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Help me choose a bike.

Weekender

Weekender

pfm Member
I have £1,300 to go at via cycle to work scheme. The scheme does not seem to be limited to Halfords as it once was. I had started browsing there and this one appealed:
https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/1573-asr-8.9.html
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-asr-8-9-mens-road-bike-s-m-l-xl-frames
It seems to be out of stock. I've emailed Boardman to query restock/new model launch.
The bike will be used for commuting only as I have a carbon roadie for best and a hybrid for the off-road/family rides.
The commute is 6miles each way from Urmston into Manchester on the marvellous roads we have here in the NW. To be fair Urmston Lane/Stretford Rd is pretty good...Talbot Road less so even after the new bollards have gone in.
I am not an A star pupil of the bicycle...by that I mean the steed will be thrashed to and fro with only oil on the chain and tyre inflation between irregular servicing...so it needs to be easy to maintain and reliable.
I'm thinking disc brakes...had some hairy moments in the wet and with vehicle interactions.
Over to you...thanks in anticipation.
Please provide actual model suggestions if you can.
 
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I didn't realise you live so close to me. I don't commute on my bike, but I do ride it into Manchester from time to time, and I stay off the roads for the most part. I join the Bridgewater Canal towpath just off ParkWay (1/4 mile from J9 of the M60, which is close to where I live) and can get pretty much all the way to Deansgate without going on a road.
 
Cable disc brakes are easier to fix than hydraulics.

Get a bike that you can fit larger diameter road tyres at a very minimum 28cc, better larger AND with space to fit mud guards. Safer, nicer to ride and less punctures. I personally used Michelin Pro4 Endurance on my road bike and they served well through several winters.

Don't buy a bike with odd seat post shapes.

A carbon belt bike, if you find one, will be cleaner than a chain and almost maintenance free.

Enclosed hub gears are far easier to maintain than a derailleur.

All of the above will make for a more pleasurable commute.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I didn't realise you live so close to me. I don't commute on my bike, but I do ride it into Manchester from time to time, and I stay off the roads for the most part. I join the Bridgewater Canal towpath just off ParkWay (1/4 mile from J9 of the M60, which is close to where I live) and can get pretty much all the way to Deansgate without going on a road.
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I used to commute via the canal towpath but getting there from Urmston via the trails involved much mud and water (the biggest, deepest puddles) in the winter...I could use the road and join near Stretford tram but, to cut a long story short, it's just quicker on the roads.
 
The Boardman looks good, given that you want a commuter, presumably all weathers. It has clearance for bigger tyres, mudguards, it's comfortable, looks good. Pure racers are great in the summer but in my case I only rode into work without mudguards on one properly wet day to know that I didn't want to do it again. I arrived dripping and even after a cleanup and a change of clothes I was still a mess. Of course, if you enjoy washing dirty water off your backside every morning, be my guest.
Also consider luggage, I spent years commuting with a rucksack but now I have panniers there is no going back.

Further comment re hydraulic brakes - they are great but once they won't bleed any more it is rebuild time and that's generally curtains. Replacement calipers are cheap enough that service kits, even if available, are not work messing with. I now have 2 sets of hydraulic brakes that need a rebuild and new seals, one set are unobtanium, the others available, I think, from Hope, but I'm not sure whether it's worth the effort even for Hope brakes. They are old, after all. Cable discs offer no such difficulties, you just service the cables the same as a conventional rim brake, keep everything greased, and the thing can sit in the shed for 6 months unused and be just as good as when it went in. Try that with an old hyd disc bike.
 
If it’s to be thrashed in all weathers with minimal maintenance I think internal hub gearing might be a better bet than cassette and derailer - also I’d want tires to be 700-28 at the least and full mudguards with a mud flap on the front that comes as low to the ground as possible- saves your feet and the chain set from road salt. Check for toe interference on the front mudguard - it sounds like the Boardman has been designed with a more relaxed geometry- others are not. Make sure wheel have good seals on the bearings - not all road bikes do. All weather commute bikes get absolutely thrashed by the elements so o wouldn’t be buying anything I was too attached to.
 
sean99 said:
If it’s to be thrashed in all weathers with minimal maintenance I think internal hub gearing might be a better bet than cassette and derailer -
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That's a possibility. What are the costs like on hub geared bikes? They used to be eye-watering but there may now be cheaper options.
Check for toe interference on the front mudguard - it sounds like the Boardman has been designed with a more relaxed geometry- others are not.
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That's good advice.
All weather commute bikes get absolutely thrashed by the elements so o wouldn’t be buying anything I was too attached to.
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Yes, don't underestimate the wear rate on a bike used daily. I remember when my commuter was getting regular use and probably doing about 2500 miles a year an awful lot of stuff wore out. I wore out cassettes and chains, a few bearings, a rim, a seat pin broke, by the time I'd finished replacing that which was worn out and doing a couple of minor upgrades en route I was into a bill of £150 for parts. The bike wasn't worth that much. I still have it of course, it's now basically worthless and used as a pub and shopping bike, but after 20k miles or so I have spent far more on replacement parts than I ever did buying it new in 1995. I still don't know whether it's worthwhile repairing bikes after a certain point, even DIY. Good second hand machines are out there for loose change, having been ridden maybe a dozen times before taking up residence in the shed for a year and being sold.
 
