Halfords shambolic again

xz

So there I was, yesterday, coming up into Redcross, and my left pedal crank came off my (barely 2 month old Boardman), the crank bolt had sheared right off. So back to Halfords I go that afternoon,and lo and behold.....no help, one of the guys even suggested I would have to get a new chainset, before telling me he has a Boardman coming in next week for a crank replacement, and that he would give me the bolt from that. Surely my bike is still under warranty, and they should get the part NEW for me.
Not in the mood for arguing, I rang CSS and left the bike in today for the replacement bolt and a service, not trusting Halfords after the butchery I witnessed on a childs bike .................p.s. I was told at CSS that Halfords bring them great custom for servicing and repairs:mad:

Lumen

xz wrote: »

So there I was, yesterday, coming up into Redcross, and my left pedal crank came off my (barely 2 month old Boardman), the crank bolt had sheared right off

Which Boardman, and which pedals? And do you mean crank, or pedal axle?

xz

Team Boardman, and it was the crank fixing bolt, which sheared

Acoustic

you do know that the boardman bike has nothing to do with chris boardman himself

they pay him to use his name thats it , to sell bikes , it says he went into partnership with halfords which is bulsh1te

there cheap carbon from the far east

xz

mines the aluminium one, and it was not the bike, but the chainset, which is a SRAM Rival

Lumen

Acoustic wrote: »

you do know that the boardman bike has nothing to do with chris boardman himself

they pay him to use his name thats it , to sell bikes , it says he went into partnership with halfords which is bulsh1te

there cheap carbon from the far east

Give it a rest, please.

TheJones

Halfords, Halfords, Halfords, when will they start applying psychometric testing to their bike hut butchers, might save them thousands in warranty claims?

P.S. Practically all carbon is now baked in the far east! There ain't anything wrong with the boardman bikes just the r*tards completing the final assembly, a task in which a dog with a mallet up his arse could acomplish with greater dexterity and a finer result.


Forgive the tone but I just hate HALFORDS!!!!!!!:mad:

Lumen

xz wrote: »

mines the aluminium one, and it was not the bike, but the chainset, which is a SRAM Rival

Blame Canada!

It must be your epic leg power.

Acoustic

Lumen wrote: »

Give it a rest, please.

ok dont cry

niceonetom

Acoustic wrote: »

you do know that the boardman bike has nothing to do with chris boardman himself

Well Chris Boardman was in charge of the tech stuff for Team GB cycling and I seriously doubt he would put his name on crap. Do you think he would?

Can you point to any bad review of the boardman bikes? Or is it possible that you are talking out of your arse? again.

Rob Hales won the British national championships on a carbon boardman, but they're still crap bikes.. right?

Do you think that Eddy Merckx is personally making these in his garage? Or that Francesco Moser makes these in his spare time? Ex-pros have been selling their name to frame builders ever since there have been ex-pros. You can ride an pantani, an ulrich, a lemonde, etc etc.

Acoustic wrote: »

they're[/B] cheap carbon from the far east

Come on. Giant, specialized, colnago, felt... half the bikes in the peloton are made in the far east - because they're good at it.

A sheared bolt happens and should be easy to fix so shame on halfords, but acoustic, your constant carping about bikes you don't like is getting really tedious.

Acoustic

niceonetom wrote: »

Well Chris Boardman was in charge of the tech stuff for Team GB cycling and I seriously doubt he would put his name on crap. Do you think he would?

Can you point to any bad review of the boardman bikes? Or is it possible that you are talking out of your arse? again.

Rob Hales won the British national championships on a carbon boardman, but they're still crap bikes.. right?

Do you think that Eddy Merckx is personally making these in his garage? Or that Francesco Moser makes these in his spare time? Ex-pros have been selling their name to frame builders ever since there have been ex-pros. You can ride an pantani, an ulrich, a lemonde, etc etc.




Come on. Giant, specialized, colnago, felt... half the bikes in the peloton are made in the far east - because they're good at it.

A sheared bolt happens and should be easy to fix so shame on halfords, but acoustic, your constant carping about bikes you don't like is getting really tedious.

couldnt give 2 hoots what you think mate

1 word

money

its all about money to these

TheJones

Going out on a limb here but Money is generally accepted as a payment for goods and/or services, Bike manufacturer produce goods such as for example a bicycle which in turn is bought by customer using money.

