for accesories we are looking at:
£60 - Helmet & gloves.
£100 - Couple sets of cheap clothes
£60 - Shoes & pedals.
£50 - lock
£30 - lights & reflective vest
£20 - mudguards
£70 - track pump, puncture repair, tool wedge.
= £390 - gulp!
So that leaves about £600 - 700 for a bike!
On that basis of your answers I'd recommend either a flat barred road bike type hybrid. For example Specialized Sirrus, Trek FX, etc. On the proviso that it won't enjoy too much offroad treatment.
Or if you prefer drops, then look at a cyclecross, Specialized Tricross being in your budget and perfectly capable of a bit of offroad fun!
You best bet is to find a friendly shop who won't mind being mucked about too much (for example Evans) and try a few out to get a feel for what works for you!
HTH - Rufus0 -
brucebanner wrote:I'm not sure If I'll be buying the bike from Halfords as they don't seem to be taking part in the Ride2Work scheme.
Halfords operate their own thing ( http://www.cycle2work.info/ ) based upon the DfT's Cycle to Work Scheme. If your employer has signed up with Ride2Work and wont entertain the cycle2work scheme as well (it's more work for them) then you're out of luck with Halfords.The above is a post in a forum on the Intertubes, and should be taken with the appropriate amount of seriousness.0 -
Thank you all for your input. I've decided to go with evans as a friend works there and I can get the bike discounted by a significant amount (i'll buy it at the price Evans buys it from, say, Specialized themselves) without having to go through the hassle of the cycle scheme.
Can someone recommend a bike from there that is at least par with this
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_746517_langId_-1_categoryId_165534
I'll also settle for a mountain bike, I guess.[/i]
edit: i've come across these
1. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec020767
2. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec020769
3. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec016514
4. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec016510
5. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020014
6. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020016
7. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec020015
8. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... e-ec0200170