Do it all bike for under £1000 on C2W

aswh

Hi all this is my first post so please be gentle.

I do apologise if this sort of thing gets asked time and time again but I am looking into getting a Cyclocross bike around the £1000 mark on the Cycle to work scheme. I was looking at the Boardman CX Team but unfortunately Halfords are out of our scheme that we run at my work I'm now looking at the Specialized Tricross Elite 2014 £TBA or the Cannondale CAADX 105 2013 which I can get for £880 at the moment from a local supplier. It looks like both bikes have some nice features but where I'm tearing my hair out is between the Tricross with Tiagra groupset and BB7 disc brakes or the CAADX with 105 groupset and cantilever brakes. Could anyone offer some advise on choosing between these two or offer up an alternative thats not a Boardman CX Team or Internet only option. Ill mainly be using it through the winter for a 14 mile roundtrip commute to work on potholed roads and some compounded trail work.

Thanks in advance

Wooliferkins

Tifosi CK1 or CK6 (Scroll down)

aswh

Wooliferkins wrote:

Tifosi CK1 or CK6 (Scroll down)

Thanks for this ill have a look into both of these.

My initial thoughts are that I would prefer a bike with disc brakes to cope better in the bad weather. So I suppose my real question is whats most important to me, better brakes or a better chainset Or can I find a bike with both 105 or equivalent chainset and decent disc brakes for under £1000, hmm sounds like a challenge...

PuttyKnees

For your intended purpose I'd probably prioritise brakes over chainset. The BB7s will be significantly better in the wet than the cantis and on a road based commute being able to stop promptly is important.

veronese68

Pinnacle Arkose 3 comes in at £1000 and has 105 and BB7 as I recall, Evans only though. I strongly recommend getting discs if you're going for all weather use.

matt@theforce

£899 Merida Cyclocross4 (last years model)
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Merida-Cyclo-Cross-4-2013_55228.htm

or this years model for £999
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Merida-Cyclo-Cr ... _64928.htm

105 setup apart from BB & Chainset which is FSA (no problems to report in 1900miles) and Hayes CX-5 disks which IMO much better than the BB7's (comparing breaking power/longevity/ease of setup compared to a friends BB7 setup)

Matthew

unixnerd

Guy who owns my LBS races CX and he uses a Merida Cyclocross 4, loves it to bits. He's a Merida dealer but he has lots of other brands to choose from too including Specialized.

cloggsy

I've got a Boardman CX Team (when they were £749.99), but if I'd had my time over again, I'd have gone for one of these...



In fact, I still might (N + 1)

aswh

Thanks for all the replies!

I had to request the list of suppliers from our finance department and they are all small independent shops around Norfolk, apparently that makes it easier for our finance guys to sort out any problems if they arise, rather than going up a chain of command. We have an Evans in Norwich but as its a chain it isnt in our list which is a shame as the Pinnacle looked like a good option. Ill look into whether the Merida is available at our local suppliers as that also looks like another good recommendation, cheers guys!

Oh and also definitely looking for disc brakes now after reading some of the above.

Ive read good things about Planet X too but I thought they were online only? If so then thats just another good bikethat I cant have, woe is me...

Wooliferkins

Fat Birds Dont Fly in Hunstanton are a Tifosi dealer

aswh

Wooliferkins wrote:

Fat Birds Dont Fly in Hunstanton are a Tifosi dealer

Thanks for that, cant seem to find a Tifosi with disc brakes that comes in under budget unfortunately.

Ive been doing a bit more research tonight and I think im starting to nail the spec im after, it now includes the ability to fit proper mudguards and possibly panniers along with disc brakes and the best possible chainset for the price... Not after much am I... Does anyone have any thoughts/comments on the GIANT TCX SLR 2 2014? It looks well specced for the money but cant seem to find any reviews of it.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 989/66573/

How Far is too Far

Might be worth a look, TRP callipers etc.

See one in a shop last week and it looked nice.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 989/66573/

muttley_109

I went for the giant tcx slr2 on the cyclescheme. It sshould be being delivered from the factory this week so should be waiting for me when I get back from Australia. If you want to get one before January though you will have to go through a giant store as they are the only shops that have them.

matt@theforce

aswh wrote:

Wooliferkins wrote:

Fat Birds Dont Fly in Hunstanton are a Tifosi dealer

Thanks for that, cant seem to find a Tifosi with disc brakes that comes in under budget unfortunately.

