Yes. We get 4 or 5 a year to trial, and sometimes we can blag loaners from the reps if there's something we simply fancy a go on. I've ridden about 20 Boardies in all, for periods of weeks or months at a time. How many have you ridden? One or two? Five? Or do you blindly believe the pap Broke Radar churn out? I get to ride more bikes in a summer season than you will in you entire cycling career, some for only a few minutes, some for months. There's a big trade jolly coming up at Cannock and if its like the last one ill have tried 2 dozen bikes in a morning, thank you very much.
And what do you mean 'compare the specs'? A bike could be dripping with XT and not ride as well as rival with a mix of Deore and Alivio. The bling Canyon XC and the workmanlike Giant Trance X4 are beauticul illustration. The way a bike actually RIDES is far more important than than bling. And in the event you get 2 bikes priced the same that ride equally well you chose by frame, forks, wheels, groupset and finishing kit in that order. Folk that pore over catalogues choose a bike because its got a 105 mech over a rivals Tiagra without having ridden either are quite frankly idiots.
As you can see from my previous post, which you yet again seem to have not bothered to read, I've nothing against Boardmans especially and I particularly like their road bikes, their MTBs less so.
Simple fact is that within our OPs budget there are nicer rides out there.