Everyones a winner!:rolleyes:

Acoustic

To put this right

my only gripe is with these companys advertisng bikes when there not even bike companys , lidl is a fecking food store , halfords was primarily a car store

im not on here trying to drum up business for my dads business , he doesnt need it being a wholesaler

just people just assume because its a good price it has to be a good bike , you dont get after-care in these places , problems getting warranty sorted , wrong sizing etc , plus ud get way better looked after in ur lbs

thats all im gonna say about it ok , not entering into a debate , just experiences ive had with people being treated badly in these places

Captain Havoc

Acoustic wrote: »

couldnt give 2 hoots what you think mate

1 word

money

its all about money to these

I don't have a particular love of sofas but that's what I sell, infact what I'm qualified as is a hotel manager. I can get the same money selling furniture as I can being a Food & Beverage manager but with better hours. It is all about the money and if a green grocer or an undertaker wants to give me a good deal on a bike then I'll buy it. When I need a repair the LBS will still gladly take my money.

blorg

@Acoustic- don't know why I am even replying to you but the statement that Boardman has "nothing to do" with Chris Boardman is utter bullshít... Boardman has even addressed some of the assembly issues himself, he is clearly very much involved in the company (which is independent of Halfords incidentally.)

You clearly have an agenda (with your dad owning a bike shop) and take any opportunity to push misinformation, it is not helpful on a forum like this... It has got to the point frankly that I would automatically question anything you post here...

As for the place of manufacture, what about Bianchi, Cervelo, Specialized, Orbea, Pinarello, Scott - all made in Asia. These are companies where ALL their carbon is coming from Asia, plenty of other brands including Trek and Colnago have a few carbon frames made there. I can only presume your dad's shop only stocks Time...

Are Boardman Bikes owned by Halfords?

No. We are an entirely independent limited company. We've signed an exclusive deal with Halfords to sell this particular range of Boardman bikes in the UK and ROI through their Bikehut at Halfords stores. ...

Towards the end of 2004, Chris Boardman MBE and Alan Ingarfield (a former UK Ironman record holder) came together - and with their shared ambition, energy and vision created Boardman - a performance based British bike brand. ...

Chris is involved from the start through to completion of every project - with the ultimate sign-off.

niceonetom

If only you were Dave Gorman then Mr Boardman would have come and serviced your bike personally:

lescol

A few links:- http://www.halfordscompany.com/hal/ah/history/ they've been selling bikes for quite some time it seems!
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/30467/Halford-tops-a-million-a-year
They've sold quite a lot of bikes for a "car store"
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/ seem to recieve a lot of accolades for such a cheap frame

Acoustic

blorg wrote: »

@Acoustic- don't know why I am even replying to you but the statement that Boardman has "nothing to do" with Chris Boardman is utter bullshít... Boardman has even addressed some of the assembly issues himself, he is clearly very much involved in the company (which is independent of Halfords incidentally.)

You clearly have an agenda (with your dad owning a bike shop) and take any opportunity to push misinformation, it is not helpful on a forum like this... It has got to the point frankly that I would automatically question anything you post here...

As for the place of manufacture, what about Bianchi, Cervelo, Specialized, Orbea, Pinarello, Scott - all made in Asia. These are companies where ALL their carbon is coming from Asia, plenty of other brands including Trek and Colnago have a few carbon frames made there. I can only presume your dad's shop only stocks Time...

more bs

what would i have to gain ??? as i said before i dont give 2 hoots what people think of me on here

im simply voicing my opinion , this is after all what an internet forum is all about isnt it

do i ask people on here to take what i say as gospel ??? no and if they did then their muppets , you do your own research for your own piece of mind.

anybody who thinks everything on here is 100% truth is mad

i have no agenda at all my friend , none whatsoever and if you want to believe i have , then thats fine thats your parogative , i simple dont care

im voicing my experience from dealing with retail people and their experiences with halfords,lidls,aldi etc and have gotten shafted to put it kindly , i hear it alot and why not try make people aware of it ??? might sound tedious granted , but if i can help somebody from getting shafted in the end i'd gladly take the flak

Lumen

niceonetom wrote: »

If only you were Dave Gorman then Mr Boardman would have come and serviced your bike personally

I'm only going to ask this once.

