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It's between two very similar bikes from the same manufacturer, the Jamis Nova Race and the Nova Sport for my daily commute.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/nova-sport-2013-cyclocross-bike-ec041504
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/nova-race-2013-cyclocross-bike-ec041503
The commute is 11 miles each way, mainly on roads and cycle paths. In January the commute will change to 8 miles each way, mainly on roads, but with a long, flat and rutted pathway thrown in.
Both frames are very similar, but the Sport has a sealed cartridge BB and the Race has a PF30. Am I right in thinking the cartridge BB will be more of a ride and forget BB?
The Sport has an alloy fork, the Race a carbon fork. Is there a huge benefit to the carbon fork? I know that fitting a carbon seat post to my hardtail was one of the best additions I've made.
The Sport has an 8 speed cassette, the Race 10 speed. Will the Sport have an odd size rear hub that leaves me short on choices should I want to upgrade wheels in the future?
If truth be told I actually prefer the look of the Sport to the Race and that's swaying my opinion rather a lot, the cheap price is also appealing. I want BB7 brakes, but they could be easily changed, I imagine I could get a cheapish carbon fork from the likes of HongFu if it's that much of a benefit. And I think I'd fit a carbon seat post to either bike.
So that just leaves the gearing and BB - my thoughts are that the cheaper Sport components will work pretty much as well and be cheap to replace when the time comes?
What would you do?
That's not two choices, it's a choice.
But you're right - the cartridge BB will probably last longer, a carbon fork will probably be more comfortable and 8 speed is cheap to replace.
It's a commuter, does it need to be race ready?