A more expensive Halfords bike Vs cheaper LBS bike

GBH14

I have a decision to make..

I am looking for a new bike for XC/Trail and due to some discount I can get I am able to get a bike from halfords for about 30% off..

Is anything at Halfords worth getting sub £1000? What about the new 13 Incline Gamma? Anything else?

Is what is available at Halfords for up to £1000 better than what I will get elsewhere for £700? I know I will probably get a better spec but Halfords is limited in brands.

I suppose what I'm asking is - is my £700 better spent in Halfords on a £1k bike or LBS on a £700 bike?

Antm81

Depends what you can get from your LBS. However the Voodoo bikes that halfords sell are well specced and well regarded, the boardmans and Carreras too. All usually better than the big brands at similar price levels.

The Rookie

GBH14 wrote:

I suppose what I'm asking is - is my £700 better spent in Halfords on a £1k bike or LBS on a £700 bike?

Rather a mixed up bit of logic there!

Assuming your budget is £700 then Halfords are almost certainly a better bet than your LBS, also consider Decathlon.

XC/Trail is a bit wide, 29er/650B/26", HT or FS, what priorities etc etc.

GBH14

My budget is roughly £700, but due to my discount available it is £1000 in Halfords. I only really ask as I always hear people slating Halfords bikes etc.

I am not interested in 26", so a 29er or 650B. And for £700 (£1k halfords) I guess it is best to steer clear of FS isnt it? I am happy enough with a HT as my money will go further I guess.

The Rookie

So you can buy a bike at a list price of £1K from halfords, is that what you are saying? Anywhere else upto £700? In that case either a Bizango or the best Boardman HT.

rockmonkeysc

At below a grand its difficult to beat Halfords. The new 13 bikes have had some bad reviews but Boardman, Carrera and Voodoo are some of the best bikes at their price points.

lostboysaint

Or if you can stretch it just a little then the Boardman Team FS 650 is now on offer at £850!

GBH14

The Rookie wrote:

So you can buy a bike at a list price of £1K from halfords, is that what you are saying? Anywhere else upto £700? In that case either a Bizango or the best Boardman HT.

Yes that's right, I didn't really word it the best! I was looking at the Boardman Pro 29er online so I may have to go and take a look at one of them.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

At below a grand its difficult to beat Halfords. The new 13 bikes have had some bad reviews but Boardman, Carrera and Voodoo are some of the best bikes at their price points.

What bad reviews have the 13 bikes had? Anything online I can have a read of?

markhewitt1978

I wouldn't have any problem buying a bike from Halfords, but I would take it to my LBS for servicing, for which I'd have to pay for of course.

The Rookie

Or DIY if you feel competent! Nothing is very hard.

If you are using an MTB properly it will need minor maintenance and tweaks most rides, so best to learn!

rockmonkeysc

Bikeradar did a review of a 13 mountain bike and it just had some stupid design features and didnt ride as well as it could have.

dirkpitt74

Don't think you'll go far wrong with a Boardman, Voodoo or Carrera.

The Boardman Team FS gets some good reviews.

The Rookie

I've read the WMB report, I think that is slightly unfair, yes it had some silly design features (like the seatpost badge) but it rode pretty well...whether it could have ridden better is debatable.

GBH14

The seat post design flaw doesn't really bother me as that's something that can be changed relatively cheaply.

I love the look of it, more so than the Boardmans/Carrera's/Voodoo's at a similar price point.

mattyfez

At the risk of getting a slow clap, my £250 HT Carrera has been great, and I've done about 1000km on it since I got it last autumn.

I've put better tyres and tubes on it and I've had to learn how to do various maintenance bits and bobs, mainly brakes as the mechanical disk brakes tend to need to be re-set up whenever you take a wheel off. but there are plenty of how to guides on youtube and forums like this.

I did visit a few LBS in my area but they all put the hard sell on me, I'm 6'3 and sixteen stone so the general conversation was that I'd break the frame if I didn't spend a least £800+.

Quite happy with my current bike, frame hasn't snapped yet

The Rookie

mattyfez wrote:

s as the mechanical disk brakes tend to need to be re-set up whenever you take a wheel off.

You're doing something wrong then, nothing in the brake can or does move when you remove the wheel!

An entry level bike is OK, but damped forks and hydraulic brakes improve the ride experience massively.

Manc33

Decathlon I say.

The Rookie

So he'll get better for £700 at Decathlon than £1K at Halfords? Don't think so!

dirkpitt74

For my money I'd take the Boardman HT over the 13 Gamma.
Not much in the spec I don't think - Boardman is slightly lighter.
Although I do like the shape of the frame on the Gamma.

markhewitt1978

Boardman's have a reputation of having a rather aggressive geometry, no idea if this is warranted.

rockmonkeysc

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Boardman's have a reputation of having a rather aggressive geometry, no idea if this is warranted.

