Boardman pro vs specialized carve and stuntjumper comp

Waynenio

Boarman HTPro Vs Specialized Carve Comp Vs Specialized Stuntjumper Comp?



A newbie back into the MTB after 10 years in RRacing, I know little about bikes and kit yet. I am wanting to start XC racing and wondered which of the bikes were the best racing kit and frameset.



The boardman seems to win hands down on Groupset, overall kit inc Forks. However, it worries me that Boardman have opted for a 10 speed double chainset away from a triple. I am worried that if I bought this bike next week, that it would not give me the ratio's needed for severe climbing that a triple would. now it would surprise me if the clever people at Boardman, who seem to ahve of pretty much everything on their builds would have done this deliberatley if it were to be a disadvantage.



Does anyone know anything about this? Does anyone know whhich would be the best for cross country racing. The carve has great reviews and professional use with upgraded groupset and has 29" wheels which I quite like.



Cheers for help.

jfry94

have you tried any of them

also correct me if im wrong a 2x10 has the same ratio's as a 3x10 just with less over lapping ratio's. you may lose one or two ratio's but you lose weight.





good luck and happy riding

supersonic

also correct me if im wrong

Ok ;-). A triple usually has a wider range of ratios.

jfry94

thanks ss ive learnt my one thing for today but do you need that many ratio's
even when im climbing i only use around 5 or 6 of my ratio's

97th choice

Well, you don't. But manufactured bikes are a compromise designed for a multitude of people doing a lot of different things.

cooldad

Real men ride singlespeed. Heroes ride fixies.

S-M

I run a 2x10 boardman pro

I don't need a lower gear, i have never felt like i need a lower gear at all to be honest.

This morning i was climbing up a pretty steep muddy hill, sitting right on the nose of the saddle and pumping my legs for all they were worth, the bike was trying to lift/flip, a lower gear is simply not needed at all.

Now going flat out down a hill, i have felt that i could do with a higher gear at times, this is 30mph plus according to the gps on my phone, my legs seam to be hammering round far too fast for my liking, but fwiw my mate on his 3x10 bike reckons his legs were spinning round just as fast.

Its not that often you hit the big speeds anyway, so it is not really an issue.

On my bike, on the small front ring i can use all 10 rear cogs with no issue, on the large front i can use the smallest 8, anything larger on the rear while on the big front ring, and the chain rubs on the front mech, although i have used them rubbing a few times to get me out of a pickle, they worked without an issue, they were just a little noisy

My mate initially was pretty sceptical of the 2x10 thing when he first saw my bike, but he now agrees its the better option, i just seam to have a lot less messing about with gears while out riding, he is always shifting all over the place, while me having only 2 on the front is generally just a lot easier.

Matt88

Hi, i'm in the same boat, i was thinking of getting a boardman pro but ive heard lots of stories of the bottom bracket failing and my 2010 boardman sport had to have its bb replaced so i decided to stay away.

The carve doesnt seem to have amazing specs compared to the other two, though if 29'ers are your thing, then its worth a look. A trek 29'er also got a very good review in what mountain bike, though ive forgotten the name.

I've actually got a stumpjumper comp on order, it's the lightest of the bikes and is the most xc oriented. The specs are also argueably the highest. The demo bike tore up hills and was very responsive though i'm not sure how the 90mm fork will cope on rougher stuff.

Other bikes perhaps worth considering are the cube ams comp if you prefer a full susser or some of the other cube hardtails.

Hope this helps

S-M

Yes the boardman BB is gash, although it is sortable quite cheap.

Another thing i dont rate on the 2011 boardman seams to be the paint/powdercoat finish on the frame, i use mine pretty hard, but everytime i come home and wash the bike down i seam to find yet more paint/powdercoat missing from it, grrrrrrrr!



I can see me stripping this bike down once my FSR is built up, then getting the boardman frame powdercoated properly.

Waynenio

Cheers for response, its a real toughy tbh.

guilliano

As yet not a single problem on my MTB Pro. The paint has been tough enough, the gearing is fine, just less shifting on the front than with a triple and only missing the very lowest gear which I always found was unrideable anyway. As I'm not a racer I was also tempted by the Voodoo Wanga with a 140mm fork, but opted for the lighter Boardman. The BB should be fine if you get the bike from a decent Halfords as we have all been told that we have to re-seat the BB bearings as part of the PDI