Boardman HYB 8.9 or Liv Thrive 1? Help please

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Poppy18

Member
Hi

please could you help a noice. I started cycling again this year (have an Orbea MX40) and want to have another bike that I can use for fitness purposes (my Orbea is slow on road unsurprisingly).

I will get the bike through Cycle2Work so that pretty much limits me to Halford or Tredz. The 2021 Boardman Hybrid 8.9 is due this month (£1000) or Tredz have the Liv Thrive 1 (£999). Which bike would you recommend? I’m not bothered about a woman-specific bike.

I did have a Boardman Hybrid about 7 years ago which was a good bike but fell off and hurt my knee (and then got cancer) so it’s taken a while for me to get my confidence and fitness up (I sold the Boardman and wish I hadn’t now as it was pretty much brand new!!!). I’ve registered for the Women v Cancer Night ride in May so definitely need more road oriented rather than MTB. I’m 5ft 6 and not light at about 90kg.

the Liv has a double chain set, the Boardman a single. I don’t really understand the cassette differences. Both have carbon forks and hydraulic disc brakes (which I love on my Orbea). I live in a hilly area. Drop handlebars scare me so I’m looking at a flat bar - I’ll also use the bike to ride to the station when I start returning to the London office.

Andy advice to help a complete dolt? Thank you!
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Both bikes are pretty similarly specced, the Boardman has a single chain ring (44t) up front with a wider range (11-42) cassette compared to the Giant with a double (34-50) at the front and narrower (11-34) cassette at the back. Ultimately this gives the Giant a broader range of gears with a slightly easier bottom and a considerably higher top gear.

Weight wise they are pretty similar and both have mounts for mudguards and panniers should you want them.

I think it will probably come down to which one you prefer the look of more, although in a hillier area if you struggle the Giant probably would be a slightly better choice, but there's really not that much in it.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
There are also a number of LBS which will take Halfords vouchers which may open things up a bit...if they have stock that is

The Boardmans do come up on the large side, so do try to check that the size works for you before committing.
Hilly I'd go with the double of the Giant myself

Another thing, make sure the bike is adequately insured 'away from home' - as you would still have to pay for it if it got stolen before the C2W 'hire' period is up)
...I wouldn't personally leave a shiny new £1000 bike at any commuter station into London unless there is security protected parking, they are a thieves' paradise unfortunately :sad:
 
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Poppy18

Member
There are also a number of LBS which will take Halfords vouchers which may open things up a bit...if they have stock that is

The Boardmans do come up on the large side, so do try to check that the size works for you before committing.
Hilly I'd go with the double of the Giant myself

Another thing, make sure the bike is adequately insured 'away from home' - as you would still have to pay for it if it got stolen before the C2W 'hire' period is up)
...I wouldn't personally leave a shiny new £1000 bike at any commuter station into London unless there is security protected parking, they are a thieves' paradise unfortunately :sad:
Are there any others you think I should consider if I manage to source one at an LBS?
 
OP
OP
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Poppy18

Member
Both bikes are pretty similarly specced, the Boardman has a single chain ring (44t) up front with a wider range (11-42) cassette compared to the Giant with a double (34-50) at the front and narrower (11-34) cassette at the back. Ultimately this gives the Giant a broader range of gears with a slightly easier bottom and a considerably higher top gear.

Weight wise they are pretty similar and both have mounts for mudguards and panniers should you want them.

I think it will probably come down to which one you prefer the look of more, although in a hillier area if you struggle the Giant probably would be a slightly better choice, but there's really not that much in it.
I thought the Boardman has a 10-51t cassette? Not 11-42. The lower Boardman (8.8) has 11-46t. I’m struggling with these as I don’t know too much about gearing! I’m assuming 10-51 is a larger range. Apologies for my stupidity!
 

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
If the Boardman is a 1x setup, check replacement costs for the cassette as the large range cassettes can be eye wateringly expensive, the Liv may be the best bet as costs to maintain would be less, also if you can’t get a Liv, check the same size Giant as they are one and the same (Liv is the brand Giant sell as female specific)
 

vickster

Legendary Member
The sizes aren't necessarily directly comparable Giant to Liv (at least they aren’t for road bikes), so do check the geometry/guides if going down the men/unisex vs. liv/wsd route
 
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