Boardman Bikes
Comments
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ilovesherbet wrote:The Bikehut specialist even admitted he didn't really know how to sort the gears properly, he "hoped" the bike would be in working order after he "fixed" the bike today.
Ah! This is how I used to fix my bike. Never worked though. :shock:0 -
people of the forum,
i work at halfords part time - yes i'm one of the 'monkeys.' and totally disgree with your opinion of myself being a 'pseudo' mechanic. i know my own bikes like the back of my hand and like the rest of the staff can knock together a 'halfraud' to perfection.
what i'm trying to say is - mid range road bikes are not our forte and never will be. we sell mass market iron horses for non-cyclists. now surely this is obvious!?!
p.s. the boardman range are actually really good bikes and are also excellent value just like our carreras. please don't fuel the stigma attached to the halfords brand.nicksniceblog.blogspot.com - be there or be square0 -
I work in Halfords, the only Halfords in the area "apparently" that sell Boardman bikes. now ive never built one myself, but alot of the guys on my team are very relaxed about how the bikes are built, being a newbie to halfords i think it is S&%t, we are always having customers come back, now i build bikes to how i would have it, so spot on brakes, gears etc etc... but when it comes to some of the other guys they just dont want to know, and my manager has a right blast at me for taking to long??? i think that we would all agree that it would be better to take your time and do it right than do it fast and fook it up.
im also going to have to agree with PhetPhan, im one of the guys on the team that can do a fair bit on a bike from truing wheels to sorting gears, the only thing i cant do is fork/rer sus servicing.
BenderRide All Day, Ride All Night,
if only i had a norco VPS a line0 -
Halfords employ two types of people, it seems.
The first are passionate but have no experience. They're working at halfords as a way of getting a job in a proper bike shop.
The second have no passion, and just don't care.
Because the first group keep leaving to get proper bike jobs, the shops end up being run by the second group.0 -
Ste_S wrote:Halfords had tried for ages to sell something like Trek, but without success. I guess the big bike companies though it might downgrade their image having their products in Halfords, while also annoying their current retailer base.
I guess the Boardman bikes came about as Halfords couldn't tempt anyone in.
Actually you can pretty much order any bike through Halfords.
Mailman0 -
Big Red S wrote:Halfords employ two types of people, it seems.
The first are passionate but have no experience. They're working at halfords as a way of getting a job in a proper bike shop.
The second have no passion, and just don't care.
Because the first group keep leaving to get proper bike jobs, the shops end up being run by the second group.
Im not sure what type I met yesterday at the checkout as the girl behind the counter gave me an extra 10% off the boardman hybrid pro (when the flyer said the discount doesnt apply to Boardman bikes!
).
I picked my bike up out at woolwich where the staff seemed to range between "as useful as a c0ck flavoured lollypop" and pretty damned helpful (chap named Del).
Actually, as I got the bike through my works bike to work scheme (I paid the difference between my voucher and the bike) Im going to ask the chairman at the next all staff event why the hell they went with a car parts company instead of a real bike shop.
Ok you can pretty much get any bike you want through Helfords but for a person getting back in to biking after far too many years away from the sport what I really wanted was someone who knew their bikes, was passionate about bikes and was bloody helpful to advise me on what to get. Apart from the one chap mentioned above I didnt get anything resembling service from the staff at the Woolwich helfords!
Otherwise, I love my bike! [bike snobbery]. Flicking through an evans catalogue last night I noticed something like a cannondale bad boy, selling for £1200, had parts on it that werent of the same quality as a £700 boardman.[/bike snobbery] Now, for me as a beginner which bike am I going to go for (remembering that name brand means absolutely nothing to me!). When I was comparing bikes I couldnt see where that £500 difference was... then again that could just be because I dont know what the hell Im looking at!
Regards
Mailman0 -
The masses, who lets face it are the huge majority of the bike buying public have no idea what makes a good bike. People who read this forum are very much in the minority (in my opinion).
Yesterday for example i went to Sherwood Pines for a few hours. The place was heaving as normal. I sat in by the cafe after my ride and watched the various bikes going past me. Apart from one or two base model Specialized hard tails the other 50 or 60 bikes i saw had names on them I'd never heard of.
