Hybrid Bicycles - Need help with choice of two bikes

Hi all this is my first post, I would greatly appreciate opinions on which bike to choose. I can obtain either of these via insurance and cannot decide.

bike 1: Chris Boardman Hybrid comp 2011 http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_777843_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

bike 2: Giant escape 1 2012
http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p45460/Giant-Escape-1-2012.aspx

the carbon fiber forks on the escape is the main reason why It comes competition with the comp.

Thank you in advance for any responses

how'd you come up with these two bikes in particular?

the boardman has a ton better specs.. and so I followed the links to Wiggle and saw it was >$900 whereas the Giant is $530. it doesn't seem like these two bikes should be competing with each other.

what's your price range? what kind of riding will you be doing-- road only, some road & dirt, mainly dirt?

I will be really only riding road, I was originally offered a giant road bike (the defy 4 I think) however I wanted a hybrid for the handlebars and the ability to ride easier over bumps and curbs, so i requested that to the insurance company and they offered the boardman. Reason for the escape query is that on the English sites that the insurance company purchase from, it is the same price. So i wanted to know which was better overall as I'm not too knowledgeable about which specs were better.

by road I mean commuting in london streets

That clears things up a bit. The Escape 1 isn't the model you are really wanting info on, it's the Escape 0 (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/escape.0/8910/48612/) that has the carbon fork. I thought perhaps you were in the U.K., but looks like Giant isn't offered there for some reason.

Get what ever you like, but keep this in mind- unless you are confident in doing all of your own repairs and ordering parts online, you might be better served getting a brand that is sold and supported by your LBS...

The boardman is a whole lot better assuming you linked the right models. Might have to make a trip to the UK to buy one... :D

I can only get a bike off http://www.wheelies.co.uk, http://www.evanscycles.com/ and http://www.halfords.com, so a escape 0 isn't an option, the escape 1 is £495 on wheelies and the boardman is £499 from halfords. Out of interest what specific specs make the boardman so much better?

oh the spec on this website says it has carbon composite forks..http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p45460/Giant-Escape-1-2012.aspx
it seems the giant escape 1 on the giant website is different to this

Ah, two things you have to keep in mind when looking at bikes online- not all information is accurate and not all models are offered everywhere- and where they are offered in more than one country, invariably the specs are different.

The Escape 1 in the UK may have a carbon fork, but the Escape 1 in the US doesn't.

I see a not-very-exciting Shimano MTB component group on the Giant and a weird mix on the Boardman-- mid-grade SRAM MTB with a Microshift road front derailleur and FSA road compact cranks. The Avid BB5 brakes are solid for sure.

This is what makes me think that, despite being usual, the Boardman has better equipment.

I'd go with a Giant Rapid 2 and you would be closer to (actually beyond) that Boardman.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/rapid.2/7844/45453/

thanks for the responses guys, i guess I'll go for the boardman then, just to make sure ColinL you were looking at the giant on the wheelies website right

I'd go with a Giant Rapid 2 and you would be closer to (actually beyond) that Boardman.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/rapid.2/7844/45453/

That definitely seems to be a more similar bike.

I'd go with a Giant Rapid 2 and you would be closer to (actually beyond) that Boardman.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/rapid.2/7844/45453/
thats out of my price range being £750 on wheelies

Just to be completely sure, anyone elses opinion on the two bikes linked?

thats out of my price range being £750 on wheelies

Or perhaps the Giant Rapid 3 then...

Or perhaps the Giant Rapid 3 then...
nope can't thats 599, max insurance is going is 550, so the above bikes mentioned are really the best seeming ones in the price bracket, escept for the specialized sirrus elite which I wanted, but they cant do that one.

Seems like you get a lot better pricing on a boardman than we do in the US.. I think this is an easy call.

Yea, its on sale from 599, it is seeming like a very easy call now, I'll be getting the boardman for sure.

Come back later and tell us what you think of the bike! I think it might be fair to say no one posting here has experience on the Boardman hybrid.

Yea I will for sure :)

Finding it tricky to decide on medium (19") or large (21") I'm 5"10 and have a 33" leg