This Bike vs That Bike

CitizenLee

Hi folks,

I'm away to move office soon so looking to get a new bike for commuting through CycleScheme.

I had Genesis CdF 10 previously and a Cube Hyde Race before that, and definitely preferred the riding position and handling of the Cube so have narrowed it down to these two flat-bar hybrids for my next whip...

Whyte Shoreditch 2018: £699
https://www.edinburghbicycle.com/whyte- ... -bike.html

Cannondale Quick 2 Disc 2018: £849
https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cannondale-Qui ... 111736.htm

Both have everything I want (single ring up front, disc brakes, flat bars, internal cables routing), but the Cannondale has better gearing and brakes.

Is it £150 better though? As in, is it likely to make much of a difference for a 4-5mile each way commute?

I ideally I wanted to keep the bike to £700 or under and then spend £100 or so on a new jacket and lights.... but if the Cannondale is justifiably better then I'd be happy to stretch the budget.

I did also look at the Orbea Capre 10 and Genesis Skyline but can't find them anywhere in my size (Medium).

Cheers,

Lee

daniel_b

The Whyte looks pretty good, and isn't too obese at 11.19kg - no obvious way to figure out what the dale weighs in at though.

My Boardman Team comp pro thing that I bought this summer for similar money to the Whyte, has the Sram single cog up front, and 11 at the rear, and it exhibits very crisp and efficient shifting, I'm really impressed with it.

Mine is now fully shod with Marathon plus tyres, rear rack, full guards, and afollowmetandem thing to tow the small one, and yet it still rides well!

Personally, I would go for the dale out of those two - one more gear, so less gappy, and as you point out, better brakes too.

greenamex2

From the adverts, you also get Shimano brakes and "micro suspension" for your money.

As they are both 1x, the extra gear would make the gaps between some of cogs a bit closer.

Personally I would be looking at something closer to the Cannondale if you can budget it.

CitizenLee

Daniel B wrote:

The Whyte looks pretty good, and isn't too obese at 11.19kg - no obvious way to figure out what the dale weighs in at though.

My Boardman Team comp pro thing that I bought this summer for similar money to the Whyte, has the Sram single cog up front, and 11 at the rear, and it exhibits very crisp and efficient shifting, I'm really impressed with it.

Mine is now fully shod with Marathon plus tyres, rear rack, full guards, and afollowmetandem thing to tow the small one, and yet it still rides well!

Personally, I would go for the dale out of those two - one more gear, so less gappy, and as you point out, better brakes too.

Thanks for the reply

Yeah I think the extra range of the 11spd cassette might make the difference for the hilly part of my commute now I think about it, so I’m starting to lean more towards the Cannondale.

I just called my local Evans and sadly they don’t have any in stock I can check out, but they can order them (or I could just go with Tredz or another online store who do have stock).

Saying that, I actually just saw a Whyte Shoreditch locked up when I popped out for lunch and it looks awesome in person, and my local EbCo do have them in stock… not making my decision any easier!

I didn’t even consider Boardman now you mention it. Don’t Halford’s charge extra/offer less of a saving on C2W bikes though? I seem to remember people complaining it on here once upon a time.

greenamex2

You probably won't get any discount on the C2W scheme from Halfords. I think most other chains have a similar policy but check, may depend on the scheme...most bike shops don't really like them because the C2W company takes a pretty big cut.

Might be better getting an interest free loan on a discounted bike.

CitizenLee

greenamex2 wrote:

From the adverts, you also get Shimano brakes and "micro suspension" for your money.

As they are both 1x, the extra gear would make the gaps between some of cogs a bit closer.

Personally I would be looking at something closer to the Cannondale if you can budget it.

Aye, the Cannondale is definitely ticking more boxes at the moment. It costs more, but it seems to be better value overall.

greenamex2 wrote:

You probably won't get any discount on the C2W scheme from Halfords. I think most other chains have a similar policy but check, may depend on the scheme...most bike shops don't really like them because the C2W company takes a pretty big cut.

Might be better getting an interest free loan on a discounted bike.

Finding a discounted "decent" bike in medium is the hard part... usually seems to be only XS and XL left.

I may still pop into Halford's to see what they have before I finally decide.

daniel_b

The non disc is lised at 10.7kg, so I suspect there is nothing between them weight wise:
https://www.startfitness.co.uk/cannondale-2017-quick-2-mens-hybrid-bike-blue-c31257m20.html

The Boardman Hybrid pro model I bought as end of line, no longer seems to be available unfortunately :-(
Could not see an obvious replacement either weirdly - it was 1K RRP, but IIRC I ended up buying it not through c2w, @ £750, then I had my 10% BC disccount, and I get 10% discount through work - as it was a display model, he also let me have 10% of the original £800 sale price to put towards parts, so nabbed mudguards, rack and marathon plus tyres - a pretty good deal all told, very happy with it.

