chris boardman bikes in halfords

handsomecake

hi guys.im a complete noob and looking to get into cycling.
im currently injured from football and the doc/physio told me to cycle /swim as much as i want but no more running/football for the forseeable future.
any ways i took a shine to the chris boardman bikes in halfords but the cheapest one is 650 quid.i presume its a s**t bike compared to what all you "pros" have.is 650 quid too steep.
any recommendations.

also im not used to the clip on cycle shoes. are they a must. are you just pissing in the wind without them??

any info appreciated

jinka

Where you in Penny farthing cycles yest?

Good bikes only from halfords.
650e is for the fixed wheel
Cost you a fair bit more for the drop bar with gears.
Cheap for what you get though.

just beware of halfords.
Most of them havent a clue.

handsomecake

jinka wrote: »

Where you in Penny farthing cycles yest?

Good bikes only from halfords.
650e is for the fixed wheel
Cost you a fair bit more for the drop bar with gears.
Cheap for what you get though.

just beware of halfords.
Most of them havent a clue.

penny farthing? is that a shop?

the one i saw today for 650 had gears

Tobyglen

Chris Boardman bikes are renowned for being the best bikes in the busines. great value, just google and you will see how higely they are rated.

penexpers

Tobyglen wrote: »

Chris Boardman bikes are renowned for being the best bikes in the busines. great value, just google and you will see how higely they are rated.

Ah I wouldn't say that they have that reputation - certainly they have a rep for being good value for money. The fact that they are sold in Halfords cheapens the brand a little bit. I know a few people on this forum have bought the Team Carbon Pro and have been very happy with it.

Tobyglen

Sorry, I meant best value for money. The Team Carbon Pro are great bikes!

jinka

Yes its a bike shop,
Some lovely Treks in there.

Was funny,some guy walked in after me asking did he do Boardman bikes. The guy said "I know the name alright but we only do Trek." He then said do they have disc brakes. Answer "no they dont"
The guy thought if it didnt have discs they are not worth buying. Was going to mention Halfords but the bike shop guy had his tool in his hand so decided best not to.

xz

I got the Team road bike on the cycle to work scheme (as my company were only dealing with Halfords through the all for one vouchers). I have to say that I am delighted with it, the SRAM took a little getting used to, but I now prefer it over the DA on my PX.

robs1

i was in halfords myself the other day.them bikes are actually at half price the one i saw was 811 euro with all on gears and the usual.but no clip pedals

jinka

robs1 wrote: »

i was in halfords myself the other day.them bikes are actually at half price the one i saw was 811 euro with all on gears and the usual.but no clip pedals

Are you getting mixed up between the hybrids and racers?

The boardman comp racer has been 811e for ages. I kept waiting for it to be reduced but never was. No way they are half price. If they were Id be camping outside for the carbon one.

JacksonHeightsOwn

robs1 wrote: »

i was in halfords myself the other day.them bikes are actually at half price the one i saw was 811 euro with all on gears and the usual.but no clip pedals

my mate got one 3 weeks ago, the team pro, the one for €811

lovely bike i have to say, my only gripe, and its only from a beginners point of view is that there`s only 2 front gears, and for a newb going up a hill ,this can be pretty tough(as my mate found out last night )

then you have to add on a few bits and bobs, clip pedals, bottle cage, no spares like tubes, pump, saddle bag no clothes, no helmet, no shoes, it all adds up, alot of shop do bike packages now, where you get all the bits, thats clothes and helmets included, shoes etc...

i know cycle superstore do a good deal, but other shops do to ,i just mentioned the superstore as i dealt with them

so in other words, if you`re going to buy the boardman bike, put aside at least another 300-400 euro for extras

petethedrummer

jinka wrote: »

bike shop guy had his tool in his hand

Is this why some people have a low opinion of penny farthing?

Jawgap

I've the Boardman Team Carbon and love it.

Halfords were fine to deal with you just need to pick which shop you get it from - I hear Liffey Valley and Carrickmines are the better ones, although I got mine through Newry.

If you're going to get one, ask for the supervisor to build it.

