Trek 2.1, boardman team carbon or cube agree sl compact

Shane77

Hi guys I'm new to both road bikes and this site, I quit smoking a few months ago and bought a trek 2.1 hybrid bike mainly to counteract the weight I would probably gain. Scince I have caught the cycling bug and I want to upgrade to a fairly decent road bike. I have been looking at a 2010 trek 2.1 (which seems to be same as a 2009 trek 1.7) . Then the boardman team carbon was brought to my attention along with the cube agree sl compact. The cube seems to be a better quality bike but the boardman is getting fantastic reviews. So as a total newbie I was wondering what you guys think? Thanks in advance.

dmch2

I've got a 2010 trek 1.5 and it looks like the 2010 2.1 is about £200 more (looking at Evans) to get 105 (instead of tiagra) and the better alloy frame. The wheels are a bit better but still not great (never are as standard)

Depending how much you want to spend you'll get a better bike with a 1.5 (not many 2010 ones left now) and spending the change on a set of decent wheels and tyres. Fulcrum 5 wheels and Continental GP 4000S tyres would be my choice (got the tyres, next year for the wheels maybe...).

Or you may prefer to get the more expensive bike now and upgrade it gradually over the next few years to get something even better.

Whether you want Boardman or Trek or cube is down to preference/look/how they feel etc. They're all good bikes with the very good value of the Boardman being balanced by having to get it from Halfords (which may or not matter to you).

Bar Shaker

The Boardman is simply stunning with a naked carbon frame and double tap SRAM Rival gears. Light, stiff, absorbs road buzz and handles brilliantly.

Sit on your choice bikes and see what fits you best.

Phate

One thing to watch for with the Cube is that if you need a 56 frame there seems to be very low stock levels at the moment!

Just ordered the Cube X-Race Comp from my LBS and when they contacted Cube to order it there was only 1 56 stocked for the whole of Europe as opposed to 11 of the 53! Was apparently the same across the whole Cube range! Might have something to do with them only doing 53 and 56 rather than like most brands that do 54 and 56! For my height I would normally go for a 54 but felt that the 53 would be a touch to small!

sundog

The spec on the Cube looks good, could you arrange a test ride?

While the Boardman gets rave reviews, the first was nearly 2 years ago and there may be better value bikes around at that price point, plus Halfords wont let you test ride. My local bike shop does the Trek and also allow test rides. You could also consider the Cannondale CAAD 8/9/10. All good bikes for you to consider.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... n-09-33934