# Boardman or Genesis



## downtown (23 Mar 2012)

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.


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## VamP (23 Mar 2012)

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.


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## downtown (23 Mar 2012)

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


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## Moodyman (23 Mar 2012)

Kona's Jake series are pretty good.


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## downtown (23 Mar 2012)

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


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## VamP (23 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> 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.


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## downtown (23 Mar 2012)

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


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## jonathanw (23 Mar 2012)

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


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## gaz (23 Mar 2012)

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.


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## Wobblers (25 Mar 2012)

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!


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## Red Light (25 Mar 2012)

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.


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## GrumpyGregry (25 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> 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
> 
> ...


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.


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## downtown (25 Mar 2012)

Red Light said:


> 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?


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## Red Light (25 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> 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.


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## VamP (26 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> 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.


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## downtown (26 Mar 2012)

Uncle Mort said:


> I haven't ridden any of the bikes in question, but just a note of caution - Wiggle do ship free to Europe, but last time I looked, the prices on their site were way higher than from Halfords. It would have been much cheaper for me to get a Eurostar and pick it up fro a Halfords in London.





VamP said:


> 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.


 

Hmm Cube x-race looks nice


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## downtown (26 Mar 2012)

Uncle Mort said:


> I haven't ridden any of the bikes in question, but just a note of caution - Wiggle do ship free to Europe, but last time I looked, the prices on their site were way higher than from Halfords. It would have been much cheaper for me to get a Eurostar and pick it up fro a Halfords in London.


 
Fair point although they don't do the CX Pro


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## downtown (26 Mar 2012)

Red Light said:


> 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.


 
Yeh the 50 quid thing is a pain but I suppose they don't want to ship bikes around just so I can kick the tyres


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## Red Light (26 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> Yeh the 50 quid thing is a pain but I suppose they don't want to ship bikes around just so I can kick the tyres



I think it's only to ensure you turn up after they've gone to the trouble, not to ensure you buy something


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## VamP (26 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> Hmm Cube x-race looks nice


 

Hargroves have last year frames at £275 which is a stunning bargain, especially given the quality of the fork they ship it with, if you're not above a bit of spannering. I am tempted by that, and the last thing I need is another cross bike


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## downtown (26 Mar 2012)

VamP said:


> Hargroves have last year frames at £275 which is a stunning bargain, especially given the quality of the fork they ship it with, if you're not above a bit of spannering. I am tempted by that, and the last thing I need is another cross bike


Increadibly tempting although they only seem to have a 62 which I guess is very large right?


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## VamP (26 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> Increadibly tempting although they only seem to have a 62 which I guess is very large right?


 

Ah, failed to look at sizes available. Yes 62 is large. I have a 59, I am 6'1'' and that's perfect for me.


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## downtown (26 Mar 2012)

VamP said:


> Ah, failed to look at sizes available. Yes 62 is large. I have a 59, I am 6'1'' and that's perfect for me.


That could work - I am just under 6' 2" with a 36 inch inside leg. Do you know if I could fit disks or is that not fram dependent?


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## VamP (26 Mar 2012)

downtown said:


> That could work - I am just under 6' 2" with a 36 inch inside leg. Do you know if I could fit disks or is that not fram dependent?


 
You won't be able to fit discs to this frame.


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## Globalti (26 Mar 2012)

I went through the same selection process as you last year; the Genesis CDF was heavy and I didn't like the idea of buying from Halfrauds although I liked the Boardman as it rode nicely. I ended up buying a Specialized Tricross disc, mainly because I liked the position and the shop who supplied it. I have been using it as a winter trainer with mudguards and it has fulfilled the purpose, it is extremely comfortable over long distances being similar in shape to my Roubaix although longer and slower steering. It would make an excellent tourer, really perfect.

However the Tricross is quite heavy so I have more or less decided that I will sell it and build myself a nice lightweight winter trainer/crosser based on a carbon frame, but that won't happen until Sram and Shimano have launched their hydraulic road brakes so it might be summer 2013 by the time I get seriously involved in this project.

You need to study the very good advice in this thread though; you could build yourself a smashing crosser/trainer if you took the time and looked carefully at all the options.


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