Boardman Racing Bikes

drollab

I've been reading about Chris Boardman's range of bikes and they have got decent reviews and the specs seem OK also.
They would appear to be good value.

Has anyone ridden one or have any opinions.

Thanks

scottreynolds

drollab wrote: »

I've been reading about Chris Boardman's range of bikes and they have got decent reviews and the specs seem OK also.
They would appear to be good value.

I think their top of the range bike at 3200 with sram red and Zipp 404s is brilliant value. I read a bit on several forms and everyone seems impressed. I would definitely buy one or rather wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I had the cash.

short circuit

One of my friends has a Boardman Team ... pretty good value ... and a good ride too ... the only negative is buying from Halfords .. you will need to service it immediately .. as the brakes were not put on properly .. pedals were loose etc ... but nothing you can check yourself.

Jawgap

I've been looking at and craving a Boardman for some time now - they seem well speced and great value.

Even better value if you buy from Newry. The Team All Carbon is 1400 euros here, but only stg£999 in Halfords in Newry - that's about 1150 euros.

The only downside seems to be the need to buy from "Halfrauds" - they build and set up the bike but the quality of the work can be very patchy and the bike needs to be given a thorough going over once you get it away from the shop and before you ride it.

I saw one suggestion that you don't order a bike for delivery at the start of the week because the weekend staff will be building it and a lot of them are just kids doing a bit fo Saturday work!!!

nortal

Jawgap wrote: »

I've been looking at and craving a Boardman for some time now - they seem well speced and great value.

Even better value if you buy from Newry. The Team All Carbon is 1400 euros here, but only stg£999 in Halfords in Newry - that's about 1150 euros.

The only downside seems to be the need to buy from "Halfrauds" - they build and set up the bike but the quality of the work can be very patchy and the bike needs to be given a thorough going over once you get it away from the shop and before you ride it.

I saw one suggestion that you don't order a bike for delivery at the start of the week because the weekend staff will be building it and a lot of them are just kids doing a bit fo Saturday work!!!

Agree 100% with the price differential, completely ridiculous if it was my LBS I could probably live with it, a large company like halfords should be able to sell at the actual price. when I upgrade the team carbon will be on the shortlist, a friend bought a hybrid with carbon forks and triangle for commuting and it is a lovely looking bike,

if a 56 frame suits you the 2008 models in Carrick mines are good value the all carbon (I think its all carbon,) is down from €2,000 to €1,200 and the team carbon is down from €1,400 to under €900 good value i think

jollylee

Jawgap wrote: »

I've been looking at and craving a Boardman for some time now - they seem well speced and great value.

Even better value if you buy from Newry. The Team All Carbon is 1400 euros here, but only stg£999 in Halfords in Newry - that's about 1150 euros.

The only downside seems to be the need to buy from "Halfrauds" - they build and set up the bike but the quality of the work can be very patchy and the bike needs to be given a thorough going over once you get it away from the shop and before you ride it.

I saw one suggestion that you don't order a bike for delivery at the start of the week because the weekend staff will be building it and a lot of them are just kids doing a bit fo Saturday work!!!

As a part-time halfords cycle mechanic I'm offended by this post. Your being very general. Why not call into a few halfords stores and suss out who's working in bike hut. You'll find enthusiasts working in them here and there and after a few minutes of chatting you'll know whether they know what they're talking about or just spoofing.

If your still worrried about the build quality take the bike home in a box and do it yourself.

Failing that come to the limerick store on a saturday and I'll un-wrap, build and PDI your bike in front of you while you wait.

Chips Lovell

jollylee wrote: »

Why not call into a few halfords stores and suss out who's working in bike hut. You'll find enthusiasts working in them here and there and after a few minutes of chatting you'll know whether they know what they're talking about or just spoofing..

In fairness, its not a great endorsement of a company that you need to visit a few stores to find one in which the staff are competent.

jollylee

el tonto wrote: »

In fairness, its not a great endorsement of a company that you need to visit a few stores to find one in which the staff are competent.

I agree 100% but its the way the system works. If your looking for a boardman its what you have to deal with. All supervisors are trained well so if your worried just insist that the bike specialist builds the bike.

Jawgap

jollylee wrote: »

As a part-time halfords cycle mechanic I'm offended by this post. Your being very general. Why not call into a few halfords stores and suss out who's working in bike hut. You'll find enthusiasts working in them here and there and after a few minutes of chatting you'll know whether they know what they're talking about or just spoofing.

If your still worrried about the build quality take the bike home in a box and do it yourself.

