Boardman Bikes.
Discussion
el stovey said:
Halfords seem to be selling them, is their assembly still a problem?
Not if you buy it in the box, make a half arsed attempt to bolt it together and then take it to a mate to sort out - thanks Justin 
I like my team MTB but I've not had any others so have nothing to compare it against.
I guess it depends on your local halfords and whether the bikehut there is any good, my local has a relatively good rep so I bought with some confidence as I had a previous Carrera from there, and had nothing but good experienc. I got the Boardman HT Pro and it is a fantastic bike, really well made, great sizing all round and very light, for 1k I would say you would struggle to buy better.
Ive orderd a boardman team full suspension on a cycle 2 work scheme (didnt need it really, but it was too cheap to say no to) Ive only sat on it in the shop, but it seems a very nice bike, and at 12.8 kg pretty dam light for a £1k full suspension bike! cant wait to get it and have a ride on it!
Im not sure I trust the guys at halfords to put it together tho, so asked for it in the box.
Im not sure I trust the guys at halfords to put it together tho, so asked for it in the box.
order it online, get it delivered to the store, tick the "i'll build it at home" box, take it home, build it. its not a terribly complicated job and it helps you understand how the bike is built, you can take your time and modify/adjust to your hearts content. i have a road team and love it, currenty looking at TT/Tri specific bikes and have not ruled out their new Air TT
specwise, little matches the boardmans and the mags seem to love the road and mtb bikes, i doubt the 2010 bikes will match the 09 bikes for value for money as the 09 bikes were not as good as the 08 bikes so if you are tempted, go for an 09 bike.
halfords have a bad rep for bike builds but its not always fair, the guys at weston super mare , as i have said before, are awesome, and ride a lot. they are enthusistic about the products and know about the bike market in general.
purists hate them too, so i love it even more. there is nothing like wasting some campag-laden italian gas pipe frame on the hills!
specwise, little matches the boardmans and the mags seem to love the road and mtb bikes, i doubt the 2010 bikes will match the 09 bikes for value for money as the 09 bikes were not as good as the 08 bikes so if you are tempted, go for an 09 bike.
halfords have a bad rep for bike builds but its not always fair, the guys at weston super mare , as i have said before, are awesome, and ride a lot. they are enthusistic about the products and know about the bike market in general.
purists hate them too, so i love it even more. there is nothing like wasting some campag-laden italian gas pipe frame on the hills!
Boardman himself was trying to get halfords to improve this aspect, no idea how it's going though. I looked at the road bikes and would have probably bought one but the shop was manned by the most uninterested sales staff I went elsewhere. Cracking looking bikes though, great for the money.
SoliD said:
I guess it depends on your local halfords and whether the bikehut there is any good,
My understanding is that they are sold at Halfords where the blokes have had specific 'training' on assembling these bikes. This may well be complete nonsense though. The horror stories i've heard about Halfords often seem to originate from my local Evans which is a bit naughty.
el stovey said:
SoliD said:
I guess it depends on your local halfords and whether the bikehut there is any good,
My understanding is that they are sold at Halfords where the blokes have had specific 'training' on assembling these bikes. This may well be complete nonsense though. The horror stories i've heard about Halfords often seem to originate from my local Evans which is a bit naughty.
Without wishing to sound arrogant, I just don't see why it is difficult to set the bike up yourself and it simply wouldn't be a factor in the purchasing process for me.
The most difficult bit arguably is setting up the rear mech properly and smoothly, but that can be done by careful reading of the manual or consulting any one of the hundreds of step by step online guides.
I'd go for the Boardman if buying through the Halfords CTW scheme is open to you, and to hell with the standard of techs at your local Halfords. If you have real problems, I'll talk you through what to do - my current bike is the first one that I haven't built myself from scratch
The most difficult bit arguably is setting up the rear mech properly and smoothly, but that can be done by careful reading of the manual or consulting any one of the hundreds of step by step online guides.
I'd go for the Boardman if buying through the Halfords CTW scheme is open to you, and to hell with the standard of techs at your local Halfords. If you have real problems, I'll talk you through what to do - my current bike is the first one that I haven't built myself from scratch
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