Torn between these 2 bikes, anybody own one?

[barnesy]

Hi,

Im looking a new bike for commuting to work 7 miles each way in all weathers, it will also be used as a winter training bike so needs to be light and fast.

Ive been looking at:

Boardman hybrid pro


and

Verenti Kilmeston


The hybrid seems the better commuting bike with the disc breaks and wider tyres (28mm as opposed to the 23 on the verenti)

I do however like the looks of the verenti and like the idea of the SRAM groupset, it also has mudguards already fitted and i could fit up to 25mm tyres for commuting.

Ive heard the saddles on the boardmans are crap but would much else need upgraded?

Ive also read there can be problems with the crank rubbing on the boardman.

Ive looked into discs vs rim breaks thing and ive never used discs so im a bit skeptical, i think that rim breaks should stop me in most conditions, i cant see myself wearing rims out in a hurry either, but maybe im just being naive and not wanting to move to something different.

Anybody able to offer any advice?

 

[marcw]

Ive looked into discs vs rim breaks thing and ive never used discs so im a bit skeptical, i think that rim breaks should stop me in most conditions, i cant see myself wearing rims out in a hurry either, but maybe im just being naive and not wanting to move to something different.

I've done around 2000 miles this year, commute 11 miles each way and will need to change my rims soon. The biggest problem though is crap on the road getting washed onto your rims in the rain. It's not like the brakes are useless you just need to make sure you regularly apply enough pressure to clean the rims so when you need them they respond quickly.

 

[MacB]

I'd be torn between the two wanting features from each, the disc brakes and clearances of the Boardman but the bars and double tap brakes/shifters of the Verenti. Rim wear will vary on rim quality, brake pad quality, how you ride, where you ride and how diligent you are on cleaning. I wouldn't assume that skinny tyres will be quicker either, quality 28 or 32mm can provide a comfier, and faster, ride on less smooth surfaces. Or at least not be the penalty you may imagine them to be. I'd rule both bikes out for me, the Boardman because it has flat bars and hydraulic discs, neither of which are compatible with road style brake/shifters. The Verenti because you can't fit bigger tyres and disc brakes.

Versatility would by my main aim, so clearance for tyres up to at least 32mm, disc brake tabs, mudguard and rack eyelets, drop bars. There's a few threads on here re the Genesis Croix De Fere, Disc Brake Road Bikes and other musings along these lines. Personally I like hub gears as well so the CdF is out for me as a commuting/Winter bike but appeals as a weekend/Summer ride. Both the bikes you mention seem to be about the 10kg mark, so 22lbs and maybe add 1lb for manufacturers optimistic claims. My calcs on the disc brake roadbike thread indicated that you could get a bike together at about 20lbs if you spent the dosh. But 25lbs seems quite feasible without spending fortunes. Plus a bit extra weight will give you a better training workout and make a light bike all that much nicer at the weekend.

 

[sayek1]

Hi,

Im looking a new bike for commuting to work 7 miles each way in all weathers, it will also be used as a winter training bike so needs to be light and fast.

Ive been looking at:

Boardman hybrid pro


and

Verenti Kilmeston


The hybrid seems the better commuting bike with the disc breaks and wider tyres (28mm as opposed to the 23 on the verenti)

I do however like the looks of the verenti and like the idea of the SRAM groupset, it also has mudguards already fitted and i could fit up to 25mm tyres for commuting.

Ive heard the saddles on the boardmans are crap but would much else need upgraded?

Ive also read there can be problems with the crank rubbing on the boardman.

Ive looked into discs vs rim breaks thing and ive never used discs so im a bit skeptical, i think that rim breaks should stop me in most conditions, i cant see myself wearing rims out in a hurry either, but maybe im just being naive and not wanting to move to something different.

Anybody able to offer any advice?

Hi,

Ive got a Boardman Hybrid Pro - very good bike, but I soon found that I had progressed to wanting a road bike. Once I got my road bike I have never looked back and now simply use the Boardman as a spare for when the roadbike is off the ropad. My roadbike is a Verenti Rhigos 3 although I started off with a Verenti Millook - both of which are not disimilar I would have thought to the Kilmeston.

The Boardmans disc brakes are excellent - they will stop you in any condition. This is especially noticeable in the wet where the roadbike struggles if you are shifting along downhill and need to brake hard. The saddle on the boardman is fine - looks cheap and nasty, but isn't a problem. However, if the Kilmeston has the ME (wiggle own brand) then you will probably need to change it - it is very uncomfortable and I have heard a number of people say this and not just me.