Please don't post links to pictures of Chris Boardman on a hybrid. He was my first cycling hero.

That's all. I'm calm now.

DirkVoodoo

Acoustic wrote: »

my only gripe is with these companys advertisng bikes when there not even bike companys , lidl is a fecking food store , halfords was primarily a car store

Did I mention my Dad owns a bike shop?

Acoustic wrote: »

im not on here trying to drum up business for my dads business , he doesnt need it being a wholesaler

Did I mention my dad owns a bike shop?

Acoustic wrote: »

just people just assume because its a good price it has to be a good bike , you dont get after-care in these places , problems getting warranty sorted , wrong sizing etc , plus ud get way better looked after in ur lbs

Did I mention my dad owns a bike shop?

Really, it is getting rather repetitive. You complain about online retailers, why? Because we are not supporting our local retailers. So far, slane cycles, CRC, wiggle and PBK have treated me pretty well, which is more than I can say for a lot of bike shops I have been in. My next big purchase will probably be a 50/50 split between Slane and WWC because I like them and they actually have decent prices.

Furthermore, I think that unless you can actually back up any claim you make, you should really not try and scare people away. If someone says "Hi, I'm looking at a Boardman bike, are they any good?", either show them proof it is (millions of reviews, I like Bikeradar's one!) or proof it ain't. No more "Ah sure Halfords is an auto shop mate, wouldn't know one bleedin' end of a bike from the other. We've had 15 bikes in the shop for the last 3 months giving no end of trouble!" (Sorry, but you remind me of one of those cockney traders, thus the accent).

Your entitled to your opinion of course, but I do agree with the others that you seem to have it in for the likes of Halfords and Lidl. I bought a bike from Halfords yonks ago and I agree that they are not the most skilled mechanics, but surely that can't be used to fault the bikes?

Acoustic

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Did I mention my Dad owns a bike shop?



Did I mention my dad owns a bike shop?



Did I mention my dad owns a bike shop?

Really, it is getting rather repetitive. You complain about online retailers, why? Because we are not supporting our local retailers. So far, slane cycles, CRC, wiggle and PBK have treated me pretty well, which is more than I can say for a lot of bike shops I have been in. My next big purchase will probably be a 50/50 split between Slane and WWC because I like them and they actually have decent prices.

Furthermore, I think that unless you can actually back up any claim you make, you should really not try and scare people away. If someone says "Hi, I'm looking at a Boardman bike, are they any good?", either show them proof it is (millions of reviews, I like Bikeradar's one!) or proof it ain't. No more "Ah sure Halfords is an auto shop mate, wouldn't know one bleedin' end of a bike from the other. We've had 15 bikes in the shop for the last 3 months giving no end of trouble!" (Sorry, but you remind me of one of those cockney traders, thus the accent).

Your entitled to your opinion of course, but I do agree with the others that you seem to have it in for the likes of Halfords and Lidl. I bought a bike from Halfords yonks ago and I agree that they are not the most skilled mechanics, but surely that can't be used to fault the bikes?

pretty sad how old are you ??

DirkVoodoo

Acoustic wrote: »

pretty sad how old are you ??

16 and 2/3s!

Acoustic

yeah but you were born on a leap year so your 4

sounds about right

JacksonHeightsOwn

im not really getting involved in the argument

BUT

my mate bought the boardman bike, no probs so far, but have a guess how they "sized" him up for the bike? yep, stand beside it, and adjust the saddle to hip height,

thats all im saying

zzzzzzzz

Re: actoustic and your problem with asian carbon - doesn't your dad's shop sell carbon frames from taiwan?

Karbona or something?

ROK ON

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

Re: actoustic and your problem with asian carbon - doesn't your dad's shop sell carbon frames from taiwan?

Karbona or something?

His dad sells Paganini, but thats ok, as they are made in Italy.
Just like FIAT.

Hungrycol

Lumen wrote: »

I'm only going to ask this once.

Please don't post links to pictures of Chris Boardman on a hybrid. He was my first cycling hero.

That's all. I'm calm now.

