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Okay,So I hankering after a new bike and have no money :(
All I have currently is my rather battered Boardman hybred workhorse
So work runs C2W,but it is limited to £500 on the Halfors scheme :(
A £500 voucher costs me £333.79 all in
So a bargain really even if its not buying anything to drool over
There's little at the £500 price that excites me
probably either of these 2
or is it much of a muchness?
You don't need to get a Halfords bike and BikeTrax were happy for me to augment the value.
that would involve me adding money I dont have
Those two bikes do look very similar. The rear mech on the Boardman is the 2300 series, which is one below the Sora series that the Carrera has, so the Carrera wins in that area. Not sure what the difference is in the wheels, but I suspect not a lot. Weight is identical too.
Therefore, if choosing based on components, the Carrera wins a tight race, but I can't see it making much of a difference in real life. Personally, I'd be choosing which colour is nicer out of the two of those, I have to be honest...
Carrera wins for me, just by a teeny wee bit. A wee bit better components, and for my eyes a little prettier too. But as said above, there's not much in it, go for the one you think is prettier.
Or ride both and see if one feels nicer?
yeah they did seem very close on spec
had the vanquish still had the carbon forks of past models,it would have been different
I'll have a look at them in the flesh.
Carerra is 9 speed, Boardman 8 speed, not that it makes that much difference. A few minor differences of spec: tyres, seatpost diameter, bits and bobs like stem, brakes etc.
I concur test ride each and see which feels best.
8 speed = harder wearing, cheaper-to-replace components, in my most humble of experiences.
A wise man claims that you only need 7 speeds, no more.
8 speed = harder wearing, cheaper-to-replace components, in my most humble of experiences.
A wise man claims that you only need 7 speeds, no more.
P.S. the Boardman looks much nicer!
"Or ride both and see if one feels nicer?"
Good luck with a test ride at halfords.
Really? Halfords won't let you have a test ride??? That's crazy.
Interesting comparison of 10 speed drive trains vs 9 speed ones here: http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/19/bikerumor-shimano-chainwear-challenge-the-results/
Not sure how that applies to 7 or 8 speed though.
Really? Halfords won't let you have a test ride??? That's crazy.
Halfords seem to be a little bit confused at the moment. They do seem to be trying to get better, if you look at their website they are selling a lot more high end components, their bike range is certainly expanding.
When you go into a shop, the staff always seem nice enough, and willing to help, although I find that all too often they are unable to help. I'm not sure if it is because their product range is too diverse, or the staff aren't properly trained, but something just isn't there.
But, as a handy place to go when you need X* in a hurry it certainly is, especially out of town when you only have local bike shops in the area, that are all inevitably shut on a Sunday, which is always when I discover I need X when doing the bike, and Halfords most of the time do stock X.
*X = Whatever thingamajiggy you happen to need to make your bike operable again for the Monday commute.
Did you decide on which one?
@Baldcyclist, they only got about 1000 miles out of any of the chains. Surely 8 speed will last longer than that, assuming it's looked after? SRAM chains supposedly more hard wearing than Shimano.
Lots of anecdotes here: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/components-wrenching/chain-durability-8-speed-vs-9-speed-vs-10-speed-141517.html
It used to be considered a given that 10 speed chains wouldn't last as long as 9 speed, but that article suggests that might not be true.
It's possible that the anecdotal evidence doesn't hold true.
It is mountain biking though and I have no idea how that affects the lifespan of a chain other than there being a lot more mud on it.
@ Baldcyclist Did you decide on which one?
Not yet,I cant get it until the C2W paperwork is done(takes about 2 weeks all in)
however by coincidence a workmate got the red Boardman just yesterday
Its a nice looking bike,but not a light road bike for sure
Then again I'm not light either!
So the Boardman seems nice
I'll swing by and check out the Carrera
given the close spec,it will really be a case of sit on them and see how they feel
road.cc did a review of the B'man
http://road.cc/content/review/87462-boardman-road-sport
I agree that Halfords need to sort out a test ride set up given they aim to sell bikes of £2.5K+ on looks alone
okay to add to the mix. What about an Allez?
http://www.scotbycycles.co.uk/bikes-c19/specialized-2013-allez-compact-road-bike-p2398
I'd go for whichever looks like it has the best mudguard clearance.
What about an Allez?
Seems to have Shimano 2300 across the board, so therefore a step down on components to the Carrera. Probably has a better frame to compensate, but I don't know how you would compare frames aside from weight.
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/bikes/road-bikes/merlin-road-bikes/merlin-maven-road-bike.html
founds this,however with delivery and fee (if they take out C2W) it makes the bike £550
Halfords used to say they could get you any bike for C2W? So Allez might be an option. Some suggestion the shifters might be an issue if hands down in the drops on the boardman in the road cc review. The boardman looks better. If no test ride then have to work it out from sitting on them in the shoppe
limits £500. no doubt Halfords will want the full retail of £550 for the Allez
From previously speaking to them,Scotby will take the Halfords voucher
I forgot I had originally looked at the Allez before going for the hybrid as SCotby said they didnt take the vouchers.
then emailed a few weeks later to say they could
To add to my skintness. some *!*@ smashed my car window and got away with my ipod today.
I never leave it in the car but of course today I was tired and forgot.
they got lucky
Sorry to hear about the iPod.
>Really? Halfords won't let you have a test ride??? That's crazy.
Isn't it just. I suspect they just want zero signs of wear on the bikes.
Although what they told me was that I couldn't take the bike outside for a test ride. Unless I bought it. (duh)
They didn't say I couldn't ride it up and down inside the store, so I hopped on and did just that. Easier with an MTB, admittedly.
"
no doubt Halfords will want the full retail of £550 for the Allez
"
When I got my C2W bike, the retailer said they wouldn't do a deal on a C2W bike as the loan company doesn't pay full price for the bike, so retailer is already selling it cheaper than full price.
well for Halfrds its 10%
so a max of £50 on our £500 deal
quite a chunk
Okay. time to revisit this
Im considering adding money I cant afford to the voucher :o
Been looking at the Cannondale Caad 8 range
Any views?
Sadly I cant take advantage of discounts available at this time with the new bikes coming out
I could plonk it on the credit card but I would be able to clear it for some time(then buying a bike with the voucher to sell on)
meaning any savings made would likely be wiped out by the interest
Get an interest free credit card for that purchase.
Money Savings Expert has plenty of info on 0% Credit cards. All this assumes you have a credit rating which allows you to get a Credit card.
Unfortunately we cant/wont be taking on any other finance
With our combined drop in income(various reasons!) things are tight combined with changes in my work and my OH being in casual employment
The bike pays for itself in fuel savings so I can argue my case to a point
I Liked the Caad 8 bike I tried at EBC. I have wee legs but long back and felt it let me stretch better than the other bikes I tried. However it was not as highly specced as the Allez comp I went for. Would say CAAD 8 better value for money but I was looking to push the bike scheme to the limit to get the biggest discount. Could easily.have gone for the CAAD 8 instead
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