Hi, i have currently received my cycle to work voucher for £700 and i am trying to decide on which mountain bike to choose, some people are saying Cube others Boardman, recommendations please.

Thanks

Will you be riding to work off road? Mountain bikes are not the best commuters

I suggest you pay me my £700 consulting fee if you want my expert opinion. We live in capitalist countries ... . we should do our part.

Send me the voucher and I will send you my initial survey. We will find exactly the solution you need.

(And I am in no way insanely jealous that people can get paid to ride bikes to work. In this country, people who cannot afford cars are forced to ride cheap bikes. That's what makes us great.)

those are pretty cooling bikes! do you have to spend the whole amount? can you buy a used bike & use the rest later on accessories?

Are you using it to commute? I wouldn't buy a new mountain bike for that reason.

How far are you riding, what sort of roads, and what all do you need to carry?

An MTB would be a cool commuter, just put some slicks on it. I'd be bunny hopping curbs.

How long is your commute? On roads? Will there be real wind? I ask because a mountain bike can be a lot more work to ride distance or into the wind than a well chosen road bike. Dropped handlebars will make leaning forward enough to lessen the effects of a winter wind a real blessing. (That bent over position isn't just better going against the wind; it also lessens the effects of crosswinds on steering.) A road bike will also give you many more options for good tires on pavement.

Having a ride that is less work and more pleasant to ride will make your commute a lot more fun. There are commutes where mountain bikes are better. I am not trying to bad mouth them. But if your commute is paved and longer than maybe 5 miles, a road bike will probably serve you better.

Ben

He's not asking what kind of bike he should get. He's asking which MTB he should get. I know nothing of either brand.

yes, that is what he is asking.

What people are responding with is wisdom and experience beyond what the OP might have on hand.

If a person asks which of two poisonous substances he should eat, would it be wrong to tell him not to eat either? Even though that is not what he asked?

I'm sure he's a big boy and wasn't anticipating being lectured by other recreational riders of questionable experience on what they want to think he should ride. That's annoying.

Was your name picked randomly, or was it the result of a Quest?

This.

Read up on the forum rules, newbie.

At that price point all bikes from the major brands that you will find at bike shops will be basically the same. You might step up a groupset level at that price between major and house brand bike you would order online. The trade off between major bike shop brands and online house brands will the personal service and peace of mind from dealing on someone face to face. If you don't know what size you really need or aren't able to tune and adjust everything on a bike that comes in a box I'd say a person is better off taking lower level components and having a shop help you through the process.

This is not the first time the issue has been raised.

As far as I know, it is not against forum ruled to make unsolicited suggestions.

Because this person is choosing an unusual and generally impractical commuter bike, one is not unreasonable to wonder if he just looked at bikes he thought looked cool ... and might later regret his decision. Not like that has never happened.

Could just as well be this guy wants to buy an MTB because he wants to bang trails after work, or maybe rides to work on trails.

However, when he listst two brands and not two models ... I tend to think he hasn't done his research. if he asked help in picking between to specific bikes, I would assume he had examined them.

I f I said I wanted a mountain bike, Trek or Cannondale .... I would Hope someone would point out the 2, 27.5, 27.5+, and 29 option, F/S and hardtail, XC and freeride ...

Simply this: since he only listed Brands and not Models, it seems to me that the OP doesn't really know what he is asking. In that case, the Kindest thing one could do would be to ask questions to help him clarify.

But please, to all those who are offended by people not choosing for the OP ... which is it? Cube or Boardman? Which is "better"?

Suddenly it is clear how silly a question that is ... which is why the smart people chose not to answer.

Trolling and harassment is. Unsolicited suggestions to a specific question when that is what every single reply is, is just annoying.

Don't know anything about Boardman, but I've seen some of the Cube stuff on Ribble's site and they're great looking bikes and excellent value for the money. Too bad it cost an arm and a nut to ship it across the Atlantic making them not so great deals.

Ah, but the OP is an English person .... maybe Scots or Welsh, but s/he makes reference to a government stipend paid in pounds.

I don't understand. If you picked your own name, you can hardly chide people for using it. If it was assigned, I feel for you, but assume there was a reason.

I know. I was referring to myself. I'd love to get my hands on one of those Cubes, like this one:

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribbl...ultegra-r8000/

But alas, shipping cost, import duties and taxes would be close to $2K.

The best bike for commuting is the kind of bike that you like to ride. If that's MTB then so be it.

Google says that Cube is known for their mountain bikes, and the hard-tails look pretty tempting. That's all I know about it.

From reading some of your 248 posts in the matter of a few weeks I can see you're into drama and like to be the center of attention. I'm not so leave me alone unless you have adult stuff to discuss. If you really are 53 years old and not a millennial then act like it. Thanks, stud.

Thanks for your helpful information. It will be of immense use to me as I consider which bike I should pursue nextly.

If, OTOH, you're a Mod, and feel that post was OT or inappropriate, I suppose you could have just deleted it. Maybe you just like to dramatize things.

Thanks for all the comments and responses, my commute is only a couple of miles each way, so nothing to strenuous. The reason I am opting for a MTB is so I can hit some trails at the weekend and I have looked at Cube and Boardman makes, if anyone can recommend other makes/models that's great.
Thanks.

I would have no concerns about buying either. Boardman is probably the better known brand in the UK, Cube is a bigger company worldwide, both have a reputation for offering good quality bikes at a good price.

I would buy based on (in no particular order) the spec, appearance and quality of support from the dealer you are buying from.

And of course, the fit.

OK that's great, thanks for the response.