New Boardman Team Carbon or Trek Madone 3.1 2011

[Rando]

Basically I have £1k to spend on a new (to me) road bike. Originally you may have seen posts from me seeking advice for bikes in the 1.5-2k range but circumstances have changed and my bike money pot is a lot smaller. I am seeking to purchase a Road Bike which will be 'better' than my current Trek Pilot 2.0.
So my choices are brand new Boardman Team Carbon for £1053 (currently in sale at Halfords & can get further 10% off) with spec as follows :

• Brake Type: Alloy dual pivot
• Chainset: FSA Gossamer Pro BB30 compact crank 50/34T
• Forks: Full carbon
• Frame Colour: Carbon matt
• Frame Material: Carbon
• Frame-: T700 Carbon Fibre with tapered steerer, internal rear brake cable and BB30 bottom bracket
• Front Brake: Shimano 105 Dual pivot
• Front Mech: Shimano 105
• Gear Shifters: Shimano 105
• Gender: Mens
• Headset: FSA Orbit 1.1/8 - 1.5 Aheadset
• Number of Gears: 20
• Rear Brake: Shimano 105 Dual pivot
• Rear Mech: Shimano 105
• Tyres: Continental Ultrasport 700x23 black
• Handle Bars: Boardman alloy anatomic
• Pedals: N/A
• Saddle: Fizik Arione
• Seatpost: Carbon Boardman 350mm x 31.6mm black
• Stem: Boardman black alloy 31.8mm
• Tyre size: 23c
• Wheel size: 700c
• Cassette: 12-25T

Or a second hand Trek Madone 3.1c 2011 for about £900 which has the spec :

Frame 3 Series TCT Carbon
Fork Bontrager Race, carbon legs, SpeedTrap compatible
Wheels
Wheels Alloy hubs; Bontrager Approved alloy rims
Tires Bontrager R1, 700x23c
Drivetrain
Shifters Shimano 105 STI, 10 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano 105
Rear Derailleur Shimano 105
Crank SRAM Apex, 50/34
Cassette Shimano 105 11-28, 10 speed
Pedals n/a
Components
Saddle Bontrager Affinity 1, steel rails
Seat Post Bontrager Carbon, 20mm offset
Handlebars Bontrager Race VR-C, 31.8mm
Stem Bontrager Race Lite, 7 degree, 31.8mm
Headset 1-1/8" integrated, semi-cartridge bearings
Brakeset Tektro R540 brakes w/Shimano 105 STI levers

Considering they are pretty close in price which bike out of Boardman or Trek would you consider the better buy. I know these 2 brands are not everyones cup of tea but I am happy to ride either.
Would the Trek Madone frame be better quality than the Boardman frame ?
Spec wise I say the Boardman wins it but would appreciate others opinions.

 

[Robeh]

I would go for the boardman it gets excellent reviews...
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-boardman-team-carbon-12-45675
it's down to personal choice at the end of the day,both bike's have good spec...

 

[lejogger]

I'm a big fan of the Boardman... the spec is excellent, probably better and considering it's brand new while the Trek is second hand then it's almost a no brainer.
It would help if you're a little bike savvy as although the Boardman mechanics in my local Halfords are very good, I've heard reports that this isn't always the case.
The Boardman brand is very stong, it's the distributor that lets them down in the eyes of most people, but they're great bikes. Just look at what the Brownlees will be riding in the Olympic triathlon this year, with a great chance of taking home Gold and Silver.
I know I still look forward to going out on mine especially after a few days on the commuter, it's really light and handles great.

 

[Garz]

This was the position I was under back in spring of 2009. My colleague and I were both eyeing up road bikes coming from riding MTB's. We went into the local shop and he committed there and then to the trek 1.2 (which is what I had been eyeing up). I went and continued my research and sourced a boardman comp from a nearby halfords which I checked out and got discount for the display model.

Afterwards we compared the two for the next number of months, and for value the boardman blew the trek away. The only attention you have to focus on is the sizing and setup of the boardman as the local shop will do this for free (trek dealer) whereas the boardman I had to tinker with myself.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rando]

Thanks for the replies. I was in Halfords today looking at the Team Carbon and it sure is a good bike. Unfortunately they didn't have one in the size I require (XL 57.5cm) and they even rang round a few Halfords nearby to check stock but XL is not a normal stock size apparently. Anyway they did say if I ordered one and found it wasn't the correct size it would not be a problem and a refund issued. So I think I am going to get one sent to my local Halfords and if the size is right I will purchase it.