[Redvee]

C2W is coming my way in May/June and given the time available I’m doing some research into bikes I can get. I’m looking for a bike with the following spec:

Alloy frame
Disc brakes with the rear brake on the chain stay, not seat stay.
Mudguard mounts on the forks and frame
Rack mounts on the frame
Shimano or Sram 10 speed shifting, though Shimano is my preference.
Would prefer a CX type bike but road style would suffice but must have the above spec
Final thing as it’s a C2W bike £1k limit.

I’ve looked at Boardman CX bikes but the CX Comp is only 9 speed which my current bike is but it does have mudguard eyes on the forks, the CX Team is 10 speed Sram but no mudguard eyes.

Topic

[Redvee]

Another update.
Merida
Another update.

Merida couldn’t deliver the bike I want for another couple of weeks 🙁 So now have gone for a Forme Culver CX Sport. Comes in at £1099 but the LBS said that isn’t a problem and has 105 with BB5 callipers. Will be with me sometime next week.

[Jon Malcolm]

I’ve got nothing but positive
I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about the Merida Cyclo Cross 4 – wonderful value for the money, very nippy and it looks great as well.

I’ve dropped the tyres down to 28mm Continental Four Seasons and it absolutely eats up the miles whilst still staying a very comfortable ride.

[Redvee]

Bit of an update on this. Had
Bit of an update on this. Had Halfords in work on Monday promoting the C2W scheme and had a brief chat about the scheme and the Halfords employee told me I could only get a bike from Halfords. A phone call later gave me a list of retailers in Brizzle I could use and Evans wasn’t on the list cause they have their own scheme X(
A quick look at the bikes available from the retailers and the only bike I liked in the short space of time I had available was the Merida Cyclo Cross 4, apart from the seat stay mounted disc calliper it ticked my boxes.

[Argos74]

Arkose gets a warm +1 from
Arkose gets a warm +1 from me. Is a solid warhorse, excellent commuter, and more than capable off road. Put some slicks on and will happily munch up the miles as a tourer. Plenty of other CX bikes that might fit your criteria as well.

Whyte Dorset looks to have a slightly racier geometry. Cannondale Synapse Disc more roady still. I’m also looking at the Fuji Sportif range, and wondering if it’s nimble enough to take seriously off road with some 32mm knobblies.

[Redvee]

Thanks for all the
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Of those suggested it looks like the Arkose 3 is topping the list, same price and frame as Whyte Dorset but better shifters and brakes with 105 and BB7SL over Tiagra and Promax. Had a look at one in the flesh today and it does have guard eyes on the forks.

[rockfield]

I have the 2014 kona jake the
I have the 2014 kona jake the snake which is indeed1500, but the kona jake is lower spec and £999..Really impressed with mine so far. The only issues you may have is availability, i really struggled to get hold of anything in a 52/54 size. Might be a bit better now i guess?

[IngloriousLou]

rockfield wrote:Kona jake?

rockfield wrote:

Kona jake? Cannondale caadx? Reckon you’d get either of those for less than 1k with a bit of negotiation. The giant tcx slr 2 looks good as well.

The Giant and ‘dale are up for 999 so no problem hitting the price, the Kona lists at £1500, I’d be surprised if you could pick it up for under 1k at this time of year, once the August sales start it might sneak in.

Amazingly they all seem to be ‘guard/rack compatible, it’s good to see bike manufacturers realise that people buying ‘crossers at this price point are likely to want double duty from their bike; weekend plaything, weekday commuter.

Even this time last year, when I was looking for something similar, most big brand CX bikes had no mounts and often only a single bottle cage. Whilst that might be good for the purist CX racer, those of us that want to approach the zen of ‘one bike to do it all’ had a small selection to chose from.

[rockfield]

Kona jake? Cannondale caadx?
Kona jake? Cannondale caadx? Reckon you’d get either of those for less than 1k with a bit of negotiation. The giant tcx slr 2 looks good as well.

[IngloriousLou]

Canyon Inflite is a superb
Canyon Inflite is a superb machine and was on my list until I sourced a Team CX for well under £700 in the end of year sale.

If only Canyon would open a tiny little showroom, they’d be able to get on the C2W list and (IMHO) they’d clean up in the UK. I guess the fact that they sponsor 2 pro road teams means they’re doing OKthankyouverymuch and don’t need the extra cash from us Brits 🙂

[IngloriousLou]

Beefy wrote:I wish board man

Beefy wrote:

I wish board man would sell in LBS as I often use cycle to work with NHS bike scheme who don’t do Halfords as Halfords do there own schemes. I would imagine lot of sales of boardman are lost because of this. Tis a real shame as I think they are great value.

Yes, many employers, especially larger ones (and there’s none bigger than the NHS!) stick with a single C2W provider (often Cyclescheme). There’s no real reason for this and employees should encourage their employer to allow purchase via any provider.

[Beefy]

I wish board man would sell
I wish board man would sell in LBS as I often use cycle to work with NHS bike scheme who don’t do Halfords as Halfords do there own schemes. I would imagine lot of sales of boardman are lost because of this. Tis a real shame as I think they are great value.

[IngloriousLou]

My Boardman CX Team took SKS
My Boardman CX Team took SKS P35s no bother at all. Went on quite easily as there’s a bolt hole on the back of the front fork and a handily drilled rear brake bridge.

I should add that I only paid £650 as picked it up in the sale.

Apologies for the poor quality of the pic.

[joemmo]

Evans have the Norco
Evans have the Norco Threshold A2 on at £850 and Trek Crossrip for £1K- looks like they tick most boxes.
There’s a few more choices if you’re not wedded to the chainstay mounted brake but I understand its preferable if you plan to fit panniers.

[richcc]

Frame is steel not aluminium
Frame is steel not aluminium alloy but very happy with my Croix de Fer. You can pick them up for £1049 if you can too up your C2W?

[Anonymous]

Canyon Inflite or Whyte
Canyon Inflite or Whyte Dorset…

[Author]

Replies