A guy at work is absolutley convinced that the £79.95 full suspension bike he saw in the sunday papers is every bit as good as my £1495 Stumpjumper and there is no way he with ever think other wise.
Bikehut is selling to exactly this market and probably making quite a good job of it as well.0 -
So the Canondale bad boy 650/700 and the Boardman hydbrid Pro are retailing for roughly the same price...which is the superior bike and why (remembering that both can be purchased through Hellfrauds)?
I looked at a lot of bikes, talked to a lot of people BUT still cant work out where the difference in price goes between the pro and the bad boy (1200 one). Maybe its just the name eh (certainly a few of the more "experienced" cyclists I spoke to were heading down this train of thought...actually maybe the big bad boy and the pro arent good bikes to compare eh?) Perhaps someone could compare components and between the 650/700 and the pro and explain why either one is superior to the other?),
Mailman0 -
Stwutter wrote:
I'm just a little miffed that Boardman felt the need to push his bike via Bikehut. I know the party line says he wants to offer a range of bikes, not just ones aimed at the enthusiast, but there's plently of that in all the major chains already. How good would it have been for him to launch a range in the same way as Lemond or Merckx? He could've had an entry level range, then covered all the bases up to a top of the range bike.
I guess it's easier said than done, and he's just taken the chance to earn the bigger bucks, but it's a shame nevertheless.
Halfrauds have the economies of scale that other British bike brands don't.
To go the Lemond route would involve a great deal more risk as it is stand alone and requires distribution etc to individual shops around the country. Whereas a bike for Halfrauds has the distribution built in. There are 1000s of customers just wanting a bike, not wishing to shave 30g off the weight and Halfrauds serves that purpose - I can imagine people going for something else, seeing Boardman bike - that bloke off the telly during the TDF (light bulb goes on) - I'll buy that proper bike.
That guy who own Sports direct and Newcastle is looking to or already has bought out Evans - cycling is a growing market in the retail sector against alot shrinking markets.
Although you're right, it is a shame Boardman wasn't prepared to develop a classic brand of his own to match his status within cycling...
although that Steve Berry on Five Live this morning got my goat
Best0 -
Aren't there any City & Guilds qualifications in bike mechanics, or anything similar?
It should be illegal to send customers out on bikes that aren't fit to ride safely.
I bought a bike from Halfords in '95, and had to go home and wait 2 hours for the kiddywink to put it together. I picked it up, and on the first hill I came to, found that the brakes didn't even touch the rims! The seat was also loose, and the only thing that probably saved my life was the fact that the chain fell off the crankset, so I ended up pushing it home.
No point going back with it, 'cause the same muppet would be "fixing" it.
That could have been some little kid getting killed on his birthday.
I bet there's some law protecting new cars from being dangerous to drive,and on a bike you're far more vulnerable.
GarryCycling is too nice to waste it on getting to work.0 -
I forgot, the handle bars were loose as well!Cycling is too nice to waste it on getting to work.0
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To be fair Garry, that was 12 years ago...some things may have changed in that time!
Mailman0 -
Garry71 wrote:Aren't there any City & Guilds qualifications in bike mechanics, or anything similar?
It should be illegal to send customers out on bikes that aren't fit to ride safely.
There's an NVQ, though it isn't nearly required in order to 'practice' as a bike mechanic. It's aimed at people who've been mechanicing for a bit already, though I've seen it work on people completely new to (shop-style) mechanicing.
It is illegal to send peopel out on bikes that aren't safe, so far as I know. I think the problem comes from exactly what constitutes 'unsafe' (in both the eyes of the law and of the general public).0 -
I've quickly read all the above and not noticed anybody else complaining about their Boardman bike.
Maybe ilovesherbert got a 'friday afternoon' job and has just been unlucky.
Or hasn't there been too many sold.
Basically the setup is down to a shoddily assembled bike,
parts that go wrong / break are down to the components manufacturer, unless they're 2nd's they could have easily been fited to a Trek, Specialized or sold as a spare over the counter to anybody.
Any problems though should be sorted by Bikehut under the warranty period.
