UKC

hi folks, had a look at the boardman range of bikes in halfords today,seem like well spec bikes. anyone any experience of them. saw some revues that highly rated the bike but not the service from halfords. most interested in the hybrid range. cheers les.

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:

I've never heard a bad word about them - and the ones we've had here in France look great and all their owners loved them. Fantastic value for money too.

E

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: I had a full sus boardman. for the money i couldn't complain..just don't rely on Halfrauds putting it together right!!

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:

Top reviews and for the money and spec they are lighter as well.

Also or perhaps most important if I were buying I think they look good.

Cheers

Toby

( what is it they have on bike radar, oh yes)

Cervelo r3sl
Cannondale caad5 special edition (the war on terror)
Thorn Nomad tourer
Marin Quake 5 (1997)
Rayleigh special products 853 steel racer.

In reply to Toby_W: oh yes and when you've got it ask a proper bike shop or friend who knows bikes to check it over, things like forks right way round ( I kid you not) etc.

Cheers

Toby

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: thanks for the messages so far, just about what i was expecting especially about the mechanics at halfords although to be fair the guy i spoke to today did seem to know his stuff.mmm decisions decisions

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: I got a cx cyclocross boardman. I like it a lot and the guys in the halfords shop in Stockport set it up well and did a good job servicing it 6 months in. No complaints at all.

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:

Excellent value for the money, but I believe, that the carbon fibre used is very low specced. I am weary of cheap carbon fibre bikes, like the Boardmans and the Ribble's.

I would buy a second hand boardman, for a good deal on the wheels, groupset etc, and then get a new 'quality' frame to stick em on, and sell the Boardman frame.

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: Since youre looking at Hybrids I doubt that Carbon Frames are what youre interested in.
After riding offroad on Stumpjumpers, Mt Visions, Pace and Rocky Mountain bikes over too many years I bolloxed my ankle and got a Rigid Boardman Team R for tracks and a bit of off road use.
It is truly superb,one of the nicest (for me) bikes that Ive ridden. It handles beautifully has a great component set up for the money and, with fat tyres is ok for mild off road use (I live in the Peak so it can get brutal)
Set up by Halfords wasnt too bad but ideally get in the workshop with them when theyre building it to keep an eye on them
I got one of these and would really recommend it for on road and light off road riding
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-boardm...

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: The people I know with Boardmans have nothing to moan about, and that includes the CF frames. I would buy one, and I say that from the standpoint of someone with a couple of quality frames. Halfords vary greatly from branch to branch.

If you want CF to complain about get a Pinarello Prince - lots of money, ride lovely, lots defects......

In reply to Enty:


Loads and loads of problems with the bottom brackets not being greased in the road bikes. This autumn I bought their basic CX model and before I started reading about all these problems with the BBs, although further research showed the one I ended up buying has an 'old fashioned' internal BB whilst the problems are with the new ones.

Lots on the bike forums about it. IIRC the problem might have been with the BB manufacturers but there were mixed responses to how Boardman/Halfords dealt with the problem.

My CX Comp has been great fun although I'm battling terrible brake squeak on it at the mo'! Living outside of the UK I could buy mine through Wiggle though, so didn't have to take a chance on Halfords. Wiggle did a good job of setting it up but of course you can't go back for check ups or further advice if you are a few thousand miles away! I think you can read my preliminary review on my bike at http://reviews.wiggle.co.uk/profiles/7867/6160117944/profile.htm (they don't let you see the actual bike page unless you set your location as outside the UK!).

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:

I have had my Boardman road team comp now for 2 years or so and I've never had a problem with it. Great bike and no regrets buying it.

In reply to TobyA:

That's interesting about the BB30 - When my SRAM Red BB went after 18 months use I couldn't really justify paying 130 quid for a direct replacement - bad move! 3 FSA BB30's later and I'm wishing I'd bought a decent replacement.
I didn't know Boardman was putting them in his bikes - they really are shyte. I'm lucky if I get a month out of one.

E

In reply to TobyA:

But regarding the OP. I wouldn't let a BB issue put me off getting a Boardman bike.

E

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: thanks for responses,am leaning towards getting the hybrid comp now i think that is plenty of bike for me.cheers

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: have you looked at the cyclocross?? guy at work has one and is very happy with it. Of all my bikes the cyclocross (not boardman tho) is the most useable.

In reply to quirky: had a quick look yes and do like the look of it, but its a bit more cash than i was thinking of spending. cheers

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: Yes they are a bit pricier but so versatile. If i could only have one bike it would be my cyclocross, i have done long road rides and been mountain biking on it as well as thrashing it in all weathers on my way to work everyday...

In reply to quirky:

I've got a Boardman Hybrid Pro which does exactly what I want. A really good bike. The problem is with Halfords. I can only speak from personal experience but the anecdotal evidence is building up to such an extent that you must conclude that there's some seroius issues with these guys. Do they know how to put a bike together ... No. I experienced an employee trying to get a pedal off a left hand crank by hammering it in the wrong direction then putting the chain together with the wrong type of joining link so that it constantly jummped. It took a while to find that one.

In reply to Mark Harding: I had many issues with halfords build. My crank was as good as stripped where they had cross threaded the pedal, headset loose, cables routed wrong on derailieurs, not a single nut and bolt was tightened correctly. A shambles and dangerous to anyone who does not know to check these things!! I did try to explain this to the Halfords staff and manager but they really did not give a sh*t as they had just had a bumper cycle to work bonanza due to my employer being more bothered about another corporate bollox partnership rather than getting its employees set up to "cycle to work"!!!

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo: seems to be a lot of complaints about halfords, are all these experiences recent or a few years ago? also which branches are we talking about? one of my local branches (wigan) seemed to have knowledgeable staff when i called in last week.

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:
I have a Boardman Road Comp, bought last year. I tried it for fit etc in Halfords (with staff who knew what they were talking about), but living abroad I bought through Wiggle.

As an experienced mtber but novice road biker (or, at least, I was at the time!), I found the Boardman to be perfect. Great value for money, good quality frame and components, and everything well put together (although as it came mail order, I had mount the bars myself). I've done a couple of thousand of kms on the bike this year and it's barely needed any sort of service.

The only thing I would consider with the bike in the future is changing to lighter wheels and tyres, but this is a standard upgrade for many road bikes.

I would happily buy Boardman again and recommend them to anyone.

In reply to Removed Userlfenbo:

I read somewhere that every branch should have at least one person specifically trained by Boardman (or approved by Boardman) to provide proper advice on fit and components. But if that person is busy elsewhere, you're stuck with general staff.

When I went to Halfords the first guy I spoke to was very nice but clueless, fortunately when he realised he was out of his depth he went to get somebody else who was much more knowledgable.