Going to downgrade from my Boardman - but to what?

sonypc100

Hi

I bought a 2012 Boardman Pro HT from Halfords recently.

This one....

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PDPz1

And I have no complaints about the bike, in fact its great but I am going to sell it and I want to replace it with something cheaper. Reasons been....

1. I dont use it enough to warrant its cost. (yes I know I should of thought more before purchasing it, but I didnt want to get something cheap if I quickly wanted to grow into something more sophisticated)

2. I dont use it enough on the sort of terrain its built for.

3. My g/f has just recently bought a £200 carrera that weighs the same as my Boardman and to be honest I dont feel £800 worth of difference when I ride hers.

4. Probably the most important reason.....I'm petrified to leave it anywhere, even with a decent lock on it, and that is kinda taking away some of its enjoyment, and say if we stop at a pub, I darent leave it so we end up not going or not being able to sit inside with the bike out of view.

So, I am looking for a front suspension HT, for maybe £400 or a touch more, if it had the same weight as the Boardman that would be great, spec wise its going to do canal/road/footpath miles and maybe the odd forest or wood but nothing serious.

Thanks

Rich

Jimx26

I find it very hard to believe a £200 Carrera Mtb weighs the same as the Boardman unless it is teeny tiny and I doubt you will find an mtb for £400 that weighs the same.
The Decathlon bikes get good reviews for around your budget.

sonypc100

Well, ive not put either on the scales but I got my gf a Carrera subway (the gents version and shes never been a fan of the low bar on female bikes) and if I lift them side by side I find very little difference.

Jimx26

Ah I see.... it probably is hen if it's a hybrid, I thought you meant mtb.

sonypc100

Its this

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

It prob is slightly heavier than the Boardman but certainly I dont feel much of a difference neither do I feel £800 worth of kit more on the Boardman - but thats probably down to the style and distance I am riding.

cooldad

You'll take a massive knock as its now second hand.

sonypc100

cooldad wrote:

You'll take a massive knock as its now second hand.

Due to a few codes, promotions, quidco, discounts etc I managed to pay way under RRP so looking at completed listings on ebay I should just about break even.

chez_m356

sonypc100 wrote:

Probably the most important reason.....I'm petrified to leave it anywhere, even with a decent lock on it, and that is kinda taking away some of its enjoyment, and say if we stop at a pub, I darent leave it so we end up not going or not being able to sit inside with the bike out of view.

unless you use it for its intended use you will never realise the quality of the kit, as for a cheaper bike being less likely to be stolen, it maybe even more tempting for some, less questions to be asked when the local smackheads nick it and try to flog it down the local market/car boot

supersonic

A boardman pro is about 25-26 pounds. A subway a good 30lbs. I'd keep it, you'd lose loads selling it and have a worse bike.

nicklouse

buy a Rat bike for the pub and shopping.

bumblebee auctions is a good place to start.

MyNameIsEarl

nicklouse wrote:

buy a Rat bike for the pub and shopping.

bumblebee auctions is a good place to start.

+1

I've still got a 'racer' from when I was a teenager, never been cleaned or looked after. It's fluro pink and white . I bought it after my first MTB got nicked. I don't have to lock it up or worry about it.

felix.london

I'd suggest getting a second hand bike for that sort of money but you'll just end up with similar to what you have now but a couple of years older...you might as well just wait a couple of years and yours will be worth £400 - happy days :?

Briggo

sonypc100 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

You'll take a massive knock as its now second hand.

Due to a few codes, promotions, quidco, discounts etc I managed to pay way under RRP so looking at completed listings on ebay I should just about break even.

In that case I'll offer you £100 for it.

sonypc100

Briggo wrote:

sonypc100 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

You'll take a massive knock as its now second hand.

Due to a few codes, promotions, quidco, discounts etc I managed to pay way under RRP so looking at completed listings on ebay I should just about break even.

In that case I'll offer you £100 for it.

Deal.

sonypc100

felix.london wrote:

I'd suggest getting a second hand bike for that sort of money but you'll just end up with similar to what you have now but a couple of years older...you might as well just wait a couple of years and yours will be worth £400 - happy days :?

Don't really want a bike for "best" and one for dossing, just something around £300-£400. I wouldn't use either enough to justify 2

sonypc100

supersonic wrote:

A boardman pro is about 25-26 pounds. A subway a good 30lbs. I'd keep it, you'd lose loads selling it and have a worse bike.

