Boardman or Genesis

[downtown]

I am new to Cyclocross. I am not going to be racing but I want a light sturdy commuter that I can take down some dirt tracks in a large wood on the way to work.

I am looking at the CX pro from Boardman which isn't available in the UK but I live in France and Wiggle will ship for free. http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_pro.html

or a Genesis Day One Alfine 11 which looks lovely and I am attracted by the low maintenance aspect of the alfine hub. http://www.evanscycles.com/products...yclocross-bike-ec030770?query=genesis day one
To be honest I am a snob and the whole Halfords thing is putting me off the Boardman - I have had so many bad experiences with Halfords on the bike front that I question Boardman's strategy. Anyway that is getting away from the point.

Which would you recommend? and are there any other British built bikes I should be looking at? - your advice is much appreciated.

 

[VamP]

If it's disc braked bikes you're after then definitely consider this, this and this.

Define UK built, as the Boardman frame is made in Taiwan, as are many others. The Whyte, On One and Kinesis offerings are UK designed, but I don't think the frames are made here. As for the Pro 6, don't get distracted by the price of the bike in that review, thats for a showcase build. The frame itself is very reasonably priced.

Paul Milnes makes some great frames in the UK, although they are generally quite race focused and I don't believe that he has a disc brake ready frame.

Everti make some great custom builds, if titanium floats your boat, and you can inflate your budget, the Odyssey I believe is a disc bike.

 

[downtown]

Some good advice there, thanks - going to take me a while to get through it all

 

[Moodyman]

Kona's Jake series are pretty good.

 

[downtown]

I can't get over how pretty the Genesis is. Have either of you ridden a bike with the alfine hub?

 

[VamP]

I can't get over how pretty the Genesis is. Have either of you ridden a bike with the alfine hub?

Never have soz.

It looks pretty alright. My main concerns with this bike is the price and the weight. It's estimated to be around 12 kg. I guess the price is justified with the quality of the steel and the Alfine 11, but I just would spend all my time wondering about the 8kg racing snake I could have had for the same money.

 

[downtown]

Damn it, now you've got me thinking. You make a good point. I know the boardman is around 9 kgs and is probably a better value option

 

[jonathanw]

Kinesis or Genesis for me

Currently I ride thr genesis Croix de Fer, but the Day one looks amazing. The hubs are very heavy though. This may be a factor if racing

 

[gaz]

I rode the first day one alfine with 8 speed.

Be warned, the attraction of the hub gear is it's simple maintenance. but it has it's downsides. Taking the rear wheel off and putting it on with limit screws (what ever they are called), disc brakes and hub gear is a PAIN!!!

Not sure about the 11 speed, but the 8 speed had some pretty big jumps between the gears. One would be too spinny and the next would be far too much of a grind. So something to look at.

 

[Wobblers]

If you want a rock solid all weather commuter, the Genesis would make a very good choice. I have an alfine-hubbed Dahon cadenza. It's good and shifts very smoothly but as Gaz says, there are big gaps between gears. The alfine 11 is supposed to be much better for this - the gaps are smaller and more even, with larger gaps to the bottom "granny" gear and the top gear, but I've not tried the 11 to see how it performs.

The Boardman is lighter, and would be the obvious choice if you ever want to race. It also makes a good commuter (and may just possibly be my next bike...). If you're ordering it from Wiggle, it should at least be built properly, as the dead hand of Hellfords won't have touched it!

 

[Red Light]

I have the Day One Alfine 11 as a low maintenance commuter and absolutely love it. It rides absolutely silently like a fixed with just the noise of the tyres on the road to listen to. Gears are good and even except for the jump to the very lowest gear to get you up the hills. I don't find it any slower than my Cannondale road bike.

I looked at the On-One but it had a bad review and the Milk as an ultra-low maintenance commuter but it was a kitchen table operation and you could only get the belts from them. No-one else did a drop-bar Alfine 11 bike.

Getting the back wheel off is not bad - you just need to count the Allen key turns on the dropout screws but otherwise it's fairly straightforward.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I am new to Cyclocross. I am not going to be racing but I want a light sturdy commuter that I can take down some dirt tracks in a large wood on the way to work.

I am looking at the CX pro from Boardman which isn't available in the UK but I live in France and Wiggle will ship for free. http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_pro.html

or a Genesis Day One Alfine 11 which looks lovely and I am attracted by the low maintenance aspect of the alfine hub. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/day-01-alfine-11-2012-cyclocross-bike-ec030770?query=genesis day one
To be honest I am a snob and the whole Halfords thing is putting me off the Boardman - I have had so many bad experiences with Halfords on the bike front that I question Boardman's strategy. Anyway that is getting away from the point.

Which would you recommend? and are there any other British built bikes I should be looking at? - your advice is much appreciated.

a great many folk do, yet he sells out each production run with ease. and, to a degree the 'strategy' was faced on him by the bike retail trade, no one was interested in stocking a new and unproven brand on the scale needed to make it a success until halfords stepped up to the plate. all involved will have made adecent bob or two and there are thousands of happy boardman owners who've not been back to the big H since collecting their bikes.

 

[downtown]

I have the Day One Alfine 11 as a low maintenance commuter and absolutely love it. It rides absolutely silently like a fixed with just the noise of the tyres on the road to listen to. Gears are good and even except for the jump to the very lowest gear to get you up the hills. I don't find it any slower than my Cannondale road bike.

I looked at the On-One but it had a bad review and the Milk as an ultra-low maintenance commuter but it was a kitchen table operation and you could only get the belts from them. No-one else did a drop-bar Alfine 11 bike.

Getting the back wheel off is not bad - you just need to count the Allen key turns on the dropout screws but otherwise it's fairly straightforward.

Well, when i get to London in April i will wander into Evans and give it a spin around spitalfields market. Any idea what it weighs?

 

[Red Light]

Well, when i get to London in April i will wander into Evans and give it a spin around spitalfields market. Any idea what it weighs?

You probably need to arrange it in advance (they take a deposit of £50) to get one in the shop of the right size for you to try. When I went to Evans to test ride they only had an Alfine 8 on the floor to test and the 11 is quite a bit different to ride.

Weight? A lot lot less than its rider It does feel heavier to lift compared to my Cannondale but out on the road I don't notice the difference. I could weigh it but then I'd have to take off the lights, bottle cage, saddle bag with tool kit etc to give you a proper answer.

 

[VamP]

Damn it, now you've got me thinking. You make a good point. I know the boardman is around 9 kgs and is probably a better value option

And the Boardman is by no means the lightweight end of the spectrum. My Cube X-race is just over 8kg and my Kinesis Csix2 just over 7kg. The Csix is probs as light as you will get for a cross bike, and my self-build budget was £2500 without wheels for that. The Cube is off-the shelf spec at around £1200 in sales.

It all depends on your focus, if it's mainly touring you're looking for then weight is less of an issue. If you are planning some fast off road then the lightweight cross bikes really shine in undulating terrain, where you can show most MTBs a clean pair of heels.