Which bike: boardman or voodoo?

joemoran7

Hi,

I have today received my letter for the bike to work scheme (I went for £700).

I pretty much had my mind made up to get a boardman MTB comp
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_777775_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#tab2

I came on bikeradar.com for one last look today & saw the voodoo hoodoo receiving a 5 star review
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_786865_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#tab2

I know the prices are quite a bit different, but I'm relatively new to mountain biking so not sure I will benefit much from the difference in spec (let alone understand which bike is better).

Which bike do you guys reccommend? I'm 6ft 1, so seeing as the boardman is 19" & the voodoo is 20" - will that make much difference to me?

Thanks

Joe

benkxk

Im 6ft2 and I have the 19" Boardman

I'd go for the Boardman because it will last you longer

And don't you only get one chance at C2W?

joemoran7

Thanks Ben. I am still most likely gonna get the Boardman, was just a bit thrown by the 5 star rating the voodoo received. Looks like the boardman got 4 1/2 stars a while back before the forks were downgraded.

You do only get one chance at C2W - so would mean £200 worth of accessories with the voodoo!!!!!

Greer_

I'd say boardman - its about 1.5kg lighter and better specced. You may not appreciate the better spec but the lighter weight will make climbing and the likes easier. If your budget hasn't changed, i'd still choose the boardman. Size wise, if the boardman doesn't fit, don't buy it! You'll need to go into halfords and try sitting on both of them then decide. You may even prefer the 17" or 21", unlikely, but give them a go! They're both great beginner bikes

swelsbyuk

This probably won't assist the OP but the Hoodoo is great value at the moment. It receives a 5 star review at its 'reduced' price point of £500 but is currently reduced down to £450. You can get this even further reduced to £405 by using the NUS code.

£405 for a very decent entry level bike is a major bargain. OP probably better sticking to the Boardman as it will be reduced anyway because of the C2W discount, however, for anyone else looking for a decent entry level bike, the Hoodoo should definitely be on the 'to be considered' list.

JKD

swelsbyuk wrote:

This probably won't assist the OP but the Hoodoo is great value at the moment. It receives a 5 star review at its 'reduced' price point of £500 but is currently reduced down to £450. You can get this even further reduced to £405 by using the NUS code.

£405 for a very decent entry level bike is a major bargain. OP probably better sticking to the Boardman as it will be reduced anyway because of the C2W discount, however, for anyone else looking for a decent entry level bike, the Hoodoo should definitely be on the 'to be considered' list.

Sorry for the brief hijack but thanks for alerting me to the Voodoo price drop. £100 difference between that and the RR 8.1, might just grab that now.

pianoman1980

wow i was almost sold on the rr8.1 after posting about it myself, but the voodoo for £405 !!!! That is impossible to beat surely. Is the RR8.1 now worth the extra £100?

apreading

voodoo is heavy

For my money the RR8.1 would be worth the extra £100, but it depends how much £100 means to you. The Boardman is really good too, probably better than the RR8.1 but then its more money again.

swelsbyuk

The Voodoo is heavier than the R.R 8.1, but it's cheaper and it looks a hell of a lot better!

I am a big fan of Decathlon stuff, and owned a R.R 8.2 for three years, but I cannot understand how the frame design of the current 8.1 got past quality control.

To be honest though, at the price points these bikes are operating at, you are unlikely to be particularly disappointed with either.

ElliesDad

I looked at the Voodoo and the Boardman Comp and went for the Boardman in the end. As said quite a bit lighter but its down to fit and feel at the end if the day. To be honest they both felt about the same size, the Boardman just "felt" better. Might be the opposite for you.

MyNameIsEarl

I chose the Boardman after recommendations on here. It's excellent, out of the others that I looked at (Rockhopper & Fury), it just seemed to fit well, was lighter and better specced.

JKD

Does everyone think the weight issue is a reason for beginners to really base a decision on (within reason)?

In most cases you're talking about a difference of a couple of hundred grams at most and spread over all the components, does a beginner really notice?

I can see it as a concern on outright performance but from the bikes I've felt, even the 'heavy' ones fell pretty light to me.

The Boardman does look to be over 1kg lighter than a Hoodoo admittedly.

swelsbyuk

You are right, the Boardman is around 1kg heavier and you would notice that when riding. However, it is also £200 more expensive.

If you can afford the Boardman, buy that. If it would be too much of a stretch then buy the Hoodoo and be happy that you've managed to get a good bike for not a lot of money.

MyNameIsEarl

I'm not very fit, so the lighter the better for me. With discounts I managed to get the Boardmand for £585 (originally £750, currently £650), which isn't too much more than the Voodoo, so I thought I'd got a bit of a bargain.

I'm not in the CTW scheme (or know much about it), so missed out on a potentially bigger discount I suppose.