Boardman CX Team as a bikepacking bike?

[giryan]

My local halfords is moving and having a clearance of various stock so they don't have to shift it all.(Leamington Spa in case you're local)
Never being one to shy from N+1, I have been pondering getting a CX style bike for ages, and spotted a Boardman CX Team there.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/r ... -team-bike

Wondered if anyone has any particular opinions on it?

I did spy Dan_K's Calais to Bruge thread with him using one, and it looks like it could load up quite nicely.
http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... 29&p=62410

[Bearbonesnorm]

Just like any bike ... much will depend where you're planning to ride it. Maybe not ideal for the HT but great for the SDW*




*possibly.

[jameso]

Exactly, what for?

great for the SDW*

*possibly not and I'd say that about any other CX bike : )

Unloaded, 35-40C tyres are great. Add 5-6kgs or more to the bike and go on byways or most off-road trails and I'm not a fan, but I know others ride them fairly happily. I just think that adding tyre volume is the biggest gain on a loaded bike so 35-40C for road, yes. Off-road, only if packing super-light in the summer and on road 50% of the time. IMO only of course.

[Bearbonesnorm]

*possibly not and I'd say that about any other CX bike : )

See, that's why I said possibly. I've never been, I just thought - it's down south, how hard can it be?

Unloaded, 35-40C tyres are great. Add 5-6kgs or more to the bike and go on byways or most off-road trails and I'm not a fan, but I know others ride them fairly happily. I just think that adding tyre volume is the biggest gain on a loaded bike so 35-40C for road, yes. Off-road, only if packing super-light in the summer and on road 50% of the time. IMO only of course.

Totally agree - 650b wheels with 50c tyres is so much nicer to ride than 700C with a 35C or 40C fitted. It doesn't sound like much but remember, it's not just width but height too.

[AlexGold]

Having done the WRT on one* I'd say.....yes, as long as you don't do the WRT on one!

Stay on grass, fire roads and actual roads and it's great, but it gets a bit excessive after a few days of being beaten up by your bike riding the real lumpy stuff

*CX bike, not the actual model mentioned

[jameso]

See, that's why I said possibly.

Yup : ) Just saying in case the amount of drop-bar / CX bikepacking imagery around these days was swaying some towards these bikes when a 29er might suit better.
I'm not rising to the southern thing.. I've not ridden it either. Not a fan of rattling along the Ridgeway when it's hard-baked loaded up on my Adventure Road CX Gravel bike though!

[Pickers]

I have a exactly this, and it has been used for bikepacking - I used it for the Chilterns southern bivy where it worked very well indeed.
There's no way I'd have used it for the WRT last weekend, although it would have been fine for probably 80% of the route, the other 20% would have been quite difficult. Horses for courses.

[sean_iow]

I did last months bivi a month on mine (not that bike but a gravel/cx) and it was fine... but... I didn't do much off road on it but it did allow me to cover a greater distance and have the option of using bridleways and gravel tracks when the mood took me but mainly I was on tarmac. My other bike is a singlespeed hardtail so compared to that the gears enabled me to cover the ground quicker. Much as I love my ss it's not suited to long road rides, even if I do live in the pan flat south As an N+1 I'd say go for it
I would suggest looking at the geometry, mine's a Planet X London Road so not a propper cx bike so slacker? and maybe a bit more forgiving? A propper cx bike should be a race bike so designed to be fast and not necessarily comfy?

[Jurassic]

I have the older model silver CX Team, it's a decent bike for the price. The geometry isn't razor sharp CX race bike but more all rounder. I've used mine exclusively on the road as a do it all drop bar bike and it's been great for that. It's reasonably quick on the road (I have road tyres on it) but you don't have to worry about bad surfaces etc like you do on a full on road bike. I'm not massively impressed by the SRAM groupo tbh, it works fine but the shifting is quite heavy. Mine was also really poorly assembled by Halfrauds (front mech loose, BB assembled with a seal in the wrong place meaning the first BB lasted about six weeks) but I was half expecting that and it's been fine since I fettled it myself. I was recently tempted to sell it and go for a Genesis Vagabond instead but ended up buying a Pinnacle Ramin 1 (that I've upspecced a bit with bits I already had lying about) and keeping the Boredom. I think this covers the bases better for me. I'm pretty happy with mine tbh.

[giryan]

vaguely exciting, great thoughts on it, thanks guys.
Sounds like it could be a goer at least as an extra bike.
I do have a cube 29er which I've used on trails and bikepacking & it was ok, but the MTB-ness of it was a bit frustrating for some of the bikepacking, it was kinda slow on bits that could be faster, but still technical terrain was a bit of a pain loaded up.
From what you've said cx bike would make the former better but the latter worse. And I know I was a bit overloaded & not terrifically packed in my previous long jaunt.
So this would properly be an n+1 bike all round (just need to check the shed is big enough)
Sounds like outside bikepacking this could live quite happily as a bike to get out if I don't fancy getting my road kit out, or am on a slightly faster offroad thing, often the 29er is overkill for anything actually local, it's not exactly difficult terrain in Warwickshire. :)

Now to see if a, it's still there, and b, if I can be wangle British cycling 10% discount on top of the clearance price :)