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For a while, you could buy Boardman's 'elite' range from independent bike shops, www.thebikefactory.co.uk in Chester to name one. They now no longer sell them as Halfords brought them all back into an exclusivity deal.
Don't forget, Halfords now owns the Boardman bikes brand.
Don't forget, Halfords now owns the Boardman bikes brand.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Delving into the brand image a bit deeper, the ordinary Boardman bikes are generally well thought of at their price points.
In that respect, Boardman is doing well.
What they may never be able to do is convince cyclists they are also capable of being a premium brand.
Boardman is not alone in that.
Ford has made some excellent luxury cars over the years, but they never sold that well because they were still only a Ford, a brickies' motor as they used to be called.
In that respect, Boardman is doing well.
What they may never be able to do is convince cyclists they are also capable of being a premium brand.
Boardman is not alone in that.
Ford has made some excellent luxury cars over the years, but they never sold that well because they were still only a Ford, a brickies' motor as they used to be called.
In some ways, Boardman is stuck in the 'Skoda' brand image, those in the know will buy because they know materially, they're getting a lot of bike for the money. But there will be others who can't get over the badge and buy the Audi/VW instead, and pay more for the same or less.
I'd buy a Boardman Elite bike, they're really nice, plus I honestly just love Chris
🤷♂️
I'd buy a Boardman Elite bike, they're really nice, plus I honestly just love Chris
🤷♂️
Moodyman
Legendary Member
Indeed. Lincoln cars are very good, but image conscious buyers in the US lean towards premium German marques.
Similarly, I've heard many people dismiss Lexus as a "posh Toyota" without considering the impeccable engineering and peerless attention to detail.
Hover Fly
He, him, his
- Location
- Besides the lake, beneath the trees
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
Where is Alan Partridge, and what have you done with him?
Colin Grigson
Bass guitarist - Bad News
- Location
- Slovakia
I remember him saying ‘it’s not a brown Toyota, it’s a coffee coloured Lexus’
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
A premium range from a value (not budget) brand did seem to be an uneasy fit. A bit like smart casual - You can't really be both at the same time.
Ta - owning an older Boardman I always have a passing interest in their newer gear, not that I'd really entertain the idea of another. Not too sold on the direction they're heading in though and am somewhat perplexed by the £1k ltd Ed. SLR; £100 cheaper than the outgoing model yet it has the better 105 groupset over the outgoing model's Tiagra. I'm sorry to see that they've moved back to a less complete groupset; continuing to reject the excellent Shimano calipers in favour of cheapo and vastly inferior Tektro alternatives and taking a backwards step away from the Tiagra crankset on the outgoing model; once more favouring a cheapie FSA item instead.
Not everyone might feel the same but tbh I'd much rather have full Tiagra than partial 105 supplemented with sub-par, unmatched components to hit the price point.
I agree with what everyone else has said about the brand; perhaps when it began as an independent marque sold through other outlets besides Halfords it had a bit more cache (as afforded by the Boardman name) however now it's synonymous with this large chain store and its sketchy rep for service / integrity.
I've generally been very happy with my Boardman, although it bore the hallmarks of having been assembled by imbeciles and was purchased on its rep as an excellent entry-level bike; where brand-perception was a minimal concern. Unfortunately it seems that badge-snobbery drives many road cycling sales and tbh I think anything from an in-house brand costing over a grand is going to be a hard sell in the face of (rightly or wrongly) more respected / prestigeous names.
I also have my concerns about product quality now Halfords are controlling the purse strings, which can be archived with existing worries about the quality / consistency of their staff.
I guess Halfords have crunched the numbers and found the higher-end models non-viable; which to an extent is a shame if hardly unsurprising.
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I've had a Subway, Carerra and now Boardman as my daily commuter. I really like their current range of bikes. Am itching to replace my current nearly decade old Trek road bike, but am not paying £4k for a 2021 Emonda which looks and weighs as much as my 2011 Madone (just under 8kg) but just with disc brakes.
The £1k Boardman with 105 groupset, aero carbon frame and 9kg even with cheapo wheels is so much better value for money.
Am patiently waiting to see if Boardman put the Fazua motor on my 8.9e hyb into a carbon frame but the issue will be price point. The Trek version is the Domane ebike at £4k, my 8.9e was £1.8k, so lets say £3k. But once you get to paying £3k for a pedal bike, paying another £1k to get a Trek name on the frameset instead of Boardman becomes a no brainer, and actually if Boardman did charge £3k for a Fauza equipped carbon road bike it would make the £4k Trek want for a Domane eBike look 'cheap', given the ISO flex frame + Trek branded bits you get extra.....
Its very hard for Boardman to compete at price points of £2k+, as at that price point Boardman bikes losses their USP, good value for money, as no £2k pedal bike is good value for money.
Certainly for me, if am going to spend upto £4k to replace my road bike as much as I like Halford bikes, its very hard to go from a Trek bike to a Halfords bike whilst paying what is frankly a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a pedal bike.
The £1k Boardman with 105 groupset, aero carbon frame and 9kg even with cheapo wheels is so much better value for money.
Am patiently waiting to see if Boardman put the Fazua motor on my 8.9e hyb into a carbon frame but the issue will be price point. The Trek version is the Domane ebike at £4k, my 8.9e was £1.8k, so lets say £3k. But once you get to paying £3k for a pedal bike, paying another £1k to get a Trek name on the frameset instead of Boardman becomes a no brainer, and actually if Boardman did charge £3k for a Fauza equipped carbon road bike it would make the £4k Trek want for a Domane eBike look 'cheap', given the ISO flex frame + Trek branded bits you get extra.....
Its very hard for Boardman to compete at price points of £2k+, as at that price point Boardman bikes losses their USP, good value for money, as no £2k pedal bike is good value for money.
Certainly for me, if am going to spend upto £4k to replace my road bike as much as I like Halford bikes, its very hard to go from a Trek bike to a Halfords bike whilst paying what is frankly a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a pedal bike.
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Grant Fondo
Legendary Member
- Location
- Cheshire
Did you accidentally type the 'k'?
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I've got one, an SLR 8.9 carbon. It's a good bike, a lot of bike for the money if you judge that by the spec. Nevertheless, "chrome don't get you home" as motorcyclists say, and while the great paper spec makes it a good bike, it's not an excellent one. My cheaper - and 5 years older Felt - is a much better rider and performer for less money.In some ways, Boardman is stuck in the 'Skoda' brand image, those in the know will buy because they know materially, they're getting a lot of bike for the money. But there will be others who can't get over the badge and buy the Audi/VW instead, and pay more for the same or less.
I'd buy a Boardman Elite bike, they're really nice, plus I honestly just love Chris
And that's where they are. Most riders can't see past the bling, and while they have done some decent bikes (mainly their road bikes - some of their MTBs have been truly appalling, and in recent years at that) they have yet to make a truly excellent one that their price point, something which Giant, Spesh, Trek and Felt are masters at. Defy, Allez, F series all show that simply lobbing a highish spec at a bike is not what it takes to make an excellent machine - it takes more than simply that, something that still seems a little lost on Boardman.
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Rusty Nails
We remember
- Location
- Living in the slow lane
Only if customers are actually fooled by brand advertising.