DJsail

Good advice, Halfords are great value for money but like any other equivalent branded store (e.g. Marks and Sparks Etc.) this has a tendency to cheapen the perception of their stock among the public and the occasional bike snob alike.

Nothing wrong with the boardman and carrera products sold instore and are in fact excellent value but only suffer from being sold through Halfords in the first place. There is already numerous threads and reviews associated with the mechanical skills of some of their staff so if forking out the cash take the advice and insist the supervisor builds your bike! Good luck

petethedrummer

Consistently high reviews for Boardman bikes:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/team-carbon-09-33934
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/comp-08-22946
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/team-carbon-09-33934

Jawgap

DJsail wrote: »

Good advice, Halfords are great value for money but like any other equivalent branded store (e.g. Marks and Sparks Etc.) this has a tendency to cheapen the perception of their stock among the public and the occasional bike snob alike.

Nothing wrong with the boardman and carrera products sold instore and are in fact excellent value but only suffer from being sold through Halfords in the first place. There is already numerous threads and reviews associated with the mechanical skills of some of their staff so if forking out the cash take the advice and insist the supervisor builds your bike! Good luck

some times you don't have to insist!!!

If you pick the right Halfords where the guys actually know their stuff, the supervisor will usually "pull rank" and do the bike anyway. When I brought mine in for it's post-sales check up, the manager of the Bikehut came over and took it and did it on the spot while I went for a coffee!!

The key I've found is to pick the right Halfords!

ednwireland

wonder if thats due to the complaints chris boardman's been getting (expensive bike comes in make sure its done) or just coincidence, theres a thread somewhere on bikeradar where chris posted (probably)

DJsail

Thats good to know, however is this the exception to the rule regarding Halfords bikehut staff?

Can't honestly paint them all with the same brush as know a couple of skilled mechanics but have come across more than a few numties particularly in Blanch and Coolock so would probably either stay and supervise the build myself or insist on the super but then I'm fair paranoid!

Jawgap

DJsail wrote: »

Thats good to know, however is this the exception to the rule regarding Halfords bikehut staff?

Can't honestly paint them all with the same brush as know a couple of skilled mechanics but have come across more than a few numties particularly in Blanch and Coolock so would probably either stay and supervise the build myself or insist on the super but then I'm fair paranoid!

I've been into both those branches and had similar experiences.

Liffey Valley, Carrickmines, Dundalk, Drogheda and Newry were fine and out of that bunch I'd single out Carrickmines and Drogheda as the best.

the other bit of advice might be to talk to whoever is going to build it, if you don't like what you hear, go somewhere else - not only is it your money, it's your neck if something comes off!!

DJsail

Agree with that 100%

Lumen

I was under the impression that the higher end Boardmans were not built up in store.

Jawgap

I think mine would count as a mid-range, but it was built in store. I think I'd prefer that, so at least you can see and talk to the guy who is going to do it and talk to him afterwards about the build.

blorg

Don't know specifically about how they do the Boardmans but AFAIK most bikes are 90% built up by the manufacturer before they go to a shop. They then need the rest done by the shop. Typically in terms of build this is just front wheel attachment, bars and pedals but it can sometimes involve doing the cabling as well. Crucially it is generally down to the shop to do the final fine tuning on gears and brakes and this often seems to be where stuff falls down.

This is based on my experience of buying bikes online in boxes which have not been touched by the online shop selling them.

xz

blorg wrote: »

Don't know specifically about how they do the Boardmans but AFAIK most bikes are 90% built up by the manufacturer before they go to a shop. They then need the rest done by the shop. Typically in terms of build this is just front wheel attachment, bars and pedals but it can sometimes involve doing the cabling as well. Crucially it is generally down to the shop to do the final fine tuning on gears and brakes and this often seems to be where stuff falls down.

This is based on my experience of buying bikes online in boxes which have not been touched by the online shop selling them.

Tis true,I took mine home, still in the box, just a matter of putting front wheel and bars on and pedals and voila!!

theclimber

The best way to buy a bike IMO. In the box. Assembled by you. Then you only have yourself to blame if anything goes wrong!