Boardman v Dolan TT bikes

rob churchill

Ok, I need a TT bike for the boy, I'm looking at a Boardman AirTT 9.0 at £1400 (new bike, clearance price) or a Dolan Scala with Rival 22 at £1550 (also new). Max budget is two grand, so either of those leaves a little in the kitty for some wheels.

Any advice? The Scala is better specced, but my gut says the Boardman will be the better frame. Rider is a tall and skinny lad, just turned fifteen, PB 23:34 for a ten.

Just for this one topic, ignore my sig.

Grill

The fastest frame is the one that allows for the best position, although in a vacuum the Scala is likely a hair quicker. The best way to achieve speed on a budget is to go with a Cervelo P4 (or P2 if you can't find one) and kr or out with TriRig brakes, bars, and stem. For wheels get a disc and an old Zipp 808 (if he can't handle it on the wind then a 404 or old PX trispoke ifs your best bet).

meesterbond

Lucky boy!

I've been racing on a Scala for the last couple of seasons and really like it - built up from frame with a set of ADR Ultimate bars, various groupset bits sourced on the cheap and a pair of PX carbon tubs I had lying around. Bit of a pain to built but no worse that any internally routed frame.

Brakes can be another pain to get right but when they're set up ok the brakes are fine, although my usual 10 and 25 courses are sporting and frankly you don't really need the brakes on them so barely a consideration.

I stuck a Railtech carbon cover on the back wheel - most of the performance of a disk at a much reduced cost although without the 'thump, thump' you get with a proper disk wheel.

Other than that, there's not a lot to say - if the frame is the right size, then the key is a really adjustable set of bars - as Grill said, if you can get the lump on the bike in the right place, then the frame will play a pretty small part in any aerodynamics.

Secondhand is your friend with TT bits though - most bits only cover a couple of hundred miles a year before the user decide to buy a few seconds and upgrade.

davidwilcock

Grill,

Do you recommend the P4 for its adjustability over other bikes?

The brakes recommendation, is this from an aero point of view?

Grill

I recommend the P4 because it's still pretty much the fastest low-yaw bike out there (with the right bars). TriRig brakes are as aero as you can get (and easier to find than Simkins) and are highly and easily adjustable. The Omega X stops really well too.