Nufab
Über Member
- Location
- Birmingham
Hi everyone,
Apologies in advance for the long post.. I've just signed up to the forum for some advice, after reading a fair few "what bike" threads!
I've currently got a Specialised Hardrock MTB, which I bought around 5 years ago. I'd not had a bike for about 5 years before that, when I used to do some mountain biking on a pretty terrible MTB I bought from Halfords. The Specialized felt brilliant for 300 quid, and I've used it fairly regularly since. However, I've found I mostly ride it on the road, and began to use it for the 5 mile commute to work. For commuting, I changed the awful saddle to a Charge Spoon, put SPD pedals on, and fitted Continental Gatorskin tyres, which are almost like a road tyre, and make it a hell of a lot faster. However, it's insanely heavy with pointless (for the commute) front suspension, and anything over about 25 miles is pretty uncomfortable.
So, I'm looking at getting a road bike on cycle to work, for around 800 pounds, but I'd go up to a grand if it was really worth it, if perhaps I could get something good discounted to under a grand. Saying that, I'm guessing that most places will be reluctant to do a discount if you're paying with C2W vouchers?
I'd be looking to do the commute on it in good weather; if the weather is bad then I'd either just be lazy and take the car, or use the Specialized as it'll take mudguards. I dont need to carry much, so a rucksack is fine, no need for panniers etc. I'd also like to be able to do longer rides, perhaps up to 50 miles, and having not had a road bike before I'm fancying something slightly more comfortable than an out-and-out race bike. I also suffer sometimes with shoulder pain, so that's another consideration with ergonomics! I'm not looking to compete or anything, but that all depends if I get seriously hooked or not!
Initially, I was all set on a Boardman Comp, which is SRAM Apex, in the nice white paint job, for 800 notes. However as I understand it, Halfords won't let you test ride bikes, so it seems a gamble!
Since then I've been told that other shops can take the Halfords vouchers, which opens things up a lot.
I've seen the Trek 1.2 at 725 pounds, but this is with Sora components, which I'm told aren't all that great... Otherwise I'm drawn to the Cannondale Synapse Tiagra, which I've seen at 850 pounds, which seems a good deal. The Specialized Allez and Secteur don't seem to be as well equipped for the cash.
I'm off work on Monday, so I'll be off looking to test ride a few then, so any opinions on the above or any other brands would be great, the only constraint being that I can buy from a shop that'll take the C2W vouchers!
Cheers,
Chris
Apologies in advance for the long post.. I've just signed up to the forum for some advice, after reading a fair few "what bike" threads!
I've currently got a Specialised Hardrock MTB, which I bought around 5 years ago. I'd not had a bike for about 5 years before that, when I used to do some mountain biking on a pretty terrible MTB I bought from Halfords. The Specialized felt brilliant for 300 quid, and I've used it fairly regularly since. However, I've found I mostly ride it on the road, and began to use it for the 5 mile commute to work. For commuting, I changed the awful saddle to a Charge Spoon, put SPD pedals on, and fitted Continental Gatorskin tyres, which are almost like a road tyre, and make it a hell of a lot faster. However, it's insanely heavy with pointless (for the commute) front suspension, and anything over about 25 miles is pretty uncomfortable.
So, I'm looking at getting a road bike on cycle to work, for around 800 pounds, but I'd go up to a grand if it was really worth it, if perhaps I could get something good discounted to under a grand. Saying that, I'm guessing that most places will be reluctant to do a discount if you're paying with C2W vouchers?
I'd be looking to do the commute on it in good weather; if the weather is bad then I'd either just be lazy and take the car, or use the Specialized as it'll take mudguards. I dont need to carry much, so a rucksack is fine, no need for panniers etc. I'd also like to be able to do longer rides, perhaps up to 50 miles, and having not had a road bike before I'm fancying something slightly more comfortable than an out-and-out race bike. I also suffer sometimes with shoulder pain, so that's another consideration with ergonomics! I'm not looking to compete or anything, but that all depends if I get seriously hooked or not!
Initially, I was all set on a Boardman Comp, which is SRAM Apex, in the nice white paint job, for 800 notes. However as I understand it, Halfords won't let you test ride bikes, so it seems a gamble!
Since then I've been told that other shops can take the Halfords vouchers, which opens things up a lot.
I've seen the Trek 1.2 at 725 pounds, but this is with Sora components, which I'm told aren't all that great... Otherwise I'm drawn to the Cannondale Synapse Tiagra, which I've seen at 850 pounds, which seems a good deal. The Specialized Allez and Secteur don't seem to be as well equipped for the cash.
I'm off work on Monday, so I'll be off looking to test ride a few then, so any opinions on the above or any other brands would be great, the only constraint being that I can buy from a shop that'll take the C2W vouchers!
Cheers,
Chris
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