Weekender said:
I like the look of the Genesis and BMC here:
https://magazine.bikesoup.com/the-best-belt-drive-and-internally-geared-bikes-for-2018

...and the Marin and the Cannondale...may consider flat bars as I'm rarely off the hoods.
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I mostly ride on the hoods also but the wrist angle is very different on a flat bar bike - I think it’s more comfortable on the hoods vs flat bar. One other thing to consider though is how easy it will be to operate the shifters in winter gloves if you plan on riding through the winter. Flat bar with trigger shifters may be easier than drop bar. I don’t have any experience with belt drive though the idea seems good. On the other hand chains are cheap and pretty easy to replace and if you have a front mud flap it will protect the chain and bottom bracket bearing from the worst of the elements.

I’d also budget to replace the tires immediately on purchase with gator skins or similar to minimize punctures. It’s rare to get decent puncture resistant tires on a new bike.
 
Weekender said:
...may consider flat bars as I'm rarely off the hoods.
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Well. . .if you're going down the flat bar route . . .

I've just bought a Canyon Roadlite as a commuter. This is a roadracer style frame with flat bars. Rightly or wrongly, in the city traffic I want to have my hands on the brake levers.

Have fitted SKS Blumel mudguards - not too hard, but not completely straightforward, and changed to winter tyres which I'm running tubeless - also not so easy to get sealed up. I don't have anything to compare it with, but seems pretty fast/smooth/very light to me. Various options around your budget.
ced61ebeea364fbc7a2ef1764c9cb.jpg

( I'll delete the image later if it comes out to big. )

Canyon is mail order only, but are part of various cycle-to-work schemes, at least in Germany.

Here is the link : https://www.canyon.com/fitness/roadlite/2019/roadlite-cf-7-0.html
 
If you really want hub gears, you will lose out flexibility and weight, not to mention what I find are slow changes. Brompton has them, as do many folders, as they're simple, inexpensive and require no maintenance. If they do require maintenance, that doesn't come cheap. I've replaced chains and cassettes on nearly all my bikes, and it isn't that expensive.

Carbon is outstanding in terms of ride and speed, but you'll not realistically be able to put panniers on them, no lugs, and for a good reason. Steel is fine but heavy, and can rust, while aluminium is a good compromise and was the racers pick before carbon usurped its position. The comments about tyre widths are correct, although you'll find some 25mm are not far from 28mm anyway. Schwalbe Marathons are good for rough terrain, but they're not puncture free by any means. If you think you may move on in the future, then look at Bianchi for retaining their value.

Having spent many years commuting/shopping on a variety of bikes, I think bicycle weight isn't so important unless you hit a decent incline, but for shopping and commuting up to 20km plus, saddles and riding position really are. People rave about leather and Brooks saddles in particular, but they wouldn't be my first choice for a racing cycling position. On bikes with more upright rider position they are better. Panniers are good, but the Brompton front bag design is about the best. However, I don't think there are that many like it suitable for non-folding bike designs.

Anyway, the important thing is to take a car off the road, so buy whatever bike suits. You will, however, find that it's difficult to settle down with one and the second somehow wheedles its way into your home before you can say "£2000 for a bike ? you must be joking !"
 
@Weekender. If you want the bike only to commute a 12 mile round trip, then get a Boardman hybrid at half your budget. I have ridden one, on a daily basis for 2 years, in worse conditions than you will and it has performed faultlessly.

Alternatively, use all your budget on an e-bike.
 
Weekender said:
Well that certainly was the one I was looking at initially...
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I used to write for Cycling Plus magazine (freelance) for a while and rode a few Boardman's. All of them were great rides and superb value for money. They get a bad rap because of the Halfords link. Proper cycling are very snidey about Halfords with very little justification.

I think that bike ticks all of your boxes. I'd say mudguards are absolutely essential and as you're used to riding drop bars then I'd say they were a must also. You want something nippy and the Boardman will be that. Not the lightest bike in the world but pretty good.
 
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