I don't think the tyre width matters too much - I am going to keep using my roadbike through the winter so will be better placed to comment later in the year. The 23mm wheels are definitley quicker that the Boardman 28mm's although the lightness of the roadbike will also help here. The mudguards will be useful - I get a lot of spray off the Boardmans front wheel. The SRAM groupsets are very good.

My advice would be to consider what you are going to use the thing for and maybe test the roadbike out first - Wiggle do a 30day trail whereas I think you might struggle with Halfords. If you find that you get used to the drop bars and do more and more cycling (as I did) you may not worry about a hybrid.

Hope that helps - although I am sure the only way you can decide is to test them both out. Good luck - they are both great bikes.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

This has edged the Genesis CdeF for me. Steel frame, drops, discs, hub, can fit guards/rack and it's £799.

http://www.on-one.co...mpetamine-versa





ps I'm not, I repeat not, on On-One commision!!

 

[barnesy]

I'd be torn between the two wanting features from each, the disc brakes and clearances of the Boardman but the bars and double tap brakes/shifters of the Verenti. Rim wear will vary on rim quality, brake pad quality, how you ride, where you ride and how diligent you are on cleaning. I wouldn't assume that skinny tyres will be quicker either, quality 28 or 32mm can provide a comfier, and faster, ride on less smooth surfaces. Or at least not be the penalty you may imagine them to be. I'd rule both bikes out for me, the Boardman because it has flat bars and hydraulic discs, neither of which are compatible with road style brake/shifters. The Verenti because you can't fit bigger tyres and disc brakes.

This is exactly my thinking so far, id like to make a bike of both, i like the wide tyre clearances and the disc breaks but i prefer the drop bar for hand positions and braking.

I had looked at the CDF and it looks like a cracking bike but was a grand and maybe slightly heavy, id also have to budget for a mudguards, a rack and slick tyres, so that pushes the budget up.

Im not sure on the mounts on the boardman, with the disc brakes i think im limited on the ability to fit a rack and guards?

I was looking into bikes with hub gears for the ease of maintainence as it will be ridden in all conditions. But i dont think it would give me the gaer range wold need for my yearly small tours (im hoping to to the Pyrenees next year), i may struggle with a compact, i dont know the ratio that a 8 speed hub gives in comparison.

 

[sayek1]

This is exactly my thinking so far, id like to make a bike of both, i like the wide tyre clearances and the disc breaks but i prefer the drop bar for hand positions and braking.

I had looked at the CDF and it looks like a cracking bike but was a grand and maybe slightly heavy, id also have to budget for a mudguards, a rack and slick tyres, so that pushes the budget up.

Im not sure on the mounts on the boardman, with the disc brakes i think im limited on the ability to fit a rack and guards?

I was looking into bikes with hub gears for the ease of maintainence as it will be ridden in all conditions. But i dont think it would give me the gaer range wold need for my yearly small tours (im hoping to to the Pyrenees next year), i may struggle with a compact, i dont know the ratio that a 8 speed hub gives in comparison.

With the Boardman you can fit a rack - you'll need a disc brake one - I have got one of the Topeak ones along with their bag that slides on the top - not sure about mudguards - from memory there isnt a lot of room, but as the rack has a solid top you don't need a back one. At the front you could always fix one of the tie on types.

 

[MacB]

It's a toughy, exactly what you want is available but, as you know, at a price. I genuinely think this is one of those areas where choice is going to improve in the very near future. There are already more options in the 2011 ranges, but the CtoW £1K limit is forcing some negative componetry changes to make the pricepoint. when you're trying to get together a versatile bike there's always the chance you'll need to compromise somewhere. Personally I'd identify useage priorities and proceed from there, so:-

Commuting - you'd be looking at 3300 miles a year in all conditions, reliability, comfort, low maintenance and speed would be my priorities in that order. My Surly Xcheck hub gear in full commuting mode weighed 35lbs before adding me and panniers, but I could still get a 16mph average over the 40 mile round trip commute. I could go faster on the lighter bike but not enough to offset the comfort of the Surly and the reliability of the hub gears and puncture resistant tyres. Like you I was wary of disc brakes, no experience, and blissfully unaware of mechanical road compatible options. But I'm converted now and, as it couldn't accomodate, the Surly is retired to other duties. I can't say I ever suffered poor braking as I ran v-brakes but I hated the fact that I was grinding away my expensive rims.

Other useage, touring, Winter training, etc - I'd really have a think about this, how important is it and what do you expect to get out of it. For example, most of my training style rides were done on the Surly as it made the lighter bike all that much easier when I used it. I've generally had both bikes setup the same, saddle height and setback, reach, handlebars, brakes.

