Initial upgrade to a 13 Incline Alpha

ethansdad
ethansdad Posts: 5
edited August 2016 in MTB buying advice
Hello

I'm looking to move up to a 27.5" bike from my present 26" Boardman HT Comp.

I can get hold of one of these second hand:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -bike-2015

Please could anyone recommend which upgrades I should look to invest in if I buy it? Online reviews say the brakes could do with changing, but to what? (Got a budget of around £100 for the initial upgrades to make it a better ride).

Cheers

Comments

  • mrbubbaman
    mrbubbaman Posts: 171
    ethansdad wrote:
    Hello

    I'm looking to move up to a 27.5" bike from my present 26" Boardman HT Comp.

    I can get hold of one of these second hand:

    http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -bike-2015

    Please could anyone recommend which upgrades I should look to invest in if I buy it? Online reviews say the brakes could do with changing, but to what? (Got a budget of around £100 for the initial upgrades to make it a better ride).

    Cheers

    Yes the brakes aren't great, I've got one of these and a Boardman FS Pro and i almost went over the bars on the Boardman!
    The rest is pretty good, maybe look at wheels, tyres and a dropper post
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Ride it and replace bits you don't like. Never plan upgrades before you buy the bike.
    The brakes may not be the best but they're not bad and depending on your riding you might not find a problem with them. There might be something else which doesn't suit you. You might find you need to change bars, stem, seatpost and/or saddle to make the bike more comfortable.
    Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13070235
  • chrisw333
    chrisw333 Posts: 695
    I'd keep the Boardman HT comp. It's probably a better bike - what age is it and do you have a spec?
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Many 13 Alpha now have Clarks M2 rather than the Exo Skeleton - a better brake all round.
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  • ethansdad
    ethansdad Posts: 5
    It's the 2012 version of the Boardman:

    http://www.thebikelist.co.uk/boardman/mtb-ht-comp-2011

    Is the Incline worth upgrading to with its newer components?
  • rockmonkeysc
    rockmonkeysc Posts: 14,774
    Not really. It's not an upgrade.
    Transition Patrol - viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=13070235
  • midgehulluk
    midgehulluk Posts: 195
    I'd stick with your old bike. What's the reason for a new bike anyway?
  • ethansdad
    ethansdad Posts: 5
    I was tempted because the Incline was cheap, but thanks to the good folks on the forum I've decided to keep the Boardman.

    Many thanks for all your comments and advice - might have made a duff decision without you all.
  • ubiquitousuk
    ubiquitousuk Posts: 12
    Could someone explain what they mean when they say the brakes are bad on the Alpha? What's the difference between a bad brake and a good one?

    I would have thought that once you have hydraulic disc brakes you find that the brakes are easilly strong enough to lock the wheels and the main constraint on stopping power is the grip in the tyres rather than anything to do with the braking system. At least that has been my experience on my cheapo Decathlon MTB.
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    Power is one thing - most discs will lock up if you grab massive handfulls of lever, but feel, consistency, durability, even just being able to find a choice of pads comes into it.
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