Thoughts on Boardman bikes

[Sniper68]

Why not?
For clarification, I don't mean normal wear and tear stuff like chains, cassettes and chain rings. They are supposed to wear out over time.

OK so what 'very minor' issue would have you slagging them off online? Everything wears over time!
Anything other than frame failure in two years would fall under wear and tear!

 

[fair weather cyclist]

I think Boardman are cracking bikes. As many already said, their main issue is their partnership with Halfords.

Doesn't bother me personally but the majority of cyclists out there are a bunch of wee snobs. That's how you can tell: if they're wearing rapha and/or white overshoes...BINGO!

 

[Lovacott]

OK so what 'very minor' issue would have you slagging them off online? Everything wears over time!
Anything other than frame failure in two years would fall under wear and tear!

I wouldn't expect a wheel to go out of true, I wouldn't expect paint to blister or crack. I'd expect all of the moving parts to work correctly when first purchased. I wouldn't expect a bearing to seize up or become loose.

 

[Sniper68]

I wouldn't expect a wheel to go out of true, I wouldn't expect paint to blister or crack. I'd expect all of the moving parts to work correctly when first purchased. I wouldn't expect a bearing to seize up or become loose.

On a £450 bike!!!?After 2 years!!!???
You don’t expect much
I’ve had £600 wheels run out of true after 500 or so miles. Everything there,apart from paint blistering,is plain old wear and tear/poor maintenance.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I wouldn't expect a bearing to seize up or become loose.

Most wheel and BB bearing issues even on the very cheapest bikes, are down to poor assembly involving insufficient lubrication and/or maladjustment. If I was to purchase one of Argos's finest £100 Challenge machines, the first thing I would do on getting it home would be to take it apart, apply generous amounts of grease & oil to the moving parts then carefully put it back together again. I wouldn't expect to get any more trouble with one than a more expensive bike, with the possible exception of a twist grip gear shifter.
My 30 year old Raleigh Highlander MTB, is running a BB assembly harvested out of a really horrible Dunlop full sus BSO I found dumped at work. The parts they fit on Dunlop bikes are even cheaper than the no-name base level Shimano stuff, yet that BB has now done over a thousand miles with me, plus what ever it did in the BSO. Judging by the worn out tyres on the BSO, I'd say another 1,000-1,500 miles, so it's probably got well over 2k miles on it even though it came from a real cheap and nasty bike.

 

[viniga]

After I got addicted to TTs - that I had being doing on my PlanetX with clip-ons I bought an entry level aluminium Boardman TT bike from Halfords £800. You can see I'm no brand snob. In open CTT events I beat a lot of people on it who have much, much more expensive bikes... (not everyone of course!)

So I reckon their bikes are good value. It helps that I could easily deal with the little mistakes the Halfords mechanic made when building it for the first time.

 

[fair weather cyclist]

After I got addicted to TTs - that I had being doing on my PlanetX with clip-ons I bought an entry level aluminium Boardman TT bike from Halfords £800. You can see I'm no brand snob. In open CTT events I beat a lot of people on it who have much, much more expensive bikes... (not everyone of course!)

So I reckon their bikes are good value. It helps that I could easily deal with the little mistakes the Halfords mechanic made when building it for the first time.

Oh yeah, I know the feeling.

It feels so good when I'm on my 11.50kg aluminium gravel bike that costed me £600 and I overtake those in their bianchis and specialized with deep carbon wheels.

 

[Lovacott]

I’ve had £600 wheels run out of true after 500 or so miles. Everything there,apart from paint blistering,is plain old wear and tear/poor maintenance.

Blimey. That's not very good!!

My Apollo MTB is 7 years old with thousands of bumpy miles behind it and the wheels run true and straight.

The whole bike only cost me £140.

 

[Sniper68]

Blimey. That's not very good!!

My Apollo MTB is 7 years old with thousands of bumpy miles behind it and the wheels run true and straight.

The whole bike only cost me £140.

Carbon Mavic Cosmics.
Had to retrued regularly.They obviously didn’t like British conditions.Mine were only 50mm deep the 60 and 80s are a real nightmare apparently.
Current wheels are Hope and they’ve been faultless.

 

[Lovacott]

After I got addicted to TTs - that I had being doing on my PlanetX with clip-ons I bought an entry level aluminium Boardman TT bike from Halfords £800. You can see I'm no brand snob. In open CTT events I beat a lot of people on it who have much, much more expensive bikes... (not everyone of course!)

I've seen a few younger riders out on £4k plus bikes recently now the evenings are light. The big long hill near me is a favourite for local groups to train on.

Some of them really struggle with the hill. I saw a couple last week walking their his and hers specialized road bikes up the last bit.

Some of the best riders who I see more regularly (not just when the weather is decent) ride bikes with no branding on them at all. Maybe they've had a re-spray, maybe they've built them themselves?

Then there is this lady in her 60's who I often see riding her old Raleigh shopper complete with basket on the front and a back pack. She lives in the village at the top of the hill and rides the three miles into town a few times per week. She does the hill no trouble which is pretty impressive.

It seems that there is no correlation between bike brand and ability.

 

[Chislenko]

I've seen a few younger riders out on £4k plus bikes recently now the evenings are light. The big long hill near me is a favourite for local groups to train on.

Some of them really struggle with the hill. I've saw a couple last week walking their his and hers specialized road bikes up the last bit.

Some of the best riders who I see more regularly (not just when the weather is decent) ride bikes with no branding on them at all. Maybe they've had a re-spray, maybe they've built them themselves?

Then there is this lady in her 60's who I often see riding her old Raleigh shopper complete with basket on the front and back pack. She lives in the village at the top of the hill and rides the three miles into town a few times per week. She does the hill no trouble which is pretty impressive.

It seems that there is no correlation between bike brand and ability.

I have an expensive "branded" bike and a cobbled together knockabout and I'm rubbish on both of them 😀

 

[Juan Kog]

I'm rubbish on both of them 😀

sounds like me . But “ I’ve none of the gear and no idea “ 😥

 

[Venod]

Email from Bike Radar announcing Road Bike of the year.

"it’s time to announce our Road Bike of the Year… the Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS:

 

[vickster]

Email from Bike Radar announcing Road Bike of the year.

"it’s time to announce our Road Bike of the Year… the Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS:

Chosen based on which criteria...given most cyclists don't race

 

[Venod]

I don't know I have not read the review, but it's here if you want a look

http://email.bikeradar.com/q/12EpsqW26niZIxXrAGMH7yT6/wv