Newbie Looking for First Road Bike on Cycle2Work – Advice on These Options?

[QuietIron]

Hi folks,

I’m brand new to road cycling and trying to choose my first bike through my employer's Cycle2Work scheme. I live in the Welsh Valleys with the Afan Valley roads just over the hill (a very steep one), so I need something that won’t give up halfway up the first climb — ideally before I do.

My shortlist so far:

1. Boardman SLR 9.0 Carbon 105 - SLR 9.0
2. Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon - SLR 8.9
3. Trek Domane AL 4 Gen 4 - Domane
4. Specialized Allez E5 Sport - Allez

Any advice, opinions, or gentle roasting welcome.

Cheers!
QuietIron

 

[EckyH]

For me all four bikes look good enough on paper.

There are some differences, which may (may, not must!) become important in the long run.

The Boardman SLR 9 has a proprietary seatpost shape and a proprietary seatpost clamp. That may lead to problems with spare parts availability and creaking. The cables for the front and rear derailleurs and the brake hoses are routed fully internal. If you want to service the headset, you have to more or less dismantle the brakes and the gearing, because the cables and hoses are routed through the upper headset bearing. That might become an issue if you plan to switch to a shorter or longer stem.

The Boardman SLR 8.9 has a proprietary seatpost clamp. That may lead to problems with spare parts availability and creaking.

On the Trek Domane AL 4 the cables for the front and rear derailleurs and the brake hoses are routed fully internal. If you want to service the headset, you have to more or less dismantle the brakes and the gearing, because the cables and hoses are routed through the upper headset bearing. That might become an issue if you plan to switch to a shorter or longer stem.

The Specialized Allez E5 Sport has a chainset with a standard 5 hole 110mm BCD. This may be an advantage if you want to try out different chain ring sizes, because there are more options available than with the proprietary Shimano cranks.

If you plan to do the maintenance of your bike yourself, then the fully internal routing may become an annoyance. If you plan to give the bike to a LBS for maintenance, then it probably will be more expensive when the headset bearings must be changed.

If not done yet: Please do a test ride on a bike with the Tiagra brifters and also on a bike with the 105 brifters. The hand position on the hoods is one of the most used position on road bikes. I've got a bike with Tiagra brifters and couldn't find a comfortable position for my hands on the hoods. (*) Your hands may vary. It is doable, but in most cases it is non-economic to change the Tiagra brifters to another model, because this Tiagra is 10 speed and afaik not compatible to 105 or other Shimano group sets. If the Tiagra brifters are comfortable for you - very good. Same is for the 105 brifters.

You probably already know that the saddle is also a very personal thing and that other than the included saddle might be more comfortable.

None of the four bikes is a bad bike. Imho they're all more than good enough.

E.

(*) Because I don't like the Shimano control concept, my plan from the beginning was and is to sell the Tiagra group set and replace it with Campagnolo Veloce. So the - for me - uncomfortable shape of the Shimano brifters showed me that my approach is still the right one - for me.

 

[All uphill]

Which one do you really, really like the look of?

Imo it's vital that you feel good on your new bike, both the looks and your comfort.

For me it would be the Allez.

 

[Dadam]

The Boardmans have a 34/34 bottom gear whereas the other two are 34/32. Depends on your fitness but 1:1 is barely adequate for me on steep hills. It annoys me that so few bikes at entry or mid level have decently low gearing.

 

[Dan Lotus]

Remember, the more you spend on C2W, the more you save!
I have bought 3 bikes on the scheme, plus a groupset over the years.

Looking at the bikes you have listed, I'll give my personal observations/opinion.

Are you looking for a strictly utility bike to ride to work on, or are you looking for something to have fun on at the weekends and evenings?

Going on looks alone, and to me that IS important, the Boardman 9.0 is the winner.
It's also full carbon, has the best groupset of the 4 imho, and has the equal widest gear range.
Negatives for me are that it's from Halfords, so you'd likely want to either service it yourself (More tricky with the fully internal cabling) or find a reputable and trusted LBS or local mechanic who would take that part on.
It's not the lightest at 9.2kg, however it's not horrifically overweight either.

The 8.9 is even tubbier, and to me looks like an 8 year old design at least, and to be fair it probably is.
Perhaps beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
It's also Tiagra 10 speed, which is a very competent groupset, I have it on one of mine, but it's not going to set the world alight, and it's a decent step down both in quality (imho) and number of cogs from the 9.0 above.

The Trek does nothing for me at all - similar spec to the 8.9 as well, lower gear spread too, as already noted, and they are pretty much everywhere.

The Spesh is fine, but they are everywhere as well - I have an Allez Elite with 11 spd 105, and it's perfectly fine, but equally unremarkable, and relatively forgettable - no offence to Spesh fans.

For me, the 9.0 is head and shoulders above the rest on most categories.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

The Boardmans have a 34/34 bottom gear whereas the other two are 34/32. Depends on your fitness but 1:1 is barely adequate for me on steep hills. It annoys me that so few bikes at entry or mid level have decently low gearing.

Yep, back 4+ years ago I was typically 75-80Kg and rarely needed to use 34/34 on my 9Kg road bike, but I was able to do ~4W/Kg for ~20mins.

These days I'm ~93Kg and on a very good day I can barely manage ~2.5W/Kg for 20mins, it doesn't take much beyond ~3% gradient to have me in 34/34 and wishing for an easier gear after a couple of minutes.

Thankfully I have an ebike option these days!

 

[cyberknight]

looking at the bikes i can only pick up on one thing ,
the 8.9 baordman and the allez dont have the the cables routed through the head set but enter the frame behind it so it shouldn’t affect it but i do agree fully internal cables do make it a bike shop job nowadays to fix even simple things unless your handy .
Cant say i ever had an issue with tiagra shifters having done many thousands of miles on them and cant say i noticed much in the way of shape difference compared to other bikes with different groupsets but everyone is different .

