Good Frames in the UK?

Christopher Rouse does quite a bit of bike commuting and is hoping to ride the London to Paris cycle ride for charity. In the UK at the moment you can get help to buy a bike from the government with the cycle to work scheme and he wants to know which frame we would choose between a Ribble and Boardman?

Question:
I currently have a mountain bike for cycling to work in London (20 odd miles a day). I am hoping to do the London to Paris cycle ride this year to raise money for the JDRF charity. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get a quicker bike. I’m hoping to buy the bike through the cycle to work scheme so have a budget of up to a thousand pounds. I’ve had a look online at bikes from Ribble (the Nero Corsa frame) and the new Boardman carbon road bike. I’d like to get something that has a good frame so that components could be upgraded in the future. I’d be very grateful for any advice. Thank you. Kind regards.

Chris Rouse.

Hi Chris,

That is a good selection to choose from, both frames are very similar, they both use good quality carbon and are manufactured in the monocoque design. They both are designed well with comfortable but lively angles that should take you to Paris without any problem, they both have that carbon look that you want everyone to look at.

Now if you are looking to get one of these to build up then I would get the Boardman as it looks to have all the strength where it is needed. If you want the bike built then I would go to Ribble as Halfords don’t really have the experts to take on such a job, unless things have changed recently or you are lucky with your local branch. If you are OK with taking a bike from Halfords and probably have to do the fine adjustments yourself then I would go for the Boardman bike. The Ribble should come to you ready for the road as they are used to setting up a road race bike just the way it should be.

So I guess I’m saying the Boardman bike is a better buy, but that you will need to keep your eye on the adjustment side of things. Both are great for an upgrade.