Boardman or Whyte Whitechapel

[John_S]

Hi All,

A friend wants to buy a bike and they’ve asked me for advice. In terms of use it will be fair weather cycling only on flat terrain (on road only) and just used for short journeys of a couple of miles or so. I don't think that they intend to fit a rack or anything else. Now I know that just about any bike, as long as it’s mechanically safe, will be absolutely fine for this type of use.

However they’ve told me what they’re intending on buying and given that they’ve asked what I think about it I’ve offered some alternative thoughts but I just wondered if anyone else has any ideas of other bikes out there to consider so I could pass on the ideas?

It’s a guy who is probably about 6ft 1 or 2 and they’re looking to spend somewhere between £350 & £500

They’ve said that they’re dad & brother-in-law have this bike and they’re happy to buy the same because they really like it. Therefore I’ve said that if they like it and they’re going to use it then go for it.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-mx-sport-bike

However I’ve recommended that they test ride it and also test ride some other bikes to see what they think in comparison. If they can’t get the Boardman at its current discounted price of £400 and they have to pay £500 then I’ve suggested that they take a look at the following:-

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-hybrid-comp-bike
or
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes/boardman-hybrid-comp-bike-2016

In my opinion, given that they won’t be doing any off-road stuff, the suspension fork not needed at all and so I’ve suggested that they look at the Boardman comp instead because it has a rigid fork.

Given that it’s only being used for short journeys on flat roads I don’t think that they need 20 odd gears. I thought that as an alternative this Whyte Whitechapel with a 1x drivetrain would be a good bike to test ride and compare to the Boardman.

http://www.cyclesuk.com/en/Whyte-Whitechapel-2016/m-52457.aspx

At the same time I thought that they should see if they could test ride some single speed bikes, such as the following, if possible.

Charge Grater
https://www.evanscycles.com/charge-grater-0-2017-singlespeed-bike-EV290676

Kona Paddy Wagon
https://www.evanscycles.com/kona-paddy-wagon-stubby-bar-2016-singlespeed-bike-EV302316

Pinnacle Dolomite
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-dolomite-singlespeed-2017-road-bike-EV264164


Or given that it’s only going get occasional use for short journeys my suggestion was to look out for what comes up second hand. My first option was this but I don’t think they were too keen. You never know with second hand until you can actually view & checkout the bike itself but the thing that has maybe put me off this (and I could be completely wrong here) is that it looked to me like this might have originally been a drop bar bike which has now been fitted with flat bars and I thought that this might have a negative effect on the fit given the geometry.

http://www.bicyclelinks.org.uk/bike/raleigh-royale/

Thanks for any thoughts on this.

John

 

[Cycleops]

I'd say go for a non suspension fork.

Second hand can be a minefield if you don't know what to look for.

The fixie in your last link is a very old Raleigh frame with new wheels on. I can't see a freewheel although there might be one one the other side. It would originally have been drop bars but that's not a problem.

 

[NorthernDave]

I've got a 2015 MX Sport and I love it.

But....for the rides your friend is looking at they don't need a suspension fork. And the MX Sport is essentially a mountain bike with road-ish wheels and tyres fitted.
So I'd be tempted to go for the Hybrid Comp as more suitable for what they need. And much as I'm a fan of Boardman bikes, the Whyte is also a very decent bike.

Although after all that, I'd agree with @User46386 - look at a Carrera Subway before spending any money. Mrs ND has one and it's a cracking bike at the price and it will be more than suitable for the rides your friend will be doing. Plus they'll have a good wedge of money left over to buy cake at the café stop.

Final thought - if they do decide to buy from Halfords, joining British Cycling beforehand (£28-ish) will get them 10% off virtually everything at Halfords for a year, including sale and price matched stuff.

 

[John_S]

Hi Cycleops, User46386 and NorthernDave,

Thanks for your messages and thoughts/ideas which I'll pass on.

I understand about what Cycleops says about secondhand being a minefield and without enough knowledge it's hard to spot what is a bargain and what isn't (from the sounds of what User46386 says the Raleigh Royale I spotted is definitely not a bargain). If it was my money buying a bike for such small trips I'd go secondhand and set a budget of say up to £150. But whilst I wouldn't mind taking a bit of a risk on my own bike purchase in the knowledge that I might have to spend extra money on fixing issues unfortunately I'm not sufficiently mechanically/technically minded to give a secondhand bike enough of a once over to be able to recommend that somebody else spend their money on it.

I'll pass on the recommendations of the Carrera and Voodoo bikes and suggest that they look at them and potentially save themselves some outlay.

Cheers to NorthernDave for letting me know that they're happy with the Boardman MX Sport. They seem to be most keen on this bike and so hopefully if they do end up buying that then they won't be disappointed. However I'll point them in the directions of the other options saying that the MX Sport with the suspension fork isn't really necessary for their intended use. I'll also mention about British Cycling membership and the Halfords discount.

On the subject of other bikes I also liked the look of these as potential ones for consideration.

Genesis Flyer
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Genesis-Flyer-2016-Road-Bike_85064.htm

Genesis Day One 10
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Genesis-Day-One-10-2016-Cyclocross-Bike_85030.htm

However I've just realised that both of these bikes are only available in small frame sizes and with the person buying the bike being over 6ft that's not going to work.

Cheers for your help.

John