Another what bike - £1000 road

[Roman]

PH5121 said:

Halfords are selling the carbon Boardman for £999, but I don't know if that is in all sizes.

Seems to be still available in small medium & large. I'd get one of these - don't be surprised if the 2011 team carbon costs £1,200 or more.

[Raven Flyer]

Bonefish Blues said:

Halfords site says:

Range of bikes
Halfords has more than 435 stores nationwide and around 97% of UK population live within 30 minutes of a Halfords store. Employees have access to more than 31 brands via our store network, but if they are unable to find what they're looking for in-store, our "Special Order Helpline" will help them source most bikes available in the UK.

I do believe it's as I originally stated.

Sorry I should have been clearer. They can source any bike for you at list price. You will almost always get some sort of deal by turning up and haggling for what you want, where it is sold, if you ask Halfords to cross purchase, you wont. There may be a 10% surcharge if using a C2W type deal, as this is what the retailers have to pay to the scheme administrators. This will depend on any trade discount that Halfords get, or don't.

Should you have a problem with the bike, warranty issues become very clouded as you, the bike owner, did not buy it from an approved retailer. There are good warranty stories and bad warranty stories from people who have bought from outside the approved networks.

So just as you can ask Audi to sell you a BMW, don't expect any deals, any benefit from special offers or a bullet proof warranty.

I am surprised that anyone on less than 40% income tax is using C2W type schemes. With the final payments now so high it is only an interest free loan and one that adds 10% to any deal price that the retailer may have considered in the first place. If paying 40% or 50% it's still worth it.

[cramman]

Roman said:

Seems to be still available in small medium & large. I'd get one of these - don't be surprised if the 2011 team carbon costs £1,200 or more.

Aye, if need the XL at 6'2". Looks like the carbon will be 1300 according to a bike radar thread.

[Sarkmeister]

Leisure Lakes Bikes accept Halfords vouchers (or at least they did last year). I got my Trek 1.5c from them. That way you would have bought it through an approved dealer so there shouldnt be any warranty issues.

They have stores in the midlands/north west I think.

[princeperch]

cramman said:

Aye, if need the XL at 6'2". Looks like the carbon will be 1300 according to a bike radar thread.

where is this thread? I'm tempted to get the carbon CB but dont really need it. Also looks limited availability in 2010 spec so might not get the voucher in time..

[shalmaneser]

We've just got that CAAD8 in stock and it's lovely.

That's where my money would be going.

[Raven Flyer]

shalmaneser said:

We've just got that CAAD8 in stock and it's lovely.

That's where my money would be going.

Spec? Price?

[princeperch]

sod it I've just purchased a CB carbon for 999 on the CTW scheme....

[shalmaneser]

Raven Flyer said:

Spec? Price?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/caad-8-105-cd-2011-road-bike-ec025287

[cramman]

OK then people, I'm back and still as stuck as ever.

I think I have ruled out the boradmans, the new 1000 pound aluminum framed bike looks a bit poor IMO, I prefer the looks of the CAAD8.

So, I’m deciding between the CAAD 8 105 (annoyingly Halfords can’t source this until the 28th April) or the Dolan Mythos (APEX) model which is available through Halfords.

Any thoughts n the Mythos? I can’t help but think it’s probably a poor frame and poor/average groupset and wheels. Where the CAAD had the better? New 105 groupset.

The synapse also keeps coming up as well. I guess it's just a bit softer than the CAAD models.

Edited by cramman on Monday 7th March 20:33

[Roman]

cramman said:

OK then people, I'm back and still as stuck as ever.

I think I have ruled out the boradmans, the new 1000 pound aluminum framed bike looks a bit poor IMO, I prefer the looks of the CAAD8.

So, I’m deciding between the CAAD 8 105 (annoyingly Halfords can’t source this until the 28th April) or the Dolan Mythos (APEX) model which is available through Halfords.

Any thoughts n the Mythos? I can’t help but think it’s probably a poor frame and poor/average groupset and wheels. Where the CAAD had the better? New 105 groupset.

The synapse also keeps coming up as well. I guess it's just a bit softer than the CAAD models.

Edited by cramman on Monday 7th March 20:33

Apex certainly isn't poor and I'd rather have it than (significantly heavier) 105 personally and many National, International and Olympic champions ride Dolans (as you will see at any international event at Manchester Velodrome) so don't assume that it will be an inferior bike to a CAAD8.

