Boardman Team or Whyte Cambridge?

iand-83
iand-83 Posts: 132
edited November 2013 in Commuting general
Looking to buy a hybrid bike for commuting. Have tried a dropped bar road bike but didn't get on well with the drop bars (wrist pains, hand numbness and back problems) so have decided the best approach will be a hybrid.

So far out of the bikes I have looked at the only two taking my fancy are the Boardman Team http://www.boardmanbikes.com/hybrid/hybrid_team.html or the Whyte Cambridge http://www.whytebikes.com/2013/product.php?xProd=54&xSec=45

I have tried the Whyte Cambridge and it felt a very nice bike quick and stable, not yet tried the Boardman yet but wondering if Halfords will actually let me take it for a reasonable test ride? My local Whyte stockist let me take the bike for about half hour to ride it and see how it felt. And I did like it a lot but part of me wants to try the Boardman first before going for the Whyte.

The only thing ticking the box for the Boardman so far is that I could get 10% off with British Cycling discount and through my work we can get Halfords gift vouchers and pay 90% of the face value.

Is the Boardman well made or is it as I have read on this forum very much depending on who does the PDI at the store? I don't mind a little spanner tinkling to get it spot on as I guess from Halfords it will need it.

Also does anyone have any other suggestions of a hybrid worth looking at? I have tried a Specialized Sirrus Comp disc and found it felt heavy and slow to ride.

Comments

  • markis
    markis Posts: 43
    You could also look at the Whyte Stirling and Eastway bikes are worth a look as well. Boardman hybrid gets great reviews on build quality team or pro.
  • sigma
    sigma Posts: 5
    The Whyte fast-commuter frames have 130mm spacing at the rear which makes life that little bit harder when it comes to replacing the wheels; maybe something to bear in mind.
  • iand-83
    iand-83 Posts: 132
    markis wrote:
    You could also look at the Whyte Stirling and Eastway bikes are worth a look as well. Boardman hybrid gets great reviews on build quality team or pro.

    I do like the Stirling but it's a bit out of my budget and I don't have access to a cycle to work scheme through my employer :( , the Eastways do look nice specially the FB3.0, only problem with Boardman's is Halfords won't let you test ride one which is quiet annoying.

    sigma wrote:
    The Whyte fast-commuter frames have 130mm spacing at the rear which makes life that little bit harder when it comes to replacing the wheels; maybe something to bear in mind.

    I didn't realise this will investigate further, i know Whyte do there own wheel range which is possibly why.
  • antonyfromoz
    antonyfromoz Posts: 482
    The merida speedster range of hybrids are fast and light too - I have a Speedster T5 from about 2007 and it is very comfortable and light. I understand that they come in disc and non-disc versions now too...
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    I test rode the Whyte Portobello and found the ride really fun and lively but too harsh because it has the aluminium forks and didnt take particularly wide tyres - it also didnt have enough rear clearance for mudguards at the time either. The Boardman seemed to solve these problems and I bought with a very limited test ride - placing faith in the reviews and other users comments. That faith was well placed - the Boardman was just as exciting and racy a ride but better because of the carbon forks and wider tyres offering more comfort.

    A year later they changed the Whyte frame design to copy the style of their CX bikes, which gave the wheel clearance that had been so lacking. I test rode a Cambridge out of interest and it feels pretty similar to the Boardman to me - I would rate them around the same now.

    However, the Cambridge is significantly more expensive to start with and a lower component spec in some areas - the Elixirs are way better than the Tektros on the Whyte for example.

    Bear in mind also that Halfords regularly have 10% off the Boardman - so with your British Cycling discount and the work vouchers, you could get something like 26% off altogether and another 4.5% Quidco...

    I would still go Boardman personally.
  • iand-83
    iand-83 Posts: 132
    Thanks for that reply I had looked at the Boardman due to the good spec plus it seeks to get good reviews, another bike that I have looked at is the Charge Scourer. Though it's a sale model as it only looks like the Grater is available this year.

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