I have known people at work who have bought disounted bicycles through the halfords c2w scheme, and also been able to use their C discount -I'm not sure if it makes a difference if it's the standard c2w or halfords c2w though, which is that they use here.

I think a lot of it depends on who you get, so if you are interested in a Boardman, try and befriend a helpful assistant would be my suggestion.

CitizenLee

Thank again for the replay Daniel Sounds like you got an awesome deal on your Boardman!

In the end I've settled on the Cannondale for my new commuter. The better brakes, cranks and gearing won me over in the end. Mostly the brakes though as it pisses down most days here in Aberdeen and the Tektro hydros are meant to be rubbish in the rain, whereas I had the Shimano M315s on a previous bike and they were great stoppers in all weather and required zero maintenance.

At £849 the bike is slightly more than I would have wanted to spend originally, but it means when the bike is officially mine at the end of the C2W period I will hopefully have less to upgrade.

I also added in an Endura Humvee Convertible jacket and Lezyne Zecto Drive 250 Front Light too.

Now to patiently wait the 4-6 weeks it takes for the CycleScheme voucher to arrive

andyz

Whyte Shoreditch 2018 looks great

The Rookie

What cycle to work scheme does your company use? Halfords have their own so if your company uses a different scheme you can't go to Halfords. That said with average C2W savings around the 20-25% mark a good sales offer often works out cheaper.

I think the Whyte is better value of the two, I don't think the 'dale is enough better for the price increase.

Just to tease you I commute on a Planet X London road, flat bar, 1x gearing and hydraulic discs, comes in at 8.75Kg before adding rack and guards.

CitizenLee

Appreciate the reply as always Rookie

It’s CycleScheme my work use.

The sum of the parts to bring the Whyte up to the spec of the ‘Dale would be more than £150 – brakes, 11spd rear mech & shifter, chain and cranks (although for the crank upgrade I’d probably go for SRAM Rival as I had the FSAs on my CdF and they felt super cheap and too long so I swapped them out for Shimano CX-50s). It’s mainly the brakes that put me off it though, as I’ve never had much luck with Tektros in the past, whereas I’ve never had any issues with any of the Shimano hydros I’ve owned.

I did look at the Planet X London Road, but I’d also rather go back to flat bars for commuting (preferred the riding position and slackness on my old Cube Hyde Race to the CdF that replaced it). Same reason for ruling out something like a Genesis CdA. Don’t PX also charge an extra 10% for C2W purchases? Also, did you change the bars yourself or did it come like that? I can't see the option on their bike builder.

As per my OP, there were a few other bikes I looked at like the Orbea Carpe 10 and Genesis Skyline, but they were either unavailable in my size (M) or not available from a reputable shop that does C2W.

I still have to wait for the voucher so plenty of time to mull it over I suppose

The Rookie

Cyclesheme rules out Halfords then!

PX have done the London road as a flat bar on and off (off right now), I bought mine as a frameset in one of their sales and swapped over most stuff from my old bike plus some wheels bought from the undercover pachyderm (via ebay not knowing it was him), I have it built to suite commuting need's, so for example I'm using a gripshift so no levers sticking out and snagging things.

PX do currently have this but you'd want to swap tyres - frame and forks look very like the LR. Would be £780 on C2W though due to the commission.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMAPE ... ravel-bike

CitizenLee

Apparently my voucher will be issued around payday, so the 28th. Feels like the longest month ever waiting for it!

If the London Road Flatbar re-appears by then I will definitely consider it, but otherwise I've settled on the 'Dale.

I know we shouldn't judge bikes on their looks alone, but I'm not really keen on the minty fresh look of the Full Monty. Reminds me of an 80s PK Ripper Now if they did it in stealth black or lumo yellow...

daniel_b

CitizenLee wrote:

stealth black or lumo yellow...

Now we're talking!

CitizenLee

I know I've pretty much ruled out drop bars, but if this was 1x11 and had hydro brakes I'd be on it like a tramp on chips...

https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ar ... e-EV275629

Very tempting.

CitizenLee

Finally got my voucher today so ordered this...

https://www.cube.eu/en/2018/bikes/road/ ... nred-2018/

Was a toss up between that or a CAADX Tiagra but the Cube has better brakes, bolt-thru axles, a Tiagra crankset rather than FSA, plus tyres more suited to all round use. Got it for £839 down from £999 so not a bad deal. Can't wait to get it