Home Chat General Chat

Boardman/Focus bikes

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!

Comments

  • I would go to your local shop, It is "SALE" time so some good bargins to be hard if you are happy to get an 08 bike. Always best to get properley fitted IMHO.



    Martyn
  • Jelly legsJelly legs Posts: 278
    Mate for that money, check out this bike also, its a beauty



    http://www.thetristore.com/products/kilo.jpg
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    I did it the other way around.... worked out exactly what the measurements were for a proper fit for me (I did this myself, but you could also go to a bike shop and pay for a fitting), then used that information when I ordered my bike to help specify frame size, stem length and crank arm length. I also got to specify the chainset and the cassette ratios.



    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
  • Dukey3dDukey3d Posts: 19
    Thanks for your replies. It seems that the emphasis should really be on getting the fit right, so I think I'll probably head to a good shop and get my bike there - especially if the sales are starting. I've been looking at the Cannondale CAAD bikes and they seem pretty decent. The QRoo looks V cool, but I'm after a road bike rather than a TT bike as this will be my only one for the foreseeable future. I haven't come across Dolan before though, so I'll check them out.

    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.
  • Hey Dukey - I live in Putney as well and bought a Focus Cayo Expert recently. As documented in other threads, had to buy form a German dealer, as Wiggle did not have my size (60cm). Once bike arrived in the UK, we realized it had some quality issues (fork tube cut down too short, inner front frame had carbon/epoxy build up). Took me a long time to sort it out with Focus, who were not helpful at all.



    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
Sign In or Register to comment.