I’m after a bit of help in choosing a cyclocross bike on the Cycle 2 Work scheme. £1000 max, which can all go on the bike as I have all the other bits and pieces.

Ive narrowed it down to a few bikes;

Cannondale with Tiagra
http://www.cannondale.com/gbr/catalog/product/view/id/31123/s/caadx-disc-6-tiagra/category/916/

Pinnacle with 105
http://pinnacle-bikes.co.uk/road-and-cyclocross/pinnacle-arkose-three-2014-cyclocross-bike

Giant TCX 2 with 105
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2014.giant.tcx.slr.2/14989/66573/

Boardman with 105
http://boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_team.html

Boardman is £899 so could get some shiny bits to go with it. Giant and Boardman are my favourite so far.

I wont really be commuting on it as I work 50 miles from home but will be used for a few long road rides and for Thetford as that place doesn’t warrant a full suss!
Over to you lot, and I appreciate the help.

Cheers!

I’ve been riding a Boardman for a few months (it has Apex not 105 btw).

It’s really fast and versatile, more roadie geometry than my previous CX bike but much faster off road due to wide-ish tyres and discs giving more confidence.

Wheels are a tad heavy – and I’m not sure you could fit normal road tyres to them (Mavic 319s), but if I kept mine I was gonna splash for another set of lighter wheels for road use.

I wont really be commuting on it

?_?

…well, at least you’re honest.

I haven’t ridden any so can’t offer any practical advice

but that Giant looks tasty

Love my Arkrose 3. Used for tow path commutes and currently slicked up as my winter road bike as well. Takes full guards and a rack, reckon it would make a decent rough stuff router.

Arkrose thread is down there

VVV

Ahh yes, Apex. Thanks!

The Giant does look tasty and my LBS can get it in as opposed to going through Halfrauds. I don’t like to think of myself as a bike snob but sometimes it cant be helped!

Thanks for the heads up on the rims. I was hoping to fit some 28 tyres to the bike as I’m riding the Norwich 100 with work. Told them I’d do it if they signed up to the cycle to work scheme!

Commuting, I already get up at 0430 to be in work by 0700 and I get home at 1830 so going any part of that on a bike will be murder!

Both the wife and I went through the same debate.

She ended up with at Arkose 3 and I managed to get a Caadx with 105 for less than a grand. Both are great but we both agree the caadx is a ‘better’ bike. Yes it might only have Canti’s but it’s sooo much more lighter and build quality is excellent (not saying the pinnacle build quality isn’t good but not as good).

Absolutely love my cx, I have not ridden my soul or alpine 160 since getting 2 mts ago! The wife’s Five and Cove HJ have not been touched either!

I got a cross bike recently and was very impressed with the arkose 3. However I eventually got a crossrip as my lbs gave me a great deal.

Anyone know if the Giant will take mudguards?

I wont really be commuting on it

You might want to have a look at section 4 of the official guidance:

Employees use the equipment mainly for qualifying journeys;
i.e. for journeys made between the employee’s home and workplace, or part of those journeys (for example, to the station), or for journeys between one workplace and another.

You might want to have a look at section 4 of the official guidance:

– Whatever! 😉

Have you looked at the Crosslight 5T?

Anyone know if the Giant will take mudguards?

If you’re wanting a bike to put mudguards on, there is the slight possibility you should consider something else.

Bit more info on the Giant’s specs on this thread.

You considered this:

http://m.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/tricross

Very nice! (IMO) 🙂

You might want to have a look at section 4 of the official guidance:

I can read! 😉
My company isn’t bothered really, they realise I’m not going to commute 100 miles a day.

Thanks for the hint on the Kinesis, having a look at it now.
Tricross is 9 speed in my price range isnt it? Thats so 2010! But otherwise the Tricross would be top of my list.

My company isn’t bothered really

HMRC might be?

^^^ Do you have any idea how many bikes out there purchased on the C2W scheme have never seen their owners place of work?

I’ve got two.

Got to love a STW Pedant….

HMRC might be?

HMRC probably takes the view that more people buying and riding bikes is good for the health of the economy and the population, resulting in economic growth and lower demand on the NHS.

Or if it doesn’t, then it should.

HMRC might be?

