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Hi All,
Looking at buying a new bike, mostly for commuting on road and winter weekend road/cx/trail duties. So far the Bish Bash Bosh looks like a good all rounder with the Rivel 11 HDR grupo, but can't find any reviews and sounds a bit weighty. Has anyone got one/seen one in the flesh.
Also considering a 'dale CaadX - only think that puts me off is BB30 and the CX chainring ratios. Would welcome opinions on either or other suggestions. Must have hydro discs, 2x11 and be able to take 38s, oh and be under £1400.
If you can find another £29 down the back of the sofa...
[url= https://www.evanscycles.com/norco-search-carbon-105-2016-adventure-road-bike-EV243354 ]Norco Search[/url]
You know all the adverts for gritcx... 🙂
Charge Plug 4 - can be had for less than half your budget, has 2x11 and can take 42 tyres
Pinnacle Arkose on Evans
Mango Point AR
Verenti (sp?) on crc
Those ads for grit.cx 😳 I did see they had the first look, and after trawling the comments the full BBB review is coming soon.
I was looking at the Norco - seems like a good deal, although the (snobbish) thing that puts be off is the 105 Hydro discs as the levers are fugly compared to the ultegra level ones. The charge Plug 4 was also on the list, but again it was the brakes that let it down, and I'm bitter that they've changed it from steel to alu. Steel would be the preference but it doesn't fit the budget.
Halfords have a boardman for £800, 1x11 hydro. 10kgs
Is it the claimed Bish Bash Bosh bike weight of 10.9kg that concerns you ?
Planet X/On One do make mistakes on their website - I'd be inclined to give them a call to clarify this. The wheels might not be superlight, but with a sub 2kg frame/forks combo, I'm sure that bike would weigh less than 10kg.
For example, for £1300, you can get a similarly specced CX bike (as good, if not better than the Bish Bash Bosh) that weighs 8.9kg:
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBVIPRESRIV/viner-super-prestige-sram-rival-11-hrd-cyclocross-bike
Your £1400 price limit is slightly tricky, as you're getting into high-end products. I find commuting really trashes my bikes, but it depends on distance etc. but I wouldn't want to put a £1400 bike through that. Some of the above suggestions for much cheaper bikes look really good. Having said that, I'm not saying don't spend more....but at £1500, or slightly more, you can even start considering a Pickenflick 😉
I've got a Norco Search. Got it a couple of weeks ago from Evans. I got an ex display model which worked out at £1200 for the 105 version. It was heavily discounted due to a scratch on one of the wheels but that was it.
Just had it out today for its first "off road" spin and it was great fun (this is my first adventure/cx bike so I only have road bikes to compare it to).
Its comfortable on road and off, comes with a decent groupset (105 11spd with hydro brakes).
I looked at some of the offerings from PX but decided on the Norco after the issues with the London Road frames that I had read about here. Overall I'm very pleased with it.
If you do take a closer look at one then check the geometry. I bought the 53cm version which comes with a 54.3cm TT.
Disc: yes, I was trying to work out how it was heavier than the somewhat industrial and low end London road. Good shout though I'll give them a call and double check. I appreciate £1400 isn't great for commuting, but I don't have the budget for a commuter and a cx/winter road bike, so one will have to do both. It's about 10miles each way in and out of central London so potholed but not overly gritty.
Creg: likewise I'd seen the snapped London road horror stories so decided to avoid that one. Had a Planet X carbon road frame which was fine though so trust their carbon and steel frames. Will try and find a norco in stock to go have a look at.
Cheers!
Lot of choice around for this kind of bike currently.
I've got a Sonder Camino Ti coming on demo in a few weeks - will report back with my thoughts then..
I've been mulling over a bike like this for a while and got put off the BBB by the post on here a while back about a frame failure and subsequent customer service issues. Doesn't mean that's the norm obviously, but I'd be really interested in the Grit.CX long term review. The Picken-Flick thread caught my eye as well. The range of this type of bike is staggering. Far more so than when I got my first CX years ago.
I've got a BBB - it's great fun! It replaced an old Kona Jake the Snake (also in bright orange!). So far no complaints - I find SRAM a bit 'clunkier' than Shimano (I have the Force CX1 HRD model), but it's a fun bike to zip around on - both on road and on the trails and paths locally. I commute on mine including trails around Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common.
If you're local you are welcome to come and have a look - I'm off the bike with a broken toe at the moment!
Nick
I've been having a look at Gravelly bikes for a bit now, having bought a cheap Boardman CX last year which was great fun, until some cretin nicked it...
There's such a a spread between the 'Road/Gravel' end of frames though to the 'Gravel/Adventure/Monstercross' end.
The BBB and the Norco Search carbon both look good, with the right thru-axles and geometry for something which is at the road-ier end of the spectrum. Are there any owners of those two who would agree?
Obviously they won't be directly comparable with a road racing bike/frame, but comparable to something like a Defy or Synapse, with floatier tyres?
Edit- Nick, thanks for the post above, while i was typing. Goes some way to confirm my thoughts.
A Cannondale CAADX with Ultegra right now can be had for around £1.2k so under budget. It's a really great bike and rides really nicely. I got mine for sunnier day commuting, larking around offroad and the odd cross race (I have an older bike with full guards for manky days commuting). The BB30 is a bit off putting and I'll have to see how it stacks up, but the close ratio CX gearing is great IMO. NB: the CAADX has QR's which I wanted, as I have spare wheels and don't want the faff of bolt through.
I wouldn't touch an On-One with barge pole, far too many issues and p*ss poor service.
2016 Pinnacle Arkose 3 here - nice bike (really well finished) but can feel a bit dead/heavy - I think the Arkose 4 is a bit lighter and still within your budget.
I've got mine set up as a winter road bike with 32mm tyres and full length guards - it rides really well.
It does have the 'ugly' 105 levers, which are sometimes not very comfortable, but I guess stuff like this is down to personal preference anyway.
I have a BBB I built up from frameset. Hope/mavic719 wheels, 105/XT/praxis 11-40 drivetrain and BB7 brakes. Thomson stem and post, even with a brooks c15 saddle it is around 9.5kg so not that heavy, IMO.
Rides well: nippy hooning in the woods, stable and comfortable touring. Hate the graphics mind 😳
Sod hydraulics and maybe a Kinesis Crosslight 5TDisc? The SpyreC's are really quite good...
Nick: Cheers thats pretty much the sot of thing I want it for, plus rides out to Surrey taking in the trails over Ranmore and over Shere way. More fun than just road riding in the winter pissing rain! Taking a look would be grand, I live in SW20 and Work in Victoria.
Dragon: Have no issue with On-one, their service is hit a miss, I've had both, but the bikes have always been sound. The Cannondale tempts me as I already have a 'Dale road bike and its awesome, but the BB30 is a ball ache, especially on a bike where it'll be shot fairly quickly. Might try and track one down to test ride as they're always great handling.
The grit.cx review seems fair. Would probably run it with either commuting slicks or 38mm G-ones most of the time.
@bjhedly - drop me an email (email in profile) and we can sort out meeting. I'm in Teddington and work in Fulham so not too far from you.
Cheers,
Nick