Boardman Bikes?????

rawcas

Right. I'm looking to get a bike through the Halfords Bike2Work scheme so I can pick up a decent bit of kit at a knock down price, however, Halfords have now decided that they will only sell you bikes from the ranges they stock (they used to source any bike for you but have now stopped that part of the scheme!)

Basically this means I have a choice between Carrera, GT, Kona, Saracen and Diamondback. Don't fancy a Saracen or a Diamondback as the frames seem very heavy in comparison to the other brands on offer. I've tried a few GT's and carreras but they don't feel that great, or at least don't suit me at any rate.

This leaves me with Kona, does anybody have any opinion on the Kona Cinder Cone? It's around my budget mark which is between £600 and £700 (no higher).

Alternatively Halfords are offering me one of their new Boardman bikes (of Chris Boardman fame), they seem to be very well spec'd, I'd be looking at the Comp, but at the moment it seems a bit of an unknown quantity.

www.boardmanbikes.com

Has anybody got any firsthand experience with these bikes? Likewise with Voodoo which I can also source through Halfords.

I'm doing a 10 mile commute each day and a spot of light XC at the weekends if that helps...have a trip to Wales planned for later this year though as well.

supersonic

Boardman are very new, yet I know some riders who have been on a testing day and rave about them. Frames see, to be well finished, light, and of course the spec is very good (the wheels could be better though). It would be worthing trying a couple out. The Kona Cindercone is a classic, but thats a nasty spec for the money. This fork is found on bikes half the price: it works, but is very heavy.

rawcas

Cheers for the input. The Boardman bikes are going to be in my local Halfords branch in a fortnight so I'll go and have a test then. Not so worried about the wheels, I think they will be fine for the amount of use I'm going to giving them, I'm just pleased I can get a bike of this spec at such a good price when you take into consideration the 50% off you get through the Bike2Work scheme!

Big n Daft

I saw them in a Bikehut last week,

They do look sweet, thats for definite. Nicely formed tubes and for the price of the comp a top spec.

Might be worth waiting to see if any problems come up before having a punt though.

Just in case.

BnD

rawcas

True, although the beauty of it being with Halfords and the fact that it's a new out of the blocks model means I should get a good level of support if anything does go wrong, I'd like to think that the quality of the components gaurds against them failing dramatically and I can't see that the frame would suffer any kind of catastrophic failure with the riding I do.

At the end of the day though, the bike still needs to feel good, hence the need for a test ride, I'd prefer to go out and get a bike on finance elsewhere than settle for something I'm not happy with from Halfords.

rawcas

Two curve balls in this equation would be a couple of '06 bikes that I have seen that come with 18 months finace and won't be much more per month.

Trek 6500 '06 model and Claude Butler Cape Wrath '06 model. Both these bikes were on my wish list before in '07 guise, worth considering at £399 and £349 respectively? Thyey seem to have quite good write ups' the Cape Wrath seems to be a particular favorite on the forums.

supersonic

Nowt wrong with them, but try and test them.

dirtyfokerr

just bought the boardman comp myself going out for a ride with my mates tonight to try it "MAIDEN RIDE" :? : will let you know how it goes. HOPE I DONT perform like Stan Boardman :oops: PS DONT FORGET YOUR CORNFLAKES BEFORE BUYING FROM HALFORDS "
theres a voucher giving 10% off on the side of the box

rawcas

Very interested to see how you get on with the comp.

No need for the Cornflakes though, through the Bike2 Work scheme I get 50% off the RRP anyway!!

dirtyfokerr

Well i rode the bike last night and was well pleased with it
conditions:- wet cobbles & mud and did about 10 miles
Only one fault for me SADDLE TO HARD ! or it could be that my fat ars* is too soft ?
I think its a combination of both but really enjoyed the way the bike performed will probably try some padded shorts before changing the saddle

rawcas

Good stuff.

I can't wait around until they are delivered too my local branch so I'm going to head off to Northampton tomorrow to go and see one there and have a bit of a test.

At 6ft 1" and 14st the Saddle will be a consideration for me, however, I may just use the comfy item from my current bike if the one on the Comp one is too extreme.

egor

ive been looking/thinking about one of these, only thing i can see is that the gear cable runs down the bottom tube (?) insaead of along top tube, never seen in run tis way and wasnt sure if it made any difference re cables, dirt etc?

rawcas

Bit odd, most of the 'modern' bikes I've been looking at have the cables running on the top tube, however, my trusty old Carrera has cables running on the underside of the frame and it has not had replacements in almost 10 years, in fact they are only now starting to give up the ghost, the bike has not exactly been pampered in those years either so I don't think I'd let it influence my decision, just to keep an extra eye on them and keep them oiled and clean I suppose.

WillGTJumper

suprisingly the Boardmans are well specced

loxlei72

I purchased a boardman pro, and must agree about the saddle just thought i'd gone soft since i last rode any serious amount of miles :oops: , in the week or so i've had the bike the experience has been very positive the level of components speak for themself x0 rear mech, x9 shifters, juicy 7's and ritchey wcs finishings obviously the right bike is a subjective subject but i can say its worth serious consideration.

squarewheels

Hello All,

Don't know who told you that Halfords would only supply bikes from their range, I ordered a Merlin Rock Lobster yesterday, if you ring their Business Service people (the number is on your letter of credit, you receive)

Their helpful, once you get through

Regards

MontyChop

Halfords can order pretty much anything you like.

Just ordered my08 Trek 6500, throught the C2W scheme. Should have my grubby mitts on it in two weeks!!