Orange Clockwork vs Boardman FS Team 29er

martin0183
martin0183 Posts: 4
edited June 2014 in MTB buying advice
Hello I would like some informative advice please. I currently have £1000 to use for a cycle to work scheme bike. I would really like a full sus trail bike and the Boardman team fs 29er is really the only option for the money & seems to be very well specced. However I have had a bad experience with halfords over the past few weeks in that the staff do not seem interested in sourcing a bike for me & have no forecast for when they will ever get any of these Boardmans in stock.

It's got to the point of me giving up & going to my local independent bike shop were the staff are very knowledgable & keen to help but they have no fs bikes anywhere near as cheap as £1000. The best bike for the money is the Orange Clockwork 29er which is obviously a hardtail & the components seem to be a lower spec than the boardman. Is the boardman cheap for a reason?

So the question is do I persevere with getting the Boardman or go for the Orange? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    What supplier (and therefor what retailers) does your scheme have access to?

    Halfords only do cycle to work through there own scheme.

    On-One Parkwood if you can!
    http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrBTz58 ... AFMg5eZQI-
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • muddpuppy
    muddpuppy Posts: 87
    The boardman fs team is a 650b not 29er I have the pro and cannot praise it enough I absolutely love it and highly recommend it good reviews great value for price what more could you want
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    The Boardman is a much better bike than the Orangebut so are most bikes at this price. The Orange is very low spec for the price.
    At this time of year a lot of the more popular 2014 models have sold out and new ones won't be in stock until September or October. It's not a great time of year to be buying.
    Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13070235
  • martin0183
    martin0183 Posts: 4
    Thanks very much, sorry yes I stand corrected the Boardman is 650b. I am in the halfords scheme but can opt to go with an independent but will have to pay for an admin fee. I have been back into halfords today & the assistant manager is going to call head office to see when they might get more stock. Having looked at the FS pro they had on display they seem to be very well put together bikes with much better spec than the 'prestige' names. I think I am going to persevere with getting the Boardman, if I go for the orange I don't think I'll be getting anything better than my old 2009 GT aggressor XC2 which cost £600 new. In fact the GT still has better spec than the clockwork!!

    I am entering a XC race in early October so I don't think I'll be able to wait for the 2015 models to come into stock. Thanks for your help guys.
  • IDave
    IDave Posts: 223
    I have the Boardman Team FS 650b and I really like it. No complaints at all.

    So of the finishing kit is a little cheap, but that's easily replaceable.

    You won't find a better FS bike for that kind of money unless it's a lucky clearance sale find (which probably wouldn't be allowed on C2W anyway)
  • martin0183
    martin0183 Posts: 4
    Thanks for moving my thread to the relevant section, new to the forum oops!! Sounds like the Boardman is a good bike, I just hope halfords can come up with the goods. I don't really know where I stand with C2W if they can't get the bike I want. Maybe they could give me one of the two FS pro's they had on display as the 2015 models will be out soon, just saying... ;-)

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