Nudge needed

mr97

Nudge needed
I've finally narrowed my choice down to two bikes.

Cannodale bad boy 29er
Giant Seek 0

The Seek 1, was ruled out by default as for some reason they're no longer available.
The Boardman Team ticked a lot of boxes but I just didn't like it when I visited Halfords.

The Bad Boy & seek 0 are both available from LBSs in my area. Both bike shops seem to be reputable and have many happy customers, plus I quite like the idea of the six week and yearly service they offered me.

I'm 20stone and looking to shed some timber biking. Both the seek 0 and BB 29er can handle my weight, but I was told that may weight will be a factor re. wear and tear of components and that rogue potholes could be costly if I'm not careful.

The bottom line is that I like the look of both bikes but both bikes bring something to the table that makes my decision difficult.
Seek 0: I love the idea of the alfine hub and the clean look. The lack of maintenance appeals and for commuting where I live, I can't imagine 8 gears being too much of an issue.
BB 29er: The chunky look of the bike gives me reassurance and the wider tires will smooth out a few lumps and bumps and hopefully give a little extra protection to the bike when carrying a lot of weight - me.

Being a beginner and this being my first bike purchase for 20yrs, I'd be very grateful if someone one would give me a gentle nudge, by way of highlighting something I may of overlooked or need to factor-in re. my choice.

The bike will be used mainly commuting and some little off road riding, along river banks etc.
Thank you

xcMuttley

Personally i would choose the Cannondale but if you dont need the gears then the seek would likely be the better option. Have you had a look at the Surly Karate monkey: http://surlybikes.com/bikes/karate_monkey only if you live in a flat area, i seriously doubt you will have any problems with it as they are bomb proof
Another option could be this http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOSC29X5/ ... ntain_bike
If your planning on doing a bit of mountain biking then this would be the best option.

Of the two bikes you have narrowed down the Cannondale comes out top in my opinion.
You will have much greater riding options with the extra gears and aslong as you dont mind spraying it with wd40 every so often then it will be just as reliable as the alfine hubs. Another thing to consider is are you able to have the alfine hub repaired if need be? As long as they are working correctly they do need less maintenance but if somthing does go wrong they are hard to fix compared to normal gearing.

Another thing to consider is do you need a bike with such big tyres, they are great for commuting but depending on the riding you are doing something like these may be the better option.
http://www.rutlandcycling.com/45019/Cha ... -Sale.html
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... -grater-13

mr97

Thank you, xcMuttley.

Good point re something going wrong with the alfine hub. I can imagine that they're not cheap or easy to fix if something goes wrong. And, even though it was a while ago since I last had a bike, I don't recall having any major problems with my bikes derailleur and any maintenance I carried out did seem too bigger deal.

The reason I quite like the bigger tyres is so that hopefully, any rouge pot holes I fail to stop or debris in the road, the tyres might absorb most of the impact as I'm a heavy guy. Plus with the bike carrying so much weight, I'm hoping they'll make my ride smoother.

Thanks for the links to the other bikes, but to be honest having spent so long researching the above, I haven't the heart to add any more bikes to the mix. The prices were excellent.

The cannondale 29er is looking good.

xcMuttley

The cannondale looks more than good,
The parts are overall better the only difference really being the alfine hub on the Giant but i cant see why you would need to pay the extra amount.
The only other notable difference are the Brakes, i have personally never used the shimano hydraulic brakes so dont know how they perform compared to the Avid elixir's on the giant but ive never seen a complaint about them so it doesnt seem worth paying the extra money for that.
I would say The Cannondale seems like the best value

mr97

Thanks again for your time, xcMuttley.
You have helped me a lot with my decision. The weather seems to be picking up - hope I have spoke too soon - so I really looking forward to putting all the theory to the test.
Many thanx