It's Ok, he's nicking the bottle cage or screwing up the front derailleur while it's owner has nipped to the loo. Chris's Lotus bike it just out of picture.

davgtrek

acoustic. you're doing the image of the LBS even more harm with your cliched " sure what would a car shop know about bikes" comments.

you are also lucky enough a mod hasn't stepped in on ya for some of your insults.

i would love to know what brands your shop sells. . . . i assume its either pinarello or colnago as you have quite a low opinion on some of the cheaper/inferior brands mentioned on the forum.

regardless, your feedback on these forums is exactly! and i mean exactly the reason a lot of people buy online having visited the LBS previously.

TheJones

Play nice everyone afterall, 'opinions are like ars*holes, everyone has one!:)

Jip

Lumen wrote: »

Please don't post links to pictures of Chris Boardman on a hybrid.

It's not a hybrid, it's a flat bar racing bike. Well that's what I tell people mine is anyway.

FrankGrimes

On the Politics forum when someone makes a wild statement or accusation the onus is on them to provide evidence supporting the claim. Failure to do so leads to a warning from the mods and repeated offences that are deemed to be pursuing an agenda lead to a ban.

Acoustic's accusation that Chris Boardman has nothing to do with the Halfords bikes is entirely without foundation and in my view is an attempt to delibarately spread misinformation. People with a conflict of interest are rarely able to identify it themselves as the natural reaction is to rationalise one's behaviour in a manner that justifies it as opposed to acknowledging the influence of their vested interest.

Yep, on those grounds I feel clicking the Report Post button merits a clicking in this case. If it saves one person from dropping €1000 on that Paganini 'deal', it'll be worth it.

ednwireland

+1
and acoustic should buy advertising on boards if he wants to pimp his dads shop

kona

Jesus, the handbags are out:p:p

I love halfords, the mere mention of it here causes ****ing mayhem:D:D

OP, perhaps you were advized that a new chainset(or crank perhaps?) was needed as the ISIS splines on the cranks tend to be a bit buttery, and get ****ed when ridden loose. Did you not ask to speak to a manager as a sheared bolt Id imagine is definate warranty. Also You do feel the crank coming off, at which point you should stop cycling the bike and get off.

But then again Id tend to believe you when the said youve to buy a new chainset:D, gob****es.

Oh and on the Boardman debate.... Boardman signed a 10year deal with halfords to sell the bike. They are outselling Trek and Specilized in the UK in their respective markets. Halfords or the extremely irritating Halfrauds:rolleyes: , have a heap of stores well over 400, so hey presto you have 400 bikeshops carrying your brand.
Also AFAIK only certain stores get the boardman range to keep it exclusive and to keep service top notch.
If you believe halfords and chris boardman are not out to make €€€€ and£££ then you are quite stupid tbh. Shops are there to make money, if you begrudge a company a profit then I hear Oxfam have some really nice Power bikes second hand.

So instead of bitching here about it, how about you complain to halfords customer service?? to the store manager?

Vélo

Halfords are brilliant - there I said it.


I went to Halfords in Blanchardstown at the weekend to buy something for cleaning my chain. While I was there I saw a buff and decided to get it as I lost my other one. When I went to the counter to pay, the girl at the cash register couldn't find the bar-code to scan it. So she just put it in the bag and said 8.99 and that was just for the chain degreaser!!

Brilliant shop!!!

With service like that I'll buy more stuff there.:D

kona

Vélo wrote: »

Halfords are brilliant - there I said it.


I went to Halfords in Blanchardstown at the weekend to buy something for cleaning my chain. While I was there I saw a buff and decided to get it as I lost my other one. When I went to the counter to pay, the girl at the cash register couldn't find the bar-code to scan it. So she just put it in the bag and said 8.99 and that was just for the chain degreaser!!

Brilliant shop!!!

With service like that I'll buy more stuff there.:D

wonder if that works with bikes?:D

I think ill have 5 of those:p

Vélo

kona wrote: »

wonder if that works with bikes?:D

I think ill have 5 of those:p

I was actually a little paranoid leaving the shop but quickly realised it wasn't exactly my fault and could have said I thought I paid for it. So was happy to go on my merry way.


Brilliant shop!!

kona

Vélo wrote: »

I was actually a little paranoid leaving the shop but quickly realised it wasn't exactly my fault and could have said I thought I paid for it. So was happy to go on my merry way.


