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Boardman/Focus bikes
Dukey3d
Posts: 19
in General Chat
Hi everyone, I hope you can give me some bike advice.
I am currently looking to upgrade my bike from an obese mtb to a lithe road racer. I'm looking to spend around the £1000 mark and for that price the Focus Cayo or the Boardman Team seem to be the highest rated options.
As I am a totally inexperienced road bike purchaser, my question is do you think it's a bit risky buying one of the above bikes as:
a) the Focus bike is only available from Wiggle, so I wouldn't be able to get sized up before buying. And
b) the Boardman is only available from Bikehut, which is unlikely to size/set up the bike with much expertise.
Would it be better to go to a good bike/tri shop and buy one of their bikes as they can size and set it up for me? Or is it a safe option to buy the Focus/Boardman then take it to the good bike shop and pay them to set it up? Or are there better bikes to be had for this price range?
All help is greatly appreciated!
I am currently looking to upgrade my bike from an obese mtb to a lithe road racer. I'm looking to spend around the £1000 mark and for that price the Focus Cayo or the Boardman Team seem to be the highest rated options.
As I am a totally inexperienced road bike purchaser, my question is do you think it's a bit risky buying one of the above bikes as:
a) the Focus bike is only available from Wiggle, so I wouldn't be able to get sized up before buying. And
b) the Boardman is only available from Bikehut, which is unlikely to size/set up the bike with much expertise.
Would it be better to go to a good bike/tri shop and buy one of their bikes as they can size and set it up for me? Or is it a safe option to buy the Focus/Boardman then take it to the good bike shop and pay them to set it up? Or are there better bikes to be had for this price range?
All help is greatly appreciated!
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Martyn
http://www.thetristore.com/products/kilo.jpg
Incidentally, I spent exactly £1000 on a Dolan Mythos. It has a carbon frame, fork and seatpost, reasonable entry level wheels (Mavic Aksium) and everything else (levers, brakes, crank, chainset, derailleurs, chain, cassette) is Shimano Ultegra.
Shame they delivered the wrong bike, but hey... what's a few more weeks of waiting. [8D]
The key to all this is the 'properly fitted' bit, as Martyn says. I already knew what sizes I needed, and in discussion with the people who were actually building my bike I made sure it would be correct.
Actually, I should probably confess that I got the bike on the Halford's Cycle2Work scheme via my employer, so I'm paying more like £500 over 18 months. Now that's a bargain. [:D]
http://www.bikes-dolan.uk.com/en-us/dept_126.html
Any other suggestions? I live in Putney, so I'm lucky that I've got BikeHut, SBR, Sigma Sports, Prologue and probably a few more all within a short distance, so I should have a good selection to choose from.
Who were helpful, were the guys at Prologue, East Sheen who helped me with shipping bike back, cutting down fork tube on replacement etc. They also do a very thorough fitting service, which I would highly recommend, BEFORE buying any bike. Should cost no more than £30 - £40, which is a good investment. The guys there are Jono (South African), Bruce (Aussie) and Tom (Polish). Would recommend them over the alternatives in the area (other than Sigma maybe). Feel free to send me a private message and can get in direct contact to give you more details.
Oh, took the bike around Richmond Park for a few rounds yesterday and am pretty happy with it so far.
cheers