Ive been doing a bit more research tonight and I think im starting to nail the spec im after, it now includes the ability to fit proper mudguards and possibly panniers along with disc brakes and the best possible chainset for the price... Not after much am I... Does anyone have any thoughts/comments on the GIANT TCX SLR 2 2014? It looks well specced for the money but cant seem to find any reviews of it.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 989/66573/

The spec on the Giant is very similar to the Merida (only the chainset/brakes are different). I have a friend who swears by Giant's and that is the only manufacturer that he will buy bikes from.

Personally if your looking for something that will take mudguards/panniers etc then I would try to get a bike closer to £850-£900 so I still have some budget left for the mudguards/panniers/lock/lights etc.

Don't get too hung up on the 'best' chainset/drivetrain. I commuted for over 1 year on my 2300/Sora setup and the only failure I had was a snapped powerlink which in turn got lodged in my rear mech and snapped it, the best part was, Sora is cheap to replace & everything has worn very well & still has loads of life left in it.
Having said that, I do notice quicker/smoother shifting on my 105 setup but only time will tell just how robust it is compared to the Sora stuff.

gjh0702

I have just ordered 2014 Focus Mares AX3- you would need put £100 + towards but 105 kit + discs

aswh

Thanks again for all the replies above, this is really useful stuff im getting here, cheers!

The Focus looks stunning but im not sure if I can get hold of one because of my limited suppliers, will have to check with LBS, I have put it in my top 5 below (not in any order):

Giant TCX SLR 2 2014

Ridley X-Bow 10 Disc

Merida Cyclo Cross 4

Genesis Croix De Fer 2014

Focus Mares AX 3.0

There looks to be some good things said about the Merida and it does tick all the boxes but shallow as it sounds im just not too keen on the paint job. The other 4 are all currently equal running at the moment, I think they can all take full mudguards and a pannier, and have decent disc brakes and chainset. I have to say the Focus looks really nice and probably pips the rest to the post spec wise but it is a bit more money. The Ridley, Giant, and Genesis all look like sound buys so just wondering if anyone has got any comments to make on any of these listed above before I go and take the plunge. Of course I will try to get down to my LBS and try them out first but is there anything glaringly obvious that ive missed?

853rider

aswh wrote:

Thanks for all the replies!

I had to request the list of suppliers from our finance department and they are all small independent shops around Norfolk, apparently that makes it easier for our finance guys to sort out any problems if they arise, rather than going up a chain of command.

Go and speak to Tim Guy in Streetlife opposite the Fat Cat pub on West End St. He's won the Eastern Cyclocross League a couple of times so is pretty knowledgeable! There's a large contingent of cross riders who use the shop and ride from there.

If they can't actually supply what you are after, they will point you in the right direction. I'd seriously recommend you pop in and have a chat before you lay down any money anywhere. Taking in cake means you get a priority service!

Also worth remembering they will look after you and the bike in the long term.

veronese68

I tried a Croix de Fer before plumping for my Kinesis. Rode really nicely, felt really quite sprightly for what is a relatively heavy bike. Haven't tried the others on your list but I would definitely recommend trying before you buy.

jotko

I have a croix de fer, 2010 I think. Slightly different spec to 2014 model as it is 9 speed with a Tiagra/105 mix and Shimano Disc brakes. You get BB7s now which is better.

The Croix de Fer is a brilliant go anywhere bike and the steel frame rides lovely and smooth, mine is wearing proper mudguards for the winter, and it has rack mounts but I have never fitted one. Only real drawback is weight - the frame is pretty heavy but its the stock wheels that let the side down the most. That said, the 2014 has different wheels hubs/rims so they may be better or worse, its an easy upgrade when you come round to it though.

aswh

Ive been emailing Alex at Streetlife and he said he would check availability of the Ridley, which I actually really like the look of:



the Giant still looks like excellent value for money though but again waiting to hear from LBS regarding availability:



The Felt F65X looks like a lovely bike as does the Kinesis Crosslight Pro 6 but im not sure what im really getting for the for the extra cash??

Seems like a waiting game at the moment to see whats in stock but as soon as I hear something I'll get down to the LBS and try something out.

Thanks for the info on the Croix de Fer, It does look like a good all rounder, ill just have to have a look and see where my closest dealer is and hopefully get a look at one of those too.

cloggsy

aswh wrote:

Ive read good things about Planet X too but I thought they were online only? If so then thats just another good bikethat I cant have, woe is me...

