Boardman bike

[Twistygit]

Hi, I was looking at the carbon team Boardman last year. Looked at the Halfords website this morning and it says £150 off but I think last year it had Shimano 105 on and it seems to be sram now, have they put lesser quality gear on or is it ok?
Also I read an old thread where someone said that you would struggle for a decent replacement crank set is this true?
Thanks Graeme

[Black can man]

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...

[daddy cool]

Twistygit said:

Hi, I was looking at the carbon team Boardman last year. Looked at the Halfords website this morning and it says £150 off but I think last year it had Shimano 105 on and it seems to be sram now, have they put lesser quality gear on or is it ok?
Also I read an old thread where someone said that you would struggle for a decent replacement crank set is this true?
Thanks Graeme

Basically, last seasons "Team" - the bike that was £1300 and had full 105 - is this seasons "Pro" (for £1300, with 105). All they have done is rebrand the name "Team" to cover the £1000 price point offering.

Its worth getting the one with 105 though.

[bakerstreet]

Twistygit said:

Hi, I was looking at the carbon team Boardman last year. Looked at the Halfords website this morning and it says £150 off but I think last year it had Shimano 105 on and it seems to be sram now, have they put lesser quality gear on or is it ok?
Also I read an old thread where someone said that you would struggle for a decent replacement crank set is this true?
Thanks Graeme

Nothing wrong with SRAM. If you are new to road bikes, then it really won't matter. You soon get used to it.

[MiloD]

I just got a Team Carbon Ltd Edition on the C2W scheme, and all i can say is that I'm really impressed! SRAM is fine, but does take some getting used to!!

[TheLemming]

Big fan of SRAM kit - I've had or have bikes running from apex to red and all in between.
The difference between SRAM shimano and campag shifting however is very much down to personal taste.


I find force / red to be pretty much equivalent though (and my personal choice for what I'd like to ride on the road) and prefer apex levers to rival but that's just me (Apex on my CX, Rival on the winter / audax / commuter)

I also have four boardmans - 2010 pro carbon, 2013 CX team, a 2010 road team and a 2013 MTB pro. That said I'm not impressed with the current team carbon and limited edition.

For both the spec is low, both weight more and are lower specced than my 2010 aluminium team (SRAM rival rather than the apex on the Ltd)

If I was spending a grand or thereabouts on a new bike I'd be looking at planet x right now. 11 speed rather than 10 speed grouapets. Frames are likely give or take the same quality, admittedly poor wheels but that applies to the boardmans too so its not a win there.

Even with a matching fleet, I couldn't bring myself to get one this year even with some very appealing offers.

Not sure where someone is coming from on the comment about cranks though. Any 10 speed SRAM or shimano will run nicely, bb30 is the current standard and both will be available for a long long time.

Edited to add, looked again this morning - I'd be junking everything apart from the frame. Just a non-starter as much as the white looks sexy

Edited by TheLemming on Monday 26th January 10:33

[ecsrobin]

Having ridden Shimano for years I'm now a convert to SRAM yes it takes some getting used too but it certainly shouldn't be seen as inferior.

[Kermit power]

ecsrobin said:

Having ridden Shimano for years I'm now a convert to SRAM yes it takes some getting used too but it certainly shouldn't be seen as inferior.

I'd agree with that too. From my personal experience...

Campag is an utter faff to get set up, I've never quite been able to get the front mech properly sorted, and I don't like the thumb shifters at all.

Shimano is perfectly OK. No particular complaints with it, but nothing particularly special either.

Sram (Force, in my case), is lovely! It feels quite clunky when it's shifting, but it does so flawlessly, and keeps on doing so. Even when I let the chain get really crappy whilst winter commuting, it just politely jumps a little on the smallest cog to let me know it wants to be cleaned. A quick clean later, and it's back like new. Lastly, the double tap shifter system is much nicer than my old 105, and just vast streets ahead of the crappy Campag (Centaur) shifters.

[Raven Flyer]

I ride a Boardman SLR with Di2 now.

My old Boradman TC with SRAM Rival was an awesome bike. I wish I had kept it as my winter bike but a friend offered me way too much to turn down. The Boardman TC must be one of the best bikes ever, for residual values.

[TheLemming]

Raven Flyer said:

My old Boradman TC with SRAM Rival was an awesome bike. I wish I had kept it as my winter bike but a friend offered me way too much to turn down. The Boardman TC must be one of the best bikes ever, for residual values.

They tend to go for more at the moment than the previous Pro Carbon - those are total bargains at the moment. 10 speed force, lightweight wheelset, fantastic frame, Ritchey finishing kit....

I love mine