Bike weights have crept up across the whole sector so for the price point your not going to get much lighter so i wouldnt stress about it and if you really like the bike then assuming it has a long cage deraillier then you can fit a wider range cassette .

 

[QuietIron]

For me all four bikes look good enough on paper.

There are some differences, which may (may, not must!) become important in the long run.

The Boardman SLR 9 has a proprietary seatpost shape and a proprietary seatpost clamp. That may lead to problems with spare parts availability and creaking. The cables for the front and rear derailleurs and the brake hoses are routed fully internal. If you want to service the headset, you have to more or less dismantle the brakes and the gearing, because the cables and hoses are routed through the upper headset bearing. That might become an issue if you plan to switch to a shorter or longer stem.

The Boardman SLR 8.9 has a proprietary seatpost clamp. That may lead to problems with spare parts availability and creaking.

On the Trek Domane AL 4 the cables for the front and rear derailleurs and the brake hoses are routed fully internal. If you want to service the headset, you have to more or less dismantle the brakes and the gearing, because the cables and hoses are routed through the upper headset bearing. That might become an issue if you plan to switch to a shorter or longer stem.

The Specialized Allez E5 Sport has a chainset with a standard 5 hole 110mm BCD. This may be an advantage if you want to try out different chain ring sizes, because there are more options available than with the proprietary Shimano cranks.

If you plan to do the maintenance of your bike yourself, then the fully internal routing may become an annoyance. If you plan to give the bike to a LBS for maintenance, then it probably will be more expensive when the headset bearings must be changed.

If not done yet: Please do a test ride on a bike with the Tiagra brifters and also on a bike with the 105 brifters. The hand position on the hoods is one of the most used position on road bikes. I've got a bike with Tiagra brifters and couldn't find a comfortable position for my hands on the hoods. (*) Your hands may vary. It is doable, but in most cases it is non-economic to change the Tiagra brifters to another model, because this Tiagra is 10 speed and afaik not compatible to 105 or other Shimano group sets. If the Tiagra brifters are comfortable for you - very good. Same is for the 105 brifters.

You probably already know that the saddle is also a very personal thing and that other than the included saddle might be more comfortable.

None of the four bikes is a bad bike. Imho they're all more than good enough.

E.

(*) Because I don't like the Shimano control concept, my plan from the beginning was and is to sell the Tiagra group set and replace it with Campagnolo Veloce. So the - for me - uncomfortable shape of the Shimano brifters showed me that my approach is still the right one - for me.

Thank you for the information EckyH, its greatly appreciated.

 

[QuietIron]

Which one do you really, really like the look of?

Imo it's vital that you feel good on your new bike, both the looks and your comfort.

For me it would be the Allez.

All Uphill,
Hadn't really thought about the looks to be honest except 1 bike I came across (can't recall bike band) which was banana yellow, that was an instant no.

QuietIron

 

[QuietIron]

The Boardmans have a 34/34 bottom gear whereas the other two are 34/32. Depends on your fitness but 1:1 is barely adequate for me on steep hills. It annoys me that so few bikes at entry or mid level have decently low gearing.

Thanks Dadam,

This world is all new to me so learning as I go and rather interesting to know on the gearing. Apart from the main arterial road in/out of my town which has some slight ascents / descents. The rest have some very significant climbs / ascents over the hills so I suppose decent low gearing would be a requirement.

QuietIron

 

[Animo]

Some good deals on Giant bikes around at the moment.

A TCR with 105 (or 105 Di2) would be a very decent first bike for someone riding in the hills.

 

[QuietIron]

looking at the bikes i can only pick up on one thing ,
the 8.9 baordman and the allez dont have the the cables routed through the head set but enter the frame behind it so it shouldn’t affect it but i do agree fully internal cables do make it a bike shop job nowadays to fix even simple things unless your handy .
Cant say i ever had an issue with tiagra shifters having done many thousands of miles on them and cant say i noticed much in the way of shape difference compared to other bikes with different groupsets but everyone is different .

Bike weights have crept up across the whole sector so for the price point your not going to get much lighter so i wouldnt stress about it and if you really like the bike then assuming it has a long cage deraillier then you can fit a wider range cassette .

Thanks cyberknight,

Essentially I was unsure what would be best bang for buck, I do have capacity to go significantly up on budget (have a max of £3k for bike and other related items that fall under the Cycle2Scheme).

 

[QuietIron]

Some good deals on Giant bikes around at the moment.

A TCR with 105 (or 105 Di2) would be a very decent first bike for someone riding in the hills.

Cheers Animo, food for thought for sure.

 

[QuietIron]

Thanks for the replies so far all, it is greatly appreciated.

Whilst the bike will be used for some commuting, it will also be used for the weekend and evenings.

Fundamentally, I need to improve my fitness/mental health and due to prior knee issues, I've been strongly advised I should not take up running so have been advised to take up cycling.

On top of this I have found myself the last 12 months watching more of the UCI cycling events (Giro d'Italia / Tour de France) which has taken me back to memories of watching them with my late father.

I'm looking to soak up as much of the advice and guidance from everyone here as possible, given I've not owned a bike since my teens.

QuietIron

 

[cyberknight]

How far are you planning to commute ?
I prefer a bike with clearance for mudgaurds and mounting points for a pannier rack so i dont have to have a backpack , i know plenty who do use them but i dont like a sweaty back .It might be worth looking for a second hand bike for commuting and keep your nice bike for leisure rides as it would be a shame if some scote took a fancy to your nice bike . I tend to leave my locks at work but if thats not possible then its something else you have to carry .