Boardman carbon or what?

[rob windsor]

I'm looking for my first road bike. money no issue.
Have looked at Giant TCR advanced 2 and Cannondale supersix both around £2,900. I've seen the boardman carbon in Halfords for £999 and I have a 10% discount with Halfords making it £900.Making it very tempting.
Have been cycling for 6 months and feel its time to concentrate on road biking as I already have a mountain bike.
Also I'm very wary of our local Halfords as the service last time I used it was simply "crap"
I want to make a sensible choice as I am realistic to know I'll never make the olympics as I'm 51 years old, but I've got the bug and wish I'd got back on a bike again years ago as I absolutely love it.
You lot must hear these type of questions all the while.
I'd like the more expensive ones but is the difference worth it bearing in mind my current level.
What do you think???

Rob

 

[Noodley]

If I was spending almost 3 grand on a bike I'd be looking at getting a decent frame and a decent pair of wheels as a good starting point rather than a full bike, and speccing the rest myself (or asking on here for ideas!).

As for the Boardman I have no personal experience although they seem to get good reviews. At that price range I would also suggest looking at Planet X carbon Ultegra which also gets good reviews, but again I have no personal experience.

 

[beancounter]

Money no issue yet you're looking at a Boardman?

bc

 

[rob windsor]

Part of my question was, bearing in my my age and cycling level, is it worth buying performance bikes or paying less (boardman) and moving up later.

Thanks Rob

 

[Noodley]

If you can afford it why not?

If you buy a Boardman now then it's 900 quid less for you later when you want to trade up. And you will want to as you will always be thinking 'what if'...

 

[Norm]

"worth" is a tough one to gauge. Rob, without you giving up more details on your personal circumstances. Someone on the dole, for instance, would probably not think that any bike is "worth" £3k. If you are a footballer making £20k a week, though, then why would you spend anything less.

A £3k bike should be better (smoother, lighter etc) than a £1k bike, just as a £1k bike should be better than a £100 bike. There are plenty of people, though, who are perfectly happy with bikes which cost even less than £100.

For me, as a family man with kids approaching their teens and, when I'm working, a decent salary, I found it difficult to justify much more than £500 (after cycle to work discounts) on a new bike.

Your mileage may vary, though.

 

[Downward]

Check out this months Cycling Plus (Just come out so should be in shops sooon) It has a big sub £3k Road Bike test in it I think there testing 50 bikes, not read it yet.

 

[jig-sore]

the boardmans get a lot of good reviews and for that money the team carbon is a good bike, i recommend you get one, suck it and see.

if your suited to road bikes and if money is no issue, get a better one if you want and use the boardman for wet days

if your not suited to road bikes you've only spent £1000, not £3000 and you can get most of that back if you sell it on

 

[bad boy]

Norms advice is spot on worth is relative.

Its your money, but If money was not an issue for me I would definitely not be looking at that bike.

Its a great bike for the money being £1000 but you have potentially much more to spend so why wouldn't you ?.

You really do need to set your budget otherwise it will make searching that much more difficult and confusing as if you had said I have a grand to spend the majority of people would def say this is the bike to get providing you want carbon.

 

[Marin Maniac]

Could you really tell the differences in riding a Boardman Team Carbon and say a Trek 5.2? I doubt it.

Get the Boardman, and have loads left over for some really decent wheels and finishing bling.

 

[Harbornite]

the boardmans get a lot of good reviews and for that money the team carbon is a good bike, i recommend you get one, suck it and see.

if your suited to road bikes and if money is no issue, get a better one if you want and use the boardman for wet days

if your not suited to road bikes you've only spent £1000, not £3000 and you can get most of that back if you sell it on

+1

Sound advice

 

[fossyant]

You could always get the Boardman Pro Race Spec..... SRAM Red and Zipp 440's for £3k...bargain.....

 

[totallyfixed]

Consider titanium, I have a Van Nicholas and apart from being light and strong it's very comfortable over long distances. For between 2 - 2.5k you could get a very high spec one with a superb wheelset, and it will last you a lifetime [their guarantee].

 

[bauldbairn]

You could always get the Boardman Pro Race Spec..... SRAM Red and Zipp 440's for £3k...bargain.....

Beat me to it!

 

[mossy]

+ 1.Try ti.
Lots of notes on here.