Not at all. They are quite neutral.

Manc33

I just find this thread funny in that a "more expensive Halfords bike" is considered about the same thing as a "cheaper LBS bike".

If you've figured that one out already then you probably don't need to ask anyone. :twisted:

Thing is those Boardman bikes... they are like the achilles heel of Halford's. :oops:

Antm81

Manc33 wrote:

I just find this thread funny in that a "more expensive Halfords bike" is considered about the same thing as a "cheaper LBS bike".

If you've figured that one out already then you probably don't need to ask anyone. :twisted:

Thing is those Boardman bikes... they are like the achilles heel of Halford's. :oops:

in what way are the boardmans the achilles heel?

Theres no way a cheaper LBS bike can be compared to an expensive halfords bike, the cheaper halfords bikes are far better than any big brand bikes remotely near their price range.

markhewitt1978

Largely true, for the big brands you basically have to pay an amount for the name on the downtube.

Manc33

Antm81 wrote:

in what way are the boardmans the achilles heel?

Decent for the price.

Antm81 wrote:

the cheaper halfords bikes are far better than any big brand bikes remotely near their price range.

That's hard to imagine but I will believe you. :P

I am bias towards Decathlon a bit since they were the only shop selling a road bike with a carbon fork for £300, plus a lot of reviews said it feels like a £500 bike when you ride it. That was just a one off though and Decathlon is now selling a metal forked white version, with slightly worse kit on it than the red one had, at the same price.

Kinda like when Intel were selling that Core i7 for £225 and AMD were still calling chips as fast as that "Super Platinum Turbo Black Limited Edition" blah blah blah and charging $999 for them.

I think Decathlon caught on by now and think hey, all the reviewers are saying this is like a £500 bike, we're giving people a bit too much bang for buck here. The reviewers should have kept their mouths shut but what can you do.

That top MTB Decathlon were selling always seemed a good price @ £1500. Carbon frame and a mixture of XT/XTR on the drivetrain. I dunno, it just seems they have better kit on the bike and the price is normally lower than you'd think considering the kit. Having wall to wall B'Twin frames is I guess what enables them to do deals like that.

Decathlon only ever seems to get one complaint about it - there is never a store near you. I'm lucky I have one less than 3 miles away. I always like going in Decathlon, the women they have working there seem to be hired on looks alone but I am sure they know what they are doing. 8)

There seems to be two types of people working there, genius mechanics... and French people.

cooldad

Manc33 wrote:

Antm81 wrote:

in what way are the boardmans the achilles heel?

Decent for the price.

I don't think that means what you seem to think it means.

Manc33 wrote:

Antm81 wrote:

the cheaper halfords bikes are far better than any big brand bikes remotely near their price range.

That's hard to imagine but I will believe you. :P

I am bias towards Decathlon a bit since they were the only shop selling a road bike with a carbon fork for £300, plus a lot of reviews said it feels like a £500 bike when you ride it. That was just a one off though and Decathlon is now selling a metal forked white version, with slightly worse kit on it than the red one had, at the same price.

Kinda like when Intel were selling that Core i7 for £225 and AMD were still calling chips as fast as that "Super Platinum Turbo Black Limited Edition" blah blah blah and charging $999 for them.

I think Decathlon caught on by now and think hey, all the reviewers are saying this is like a £500 bike, we're giving people a bit too much bang for buck here. The reviewers should have kept their mouths shut but what can you do.

That top MTB Decathlon were selling always seemed a good price @ £1500. Carbon frame and a mixture of XT/XTR on the drivetrain. I dunno, it just seems they have better kit on the bike and the price is normally lower than you'd think considering the kit. Having wall to wall B'Twin frames is I guess what enables them to do deals like that.

I blame drink or drugs or both. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Antm81

Decathlon aren't big brand or an LBS. They are marketed at the same point as halfords.

rockmonkeysc

Compare the build spec of a Carrera to a similar priced Specialized, Giant, Trek, Scott etc. The big brands dont even get close.
As for frame quality, Carrera and Specialized frames are both built by Merida and I think Scott are as well. So Carrera frames are as well.
You could substitute Carrera for Boardman or Voodoo above and it would still be true. Decathlon are also just as good value.
The big brands only become reasonable value above a grand.

The Rookie

Manc33 wrote:

Antm81 wrote:

in what way are the boardmans the achilles heel?

Decent for the price.

His heel was Achilles only weakness (according to legend), not is his strength! It was where he was held when dipped in magical waters, hence the water didn't get to it, there is an alternative myth but the principle holds true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles%27_heel

So Trax and Apollo are the Achilles heel(s) of Halford's bike shop, not the Boardman which could perhaps be called the Samson's Hair or Popeye's bicep?

cooldad

Or Pamela Anderson's rack.

The Rookie

Pre inflation yes, post no.......although I may be in a minority!