How will they find out?

http://2014.merida-bikes.com/en_gb/bikes/2014/Cyclo+Cross+4-1215.html
This looks good too. Any opinions?

Got to love a STW Pedant….

Sitting on the fence here, in relation to the rights and wrongs of C2W when you’re not, but how does Mike pointing out this issue make him a pedant?

Miketually you sound like a right barrel of laughs. 😕

As has been said above surely the benefits of cycling are in the governments interests with relation to health and well being. I’ve heard of people buying fatbikes on C2W and they weren’t surfing instructors. 😀

Have you looked at the Crosslight 5T?

This is what I have. Not ridden any other CX bikes to compare it too but it has full guard mounts (on the carbon fork too) so works well for my commute.

Feels pretty light too and zips along a fair rate of knots, even with the CX and not road tyres.

I’m trying to make the same decision at the moment. I was dead set on the Giant until they were utterly crap at responding to my questions, as were Cycle Surgery. I believe ‘how you sell is how you service’ so they’re off the list. Which is bloody annoying.

There is a list of bikes in this thread. I would say if you wanted something like the Giant, then the Planet-X XLS would be a good choice.

…assuming you wanted carbon.

How comfy are some of these bikes mentioned? I want a commuter / long distance winter bike that I can also blast round fireroad. Maybe moon / stick

Something like a gensis cdf in mind but I’m concerned it will be a bit too slow and cumbersome than a proper cx.

I got a Giant TCX SLR1. Brilliant bit of kit. full 105, great handling frame and decent wheelset.

Ordered from the Giant shop at Covent Garden and the service was excellent. It’s now replaced the 5 spot as the weapon choice and I’m the fat lad in the Ilkley CC top seen bouncing around Cannock in it (it even survived Werewolf Drop).

How comfy are some of these bikes mentioned? I want a commuter / long distance winter bike that I can also blast round fireroad.

The Boardman is pretty comfy, partly due to the chunky tyres of course.

Replace the CX treads with similar volume slicks and it’d make a fine long-distance bike – thanks to the roadie geometry.

Some CX bikes are more upright and shorter, by contrast.

Received my Giant TCX SLR2 yesterday and first ride last night. Only thing I can compare it to is a Whyte kings cross, and it was night and day regarding the ride. Components are great on the giant and it looks fantastic but was surprised at how “tight” and fast it felt compared to my old whyte. Loving mine after its one ride.

This is not a review or recommendation, i haven’t ridden nearly enough CX bikes to give a qualified response!

I’ve got a Boardman and it’s more than happy with slicks on it for road duties.

Great bike for long distance cross, single track riding, bridle ways and sorts of stuff

Piesoup – who is your scheme through? I used ctw to get a cx bike last year. Had no choice but to via Halfrauds. Their special purchase team got me a Genesis Croix de Fer for bang on £1k which was around £150 below the sticker price. Great bike for long rides on or off road. Goes without saying that Halfrauds made a total botch of the build though.

I had a boardman for a while.

Wasn’t a massive fan. It felt sluggish on road and wasn’t great off road.

Heavy wheels and I personally didn’t get on with the apex gears.

I’d go shimano every time.

I got the CAADX disc with Tiagra you mention through C2W in September.

It’s my first bike that’s isn’t a MTB but I have put 28mm GP4 Seasons on it and a rear mudguard and have done 500 trouble free road miles so far. I did a bit of bridle path stuff too when I first got it and it had the stock 35mm knobblies and it seemed to enjoy it! I’ve got nowt to compare it with but, to me, it’s a great bike and reliable in terms of braking and shifting.

HMRC may take the C2W seriously one day, as it reduces tax income (by a very small amount). Using C2W to get a bike and not using it for work is at the very least tax avoidance, and no one on here would condone that now would they?

HMRC’s own C2W scheme provider states that the bikes should be used for at least half their mileage for commuting, but that staff would not need to actually record their mileage to prove it.

I just make sure the boss knows when I have ridden in by having kit drying out all over the office!

Jamie, thank you for your link, lots of reading over a coffee tomorrow.

garthmerenghi, our scheme is Cycle to Work through Halfords too. But there is a network of LBSs that take the vouchers. Interesting that they managed to get the croix de fer even though it’s more than a grand. I thought £1k was the absolute limit on the cycle to work scheme.
And yes, I would certainly rebuild a halfrauds bike!