Planet X do Cycle2Work...

Read here

aswh

Thanks for this ^^ although it would appear I have the fussiest C2W scheme in the world and are only allowed to use 'local' independent suppliers just in case there are problems. I dont think I can argue a internet based company as being local unfortunately.

As an update my options are now somewhat limited:

These are what ive discounted for various reasons:

Giant TCX SLR 2 - Great bike (my first choice) but out of stock until feb
Focus mares 3.0 2014 - Lovely bike but again out of stock until 2014
Merida Cyclocross 4

Possibilities:

Ridley X-bow 10 disc - looks ok but im not 100% on it and still waiting on a stock check.
Cube cross race disc 2014 - (front runner at the moment, need to find out about stock).
Whyte Saxon Cross 2014
Specialized Tricross Elite Disc (Tiagra instead of 105 but looks a good bike)

Has anyone experience with both Tiagra and 105 groupsets? Would I notice the the difference?

drummer_boy

+1 for the Planet X. Went through the same decision crisis you are going through, so I feel for you :-).

Went to the Planet X shop at Rotherham (about an hour and a half drive for me), test rode the 105 equipped XLS, and was told I'd have to wait for the frame size to come in for me (early Nov). Then sound an SRAM equipped XLS for £1199 on clearence. Picked it up last weekend, and it's going well.

Finding mudguards is the hard bit :-(, but the SKS race blade XL look good, so I've ordered some of them.

matt581

I'm thinking about making a switch to CX bikes for my commute. Seen a lot of good reports about the Planet X XLS but there out of stock until end of December

aswh

It really is a process of elimination at the moment, most of which have been out of my hands and are due to either being out of stock until next year or too far to be allowed in our C2W scheme. It really sucks as im having to discount some really nice bikes and it almost feels like the price is going up whilst the spec is going down at the moment.

Had to discount the Whyte today because it is too far but my LBS is pricing up a Kenisis Pro 6 for me so will wait to hear on that.

Im half tempted just to lay out my hard earned cash and buy a new Boardman CX Team outright and say bugger the C2W scheme (Halfords not allowed in our scheme). At £899 its looks very good value for money and the savings from the C2W scheme are getting to the stage where they are almost negatable since i'll be spending more to get a bike that fits my works criteria. I'm going to wait until i've heard about the Pro 6 and the Cube though as they look like nice bikes.

Anyone able to offer up a comparison on the 10 speed tiagra vs 105 setup? I tried out the SRAM apex today and got on quite well with it.

veronese68

Pro6 is very nice, I may be biased though.

matt581

How did you get on? Have you made a choice yet

mikenetic

aswh wrote:

It really is a process of elimination at the moment, most of which have been out of my hands and are due to either being out of stock until next year or too far to be allowed in our C2W scheme. It really sucks as im having to discount some really nice bikes and it almost feels like the price is going up whilst the spec is going down at the moment.

Had to discount the Whyte today because it is too far but my LBS is pricing up a Kenisis Pro 6 for me so will wait to hear on that.

Im half tempted just to lay out my hard earned cash and buy a new Boardman CX Team outright and say bugger the C2W scheme (Halfords not allowed in our scheme). At £899 its looks very good value for money and the savings from the C2W scheme are getting to the stage where they are almost negatable since i'll be spending more to get a bike that fits my works criteria. I'm going to wait until i've heard about the Pro 6 and the Cube though as they look like nice bikes.

Anyone able to offer up a comparison on the 10 speed tiagra vs 105 setup? I tried out the SRAM apex today and got on quite well with it.

Halfords also offer a 10% discount for British Cycling members on bikes, so even if you're not a member now, you can join and still save a decent chunk of change.

Tiagra is perfectly fine. It feels a bit 'clicky' compared to 105, but either are a good choice.

meagain

What a useful and timely discussion! I THINK I want a cyclocrosser simply for winter leisure riding - including tow paths and riverside/farm tracks. C2W is of no relevance. The Planet X looks awesome - but no guard mounts etc is a probably a decisve no no. The Meridas at much the same price tick most of the boxes. OTOH, not sure I need discs. I must think harder... and read all the above again!

Thanks!

muttley_109

This was my choice of bike on the C2W. Picked it up yesterday!

matt@theforce

@ muttley_109

Are those TRP Spyres?