£1000 road bike

minnnt

Hi all. I'm considering buying a bike through the cycle to work scheme through work. The maximum i can have is £1000 but I'm unsure what to look at. I think my employers offer a couple of different schemes and can look at Halfords, Evans and Wiggle. The guy i spoke to on the phone from out HR department did mention Leisure Lakes too but I can find it anywhere in the info listed in our work literature.

I'm not part of a club and will mainly be riding on my own. I have a MTB so am looking at something for road use which is where my main riding takes place. (nottinghamshire/derbyshire). I've looked at the Boardman Team Carbon which looks like a nice bit of kit but I've also spied the Hybrid Pro which would fit in line with my MTB riding style more i guess with the flat bars? I haven't ridden a roadie for about 8-9 years.

Are there any other bikes worth considering from the other two suppliers?

Any suggestions are very welcomed.

Many thanks,
David.

cougie

Don't get a hybrid if you already have a MTB.
The Boardman road bike gets good reviews - it'll give you a more aero position for riding on the roads.

cougie

Don't get a hybrid if you already have a MTB.
The Boardman road bike gets good reviews - it'll give you a more aero position for riding on the roads.

e999sam

I used Infinity Cycles in Durham. They let me use a Halfords voucher.

bmxboy10

The Evans scheme is the best as you also get about £60 of accessories for free from Evans and the transfer options at the end are more favourable.

I would get the voucher and put a bit more in and get a Caad12 especially as they are now being reduced.

SME

Just some items for thought....

As mentioned above, Evans do offer a £60 voucher for accessories - what will you need? Do you currently ride your MTB at night, otherwise you may want to factor in the cost of lights for winter commutes, or even wet weather clothing. A lot of bikes at this price and upwards don't always come with pedals - will you use SPD (which you probably have on your MTB), or do you want SPD-SL, Look, or some other road specific pedal (in which case you'll probably need shoes as well)?

I agree with the above poster - why buy a hybrid if you have an MTB? The riding position and feel is likely to be very similar, although differences in suspension will obviously be noticed. A road bike will definitely be different, although even after 8-9 year break, I think you'll soon get used to it. Road bikes seem to come in specific types nowadays, road race, CX, endurance/sportive, etc.

So if you go for a road bike, how many miles and what the roads are like may help narrow your choice (sorry, I don't know your riding patch). And things like whether you'll need to fit mudguards.

I think at the end of the day I'd just go along to any of the shops you list in the scheme and try some bikes out. And see if those shops can give you a bike fit which will help with your riding position comfort and reduce the risk of injuries which you might've otherwise got over the long term.

minnnt

Thanks for all the advice.

A bit of info for people... I'd be doing probably 40-60 mile rides at the weekend doing a few climbs on A/B roads. I have most other kit.

I like the look of the Cannondale Caad12 but if I could get something under/on the £1k limit then that would be great. I'd like the ability to add mudguards for winter usage but I guess it's not essential. I didn't realise there was an Evans cycle shop in Notts so I may pay a visit one evening this week.

Any thoughts on the Felt V55?

tonysj

I have a Boardman Team Carbon road bike which I bought on the cycle2work scheme last December 2016. Got to say Im very happy with it.
Bought it from Halfords, obviously, but got it when it had 20% off and a couple of days later it was reduced another £50 ( now @ £750 instead of RRP £1000 ) questioned this with the shop staff and they said dont worry we will do it at £750 and just pick £50 worth of accessories. Also had £25 towards a new helmet. I bought the mudguards Mk3 ones that velcroe onto the forks and frame. Bit tight and had to trim some off but great afterwards.
The bike has done 1100miles know and its great for a 1st road bike. Yes I have a MTB and was told ignore the Hybrid waste of money if you have a MTB.
Regards. Tony

tonysj

Also I got a 20% discount card for cycle kit but cannot be used on GPS or bikes so well worth using.
Tony.

SME

May help...

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/arti ... 000-29719/

http://road.cc/content/feature/217674-1 ... %C2%A31000

agentorange88

minnnt wrote:

I didn't realise there was an Evans cycle shop in Notts so I may pay a visit one evening this week

Would suggest calling them to check if they actually have the bikes you are interested in at the store. Evans has an annoying habit of listing a load of bikes on their website but are only held in one or two shops and their warehouse.

minnnt

Good idea. I noticed that on their website that some bikes only have one size available, even newer models.

I may just opt for the Boardman for ease of have a few local stores and decent kit on it etc. I'm no pro and doubt I'd be able to tell a difference between that and something a few hundred more.

e999sam

There's also Cycle Republic a few doors away from Evans in Nott'm. They're part of Halfords.

minnnt

Hi Sam, do they accept the Halfords voucher aswell?

e999sam

minnnt wrote:

Hi Sam, do they accept the Halfords voucher aswell?

Yes they do cycle2work which is Halfords scheme.

davesnothere

There's no substitute for actually sitting on the different bikes. They can look great on paper but if they're not comfortable then you are less likely to ride it/engage.

Evans are good for this, if you book in advance they will prep a couple of different bikes for you to try. If you take along a passport and credit card they will let you take it up the road for a proper ride for 10 minutes or so. They charged me a deposit of £50 to get a particular bike in to branch and build it for me to try. I didn't end up buying from them and they refunded this instantly with no fuss as promised.