Forme vs boardman mtb

[irob]

I'm looking at getting a new bike on our works cycle scheme. I could just pop over to Evans and get myself a rockhopper but I always like things a little different.

Although I hate halfords, it is local to me and would be quick and easy to pick up a bike from them. I like the look of the boardman comp and it seems to get good reviews.

Alternatively I have found a nice Indy bike shop (cycle shack near Cannock) not been In yet but but I like the look of the forme blackrocks 1.0. Anybody heard of these? I can't seem to find much about them on the net.

In a purely vein point I prefer the look of the forme with its natural polished alloy frame, however I am new to the world of mtb's and have no idea about the spec of the things bolted onto each bike.

Any thoughts or opinions on each bike are welcome.

[anonymous-user]

Buy the boardman, thank halfords for their kind offer of building it but say you would rather do that at home, take it home, build it yourself, enjoy it. its not rocket science, its bolting a stem to the handlebar and adjusting the gears.

then use your LBS for any servicing reqts etc etc

[anonymous-user]

pablo said:

Buy the boardman, thank halfords for their kind offer of building it but say you would rather do that at home, take it home, build it yourself, enjoy it. its not rocket science, its bolting a stem to the handlebar and adjusting the gears.

then use your LBS for any servicing reqts etc etc

When I got my Boardman in 2010 Christmas sale (bargain 20% off!) I took it home in a box as I didn't want to use if for a few months. It was literally put on the wheels/stem/pedals & straighten the bars. The gears were indexed in the factory.
I would have no hesitation in letting Halfords do it, but more convenient for me in that case. The bikeradar reviews on the Boardman are always very positive, a lot of bike for the money. I'm only a Sunday mountain biker (cycling commuter mainly on 'road specced' Kona CX' or Brompton) but the Boardman has not been back to the shop since I owned it. No problems at all...

[anonymous-user]

i jsut get annoyed when people assume that Halfords have had anything to do with the bike other than acting as a retail outlet. Like halfords really designed or had any input into the build phase?!?!... still, haters gonna hate....

[irob]

I know my way round a socket set and a hammer, so building a new bike isn't a problem for me. Servicing, brake bleeding etc... i can do myself so im not too bothered about after sales care.

Halfords is what it is, i tend to avoid it if i can but it is local and an easy option for buying a bike. The indy shops by me don't carry any bikes im interested in.

I have the option to get a bike from Evans or the Spezalised shop in Birmingham However i work in town and would prefer not to travel in that direction in my free time.

I find it strange that there are no reviews for the Forme bike. Its not as if its a cheapo supermarket buy.

Any opinions on the Scott Aspect range, in particular the Aspect 20?

[matt-ITR]

Cycle shack is a great shop run by a really friendly bunch of people. Well worth a visit and I'm sure they will give you good advice.

[anonymous-user]

no reviews of forme like there are few reviews of other small/continental brands, on the one hand the magazines dont chase them for testers and on the other, the big manufacturers are happy to throw their latest unit shifters at the magazines for the coverage... same with the roadie world...

[curlie467]

Dont discount the rockhopper though, they are popular for a reason!

[mad4amanda]

pablo said:

i jsut get annoyed when people assume that Halfords have had anything to do with the bike other than acting as a retail outlet. Like halfords really designed or had any input into the build phase?!?!... still, haters gonna hate....

Actually it was a real collaboration between halfords and Chris Boardman. Halfords had a very strong 2 wheel team in the head office at that time who did a lot of the work speccing the bikes to ensure that they represnted the best value for money at the price point. Comp, Team, Pro was simple retail; Good, Better, Best. They were built in the same selection of factories as the carrera branded bikes.
How do I know? I worked with the team at that time! Still have a pro mtb and roadie from the launch and for the money they are still tremendous value, its true about some of the issues around operational delivery of training and standards of PDI, no doubt not helped by the removal of bike specialists from many stores.
yes people are expensive but proper bike specialists are the difference between customer dissatisfaction and elation, unfortunately halfords appear to have lost the plot on this.Unfortunately the incoming chief exec from Tesco did not appear to value the expertise in the business and the ops team was headed by a team who just wanted to drive down cost(with little concern for quality of delivery of service) to show how good they could be as represented by a lower staff cost to sales ratio.
The stores look like shadows of the former selves now to me.

[XitUp]

OP, are you using the cycle to work scheme because you plan to cycle to work? Or do you just want a mountain bike?

If the former, will your route go off road at all?

If not, don't get a mountain bike.

The Boardmans do look really good value.

[irob]

I live 35 miles away from work so I'm not going to commute on the bike. I want a mtb for trips around Cannock chase and other interesting places I visit when camping with friends. Won't be doing any massive down hill stuff but don't want a bike that will bend in half when tho going gets a little rough. Leaning towards a boardman bike now. Next weekend I plan to do the rounds of all the shops and see what's on offer.

[SingleMale]

I had a Forme rage MTB untill recently. Never seen any others while I've been out and about so not that popular but I did hundreds of country/trail miles on it with no drastic problems. Good value for money bike.

[Simond S]

I have a Forme Stag. it's their top of the range MTB at £975.99

http://www.wealdencycles.co.uk/product_info.php/fo...

I bought it as a friend owns the shop but have used it on and off road, with knobblies and slicks.

IMO a great bike and really good quality build. I also happen to have a Carrera Fury. But it is about ten years old so possibly not fair to compare. I have a boardman pro in the garage that belongs to a mate. apparently it's really good but i've never ridden it so can't comment.

[ianyeo]

Hi, what did you end up buying? I've got a forme sterndale 1, really good bike, done a few upgrades since I bought it but essentially its a great bike for the money.

[Simond S]

Since this thread I gave replaced the forme frame with a board man frame. If staring again I would not buy a forme as the components are not as good as the mainstream manufacturers.

[Woody]

To be fair Halfords Cannock aren't too bad.
There's plenty of local mobile cycle mechanics who could build & set up for you.