Well, what can I say !
I started off commuting only a few weeks ago on an "out the shed" MTB which required quite some work to loosen up the chain, find some road slicks and start commuting.. re-align the gears, had a bent front chainset... Loved it from the outset ! (the commuting, maybe not the bike so much..)
Last week however, the wallet took a bit of a dent when i purchased a Boardman cx comp 2014 after speaking to a supervisor at work, who has a cyclocross bike for commuting and recommended them as they handle road as well as not quite so serious off road.
So I took the "plunge" and purchased one the day before new years and received it a few days after. I can't believe the acceleration and speed compared to the old MTB !
The disk brakes are fantastic, and the gearing seems to work so much better than my old calipers. Having a 52 tooth front gear does help with the near road-bike speed.
Aside from the initial issue of getting into the toe cages on the move, and the feeling of twitchyness from the drop bars, I really can't fault it. Oh my the speed on a downhill stretch is genuinely terrifying the first time, but still felt like I had full control of the bike.
I understand it will never be as quick as a road bike, but the road conditions where i commute in are not exactly bike friendly to say the least ! (think ditch rather than pot-hole) The tyres still soak up a bit of the road surface, but still feels like i'm "connected" to the road a lot more now. Plus it handles toe-paths, canal paths and a bit of off-road very, very well.
Somehow it fits in the boot of my car better even though it has 700c tyres, and is so much lighter than my MTB (~18kg to 11kg)
A very, very happy customer to say the least !
I don't know how many people have one of these yet, but i'd be willing to do a non technical review on it after a few months abuse for anyone considering purchasing one.
I started off commuting only a few weeks ago on an "out the shed" MTB which required quite some work to loosen up the chain, find some road slicks and start commuting.. re-align the gears, had a bent front chainset... Loved it from the outset ! (the commuting, maybe not the bike so much..)
Last week however, the wallet took a bit of a dent when i purchased a Boardman cx comp 2014 after speaking to a supervisor at work, who has a cyclocross bike for commuting and recommended them as they handle road as well as not quite so serious off road.
So I took the "plunge" and purchased one the day before new years and received it a few days after. I can't believe the acceleration and speed compared to the old MTB !
The disk brakes are fantastic, and the gearing seems to work so much better than my old calipers. Having a 52 tooth front gear does help with the near road-bike speed.
Aside from the initial issue of getting into the toe cages on the move, and the feeling of twitchyness from the drop bars, I really can't fault it. Oh my the speed on a downhill stretch is genuinely terrifying the first time, but still felt like I had full control of the bike.
I understand it will never be as quick as a road bike, but the road conditions where i commute in are not exactly bike friendly to say the least ! (think ditch rather than pot-hole) The tyres still soak up a bit of the road surface, but still feels like i'm "connected" to the road a lot more now. Plus it handles toe-paths, canal paths and a bit of off-road very, very well.
Somehow it fits in the boot of my car better even though it has 700c tyres, and is so much lighter than my MTB (~18kg to 11kg)
A very, very happy customer to say the least !
I don't know how many people have one of these yet, but i'd be willing to do a non technical review on it after a few months abuse for anyone considering purchasing one.
