Giant Rapid 4 or Boardman Comp ladies road bike

rosee

Hello! I am new to this forum and was hoping for some advice on which road bike to buy.

I'm planning to do my first triathlon in 6 weeks, which is why I have decided to upgrade from my current, v slow bike. In addition, I cycle about 16 miles each day to commute to work and do regular longer weekend rides. I don't know if I'd need a ladies' bike, as I'm 5'10" so am tall enough to ride a men's / unisex bike.

I think I have narrowed the choice down to the Giant Rapid 4 (http://www.bicyclechain.co.uk/productde ... ctid=20087) and the Boardman Comp ladies road bike (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710)

Any advice on either of these two bikes - e.g. which would be fastest and more reliable - would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

dreamlx10

Hi rosee, as far as i can see the Giant is a hybrid and the Boardman is a road bike. Personally I would go for the road bike, it will be faster and more suited to a Triathlon. Once you start riding a half decent road bike you won't want to ride anything else. Also have a look at the Giant Avail series of womens bikes, any of these would be better than the Rapid.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 883/45542/

rosee

Thanks for your reply!

I will definitey have a look at those bikes.

The Giant Rapid 4 is also a road bike, however. It's got flat bars, but other than that it has a road bike position. I thought the flat bars could make it easier to negotiate through London traffic!

I can't seem to find much on this Giant online, which makes me wonder how good it is. But £500 seems like a good price...

dreamlx10

The Giant bikes are pretty widely available, they've even got some dedicated stores now. You'll find that the flat bars put you in a more upright and a lot less aerodynamic position. Once you get used to the drop bar riding position you'll find it far more efficient than the flat bars especially during a triathlon when you are basically time trialling.