Cycle advice

Midnight said:
Looking at a purchasing a bike, will be used for commuting and for some off road ish stuff i.e on cycle trails.
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Commuting and off-road cycle trails could be an extremely wide range that one bike isn't ideal for. It probably depends what you mean by cycle trails. If it's just gravel paths (canal towpaths / old railway lines) then the Boardman CX (or similar) looks spot on. Gravel bikes are the current trend and seem to be what you're after based on that choice - they're basically road bikes with bigger tyres.

But where will you really spend the most time in the saddle? Because it's really uncomfortable taking a road/adventure/gravel bike onto any sort of uneven surfaces and you might be better off looking for an off-road bike primarily and use it for commuting as a secondary purpose.
 
Might depend on how long your commute is. I used to cycle 10 miles to work a couple of times a week. Started off with a mountain bike (as they were called them) but pretty quickly got a road bike. The difference is night and day. Just make sure you put green gunk in the tyres to avoid punctures.
 
Ok, my tuppence worth (FWIW).

What you're trying to do is find one bike that does 2 different things. You're looking for a road bike that'll go off-road. What you'll get is a compromise on both styles. If you're only planning on doing a bit of commuting and the occasional weekend then either of the ones you've looked will be fine. I'd also look at BTwin and Cube.

However, if you aspire to do a bit more weekend cycling then I'd probably look at a decent mountain bike and 2 sets of wheels. One for the daily commute and one for weekends.

Oh, and don't get too hung up on the weight of the frame. There's no point paying a premium for a 1kg saving if you're built like a prop forward. Look at the gearing and brakes first. Buy the best gears and brakes within your budget.
 
I'm with bluewolf, get a decent all rounder and then get two sets of wheels. One with thinner road tyres and one set with some decent MTB tyres.

I have 3 bikes somehow. one MTB, one road bike i use for training and a triathlon TT bike. They can be as bad as golf clubs!
 
Midnight said:
Cheers for advice , gumtree and bay are out as prob doing cycle2work scheme.
Don't think decathlon are in the scheme unfortunately but will check.
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Check if this is what you really want to do before you proceed. Cycle to work schemes are not what most people think and often only benefit the employer with regards to creating an image of being green.

Over the first 12 months you will pay the cost of the bike, but this is actually only leasing it from your employer, so if you want to keep the bike after this, you will have to purchase it at its then market value (usually around 25% of new price), and may also have a small admin fee to do this.

Do the sums for your particular tax rate carefully and see if it is actually worth it for you, compared to buying a much cheaper second hand bike, or just using a generic 0% finance scheme that many cycle shops offer.
 
Dibby said:
Check if this is what you really want to do before you proceed. Cycle to work schemes are not what most people think and often only benefit the employer with regards to creating an image of being green.

Over the first 12 months you will pay the cost of the bike, but this is actually only leasing it from your employer, so if you want to keep the bike after this, you will have to purchase it at its then market value (usually around 25% of new price), and may also have a small admin fee to do this.

Do the sums for your particular tax rate carefully and see if it is actually worth it for you, compared to buying a much cheaper second hand bike, or just using a generic 0% finance scheme that many cycle shops offer.
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It worked well for me, i got a 500 quid specialized MTB for all in i think around 220 quid, maybe 250 at a push.
 
Rooter said:
It worked well for me, i got a 500 quid specialized MTB for all in i think around 220 quid, maybe 250 at a push.
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I think there are different schemes and Companies implement them in different ways. The one I used was great. Got a Specialized Rockhopper Pro at a 43% discount. As soon as the 12 months was up I got a BMC GF02 at a sizeable discount (less than 43% as the bike was considerably more than the upper limit). Worked really well for me 👍
 
Dibby said:
Check if this is what you really want to do before you proceed. Cycle to work schemes are not what most people think and often only benefit the employer with regards to creating an image of being green.

Over the first 12 months you will pay the cost of the bike, but this is actually only leasing it from your employer, so if you want to keep the bike after this, you will have to purchase it at its then market value (usually around 25% of new price), and may also have a small admin fee to do this.