I must say though the bikes look very well specced and i beleive next month cycling plus will be testing one [oct issue i think], should be interestin !
oh and it's just started to rain again,
scurry
ps just checked the Boardman Comp is up against
Cube Aerial Comp
Specialized Allez Sport
Pinnacle Sentinal 1.0
all £500 - £7000 -
I don't understand this minimum wage theory, either you have pride in what you do or you don't. I'm sure there are plenty of kids in these shops who put a bike together in the time it takes me to make a brew and it would be spot on. On the other side of the coin I've had very poor service from Ribble, Hewitt and Hinde and they are supposed to be the experts.0
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Can you emphasise on the 'very poor service' from Paul Hewitt please?0
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Yeah, but without any of the manufacturer backup. If you get a Specialized through Halfords, they wont warranty it, since it wasn't bought through a Specialized dealer.mailmannz wrote:Actually you can pretty much order any bike through Halfords.
Because they don't know they're not a real bike shop, and, chances are, they're the only big bike retailer they know of.mailmannz wrote:Actually, as I got the bike through my works bike to work scheme (I paid the difference between my voucher and the bike) Im going to ask the chairman at the next all staff event why the hell they went with a car parts company instead of a real bike shop.
Halfords have low wages and low expectations.Handlebar Chewer wrote:I don't understand this minimum wage theory, either you have pride in what you do or you don't. I'm sure there are plenty of kids in these shops who put a bike together in the time it takes me to make a brew and it would be spot on.
Proper bike shops have higher wages and higher expectations. And nicer bikes to work on.
If you're good enough to work in a proper bike shop, that's where you go. If you're not, you plump for halfords.0 -
giant mancp wrote:Can you emphasise on the 'very poor service' from Paul Hewitt please?
I drove 15 miles to get a rear wheel fixed by Hewitt since I'd heard such good things about the place. When I got there I was given the bums rush and after nearly walking out> They agreed to check the wheel out. When I returned for the wheel I was told it was sorted, but when I got home it was still the same. In the end I took it to the local bike shop Factory Direct Cycles, the guy there is a diamond, but they generally deal with Mountain Bikes. Anyway he fixed the wheel no problem.
Regards Hewitt this was probably a one off as I've heard a lot of good things said before and since.0 -
I've said it before on here, but i am amazed people on this forum are interested in these bikes.
Looking at the "Pro" (which Pro?) it gets a shoddy Truvativ chainset, an aluminium frame (very cheap these days and for the target market not the best material), Tektro brake calipers and weighs about 8.5kg.
To be fair, the three plus points are the DA shifting, the ritchey finishing kit and wheels ... all good.
Now, it might not be a bad bike at all, but for £1300 odd there are much, much better options out there.
It's a bit of an oddball machine with that frame. they'd be much better off getting a chinese/taiwanese carbon frame, full dura ace, and cheapo wheels and finishing kit ...0 -
wildmoustache wrote:I've said it before on here, but i am amazed people on this forum are interested in these bikes.
Looking at the "Pro" (which Pro?) it gets a shoddy Truvativ chainset, an aluminium frame (very cheap these days and for the target market not the best material), Tektro brake calipers and weighs about 8.5kg.
To be fair, the three plus points are the DA shifting, the ritchey finishing kit and wheels ... all good.
Now, it might not be a bad bike at all, but for £1300 odd there are much, much better options out there.
It's a bit of an oddball machine with that frame. they'd be much better off getting a chinese/taiwanese carbon frame, full dura ace, and cheapo wheels and finishing kit ...
But it's aimed at new people to cycling who are going to be first looking in Halfords for a bike and mistakenly believe that they are getting a race ready machine.
It's the kind of purchase where the customer is close to taking the sport seriously, but theyre still relying on their own judgement and not the views of forums like this, long in the tooth cycling friends or generally seeing the real options available to them via a couple of cycling mag reads - think about how many cycle to work schemes may end up being used to buy them too0 -
sonicred007 wrote:wildmoustache wrote:I've said it before on here, but i am amazed people on this forum are interested in these bikes.
Looking at the "Pro" (which Pro?) it gets a shoddy Truvativ chainset, an aluminium frame (very cheap these days and for the target market not the best material), Tektro brake calipers and weighs about 8.5kg.
