Putting the Bite into a Boardman ADV 8.8

[currystomper]

The Boardman ADVs are a great range of bikes, ideal for someone looking to get a first drop handle bike. You can read the reviews on the web sites of the cycling rags...

I was looking for a gravel bike after taking my winter road bike over some cobbles on a trail and loosened the headset. Probably pushing a road bike to far!! When the local bike shop had a 2nd hand 8.8 for sale I grabbed it. The standard tires are Schwalbe's G-One allround tires and they are really great at doing what they say - on road or gravel track they are great. However get on to anything a bit more interestingly damp (like grass) they do start to slide a bit. I have a road bike, so performance on road for me is secondary - roads are just there to get me to the gravelly bits!! So with the money I saved on getting a 2nd hand bike I'm thinking of investing in the next stage in the Schwalbe gravel range and getting some G-one Bite(s) for the bike. (hence the title of this piece).

The first thing I changed on the bike was the saddle, I have a Specialized power expert saddle on my good bike, but they are well expensive, but I find the unbranded power expert saddles off of ebay just as good (I have three!!) and only £24, so that's what I have on this bike.

The brakes are OK, my front disk was installed by the bike shop as the bike didn't have a front disk when it was traded in (that's another story) and I think it got greasy, hence wasn't at all good. I purchased a replacement set of brakes and then read up about the brakes, after cleaning with methylated spirits and doing some progressively harder braking down a hill, they were better but not tire shredding. They are great for a beginner as your not going to go over the handle bars when you grab them in a panic - but they're not so good stopping fast from a 40 mph down hill. So what did I get?? Well again I didn't splash out I went for a £30 set of hybrid ZOOM Hydraulic calipers. These use the same mechanical cables from the levers to the calipers, but this pulls on a master cylinder in the brake block. I pretty impressed for the price - there is some brake line stretch, but you can pull them on HARD!!.

Minor bits and pieces: I've added my modified bottle cage (bent with pliers) which I use for odd shaped bottles etc. An upside down bell under the handle bars 'cause bells look naff, but are really useful on "shared paths". A big saddle bag (another ebay job!!) and a little rear light because in a month or so I'll be out on a evening ride and it will get dark unexpectedly ( You have been warned :-) )

Well I'm going to finish here for now, more on the saddle bag/tires soon (maybe)

 

[currystomper]

Ps can you spot the bell?

Testing out the g-one tires @ the York Rally on/off road ride.

 

[Arjimlad]

Nice one. I put some TRP Spyres on my 2015 Giant Revolt with compressionless housing which improved braking considerably. I tried some used JuinTech hydro calipers but found they leaked hydro fluid when hot and were not reliable. Those zoom ones sound interesting..

 

[currystomper]

I did look at Spyres, but thought they were too expensive for this mid range spec of bike (and rider) . The compression less housing sounds like an interesting upgrade to think about when I get around to messing about with the bars to double wrap the tape.

 

[DRM]

I did look at Spyres, but thought they were too expensive for this mid range spec of bike (and rider) . The compression less housing sounds like an interesting upgrade to think about when I get around to messing about with the bars to double wrap the tape.

I’m certain the Boardman you purchased came with the Tektro branded TRP Spyres from the factory, my Marin gravel bike has the same and they do work well once set up correctly

 

[currystomper]

I also think the replacement rotor on my bike has too many holes in it for the original TPR brakes, so replacing that or swapping for the original back rotor could have been another way to go.

 

[cyberknight]

Link for the calipers?
My commuter has tektro cable disc and they are a bit rubbish tbh, back on my Ribble build with tiagra rim calipers and it stops a lot better

 

[bikingdad90]

@cyberknight I’m sure Tracevelo reviewed loads a while ago. The conclusion was they were good but longetivity was an issue as the cable attachment allowed for water ingress and potentially rust.

He has also just done a gravel bike with the Giant Conduct system on it and he seemed to like that set up too.

I’m on the lookout for a set of Tektro 550’s which apparently are dual piston and the upgrade on the m510’s to see how what are like.

 

[currystomper]

Here is the ebay link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125372957670

 

[currystomper]

added a under seat rear light on a custom bracket

 

[currystomper]

So an update to where I am with the bike.

I've changed the tyres over to Schwalbe X-One Speed tyres, as I had a pair from my experiments with gravel riding on my road bike. They are good in sightly more sticky conditions, but as they are cross tyres they are only 33mm wide and I do miss the comfort of wider G-ones and will be looking for wider tyres at some point maybe something like Vittoria Terreno Dry's (which are a bit cheaper than the G-one bites)

I've also removed the decals from the wheels as they were a bit cheap and were building dirt up around the edges. They are easy to remove with a little heat from a hair dryer on the end of the decal to allow you to get your finger under them and then they just peel off without leaving a residue.

I'm added some more blue bits to the bike including bottle holder and Skewers, just to change the bike away from stock a little.

I have new bar tape and uncompressible sleeving for the front brake in the shed, but other projects call, so putting these on the bike is a bit on ice at the moment. This bike is all about getting out and enjoying it at the moment which what I'm doing.

 

[currystomper]

Rode over the local lomand Hills on the bike yesterday after a lot of rain, I think the X1 tires had the minimum tread that I needed in some of the more muddy moorland bits, I think the G1s would have lost traction. However for some of the the road hard core paved sections (on another ride) 40mm tires would have been good. So tires still not fully tuning in yet

 

[currystomper]

So this the bike now, new wheels as the original wheels don't take to tubeless conversion, Gravelking tires. The shifter broke so a new shifter mean a handbar re tape, so upgraded to the uncompressable cable, double wrapped bar tape while I was at.
Picture on a local "gravel" track - but more mud than gravel this time of year.