Another newbie :) (subway&triban hybrid/road bike)

[cyberknight]

But it's useful to know what in the geometry the 'frame size' corresponds and how that relates to other manufacturers

Which is why i said the boardman website shows the, hardley baodmans fault that halfords cant measure right

 

[vickster]

I said they do it differently, it's not 'wrong'

Most flatbars seem to be measured in inches or S/M/L etc anyhow (which is how Halfords do it, dk about Boardman)

 

[nirurin]

Also halfords have one bike listed in inches, the other in cms lol, for no reason as far as I can tell. The boardman site is more helpful for the details, though halfords seems to have the same information... boardman also seem convinced the shifters are 3x9 for an 18 gear bike

 

[nirurin]

Also, its midnight blue, not black

 

[vickster]

That's better than black

 

[nirurin]

turns out the sport isnt in stock, the website lies. The old race is though, so i'm off to try it and see what the fitting is like.

 

[nirurin]

Ok well I tried out the old Race, and it does seem that the "medium" size is the best one for me. Nice bike all round. Unfortunatly I would have to order in the newer Sport version if I wanted to try it, as its not in stock at any local stores, but its essentially the same frame layout, its just lighter.

Weirdly it really is a 3 speed shifter, and a double chainset. So I guess I'd have to be very careful not to try and select a gear that doesnt actually exist. Seems a bit of an odd design choice, guessing it was to save money.

I also checked out the subway 1 and 2, both very nice bikes, you certainly get a lot of bike for your money with disks and all. Just a shame they only come with huge chunky wheels.

Also saw the Boardman MX Sport. Which seems to be the mix between the two. Shame it comes with suspension which weighs it down though, otherwise it'd be ideal.

So far the boardman sport is the frontrunner, followed by the subway (if only because of the price difference), so im going to look closer at them both.

Thanks again guys

 

[vickster]

You can always change the tyres on a subway if that's the bike you like

 

[nirurin]

You can always change the tyres on a subway if that's the bike you like

Well it'll always be a 26" moutnain bike tyre, not sure how much difference you can make with those?

 

[vickster]

It doesn't need to be a knobbly tyre, you can get 26" slicks

 

[nirurin]

I thought the standard tyres on them were slicks, they still seemed fairly chunky in person. Maybe its just cos they are very wide compared to road tyres.

 

[vickster]

Ah maybe. So have you dropped the ridgeback and Norco options now? How did you get on with the local ridgeback dealers?

anyhow, night night!

 

[nirurin]

That store still hasn't been open much, kind of annoying. I'm going to try a couple of local places on monday just to see whats on offer.

The ridgeback is a nice bike, unfortunately evans doesnt have the right size for sale at the moment. I think I'd prefer to get a bike from a local store rather than online, if only cos it would be easier to get problems sorted.

I'm not ordering anything until next week anyway so there's no rush, I'll be trying some local places to see if there's any deals on. The broadmans and the subway seem to be the best values for money in their respective price bands though (so far anyway)

edit:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-hybrid-comp-bike-2014

This bike has suddenly become an option, as I can now get it for the discount sum of £400. Which for an 11kg bike with disk brakes seems a bit of a bargain.

Though I could alternatively get a subway for £260 or the broadman hybrid sport for about £320, so any of them would be good value. The Sport does have disk mounts, should I ever want to upgrade, but I suspect that will be an expensive process.

 

[nirurin]

New bike that has been brought to my attention:

http://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-performance-road-pr7-bike-73113.html

Really nice spec for the money. Though as I get 20% off Boardman bikes, Its hard to tell if it's worth it.

 

[The Jogger]

Why don't you jump on a train to Edinburgh and check out the EBC to see what they have to offer.