Brilliant shop!!

you should have gotten another buff:pac:....and another;)

Seriously I cant believe a cashier can be so stupid. I wonder how often she has a brainfart like that:D

LordSutch

I dunno what we ever did before Halfords arrived, indeed I don't know what we did before all the UK chain stroes arrived, from Halfords to Tesco & everything else in between, including Debenhams, Marks & Sparks, Mothercare, Boots, and all the rest ............

I am sure we could all pick holes in any of the above stroes, and I'm sure we might even find fault with some of the service provided from Dunnes or Penny's too. I love Halfords for everything they sell, from Bike spares/ tyres/ helmets, to baby car seats > to half price tents, to my new car bettery which was 1/3 cheaper than my local garage, and one of the guys came out of the shop & fitted it for free!

kona

Camelot wrote: »

I dunno what we ever did before Halfords arrived, indeed I don't know what we did before all the UK chain stroes arrived, from Halfords to Tesco & everything else in between, including Debenhams, Marks & Sparks, Mothercare, Boots, and all the rest ............

I am sure we could all pick holes in any of the above stroes, and I'm sure we might even find fault with some of the service provided from Dunnes or Penny's too. I love Halfords for everything they sell, from Bike spares/ tyres/ helmets, to baby car seats > to half price tents, to my new car bettery which was 1/3 cheaper than my local garage, and one of the guys came out of the shop & fitted it for free!

But everybody likes to bash halfords, It doesnt matter if they provide good service, its the crap service were after:D

Get with the programme:p

Ha I kid, I agree with ya, they can be great at times, Ive got some rediculously cheap stuff in there.

rebel.ranter

Halfords is convenient & stocks a lot of stuff that were never readily available or displayed in other shops before Halfords came along. Yes they employ young fellas that don't have all the skills & knowledge that perhaps they could.

Their prices are higher than other places but you'd have to acknowledge that they probably pay premium rentals for convenient locations (parking, etc.) However it should also be acknowledged that they often have sales or discounts on items regularly too (as mentioned above).
I like purchasing stuff on Chain Reaction as they have excellent discounts on other retailers but there is no substitute for being able to physicaly see the product before buying, Halfords definitely has the edge over most LBS here. They may not always have the top of the range items but is that really their target market?

A couple of points:

• I also like the motoring section for similar reasons. However they have been selling bicycles since 1902 so you hardly call them "Johnny come lately" entrants into bicycle sales!
• It is a highly successful company worth about €380 million so it must be doing something right.
• With large numbers of customers it is inevitable that the numbers of complaints would be more visible on forums like this.
• They were pioneers in initiating & orcestrating the "cycle to work" scheme in the UK which we copied over here, yes it was profit driven but consumers also benefitted

LordSutch

A a feel good story from Halfords

Last year I bought a cycle helmet in Halfords 'Carrickmines' for only €25 (thanks to a GBP/Euro mix up on the label). I was then told at the check out that I was lucky, and that it should really have cost me about €39

Got a nice 'Joe Blow' bicycle pump there recently too . . .

Jawgap

I really like my Baordman and doubt I'd have carbon under my arse if it wasn't for Halfords.

Service is patchy, but overall I'm quite happy with the bike and the service received.

I was measured by the guy in Halfords before the bike was set up - then took it for a couple of turns around the car park before he made some final adjustments. It's post sales servicing was also pretty good.

I'm sure plenty who go to Halfords have had worse or maybe even better experiences.

Acoustic wrote: »

To put this right

my only gripe is with these companys advertisng bikes when there not even bike companys , lidl is a fecking food store , halfords was primarily a car store........

Actually, Halfords started as a bike shop..........

