Dilema...

Angus Young
Angus Young Posts: 3,063
edited November 2013 in MTB buying advice
File under 'First World Problems'...

I keep changing my mind. So, do I go for...

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/rockrider-92-id_8208373.html

or

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165499
(out of stock at the moment but, presumably, getting more in at some point in the not too distant future)
All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
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Comments

  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    There have been quite a few posts on here about Boardman frames failing.
    My Boardman road frame is fairly poorly built, very flexy chain stays and I have never seen a bb shell take so long to face.
    I would go for the Decathlon.
  • ej2320
    ej2320 Posts: 1,543
    Personally I'd go for the Boardman
    Never ridden one
    Know someone who has a Boardman HT and he loves it
    End of the day, your choice your money
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    I started off fixating on the Boardman from a value point of view. This is my first full-suss and I want to ease myself in as economically as possible. Then I saw the Decathlon and it seemed like a bike I might live with a little longer (don't ask, I'm not sure) for a negligible amount more. So I settled on the RR. Then I discovered the Halfords 10% off through British Cycling which, combined with the 10% off weekends that they seem to run quite often, throws a spanner into the previously equitable value propositions. So now, while the RR ticks my 'bike' box, it's the Boardman that ticks my 'value' box. Bugger...
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • cubedean
    cubedean Posts: 670
    I would probably opt for the Rockrider, on the basis of all of the issues halfords had with the 2012/13 frames pivot points etc..

    They may well have fixed that for 2014. Either bike would be a very good purchase though.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Yes, that further complicates it. While scouring the forums I've come across quite a lot of people having agro of one sort or another with the Boardmans. But, as you say, they may well have fixed that with the 2014 models. I also suspect there are far more Team FSs out there than RRs so that might go some way to heightening the impression that there's more agro with the Boardman than the Decathlon. And I don't imagine anything's perfect at this price point.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • cubedean
    cubedean Posts: 670
    I know a couple of people with rock riders (both HT & FS) and they can't fault them for the money. The rear shock on the RR is probably it's biggest downfall (X fusion 02 RL) i have one on my spesh and while it is smooth it lacks some finesse.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    cubedean wrote:
    I know a couple of people with rock riders (both HT & FS) and they can't fault them for the money. The rear shock on the RR is probably it's biggest downfall (X fusion 02 RL) i have one on my spesh and while it is smooth it lacks some finesse.

    Which brings up another point in the RR's favour. While the Boardman may now be winning in the value stakes (factoring in the discounts) the RR looks like a bike I might be tempted to upgrade whereas the Boardman seems like a bike I might move on from.

    Oh, and, thank you everyone for your thoughts so far!
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Yes, that further complicates it. While scouring the forums I've come across quite a lot of people having agro of one sort or another with the Boardmans. But, as you say, they may well have fixed that with the 2014 models. I also suspect there are far more Team FSs out there than RRs so that might go some way to heightening the impression that there's more agro with the Boardman than the Decathlon. And I don't imagine anything's perfect at this price point.

    My Team FS hasn't been without problems, but it's still a damn good bike, with a damn good spec, for not a lot of money - excellent value. Unfortunately the 650b version's been down specced. If you can stretch the budget a little then the 650b Pro FS would be a very good deal with the 10% weekend discount and 10% British Cycling discount (wish I'd known about that one before I bought my Team FS) combined - Mavic rims, X9 2x10 gearing (with clutch mech), Revelation RL, Monarch RT, Elixir 7 Trail four pot brakes and decent finishing kit, all for under £1300? Bargain, even if you decide to replace the frame further down the line. My Team FS rides really well, and the 650 Pro felt basically just like mine, but with stronger brakes and plusher suspension. If it had been available for that price when I bought my Team FS, I probably woukd've spent the extra. You might want to change the bars/stem/grips/saddle for personal preference, but you wan't need to upgrade anything.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    My Team FS hasn't been without problems, but it's still a damn good bike, with a damn good spec, for not a lot of money - excellent value. Unfortunately the 650b version's been down specced. If you can stretch the budget a little then the 650b Pro FS would be a very good deal with the 10% weekend discount and 10% British Cycling discount (wish I'd known about that one before I bought my Team FS) combined - Mavic rims, X9 2x10 gearing (with clutch mech), Revelation RL, Monarch RT, Elixir 7 Trail four pot brakes and decent finishing kit, all for under £1300? Bargain, even if you decide to replace the frame further down the line. My Team FS rides really well, and the 650 Pro felt basically just like mine, but with stronger brakes and plusher suspension. If it had been available for that price when I bought my Team FS, I probably woukd've spent the extra. You might want to change the bars/stem/grips/saddle for personal preference, but you wan't need to upgrade anything.