Do the sums for your particular tax rate carefully and see if it is actually worth it for you, compared to buying a much cheaper second hand bike, or just using a generic 0% finance scheme that many cycle shops offer.
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There is also the option to 'extend' the lease at the end of the first year and this reduces the final payment down to a minimal amount. You just say you are keeping the bike for a further period (2 or 3 years, can't remember off the top of my head) and you then pay about 3% of the bikes value instead of 20 or 25%
 
drive4show said:
There is also the option to 'extend' the lease at the end of the first year and this reduces the final payment down to a minimal amount. You just say you are keeping the bike for a further period (2 or 3 years, can't remember off the top of my head) and you then pay about 3% of the bikes value instead of 20 or 25%
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So then make sure you check the total cost of the lease over 3 years. If you end up making the same payments as year 1, you will have paid for the bike 3x over by the end of year 3 and will still have to make another small payment to own the bike.
 
Speaking of mountain bikes, I've just got into it, was a bit rude not to really as I live less than half a mile from some great tracks :D
Converted my bike from 3x9 to 1x11 a few weeks back, absolutely loving it but my thighs have never ached so much :mad:
 
Beezerk said:
Speaking of mountain bikes, I've just got into it, was a bit rude not to really as I live less than half a mile from some great tracks :D
Converted my bike from 3x9 to 1x11 a few weeks back, absolutely loving it but my thighs have never ached so much :mad:
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I dont understand the trend for single front chain rings. To me, you reduce down your gearing options and with so many on the rear cassette the chains have to be so thin compared to say what I have with an 8 speed cassette......and I used to break chains (good ones) far to often.
 
Dibby said:
So then make sure you check the total cost of the lease over 3 years. If you end up making the same payments as year 1, you will have paid for the bike 3x over by the end of year 3 and will still have to make another small payment to own the bike.
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No, you stop paying for the bike after 1 year but you just basically delay the final payment and it is greatly reduced as a result. After a year, the final payment is about 25% (dependent on purchase price) but all you are basically doing is delaying the payment by promising ;) to keep the bike for a further 3 years.
 
Bunkermagnet said:
I dont understand the trend for single front chain rings. To me, you reduce down your gearing options and with so many on the rear cassette the chains have to be so thin compared to say what I have with an 8 speed cassette......and I used to break chains (good ones) far to often.
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Quite likely you broke chains because of the chainrings! Front mechs have always been awful by design, they move the chain on the high tension drive line whereas rear derailleurs move the chain on the low tension slack bottom line. Single drive is much more reliable although it is a very heated area of bicycle opinion...

The gearing range on the 11 and 12 speed cassettes is massive. There’s really no need for extra messy and unreliable gearing up front. :)
 
Jimaroid said:
Quite likely you broke chains because of the chainrings! Front mechs have always been awful by design, they move the chain on the high tension drive line whereas rear derailleurs move the chain on the low tension slack bottom line. Single drive is much more reliable although it is a very heated area of bicycle opinion...

The gearing range on the 11 and 12 speed cassettes is massive. There’s really no need for extra messy and unreliable gearing up front. :)
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Very interesting point Jim, I've never thought of it like that :thup:
 
Jimaroid said:
Quite likely you broke chains because of the chainrings! Front mechs have always been awful by design, they move the chain on the high tension drive line whereas rear derailleurs move the chain on the low tension slack bottom line. Single drive is much more reliable although it is a very heated area of bicycle opinion...

The gearing range on the 11 and 12 speed cassettes is massive. There’s really no need for extra messy and unreliable gearing up front. :)
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I always ran good chainrings, (Pace with extruder grooves), and changed them long before others would. The chains would snap just for stamping down hard on the pedals (always used Sachs Sedis chains)
I would be running a 44/32/20 with 11-28 cassette XT casette.

Whilst I get the greater spread on one ring, across the whole rear cassette, I would have a greater spread and higher big ring/bottome cog set up:)
 
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