UKC

I'm getting a Bike via the Cycle2Work scheme (has to be from Halfords) and I'm torn between two.

I'm on a graduate scheme in leeds but move to an unknown location every 6 months. Possible locations are London, Edinburgh, Newport and Wolverhampton.

As it would be nice to get off road a bit around Leeds I'm currently going for this Mountain Bike: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mo...

But the more I think about it, if I'm going to be riding in London might a road bike be more sensible?
I can get this Boardman within my budget due to a 15% off offer: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-road-comp-bike-20...

So, I'm unsure of potential commuting distances but what would people think? If I had say a 10 mile commute, would putting some slick tyres on the Voodoo help much, maybe combined with some different pedals? Or would a road bike blow it away?

Can you even get slick 29" tyres?

Any thoughts/experiences would be welcomed.

In reply to James Malloch:

I'd get the 29" and change the tyres for commuting in London. You can't ride the road bike off road, and when you're riding the 29 you're sitting a bit more head up than commuting on a road bike

In reply to James Malloch:

Have you thought about a Cyclocross bike?

I'm currently riding a Cannondale Caadx 105, I can ride road into work, bridleways/fields on the way home and can even tackle smooth single track with it. All without changing the tyres etc....

In reply to James Malloch:

I guess it depends on your bike parking situation, but I have a cheap commuting bike that I won't be too sad if it gets stolen. I would never leave a nice bike locked up in a public bike rack. I'd go with the MTB, and then get a commuting one off Gumtree or the like. Mine weighs a ton, but is solid and cheap to replace. I think of the extra weight as a training aid!! Keeps me fit!

In reply to James Malloch:

If you are predominately riding on the road with a small amount of off road thrown in then a cyclocross bike could be a good choice. More beefy than a road bike so will cope well with the awful roads surfaces you will no doubt be riding on, plus tow paths, cycle paths, odds bits of off road etc. But will still be fairly quick on the road, drop bars you can get your dead down when its windy, and fairly thin bars so you can squeeze through traffic (compared to an mtb).

They wont cope with well with rough/rocky off road stuff, but fire roads, moor land tracks/lanes, single track etc will all be doable.

Boardman do several under a £1000, the Comp and Team, both look pretty good for the money.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-cx-comp-bike-2014
This would probably be within your budget if the road bike above was?

As a commuter in London I would strongly recommend narrow road bike. Even if you will be cycling to work just for 10 minutes, you will still be willing to go see friends sometimes, or visit a climbing wall etc. And road bike is more safe because you can accelerate much faster and do 15 - 25 mph going at same speed with cars and change lanes if you need to turn right on busy road.

But that's valid for London. In smaller cities where you can get off road actually and traffic is not that crazy it may be better to go with cyclocross.

No matter that you will ride for commuting, most important rule is to buy something you can replace.

In reply to nutme:


It's not quite that simple. I use either a road bike or an MTB (with nobblies) to commute ~12 miles into work. Usually it's the MTB - I don't have to worry about pot holes (with road bike I either have to dodge, bunny hop or risk a pinch none of which are ideal in Manchester traffic), I can use off-tarmac sections (plenty of useful options once into the built up areas), has mudguards and pannier (road bike can't) and worry less about ice/snow. Yes, it takes longer partly because it's slower but partly 'cos I take a longer route which goes off-tarmac more. The road bike gets used if I think I'm going to take the seriously longer scenic route home over the Peak District (summer). An ideal commuter bike (drop handlebars, ~32mm tires, mudguards, panniers would be better, but that would be a dedicated commuter. Of the bikes I've got, the old repurposed MTB seems to be the better compromise most of the time. I considered putting slick tyres on, but decided it wasn't worth spending the money (or the hassle) just to shave a few minutes off the ride time (which I generally enjoy and is not a race). And bear in mind that most CX bikes generally don't take mudguards/panniers which limits their full time commuting credentials (IMHO).

In reply to James Malloch:

I've got the older model Boardman CX Comp - very good commuter, can ride gravel paths or pot-holed streets with out worry, but faster than a flat bar hybrid (what I had before basically, a 29er with no suspension and slicks). But you can also ride moderately hard off road with it and even do CX races!

If you put some slimmer tyres on one in the summer, there's no reason why you couldn't do a sportive or other longer road rides on one too.

Very multipurpose!

In reply to nutme:
[...]