To be fair, the three plus points are the DA shifting, the ritchey finishing kit and wheels ... all good.
Now, it might not be a bad bike at all, but for £1300 odd there are much, much better options out there.
It's a bit of an oddball machine with that frame. they'd be much better off getting a chinese/taiwanese carbon frame, full dura ace, and cheapo wheels and finishing kit ...
But it's aimed at new people to cycling who are going to be first looking in Halfords for a bike and mistakenly believe that they are getting a race ready machine.
It's the kind of purchase where the customer is close to taking the sport seriously, but theyre still relying on their own judgement and not the views of forums like this, long in the tooth cycling friends or generally seeing the real options available to them via a couple of cycling mag reads - think about how many cycle to work schemes may end up being used to buy them too
that's why ii'm amazed people on this forum are interested in Boardman bikes ...0 -
I think there is a tinge of disappointment vs wanting to like them cos its Boardman on herewildmoustache wrote:sonicred007 wrote:wildmoustache wrote:I've said it before on here, but i am amazed people on this forum are interested in these bikes.
Looking at the "Pro" (which Pro?) it gets a shoddy Truvativ chainset, an aluminium frame (very cheap these days and for the target market not the best material), Tektro brake calipers and weighs about 8.5kg.
To be fair, the three plus points are the DA shifting, the ritchey finishing kit and wheels ... all good.
Now, it might not be a bad bike at all, but for £1300 odd there are much, much better options out there.
It's a bit of an oddball machine with that frame. they'd be much better off getting a chinese/taiwanese carbon frame, full dura ace, and cheapo wheels and finishing kit ...
But it's aimed at new people to cycling who are going to be first looking in Halfords for a bike and mistakenly believe that they are getting a race ready machine.
It's the kind of purchase where the customer is close to taking the sport seriously, but theyre still relying on their own judgement and not the views of forums like this, long in the tooth cycling friends or generally seeing the real options available to them via a couple of cycling mag reads - think about how many cycle to work schemes may end up being used to buy them too
that's why ii'm amazed people on this forum are interested in Boardman bikes ...0 -
So, by the looks of this thread, its not the Boardman bike which is the problem, its just that its being sold through Halfords?
Im picking up my Boardman Comp bike on tuesday. I am buying through a C2W scheme so Im limited to what I can purchase. It looks a very good bike, well spec'd and I have been assured it will be set up correctly (as this was a concern of mine).
Im looking forward to riding it in the Manchester 100 on the 2nd Sept. I will let you know how it is.0 -
From what I've seen of the spec - the bikes are OK.
As to the brakes not being set up right - well thats the first thing you'd notice and it wouldnt get out the shop if most of us were collecting it.
Not all LBS are the mecca that some have written. The one near me fitted my mates brake pads in backwards and he couldnt slow down on a mountain pass. Hilarious to watch, but it could have killled him.0 -
First of all, in my opinion, the Boardman bikes are not really very good value for money at all. I have to agree with Wildmoustache, which pro indeed. I see the point that they are aimed at people new to cycling, but at the end of the day, if you are forking out 1300 knicker, you are probably going to do your research a little and quickly come to the conclusion that it just ain't worth the money, which it aint.
As for Halfords, check this out...
I honestly used to think that I would never ever take any of my high end kit to Halfords, then once day I got really annoyed with my LBS, I took my Lightspeed mountain bike (very rarely used) in for a service, now I had known that the handlebars were a little loose, but I hardly ride this thing, maybe down to the dvd rental joint and back that is it. Anyway I decided to get it serviced, and it came back with the handlebars still loose. Aside from that the guy that runs this place is an arrogant prick.
So I thought, right that is it, I will take my bikes further afield to another specialised LBS. Which I did until one day my car was busted and I needed some work doing on my bike. I wanted a service and also to have the cables changed out with some nice new jagwire cables recently bought from the web. I thought I would give Halford's a go, I do not know why I just thought I would give em a shot at it.
So I took my Willier Le Roi in, and gingerly handed it over and explained to the guy what I wanted doing, oh yeah I wanted the bar tape redoing also, I had brought my own with me.
He took it all in his stride and told me to come back later in the day, allowing himself about 4 hours or so to do the work.
