Raleigh RX Comp, Merida CX 500 or a Boardman CX...

[jwarwick]

Hi everyone, back again...

So, due to life commitments this year, I've missed the boat on a 2014 Boardman CX Comp .

Happily, this has also led to a budget boost of around £300, so I'm now looking around the £800 range .

Because of the type of riding I'd now like to do (road riding combined with towpaths, cycle paths, a few easier bridleways and trails), I'm looking for a cyclocross bike as opposed to a road bike, and MTBs are too big and heavy for my liking, especially on the road, at this price point. I'd also consider using this bike for commuting, so mudguard and rack mounts would be great.

It seems discs are here to stay on almost all CX bikes I've seen, which I'm ok with (always wanted to try them, this seems like a good opportunity). I've narrowed it down to five options:

Raleigh RX Comp - £800 in Halfords
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/ProductRange/Product/Default.aspx?pc=1&pt=14&pg=12141

Merida CX 500 - £799 on Wheelies
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p81910/Me...indow&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=78888

Boardman CX Team 2014 - £540 in Halfords
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/end-of-line-bikes/boardman-cx-team-bike-2014

Boardman CX Comp 2016 (?) - £520 in Halfords
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-cx-comp-bike

Boardman CX Team 2016 - £800 in Halfords
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-cx-team-bike

Hmm... I'm favouring the Raleigh or Merida at the moment, but I'm interested to hear your opinions (or other options). It seems the main sticking point between the two is the groupset - Apex or 105?

I'm specifically looking for discs, mainly because there isn't much else out there. I would prefer a bike with TRP Spyres, as they seem to be the best of the mechanical disc offering. This is one of the things I'm not sure about with the Boardman CX Team 2014 (BB5) and Comp 2016 (Tektro Lyra), which seem to be considered to be very budget options on this forum; I've heard that they are difficult to adjust to prevent rub, and not all that powerful (anyone with experience of BB5s or Lyras, would love to hear your views). At around £120 a pair for the Spyres, were I to upgrade, the prices all start to climb to between £600 and £800, so I think this is a good price bracket to look at . On the other hand, the Boardman CX Team 2016 seems surprisingly well equipped in this range, with hydraulics... I'm a little suspicious .

As for gearing, I'd like a good range, preferably with 9, 10 or 11 speed, and an 11-28/11-32 is preferable (or the ability to upgrade to it, like with the Raleigh).

Because of a, shall we say, patchy experience with Halfords, which has reflected badly on Boardman bikes, I'm a little wary of dropping some serious cash on something that may or may not be of a good quality... While it seems normal to upgrade components on the Raleigh or Merida when they wear, I wonder if the Boardmans are good enough in the first place to be worth spending money on better parts.

Whew! Well done to anyone that made it through that . These are my initial thoughts, what are yours?

 

[Oldfentiger]

I have the Raleigh RX Comp. Super impressed with it.
Fwiw I prefer the Apex over the 105 on my roadie.

 

[NorthernDave]

I've got BB5 brakes on my MX Sport hybrid.
Never had a minutes trouble with them and they do a fine job in stopping me in all weathers - genuinely can't fault them.

 

[vickster]

Join British cycling if you decide on a halfords purchase to save a further 10% beyond any other promotions

 

[Spiderweb]

The Planet X London road is great value for money and suitable for your needs.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-london-road-sram-rival-11-bike

 

[jwarwick]

Great to hear positive things about the Raleigh, interesting about the BB5s, but I'm still relatively sure the BB7s or Spyres would be better.

I had forgotten about the British Cycling discount, thanks.

I must say, I do like the look of the London Road, I'd seen it before, but wasn't sure about the BB7s. What are people's opinions regarding SRAM Rival?
Also not confident that the frame is as strong as a cyclocross-specific bike?

 

[vickster]

SRAM rival rocks

 

[jwarwick]

I must say, it does look that way .

The only thing I'd be worried about is the cost of replacements. Looking just at the rear mech alone, it seems Rival is significantly more expensive to replace than 105 or Apex...

It seems like the bulk of the question comes down to groupset, then... 105, Rival or Apex... This will take some more thinking

 

[Spiderweb]

What about the London road With SRAM Apex, still £799 but has hydraulic disc brakes.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNAPEX1/planet-x-london-road-sram-apex-1-hydraulic-disc-road-bike

 

[jwarwick]

I must say, that is very attractive, but I'm back to the same argument about replacement with hydraulic discs... Not sure how much a caliper would be, but it must be vastly more expensive than a mechanical one, and they aren't cheap in the first place...

 

[Spiderweb]

I must say, that is very attractive, but I'm back to the same argument about replacement with hydraulic discs... Not sure how much a caliper would be, but it must be vastly more expensive than a mechanical one, and they aren't cheap in the first place...

I think you may be over thinking things, unless you have an accident and damage the bike/components then in my experience it takes many many miles for components to wear out (excluding usual consumables like chain, brake pads and tyres). If you went for a SRAM Rival spec'd bike and damaged the rear mech for instance then replace it with SRAM Apex.

 

[jwarwick]

Fair point... just makes it even harder to decide .

I am starting to like the look of the London Road even more - how can Planet X offer all the accessories that they do for free?

The only thing that concerns me are the brakes - I know the BB7s are excellent, but if I did want to upgrade to the dual-piston Spyre, how hard would that be? And to fit full compressionless outer cable? Would that even be possible?

Can anyone confirm the quality of the frame, too? I was looking for a cyclocross bike, so I'm still not confident that this primarily road-designed bike could handle the knocks a dedicated CX could, possibly including some small drops off high kerbs and the like... I guess really this is about the carbon fork - is it really as strong as Alu? And is this frame beefy enough to handle a little rough treatment from time to time?

 

[jwarwick]

If I were to go with the London Road, though, which model do you think is better? I can't stretch to £900, which puts the competition between SRAM Apex with SRAM Hydraulic discs, and SRAM Rival with mechanical BB7s - is there a huge difference between Apex and Rival?

 

[vickster]

I'd say Rival is worth the extra, having both, with the mechanical discs (advantage of being able to add cross lever brakes for ease of braking riding in traffic)

 

[outlash]

The end of season sales are on so there's a whole host of bikes for you to choose from. Just be aware some crossers may not have the mudguard and rack mounts you'll want. You could also take in the adventure/gravel/whatever it's called this week category if you're not actually planning on racing.