Smaller doesn't equal saner, less busy or greener. Try commuting on the A6 through Levenshulme for example (don't take a good bike for this one)


Edited for spelling

In reply to James Malloch:

Many thanks for all of the replies! I'm quite tempted by the Boardman CX as it will mainly be used for cycling on roads and if I get moved to London I'm unlikely to be back in Yorkshire with the bike until October anyway.

It would also mean I'd have a lot more to spend on accessories due to it's current discount.

Lots of food for thought though - cheers!

In reply to James Malloch:

Another recommendation for a cyclocross considering what you are planning (think of it as an incredibly tough road bike that you can take off road) if you don't think they're up to what you are after have a look at the conditions they race them in. I took up commuting to Leeds back in May and have since commuted ~12 miles both ways almost daily on cheap cyclocross using a mixture of roads, bridleways and towpaths. I even took it on the Big Leeds Bike ride at the end of the summer and wound up doing 98miles that day (and easily kept up with the majority of the roadies).

I'd look at the Boardman CX, they get good reviews, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Invest in some commuter tyres as well as the off road tyres the bike comes with when you order the bike (I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus, decent mile munchers with a built in protection strip, after 3,000 miles I haven't had a single puncture on them) that way for poor conditions and off road you can stick on the knobbly tyres, but for your daily grind you'll have the choice of the thinner, faster commuter tyres (I never fit the knobblies BTW, just slip around loads in the mud ).

Its a shame you have to use Halfords (though Boardman are good bikes) PlanetX in Sheffield and Barnsley do lots of decent bikes at really good prices. The On-One cyclocross bikes are apparently brilliant bikes for the money. It may be worth looking at their website, you could well get more bike for your money (so may not need the cycle-to-work scheme if you are saving a few hundred quid over a Boardman equivalent) and they'll do finance so you can still pay monthly for your bike. I think the cycle-to-work scheme can blinker people sometimes and artificially limit their choices when you can get better value by just looking elsewhere.

In reply to James Malloch:

Slick 29" tyres are basically road bike tyres.

29" and 700c are the same diameter. You just have to make sure the tyres are the correct width for the rims. Typically a CX rim won't take a narrow tyre like a 25mm or 23mm (although you may get away with a 25mm you may be in danger of pinch flats). I have 28mm on my CX as thats as small as the 19mm rim width allows (according to sheldon brown).

The reason many road bikes don't have larger tyres is there isn't enough clearance on the frame to take them. My road bike won't even take 25mm tyres if I want to have mudguards apparently (I've not tried though, but I'll trust the wisdom of the internet on this one rather than waste my money on a new set of tyres I can't use)

In reply to dazwan:


Same here, but well over 10,000 kms without a puncture! I bought Marathon Plus Tours as well to have a bit more tread for gravel grinding when I was living in Finland but I'm using them through the winter now I've moved here to Sheffield. Keep thinking I should get a new pair of Marathon Pluses, but mine are still ok after 6 or 7 years and maybe even 12k kms now. They are really worth the extra when you work it out per mile!

In reply to James Malloch:

Thanks again for the further comments and help. I ordered the Boardman CX Comp last night as the 15% off deal was ending at midnight. It means I've got £180 to spend on accessories as well so I've got some powerful lights and a few bits, though still have ~£100 to spend so I'll have to thing about what I need.

In reply to James Malloch:

Let us know how you get on with it. I'm very tempted by one myself as a winter/commuter/tourer bike: basically everything that isn't summer or racing!

In reply to James Malloch:

How about a pannier rack and a bag for commuting?

In reply to Mr Fuller:


You can bikepack with them as well! http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/an-early-winter-bikepack.ht... (mine's the slightly older version of the CX comp, hence the white colour).

Get the mountain bike - you'll have way more fun - with a set of slicks you'll be as fast as anyone through town.

In reply to duchessofmalfi:


It's not true. I went from a hybrid, basically a rigid 29er to, the CX and on my daily commute my speed went up on average 2-3 kmph. I think its just because you're in a more aero position riding drop bars. Exactly the same route, same tyres even, same clothing, same bag, same effort, etc etc. So it is about the bike!

In reply to TobyA:

I like Armadillos myself. If commuting through towns a hardened tyre along either the marathon plus or armadillos line is definitely worth coughing up for.
When i first got a hybrid with road tyres got so many goddamned punctures before seeing the light and swapping.
There is something pleasing about getting home on a cold, wet night and picking some glass out of the tyre in the warmth.

In reply to TobyA:


Depends on the exact path. My mountain bike is still faster than the cx on some segments since i can throw it about more. Looses out overall but is very commute specific.