Failing that come to the limerick store on a saturday and I'll un-wrap, build and PDI your bike in front of you while you wait.

As I pointed out in my original post, the quality of service in Halfords is patchy and you've confirmed it - I've had some good experiences in Halfords, I've some poor experiences and some bizarre experiences - frankly if I go into a bike shop looking for wet lube, I don't expect the person serving me to recoil in horror!!

Plus I live in Dublin, but you seem to be suggesting I need to go to Limerick to get a good service. It's a 300 mile round trip to Limerick for me, but only 100 mile one to Newry. I'm sure you do provide a quality service, but when I go to get my Boardman (under the bike to work scheme) I'll be heading North - it's a bit of a no brainer, even for me.

jollylee

Jawgap wrote: »

As I pointed out in my original post, the quality of service in Halfords is patchy and you've confirmed it - I've had some good experiences in Halfords, I've some poor experiences and some bizarre experiences - frankly if I go into a bike shop looking for wet lube, I don't expect the person serving me to recoil in horror!!

Plus I live in Dublin, but you seem to be suggesting I need to go to Limerick to get a good service. It's a 300 mile round trip to Limerick for me, but only 100 mile one to Newry. I'm sure you do provide a quality service, but when I go to get my Boardman (under the bike to work scheme) I'll be heading North - it's a bit of a no brainer, even for me.

To be honest I'd do the very same with sterling as it is!

Jawgap

jollylee wrote: »

I agree 100% but its the way the system works. If your looking for a boardman its what you have to deal with. All supervisors are trained well so if your worried just insist that the bike specialist builds the bike.

Good tip - thanks.

I think Halfords and LBSs have their strong and weak points.

Halfords make decent bikes affordable, even if there is occasionally a question mark over their assemblage; they competitively price parts and other stuff, but the quality of clothing and some accessories is questionable.

LBSs charge an arm and a leg for top notch bikes and provide great service and good quality, but are significanly pricier.

You pays your money and takes your choice, I suppose.

scottreynolds

Talking about hit and miss.

All LBS are the same some are good some are bad. If your going high end then you have to makwe sure that you have someone that can service your bike properly. You don't have to buy the bike from the same shop its serviced at. Very rarely will you get a shop that won't service your bike if its bought elsewhere and there's no difference in price for the servicing. Often a LBS will try to convince you that they will service your bike but honestly generally the first service is free and this shouldn't ever cost more than E30.

Anyway back to my hit and miss.... I was in the cycle super store the other day and asked a guy for some bib shorts. He said they didn't stock that brand which I found funny.

stuf

Just to add that if you or a friend has AXA insurance then you can get 15% off in Halfords with the AXA plus card which I think you can use in the north as well - huge saving if you're buying a higher end bike.

TinyExplosions

stuf wrote: »

Just to add that if you or a friend has AXA insurance then you can get 15% off in Halfords with the AXA plus card which I think you can use in the north as well - huge saving if you're buying a higher end bike.

Or if he works in IBM iirc!

Jawgap

scottreynolds wrote: »

Talking about hit and miss.

All LBS are the same some are good some are bad. If your going high end then you have to makwe sure that you have someone that can service your bike properly. You don't have to buy the bike from the same shop its serviced at. Very rarely will you get a shop that won't service your bike if its bought elsewhere and there's no difference in price for the servicing. Often a LBS will try to convince you that they will service your bike but honestly generally the first service is free and this shouldn't ever cost more than E30.

Anyway back to my hit and miss.... I was in the cycle super store the other day and asked a guy for some bib shorts. He said they didn't stock that brand which I found funny.

A fairly significant bike shop on the quays won't work on your bike if they didn't sell it to you.

I asked and was rebuffed - which fairly narked because of the amount of stuff I've bought there over the years. Anyway, I don't go near them now for anything.

I think it's a bit short-sighted of LBSs to do that - surely they build up a relationship with potential future buyers of of bikes if they work on their existing bikes? I found it a bit bizarre.

scottreynolds

Jawgap wrote: »

A fairly significant bike shop on the quays won't work on your bike if they didn't sell it to you.

I know the one your are reffering to.... . Fortunately they are the exception rather than the rule.

Jawgap

scottreynolds wrote: »

I know the one your are reffering to.... . Fortunately they are the exception rather than the rule.

I was looking for an excuse to give up going in there - found the rarified atmosphere quite stifling!!!

Not every cyclist wants to blow a significant four figures on a bike that might blow away in a gust of wind.

Great bikes - and great service if you're the right type of person!!

But in fairness, most other LBSs (and Halfords) are top - they've put up with plenty of my stupid questions over the years!!!