    Although I could afford to do so, and it does look nice, I deliberately don't want to step up to the Pro FS (or equivalent) as, at some point next year, I'm probably going to move up to something really tasty. So right now I want to keep it as low as I can while still getting something good so that when I do move up it will be as big a leap as possible. I don't want to get something that's in the middle ground that might take the edge off the big prize next year. And besides, as I'm currently riding a truly horrible Trek 4300 that tries to kill me every time I take it off road (no suspension and tyres with the friction coefficient of soap) either the Team FS or the RR is going to feel like a Ferrari to me!
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Can't say that I can see your logic there, personally. If you're wanting to upgrade next year then keep riding what you've got until then. The down speccing of the Team 650 means that you probably would want to start upgrading it before too long, but the spec on the Pro is very good. You'd have no need to upgrade any time soon, unless you're wanting a bigger hitting, longer travel bike, in which case why buy the Boardman in the first place? If you want a good trail bike then the Pro is as good as any normal mortal rider needs (N.B. - I said needs, not wants...) If you can afford the pro then buy it. At the price you'll get it this weekend it's better value than the Team, and won't hold you back unless you're a riding god, or using it for what it's not intended for. You could throw the frame away (if you were strange) and the retail price of the rest of the components would still be more than you'd paid for the whole bike.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Can't say that I can see your logic there, personally.

    Yeah, I know, sounds kind of convoluted. I was given the bike I'm on now as a cast-off from a friend about 6 months ago. I've since become obsessed and if it ain't raining I'm out and off road (lots of opportunities right from my front gate). Trouble is I'm getting sick and tired of fighting the bike so I want to get off it and onto something decent. But... I don't want to splash out 3K right now just in case this is all just a flash in the pan and I lose interest. So I'm trying chart a sensible course through all this. Well, sensible inside my head, anyway! Lol!

    And whatever I do go for now, that will get passed on to my girlfriend if/when I upgrade.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Still think you should buy the Pro, if you can comfortably afford it. You wouldn't need to upgrade it until you were a very good rider, and if you did decide you wanted a longer travel (or just more expensive) bike then you'd be passing on a much better bike to her. For the £1300 you could get one for this weekend it's a bargain, and will feel amazing compared to what you're riding now. Just riding one round the shop had me wishing that I had the same forks and shock on mine.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Unfortunately this weekends 10% offer is out. I'm freelance so we live cheque to cheque and my next one comes in towards the end of next week. Probably a good thing though, stops me just rushing in for the offer rather than giving it objective thought. And, as they've had two weekend offers within a few weeks I'm assuming that this is quite a regular thing at Halfords and I'm hoping that there's another in the run up Xmas to tempt people in.

    Of course, just to complicate things further, there's always the 3rd option which was my original thought: Get a 2013 Team FS cheap on ebay...
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    Another bike to think about Vitus Escarpe a bit over the other two bikes price wise but killer spec. I have a Vitus hardtail and its a cracker.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Unfortunately this weekends 10% offer is out. I'm freelance so we live cheque to cheque and my next one comes in towards the end of next week. Probably a good thing though, stops me just rushing in for the offer rather than giving it objective thought. And, as they've had two weekend offers within a few weeks I'm assuming that this is quite a regular thing at Halfords and I'm hoping that there's another in the run up Xmas to tempt people in.

    Of course, just to complicate things further, there's always the 3rd option which was my original thought: Get a 2013 Team FS cheap on ebay...

    Whereabouts are you? I have a friend who's interested in selling his Team FS (size medium). Nowt wrong with it - I rode it a few miles as a taster before buying mine.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    stubs wrote:
    Another bike to think about Vitus Escarpe a bit over the other two bikes price wise but killer spec. I have a Vitus hardtail and its a cracker.

    I did look at that one but it didn't really grab me for some reason. Though it is on offer now so that makes it a bit more of a value proposition than when I looked.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    stubs wrote:
    Another bike to think about Vitus Escarpe a bit over the other two bikes price wise but killer spec. I have a Vitus hardtail and its a cracker.

