Is it a good swap? MTB to Road!

Tavish85

Hi all,

I currently have my Rockrider 8.1 MTB up for sale on eBay & have been sent a message about a straight swap for a Boardman Race 2011.

To be honest not long after I brought my MTB I knew that I made a mistake & should of gone down the road/hybrid route instead.

I have no idea about road bikes, so not sure if it's a good swap. Bearing in mind I have only used my bike a dozen times if that so it is pretty much brand new.

Anonymous

I really depends on what your MTB is worth realistically on eBay. I guess someone could advise you on what the Boardman is worth if you know the spec and condition.

It also hugely - and I stress this - depends on the size of the road bike. At a rough guide someone 6ft would be on 56cm frame (give or take a cm) and then for every 2 inches change in height, add/remove 2cm on frame size. Note that is a VERY rough guide but more or less works unless you have abnormal proportions.

No point getting a bike which is too big as you will never be comfortable.

Tavish85

coriordan wrote:

I really depends on what your MTB is worth realistically on eBay. I guess someone could advise you on what the Boardman is worth if you know the spec and condition.

It also hugely - and I stress this - depends on the size of the road bike. At a rough guide someone 6ft would be on 56cm frame (give or take a cm) and then for every 2 inches change in height, add/remove 2cm on frame size. Note that is a VERY rough guide but more or less works unless you have abnormal proportions.

No point getting a bike which is too big as you will never be comfortable.

Thanks for the reply.

The message I received stated that it is a heavily upgraded Boardman Race:
Shimano ultegra rear derailieur
new shimano 105 front derailieur
105 shifters
selle italia ponza power saddle
stronglight front chainring

The size is 52cm and I'm 5ft 7" so according to the Boardman website & Halfords the size should be fine.

cyberknight

Just check the sizing , halfords are notorious for measuring the real seat tube for sizing even when its a sloping tube .I am the same height and have a small size boardman which has a 53 cm top tube ctr to ctr measured along the top tube but according to the boardman geometry its a 54 cm if measured horizontally.I ride with a 90 mm stem rather than the supplied 100 mm .
Best thing to do is go and look at the bike , try it for size and then make a judgement.
I assume you know how to do a basic fit to see if the bike is within your size range ?

Tavish85

cyberknight wrote:

Just check the sizing , halfords are notorious for measuring the real seat tube for sizing even when its a sloping tube .I am the same height and have a small size boardman which has a 53 cm top tube ctr to ctr measured along the top tube but according to the boardman geometry its a 54 cm if measured horizontally.I ride with a 90 mm stem rather than the supplied 100 mm .
Best thing to do is go and look at the bike , try it for size and then make a judgement.
I assume you know how to do a basic fit to see if the bike is within your size range ?

I have checked the bike & sizing is not an issue.

This is the bike:











Bearing in mind I know nothing about road bikes.. Does it look any good??

cyberknight

There not 105 shifters afaik , i can see the thumb lever on the side which looks like either old sora or old 2300 ( original specs are sora 9 speed ) .The rear mech is ultegra with as far as i can see a 10 speed cassette so does it all work right ?

Be aware that this model is no longer in production and is about 4 ish years old as i nearly bought one on c2w as i liked the colour but went for the next model up .
Given that the rock rider and boardman both retailed about the same price and the road bike looks used and the only 2 rockrider 8.1s on ebay i can see one of which i assume is yours look mint if the bike was a swap i would be looking at maybe the seller bunging you £50 on top , assuming it all works of course !

Tavish85

Thanks so much for your advice.

Yeah one is mine - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RockRider-8-1 ... SwwPhWkjYj

I think that I will pass on this bike & wait till I get rid of my MTB then buy a new road bike.

bigmat

A new chainring suggests it has done a lot of miles - not necessarily a problem if it has been well maintained.

cyberknight

BigMat wrote:

A new chainring suggests it has done a lot of miles - not necessarily a problem if it has been well maintained.

Indeed, the saddle change doesnt bother me as saddles are a personal choice , its just the mismatched drivetrain( unless i cant count the sprockets ) and potential wear of the wheels etc .
Might be worth having a look at but if the MTB is a hardly ridden and the road bike works i still think he needs a few quid as well

lakesluddite

You know it really irks me when someone puts a listing on fleabay and just cannot be arsed to either clean the damn thing or take decent photographs of it. It kind of tells you something about the person listing it. When I sold mine I must have spent a full day replacing the cables, cleaning and greasing the necessary parts and photographing it from all angles in good light.
Sorry, rant over.
I think with this one its the difference between the 9 speed shifters and the 10 speed cassette/rear derailleur that would put me off (as well as the above!). If indeed that is the case here, and I'm pretty sure that the shifter ARE Sora, as I have them on one of my bikes.
If I were you I'd sell the MTB, then get the money in your pocket to put towards something that you really like, and have researched beforehand.

g00se

I have to say, it may be the photo but that Boardman frame looks a bit big for someone who's 5'7"?

skooter

Looks to have lots of different bits on it..