GT Grade Carbon 105 (heart) VS Boardman CX Team (head)

I’ve got a 2015 Grade Ultegra

I’ve got a 2015 Grade Ultegra which I’m really very happy with. I’ve used it a lot and it’s an incredibly flexible bike that would certainly tick your boxes quite nicely.

My thoughts would be:

1) In terms of the Grade’s comfort, I’d probably not get too hung up on this. Most reviewers are rating it relative to road bikes. Compared to a mountain bike it’s going to feel very direct/bumpy. There are things that can help with this, e.g . mine’s got a Redshift stem and and Thudbuster LT seat post which make a big difference, but out of the box both are going to be lively rides, particularly off-road  🙂

2) You don’t mention, but if where you ride is prone to sticky claggy mud, the Grade is a bit old skool and doesn’t have a huge amount of mud clearance. In the winter a 33C is about the limit I can run if I don’t want to spend way too much either digging mud out or hike a biking, the Boardman ships with a 35c, so might be better in the respect.

3) The Boardman’s not tubeless ready,  that might be a deal breaker depending on the amount of brambles/hawthorns etc where you intend to ride. I think you could fix this fairly easily and still be under the price of the GT, but obviously that’d be more hassle. 

fwiw, I’d go with the Grade 😉

Go rouge

Go rogue

As someone’s said, heart wins every time it really matters. If you’ve got a bike that you still want to ride when it cold, dark and chucking it down, and the Grade is winking at you, you know what to do. 

I had the carbon 105 for a couple of years, only sold it as it was slightly too heavy, a bit high at the front and  and too slow steering for a true road bike on a fast club run (with me riding…) don’t take those things as criticism though. I also rarely went off road. Brilliant descender especially in the wet on sketchy roads.  A true gent of a machine with full mudguards, wider tyres and a lovely ride quality – it replaced quite a high end Ti Van Nicholas and I didn’t regret it at all. Great bike. Don’t know anything about the boardman. 

Hi. I bought the Grade 105

Hi. I bought the Grade 105 carbon and loved it. I then bought the AL claris version for a bargain £300 and loved it more.

I was a little worried about throwing a £1600 carbon frame around the countryside as I couldn’t afford to replace it. No such worries with the AL version. I subsequently sold the carbon and still have the AL- I’ve done 7000 happy miles including daily commuting all year-round, canal pootles with the wife, off-road adventures and straight up road-rides. 

If I was you I’d look at the current AL range- 105 is £862 on Wiggle- within your price range and a cracking bike. If you really want carbon then the Tiagra version is just over a grand, but personally I wouldn’t bother for what you want to use it for.

(I do have a carbon framed bike, but it doesn’t get taken anywhere near tree roots, mud or puddles- done about 100 miles this year!)

EDIT- spelling.

Heart.

Heart.

If the GT makes getting out of bed that little bit easier and the commute to work that little bit more exciting, then it’s a no-brainer.

The Boardman is fantastic value and it will be familiar territory with the 1x and knobbly tyres – it could do with component upgrades in the future though. The gearing is also most suited to CX.

The GT looks awesome and the 32 tyres can be set up tubeless anyway. Admittedly the 52/36 chainrings are an odd choice for the type of bike. I have 52/36 on my road bike and I’ve never span out a 52/11 gear. I’d try looking to swap the 52/36 for 50/34 facebook pages are good for this, as is this forum! (That said, you shouldn’t have a problem at the low with the 34/32 gear combo).

I wouldn’t be too worried about carbon frame for commuting – I’ve just bought myself a Whyte Wessex. Admittedly it means I need to take more care when locking it up, moving it about etc, but it’s a much nicer bike than what I have been on.

Go with your heart and get the bike insured whatever you do!