    Yeah, good bike that. I would've seriously considered it if they'd been at that price when I bought my Team FS. One thing that put me off was the seatpost size - won't take a Reverb.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Whereabouts are you? I have a friend who's interested in selling his Team FS (size medium). Nowt wrong with it - I rode it a few miles as a taster before buying mine.

    Wiltshire. How much does he want?
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    Whereabouts are you? I have a friend who's interested in selling his Team FS (size medium). Nowt wrong with it - I rode it a few miles as a taster before buying mine.

    Wiltshire. How much does he want?

    I'll ask him, but we're up in Yorkshire. It's not as new (few inevitable minor marks from off road use), but good condition, nothing worn out or needing replacing. Currently on High Roller XC 2.1s.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    I'll ask him, but we're up in Yorkshire.

    Worth asking, though. It might take my fancy.

    You can fit a Reverb to the Escarpe. Apparently there's a shim inside the tube that they don't tell you about that you can remove.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    stubs wrote:
    Another bike to think about Vitus Escarpe a bit over the other two bikes price wise but killer spec. I have a Vitus hardtail and its a cracker.

    Yeah, good bike that. I would've seriously considered it if they'd been at that price when I bought my Team FS. One thing that put me off was the seatpost size - won't take a Reverb.

    What size post is it a mate is looking at the Vitus Escarpe 29er F/S and I know he wants to put a dropper on his next bike. My Rapide hardtail is 31.6mm.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    Just found the answer 27.2mm on the Escarpe 26ers and 31.6mm on the Escarpe 29ers.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    stubs wrote:
    Just found the answer 27.2mm on the Escarpe 26ers and 31.6mm on the Escarpe 29ers.

    Have a read of the two reviews at the bottom of the page here...

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... -prod81016
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    I'll ask him, but we're up in Yorkshire.

    Worth asking, though. It might take my fancy.

    You can fit a Reverb to the Escarpe. Apparently there's a shim inside the tube that they don't tell you about that you can remove.

    Didn't know that, I was just going by the published 27.2mm seatpost size.
  • RandG
    RandG Posts: 779
    I had a similar dilemma recently.

    I've just sold my Boardman Team FS 2012 model, brilliant bike, if I could afford it, I would've kept it, but needed the cash to buy a new bike. I wanted a 27.5 Boardman 2014 model, but I didn't like the down specced Team FS and thought the pro FS was hideous, so I went and bought something else, however, all that is irrelevant to you.

    If I was on your budget, I would hesitate to buy the Boardman. The RR looks a well specced bike but my understanding is the frame is fairly heavy, certainly not something that the Boardman's can be accused of.
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    stubs wrote:
    Just found the answer 27.2mm on the Escarpe 26ers and 31.6mm on the Escarpe 29ers.

    Have a read of the two reviews at the bottom of the page here...

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... -prod81016

    Thats really odd why would the factory fit a shim. Unless I suppose they had a container load of 27.2mm seatposts they needed to shift.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    stubs wrote:
    stubs wrote:
    Just found the answer 27.2mm on the Escarpe 26ers and 31.6mm on the Escarpe 29ers.

    Have a read of the two reviews at the bottom of the page here...

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... -prod81016

    Thats really odd why would the factory fit a shim. Unless I suppose they had a container load of 27.2mm seatposts they needed to shift.

    Stranger things have happened, lol
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    RandG wrote:
    The RR looks a well specced bike but my understanding is the frame is fairly heavy, certainly not something that the Boardman's can be accused of.

    Don't know about the standalone frames but the quoted weights for the bikes are: 2013 Team FS – 13.2kg (29.1lb); 2014 Team FS – 14kg (30.8lb); RR 9.2 – 12.9kg (28.4lb).
    stubs wrote:
    Thats really odd why would the factory fit a shim. Unless I suppose they had a container load of 27.2mm seatposts they needed to shift.

    Yes, sounds a bit odd. Seems like pointless faff.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    In current spec my Team FS weighs 13.98kg. Forgot to weigh the new frame, but the old one was 2.98kg without shock.
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    edited November 2013
    Having listed the weights above I suspect that manufacturer's quoted weights shouldn't be taken as gospel. Rather like Ferrari quoting 'dry' weights for its cars when no-one drives them without water, oil or fuel, I'd guess the bike manufacturers have many a sneaky dodge to get as low a quote as possible.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607