I tell you what, he did an amazing job, he is clearly a very good wrench, the cables looked amazing, he had really done a perfect job of those. The service was excellent, and the bar tape job as good as you would expect from aywhere. Total cost 15 quid.
He even said "It is nice to have a decent bike to work on rather than some of the sheds on wheels that we get in here"
Funnily enough I asked him whther he included the Boardman range in the latter group of bikes, he smiled and said "Absolutley, you would have to be nuts to spend that sort of money on these bits of junk"
So, Halfords is not all bad, I guess it depends on who you get, but I will go back to my local one, as long as it is this guy (who is the manager of the bike department) who works on it, having said that even the "New deal special" that was working with him, took a genuine interest in the bike, and also said it was nice to have it around.0 -
Theres still plenty of people having a go at these Boardman bikes [the spec etc], however unless few have been sold not many complaints from new owners.
Maybe the guy who started this thread got a 'friday afternoon' job, similar to what you find in general in life as a whole.
Also the original thread was for the Comp and not the Pro as some guys are ready to knock,
more will be revealed in next months Cycling Plus test.
Reading some messages I do think theres a bit of snobbery about people claim anybody who write in these forums should know better than to buy a Boardman bike especially from Halfords,0 -
Zerosum - hardly surprising that the LBS owner rubbished the Boardman bikes, most shop owners hardly speak glowingly of the marques that they don't sell.
Also - lots of people dont do any research before spending money - just look at the amount of crap cars on the road - you'd think that people would have spent a couple of quid on a motor mag before parting with thousands of pounds - but they don't.
I saw Chris out on Sunday - looked to me like he was riding his branded bike and wearing the kit - so at least he walks the walk.0 -
cougie wrote:Zerosum - hardly surprising that the LBS owner rubbished the Boardman bikes, most shop owners hardly speak glowingly of the marques that they don't sell.
Also - lots of people dont do any research before spending money - just look at the amount of crap cars on the road - you'd think that people would have spent a couple of quid on a motor mag before parting with thousands of pounds - but they don't.
I saw Chris out on Sunday - looked to me like he was riding his branded bike and wearing the kit - so at least he walks the walk.
I think Zerosum's point was that the Halfords manager rubbished Boardman bikes.
I quite like Boardman from what I see of him on TV, but don't give him any bonus points for riding one of the range of bikes he's just launched!! Wouldn't any sane person do the same?
Agree with you on lots of people not doing research though. ... and maintain that these bikes are not good value relative to Focus, Planet X, Ribble etc.0 -
giant mancp wrote:[quote="Big Red S"]giant mancp wrote:You wasted your money because you were pulled in by the hype that an ex british champion has brought out a range of bikes and has given Halfrauds the 'privilege' of selling them.
My guess is that it was more Halfords bringing out a new range of bikes, and convincing an ex british champion to let them put his name on them.
Yes that could very well be the case here. Either way I don't think the components used and the service you receive from an outlet such as Halfrauds will be a satisfactory one.
The question which has to be asked is why on even the top model of these line of bikes is the frame aluminium with carbon seatstays? Has monocoque carbon suddenly gone out of fashion all of a sudden or something?
You pay 1400 quid for an aluminium framed bike and they have the nerve to call it the pro model? You are far better off going to Planet X and getting one of their carbon superlight bikes for the same money. At least there you will get better service. And the bike will be put together properly. If other proprieters can do it, why can't Halfords?[/quote][/quote]
Aha, so you ar eth bike expert and decided that only carbon should be n top models?
I saw a carbon bike completely crumle recently in a light collision, rear stays collapsed and it was a rand new bike.
Wit an ally or steel bike would have ended up with scratched paintwork at most.0 -
I was going to add something along the same lines Oldwelshman - something to do with carbon surely not being the 'be all and end all' of bicycle framesets. That said I probably wouldn't have the Boardman bike in any of its guises as I think there are better value out there and given the choices available now and there will be very good alternatives available that I could afford to be picky, Boardman simply wasn't a rider who excited me when watching him either racing or as a presenter.
Granted the latter is not a very good reason for rejecting a bike but there has to be a narrowing criteria of some description in place. 0