Quigs Snr

I think we might be a little harsh on Acoustic here lads... Ok, he doesn't like Lidl or Halfords, perhaps even to an irrational level, but then again I personally begin to froth at the mouth if my LBS even suggests putting a BBB part on any of my bikes. I know they are perfectly fine for what they do, but my dislike of the brand goes beyond any logical reasoning, nothing caused it. I just disliked their parts from the start even though I put them on other peoples bikes and they never have a problem with them. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone and all of that eh ? My own personal bugbears are the likes of Carerra, Raleigh etc.... former greats whose name has been bought and put onto a lot of far from inspiring machines (albeit perfectly functional)

The Paganini doesn't compare to say the FOCUS for the same cash but its not to say it's a bad buy. We are all internet savvy buyers here, but to the average guy on the street its an average bricks and mortar price. Wouldn't go for it myself, but I have seen worse cost more.... that being said, with some of the treks, giants and specalizeds coming in cheaper in similar trim, there is a hint of bike scheme pricing there !

kona

Quigs Snr wrote: »

My own personal bugbears are the likes of Carerra, Raleigh etc.... former greats whose name has been bought and put onto a lot of far from inspiring machines (albeit perfectly functional)

Wasnt there a big hullaballoo over carrera a few years ago. Halfords were sued for using the name or something like that, but they reached a deal on the basis that nobody in their right mind would think youd get a genuine carrera racer for e300?. well it was somthing along those lines AFAIK.

Raleigh? well, less said the better. Pure ****e. Although Ive 3 old raleighs from the Nottingham days:)

bcmf

Jaysus I'd to see yis if Decathalon ever came here.

tunney

bcmf wrote: »

Jaysus I'd to see yis if Decathalon ever came here.

some of their stuff is great, alot is sh!te, its just a matter of knowing what you can buy in these places and what you can't.

penexpers

Quigs Snr wrote: »

BBB part on any of my bikes. I know they are perfectly fine for what they do,

Heh ironically (and correct me if I am wrong), but one of the brands that Acoustic's dad distributes for is BBB.

bcmf

tunney wrote: »

some of their stuff is great, alot is sh!te, its just a matter of knowing what you can buy in these places and what you can't.

I agree with ya Tunney. I love just walking around the place.Its got everything I believe at this stage they are even offering to pay Rob Fowls ferry fare to get him back into the shop

victorcarrera

xz wrote: »

my left pedal crank came off my (barely 2 month old Boardman), the crank bolt had sheared right off.

From my experience there is only one reason this occurred. Insufficient torque applied to crank bolts.
So do Halfords or Boardman build these bikes?
Apart from the quality of service aspect, surely H&S and public liability insurance providers would require bike builders/mechanics to be competent and qualified.
This should not happen, because the torque settings, if not printed on the cranks, are given on the assembly instructions.
A loose crank may not cause an accident but I would be concerned that critical components such as the handlebars, stem and headset were assembled by the same person/workshop.

kona

victorcarrera wrote: »

From my experience there is only one reason this occurred. Insufficient torque applied to crank bolts.
So do Halfords or Boardman build these bikes?
Apart from the quality of service aspect, surely H&S and public liability insurance providers would require bike builders/mechanics to be competent and qualified.
This should not happen, because the torque settings, if not printed on the cranks, are given on the assembly instructions.
A loose crank may not cause an accident but I would be concerned that critical components such as the handlebars, stem and headset were assembled by the same person/workshop.

The majority of cycle mechanics in Ireland have absoloutley no qualification or proper training. Its all just practice and picking up as you go.

The crank bolt sheared apparantly, as each bike needs a inspection before leaving, its a Halfords Issue not a Boardman one.
In this case there are plenty of other reasons apart from insufficient torque, besides, anybody who works on a car for example knows that stuff needs to be re-torqued, especially a part like a crank bolt.
Sure when you remove the wheel on a car, you have to re torque the nuts after X amount of miles, and youd be suprised how much they loosen.

TheJones

Its great how a thread associated with Halfords can cause such madness but what joy. As for the parts, there's nothing wrong with BBB, in fact its comparible to generic prescription drugs in that it solves the malady at a far cheaper rate with negligible differences in the final result.

Scrape off the brand name if your snobbish about the label but doubt any bicycle part was designed by artisans, manufactured by fairies and washed with unicorn tears before being supplied!

As for Halfords, yeah we all hate the place but that's mostly due to the pre-pubescent dropouts working under the fanciful title of mechanic who try and fob your warranty claim off becuse it might involve some light paperwork and not because of the shop itself. In general the bike hut managers I've chatted to are usually switched on and helpful but the junior staff arriving to work with stabilisers should be avoided like the plauge!

As stated earlier they usually have a good selection in all departments and when you know what you need why not simply go where you know its available and get it?