Advice needed for a fast hybrid

vjanda

I'm after a s/h hybrid bike, my budget is £400 tops.
Basically a fast road machine with a more comfortable geometry.

I want the bike to have :
carbon fork
700cc wheels
hydraulic disk brakes
shimano 105 components or something in that rank

I'm considering the Specialized Sirrus Elite and Boardman Hybrid pro.
Any other models I should be looking at?

Many thanks in advance

apreading

Specialized Sirrus you pay alot of money for poor components new - I assume that is still true for second hand. Boardman is a bargain and fantastic - the team would be good enough though if you cand find a pro. Whyte Portobello is fantastic too. The Boardman and Whyte are much faster and more sporty than the Sirrus which is very 'sit up and beg' despite what you might try with setup to counter the geometry.

vjanda

Great, cheers.
A mint Boardman Pro sold for 360 a few days ago.
I regret not buing it but I have yo sell my old bike first.

BTW my mate recons that at 88kg I'm too heavy for a carbon fork and that the geometry is too aggressive given my age of 45. :roll:
Any thought?

bendertherobot

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19624226#p19624226]vjanda[/url] wrote:

Great, cheers.
A mint Boardman Pro sold for 360 a few days ago.
I regret not buing it but I have yo sell my old bike first.

BTW my mate recons that at 88kg I'm too heavy for a carbon fork and that the geometry is too aggressive given my age of 45. :roll:
Any thought?

Ditch your mate. Honestly.

The best two fast commuters at the moment appear to be the Planet X London Road at £649 (Apex) and the Boardman Hybrid Team at £799. Get BC membership and you can take £79 off that. Wait for a 10% day and you can take 20% off!

Personally, at £729 or so, I reckon the Boardman is the better option at the moment. Avid brakes aren't the best but they are better than BB7. Also the Mavic rims are fairly decent.

apreading

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19624226#p19624226]vjanda[/url] wrote:

BTW my mate recons that at 88kg I'm too heavy for a carbon fork and that the geometry is too aggressive given my age of 45. :roll:
Any thought?

Carbon should be stronger than the alternatives and lighter and generally dampens road vibration that you feel. Actually, the heavier you are, the more reason there is for needing a carbon fork - you will need higher tyre pressures than lighter riders and will feel the road vibrations more due to the extra downforce.

I am a year younger and only a couple of kg lighter and the Boardman is fantastic for me - done over 15,000 miles on mine now. It has taken me from 17 stone down to 13.5 over the last 3/4 years (I started at 17.5 stone but I think by the time I bought the Boardman I had already lost half a stone on the mountain bike).

vjanda

Thanks fellas.
I never owned a road bike before.
Been reading about bikes like the specialised secteur that have a more comfortable upright frame geometry.
As I only cycle on roads now I'm wondering if I should get a hybrid like the Boardman or a road bike instead.
I cycle 3 to 4 times per week and do 30 miles per trip.
The strava app really makes a differece and motivates me to improve my fitness.

bendertherobot

BTW, the Boardman Hybrid Team is currently £599 down from £799. A steal at that price.

The Pro is nice but I'm not sure the Shimano kit justifies a £400 price difference.