[anonymous-user]

terry dolan has been building frames for years. granted they probably wont be made by his fair hands any more but i cant see him letting any old st out into the world with his name on it. they are used by pro road teams and his track frames are superb. dont discount them until you have read all the reviews and spoken to a few owners, very much the thinking mans choice.

[Bonefish Blues]

pablo said:

terry dolan has been building frames for years. granted they probably wont be made by his fair hands any more but i cant see him letting any old st out into the world with his name on it. they are used by pro road teams and his track frames are superb. dont discount them until you have read all the reviews and spoken to a few owners, very much the thinking mans choice.

This /\

[cramman]

Thanks. I think I'll give them a call and discuss possible wheel upgrades.

[anonymous-user]

cramman said:

Thanks. I think I'll give them a call and discuss possible wheel upgrades.

to be honest unless Dolan can do you something special as an alterbnative, i would buy the bike as specc'ed and get a pair of rs20s or something for merlin and then sell the mach 1 wheelset. its a bit of hassle but i am sure someone will want them as a winter/training set and hte upgrade will do the bike justice. you should get at least £50 for them and the RS20s on sale at £120 from merlin are a good deal. have a look around, there are a good few wheelsets in the £150 price bracket...

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Wheels/Roa...

the dolan ares looks so nice with the sram s60 wheels....

[Raven Flyer]

Roman said:

Apex certainly isn't poor and I'd rather have it than (significantly heavier) 105 personally and many National, International and Olympic champions ride Dolans (as you will see at any international event at Manchester Velodrome) so don't assume that it will be an inferior bike to a CAAD8.

I would also prefer Apex to 105, just to have Double Tap and Zero Loss. The chain rings, BB and cassette are Rival/Force anyway and the brakes come with Swisstop pads. All frames at this budget point are good but I would choose carbon over ali, if for no other reason than the extra endurance you get from damping out the road buzz.

But I would also say that if you are buying a bike that you instantly need to upgrade major parts on, you are buying the wrong bike/parts. It is always better to buy the bike at the spec you want and I would speak to Dolan about wheels, rather than buy £120 wheels in the hope of selling your old ones.

The CAAD 8 looks a good bike and is not a bad weight but a 4 week wait could easily run out much longer. There are some horror stories of C'dale delivery dates not being met by months, last year.

The Dolan is carbon, a good looking bike and if it is in stock, in your size, it looks the best buy.

[cramman]

Raven Flyer said:

I would also prefer Apex to 105, just to have Double Tap and Zero Loss. The chain rings, BB and cassette are Rival/Force anyway and the brakes come with Swisstop pads. All frames at this budget point are good but I would choose carbon over ali, if for no other reason than the extra endurance you get from damping out the road buzz.

But I would also say that if you are buying a bike that you instantly need to upgrade major parts on, you are buying the wrong bike/parts. It is always better to buy the bike at the spec you want and I would speak to Dolan about wheels, rather than buy £120 wheels in the hope of selling your old ones.

The CAAD 8 looks a good bike and is not a bad weight but a 4 week wait could easily run out much longer. There are some horror stories of C'dale delivery dates not being met by months, last year.

The Dolan is carbon, a good looking bike and if it is in stock, in your size, it looks the best buy.

Thanks, the dolan is being ordered tomorrow.

I have spoken about having better wheels put on it but it sounds like halfords have stopped them doing this.

No worries, like people say, a wheel upgrade isn't a bid deal. May even try some cheap carbon jobies off the net.

Thanks for helping me decide.

[princeperch]

The boardman carbon is exceptional value. Just picked mine up today. Managed to get a 2010 model for 899.99, plus its being paid for through the CTW scheme so is a very cheap way to get ones paws on a carbon road bike.

The guy who I dealt with was very helpful, initially, and I was very impressed indeed.

I had a bit more money left on the CTW voucher to make up, so I ordered a krypto lock, and a couple of gatorskins. There was a promo running which was 3 for 2, so I shouldnt have paid for one of the gators. But apparently the computer said no when I picked it up and there was nothing the guy could do about it, as it was the way the items had been entered onto my order. So I had to pay for one of the gators which cost £25.00. Not the end of the world I guess.

It was a bit strange, when I was asking why I am being expected to pay for something which was clearly part of the 3 for 2 deal, the bloke looked at me square in the eyes and said "look mate, I've got 5 people waiting to be served, do you want the bike or not". Customer service Halfords style!