I think for me pottering around a canal towpath with the misses the extra doesn't make that much difference

sonypc100

chez_m356 wrote:

sonypc100 wrote:

Probably the most important reason.....I'm petrified to leave it anywhere, even with a decent lock on it, and that is kinda taking away some of its enjoyment, and say if we stop at a pub, I darent leave it so we end up not going or not being able to sit inside with the bike out of view.

unless you use it for its intended use you will never realise the quality of the kit, as for a cheaper bike being less likely to be stolen, it maybe even more tempting for some, less questions to be asked when the local smackheads nick it and try to flog it down the local market/car boot

Correct. I don't think I will use it for its intended £1000 kit use

felix.london

sonypc100 wrote:

felix.london wrote:

I'd suggest getting a second hand bike for that sort of money but you'll just end up with similar to what you have now but a couple of years older...you might as well just wait a couple of years and yours will be worth £400 - happy days :?

Don't really want a bike for "best" and one for dossing, just something around £300-£400. I wouldn't use either enough to justify 2

I didn't suggest getting two bikes. I said in a couple of years yours will be worth £400. So you might as well keep it

sonypc100

felix.london wrote:

sonypc100 wrote:

felix.london wrote:

I'd suggest getting a second hand bike for that sort of money but you'll just end up with similar to what you have now but a couple of years older...you might as well just wait a couple of years and yours will be worth £400 - happy days :?

Don't really want a bike for "best" and one for dossing, just something around £300-£400. I wouldn't use either enough to justify 2

I didn't suggest getting two bikes. I said in a couple of years yours will be worth £400. So you might as well keep it

Might be right...in 2 years from now, still doesnt help now when I have a shiny £1000 bit of kit sat outside a pub or the fact that Im not really using it to its abilities.

nferrar

If you really are looking to change it then I'd get something second-hand with a £400 budget

sonypc100

Yeah, just looking at some listings now, trying to skip the scroates selling nicked bikes and find the genuine sellers online.

Also looking at the voodoo hoodoo which I can get under £400

felix.london

nferrar wrote:

If you really are looking to change it then I'd get something second-hand with a £400 budget

But like I said he'll just end up with a similarly spec'd bike just a couple of years older. Still just as nickable, still too much bike for his needs, just older..seems silly

felix.london

sonypc100 wrote:

Yeah, just looking at some listings now, trying to skip the scroates selling nicked bikes and find the genuine sellers online.

Also looking at the voodoo hoodoo which I can get under £400

...and you'd be happy leaving that outside the pub?

chrisw333

Put it in the classifieds here as an exchange for a bag of shit bike + cash.

If you sell it second hand then buy a new bike the profit you make will be pretty minimal. But if you must, then yes a Hoodoo would be fine, although by the sounds of it still a lot more bike than you need. Look at the entry level Rockriders too.

chez_m356

felix.london wrote:

sonypc100 wrote:

Yeah, just looking at some listings now, trying to skip the scroates selling nicked bikes and find the genuine sellers online.

Also looking at the voodoo hoodoo which I can get under £400

...and you'd be happy leaving that outside the pub?

this exactly, for your intended use of the bike you might as well get a £150 apollo from halfords, anything else sounds as if it would be a waste of a bike

rockmonkeysc

I had a £150 Apollo CX10s , left it outside the pub every weekend unlocked, never washed it, never maintained it and did 8000 miles on it without a single problem. Best bike I have owned!

njee20

Get another one then. :roll:

Don't really get statements like that; "I don't know why I ever bought this expensive x, the cheap one was far better".

Twelly

Seems like you are only going to lose out buy selling up and buying a cheaper bike. You might as well keep it. Buy a bike that just about works for £20 on eBay or go to the local dump and pick something up for the pub and you have the best of both worlds. You say you can't justify doing this but I can't see a good reason for doing what you plan to do.

rockmonkeysc

Get another one then.

Don't really get statements like that; "I don't know why I ever bought this expensive x, the cheap one was far better".

What I meant was that a dirt cheap bike can be perfectly good for what this dude wants. I won't be replacing my Scalp with another Apollo hybrid!

njee20

So it wasn't in fact the best bike you've ever owned.

waby1234

I'm slightly bemused by this topic.

I'd say, in summary, you could do any of the following;

a) Keep your current bike + invest in a decent lock

b) Keep your current bike + insure it

c) Keep your current bike + don't leave it anywhere where it might get stolen

d) Sell your bike (possibly make a loss or just about break even) and buy a £400 ish bike which is suitable for your usage and have a similar risk of it being nicked

e) Sell your bike and buy a pile of junk which may still get nicked but be cheap to replace

f) Any of the above permutations combined together!

Personally I would be keeping the Boardman, using it for it's intended purpose, not worrying about it, and enjoying it!