halfords road bikes_ any good?

tomoliver

hi all

i've got an old trek road bike that im currently using but i'm wondering if the boardmans that halfords have are any good

i dont do big mileage but looking at getting a second bike


budget is only about 500-600 or should i try and go used?

many thanks

magicbastarder

first question is whether you can use the cycle to work scheme - if not, it's well worth considering the secondhand market.

tomoliver

magicbastarder wrote: »

first question is whether you can use the cycle to work scheme - if not, it's well worth considering the secondhand market.

thanks

no im self employed


ill prob take a look at second hand


are the boardman bikes light? ,i'm not awful concerned bout the specs tbh for the small mileage id be doing , about 50k a week

fat bloke

Boardman bikes are great. They're comparable with any manufacturer at a given price point.

But go used for 600 quid and get yourself something really good

Weight on a Boardman is usually around 10kg so same as many others lower end ranges.

I've been on a neighbours Boardman SLR 8.8 (sora groupset) for the last few days while I wait for a a few bits to arrive for my own bike. I miss my disc breaks and the gaps between gears was jarring at first as I'm used to 11 speed not 9, though to be honest it's a nice bike but they go for 660 new at the moment and my neighbour paid 840 for it last year before they got reduced, you could do so much better for that money second hand.

magicbastarder

re the gappiness - i know it's not your bike and it doesn't help the OP, but you can get a 14-25 9 speed cassette, maybe not the best option if you live in a hilly area.

absolutegroove

tomoliver wrote: »

thanks

no im self employed


ill prob take a look at second hand


are the boardman bikes light? ,i'm not awful concerned bout the specs tbh for the small mileage id be doing , about 50k a week

You can claim the VAT back if you are self-employed.

secman

absolutegroove wrote: »

You can claim the VAT back if you are self-employed.

On what basis ?
Its Not a wholly and necessarily incurred business expense !

Cee-Jay-Cee

€600 will get you a €1200 (when new) 2 or 3 yr old bike and would be your best option.

Quickpip

I have had a few bikes out of Halfords. The Boardman team carbon was actually quite a nice bike. Very good value. Unfortunately the only downside was the bikes werent put together that well at the store itself. This mightnt be the case at every branch either.
I

absolutegroove

secman wrote: »

On what basis ?
Its Not a wholly and necessarily incurred business expense !

If you use the bike to get to work and home from work then it is.

Quote from a website (can’t name it):

I’m a sole trader/company owner, can I use this scheme?

Only employees who pay PAYE PRSI can use this scheme, but if you are a company director and pay yourself from a business account you can avail of the scheme. If you are self-employed, and using the bike as part of your business and pay VAT, you can reclaim the paid VAT on the bicycle yourself.

Seaswimmer

Quickpip wrote: »

I have had a few bikes out of Halfords. The Boardman team carbon was actually quite a nice bike. Very good value. Unfortunately the only downside was the bikes werent put together that well at the store itself. This mightnt be the case at every branch either.
I

Slightly off topic but having taken redundancy/early retirement last year I applied for a job in the bike department in Halfords for 16 hours a week. Just to do something different. Initially it would be helping customers, sales etc and after 3 months you could do a course to let you assemble bikes and do basic servicing.
I have been around bikes all my life, have serviced my own and built a few over the years and also toured/commuted extensively. Was interviewed for nearly and hour and they told me my product knowledge was excellent.
However I never got the job and was told there were candidates with more experience and skills. I recently visited the particular branch again and was "helped" by someone with zero bicycle knowledge. So I really have no idea why they don't employ people with at least a basic knowledge of bikes and cycling.

kingoffifa

hi - i have a few halfords bikes - all boardmans. grand bikes for the money.
in previous years models tended to be better spec bikes than other well known brands.

the newer models are not quite the deals that older models were when boardman first hit the scene.

i think their focus is more off road bikes now, where they seem to give good bargains.

from reading the comments on the carrera models at halfords they seem to also have stepped down a notch to previous versions.

the 2 cheap bikes on chainreactioncycles made by vitus seem to have good reports. i'd spend the few extra shilling on the shimano sora groupset. its a lot stronger looking than the claris option
bike here - https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-razor-vr-road-bike-2018/rp-prod159733

i guess you might be apprehensive about going second hand due to not knowing too much about gears and wheels and all that nonsense. so if you are looking second hand then maybe ask someone who knows more to come with you.

at 600 quid i'd expect fairly new shimano 105 gearing and decent basic wheels . older models bike you should get ultegra and decent basic wheels.

Lumen

Seaswimmer wrote: »

So I really have no idea why they don't employ people with at least a basic knowledge of bikes and cycling.

In your case it could well be age discrimination, although you don't know whether that exact person you dealt with got the position you applied for.

Quite often junior management don't like hiring people more qualified than them, makes them look bad.

CramCycle

Lumen wrote: »

In your case it could well be age discrimination, although you don't know whether that exact person you dealt with got the position you applied for.

Quite often junior management don't like hiring people more qualified than them, makes them look bad.

i often hear this (and see it), and have to say I think it is an awfully foolish approach. A good manager hires good people because it makes them look good to have hired good people. A bad manager will hire bad people because they don't realise the benefit of good workers or as you say, are worried they will be shown up, in which case, the business suffers.

It could also well be age discrimination, inadvertently, thinking you won't fit in with the younger workforce or just as likely that you won't stay as the job won't satisfy you.

As for the Halfords bikes, they are good/grand. If you can double check it yourself, all the better but my brother got one off a boardsie a few years ago and I have to say, bang for buck it was a solid bike that has served him well.

plodder

tomoliver wrote: »

budget is only about 500-600 or should i try and go used?

I've been using a Halfords Boardman bought around that price for a few years and been very happy with it. I did notice loose spokes after a couple of weeks, so I would check out build issues like that carefully. I have also found other shops better for maintenance work afterwards.

Quickpip

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Slightly off topic but having taken redundancy/early retirement last year I applied for a job in the bike department in Halfords for 16 hours a week. Just to do something different. Initially it would be helping customers, sales etc and after 3 months you could do a course to let you assemble bikes and do basic servicing.
I have been around bikes all my life, have serviced my own and built a few over the years and also toured/commuted extensively. Was interviewed for nearly and hour and they told me my product knowledge was excellent.
However I never got the job and was told there were candidates with more experience and skills. I recently visited the particular branch again and was "helped" by someone with zero bicycle knowledge. So I really have no idea why they don't employ people with at least a basic knowledge of bikes and cycling.

What an absolute shame. Its there loss to miss out on all that experience/skill you would have brought.