Gearing - hub gears are excellent for utility use but touring could be a different prospect. It depends on how low a low gear you'll need basically. They also suit a riding style where you vary cadence more than you vary gears, this works for me but not for all. If you consider the range of gears a hub can offer and the low you want then only a Rohloff offers a comparable range to a touring triple, but at a heft price, £1k plus for hub alone. For something like the Pyrenees then you'd need rohloff, could get by with SRAM I-9, the new Alfine 11. To do it with an 8 speed or less then you'd probably have to sacrifice a lot at the top end.

This is a very long way of saying that I think you'd be better off looking at the idea of two bikes. Something like the On-One Pompetamine Versa Pro, Genesis Day One Cross 2011(Versa Alfine again) for commuting duties, I think the Pomp Pro is the better value, though uglier, of the two. This bike could then double for training rides in lousy weather etc. Then I'd get a derailler equipped speed machine for the nice weather, touring etc. I Like the look of things like the CdF, Kona Honky Inc etc for this sort of thing, if you want disc brakes. This also has the advantage of not being stuck with an unrepairable hub gear fault somewhere remote, most bike shops can get a derailler bike going again. Another touring option is to take a trailer rather than load up a bike, though this is expense again.

If you need to stay with one bike and cover all your wants, and can't look at the hideous expense of a Rohloff, then I'd go for a touring bike. Triple chainset, deraillers, disc/rim brakes up to you, and can take all the add ons you need. You'd find this surprisingly zippy for commuting and just have to accept that you need to replace more chains, middle rings and cassettes. Total bike weight inc rack and guards would probably be in the 28lbs region, compared to about 24lbs for a more road race orientated option.

 

[barnesy]

This has edged the Genesis CdeF for me. Steel frame, drops, discs, hub, can fit guards/rack and it's £799.

http://www.on-one.co...mpetamine-versa





ps I'm not, I repeat not, on On-One commision!!

This has intrigued me now, it seems like a nice all weather commuting bike, commuting is what it will do most of its life, some wet training rides thrown in also.

Have you got one? If so how heavy is it?

The benefit of the kilmeston is it should be light, on he pompetamine the hub is bound to add weight and shift the weight to the back wheel?

Are these hubs fairly maintainence free? can you adjust the gears as you can with a derailleur? would you ever need to?

I commute at the minute on a carrera subway 2 but much prefer the feel of my good road bike which is a bianchi with veloce group set, i wouldnt want to get another bike to replace the subway but not get any lighter

 

[MacB]

The Pomp Pro comes in at 25lbs before you add guards and rack, the alfine hub will only be a small amount of that extra weight. It's a cumulative effect of the parts and the steel f&f, I'd reckon a weight penalty of about 4lbs, max, over a roady bike setup for the same duties. You could get the bike to sub 20lbs if you spent a fortune but I'd then question longevity and maintenance costs.

If you want lightweight, cheapish and reasonable wear and tear levels, then it's got to be SS/fixed.

 

[4F]

If you want lightweight, cheapish and reasonable wear and tear levels, then it's got to be SS/fixed.

Agreed, come over to the dark side

 

[threebikesmcginty]

This has intrigued me now, it seems like a nice all weather commuting bike, commuting is what it will do most of its life, some wet training rides thrown in also.

Have you got one?

I haven't got one - but a hub gear all weather commuter is on my radar. I'm not sure how the lowest gear would compare to my compact 34/27 set up though. I'm rubbish on hills - I like to sit back and wind them in rather than all that honking nonsense so if the gearing's too high I might not get on well with it and it would be murder on the knees.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Agreed, come over to the dark side

singlespeed natch

 

[battered]

Please don't let's turn this into another "you want a SS/fixed" thread. OK, they have their advantages in that they are lighter than a geared bike, and they are by their nature simple beasts to maintain, but there is a heavy price to pay in usability, especially if there are any big hills. I don't swallow the "geared bikes are expensive to maintain" line because a chain every year and a cassette every 2 is hardly bank-breaking stuff. A geared bike does offer youi a lot more flexibility. If you are tired or have dropped into the shops on the way home, you don't need to be humping away on the pedals proving that you are Britain's Hardest Man, you want to get your groceries home without busting a gut. Cue gears. Drop a couple and spin, job done, there's the front door.

So yes, if the buyer WANTS a singly, sure, go buy one, but they aren't the universal and only solution that some would claim them to be.

 

[adscrim]

If I had the spare cash, I'd be getting a kenesis tripster to build up as a commuter. As it happens, I don't and I've been running a boardman road comp as a cummuter for the last three years. I think boardman bikes are excellent across the range but if you want a bike that can double up as a winter trainer, I think the verenti has the edge.