Anyone got/ tried the new Boardman 2009 carbon? IT'S LIGHT!

panita

I was set on getting a Cannondale CAAD9 105 with my C2W voucher and popped into Halfords just to check I wasn't missing anything new. Well they had the new Boardman Team Carbon in and it does look pretty nice!

It weighs 8kg flat and has the 2009 Sram Rival group set (or part of). I know Halfords have the reputation of poor set up and after sales, but I'd love to get any opinions on how this rides.

It's selling for £999 which puts it play with the Focus Cayo and Planet X offering I think.

JC.152

is that the same bike nicole cooke won olympics and worlds on?

cougie

But the Alu bike was £1400 ? Are you sure its carbon ?

duckson

this one i assume:-

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... ber_931287

panita

Yep that's the one. Full carbon. Last year's team model was an Alu frame and went for £799 I believe. There is also an 2009 Team version in Alu for the same price.

I think Nicole Cooke's bike is this one....

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

But my budget is not going anywhere near £3000

giant_man

Just a shame you have to buy it at bloody Halfrauds!

aracer

Looks decent, but not killer value for that price - bearing in mind that whilst Rival is pretty pricey in the aftermarket here, it's not any more expensive to the OEM than Ultegra and similar quality level to that or 105. Is the 8kg a real or spec. weight?

Certainly looks a decent offering if you have CTW with Halfrauds.

panita

The guy in bike department said it'd come in this week and he had it on the scales at 8kg for the Medium size frame which is 54-56cm i think. He said the frame itself weighed about 950g, and seemed pretty impressed.

I'd love to know how comfortable/smooth this is to ride as I plan to use it for 4-5 house weekend rides. I'll defo book in a test ride when I get a chance but as this would be my first ever road bike I've no point of reference regards the ride quality.

aracer

If that frame weight is real, then that's extremely good at that price point. Then again, given it's being specced on a £3k bike, there's a fair chance it is real.

If you're bothered about comfort, just fit some slightly wider tyres :roll: though if it's really your first ever road bike then I'm not sure how much any test ride will tell you.

gingerninja_22

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

redddraggon

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff

I'm afraid you just lost me. What's New York City got to do with Halfords?

alfablue

redddraggon wrote:

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff

I'm afraid you just lost me. What's New York City got to do with Halfords?

I think this is known as "Text Speak" (or txtspk! - see here for an explanation), usually used by the lazy and/or intellectually compromised (at least if used in media other than mobile phone SMS messaging), rare but not unknown conditions amongst cyclists.

Anonymous

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

I really have no idea what you just said.

Anonymous

That Boardman says it's Rival but the Crankset is the budget Truvativ and the brakes are (speaking from experience) awful.
That said, I suppose it would be a good starter bike with a view to upgrading the crankset and brakes eventually.
As someone else has said, shame you have to buy it from Halfords. Spoke to the two lads in the Bikehut at my local store and they really didn't have a clue...

aracer

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

You appear to have some faulty keys on your keyboard - that and your spell checker is bust.

fuzzynavel

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

Translation:

I work at halfords and we have just received some of these. They are really nice, especially the bottom bracket which makes me so stiff.
The rest leaves me a little confused when he talks about mould on Nicole Cooke's bike and (possibly pubic) weaves.

panita

Trying to get some more detail on the Boardman 09 range is proving damn tough.

The Boardman bikes webset still doesn't have the 2009 range up yet!! which is crazy cuz some of the models are already in Bikehut/Halfords. I've emailed boardman's customer service for some detailed specs/geometry but no reply yet.

I want to know the exact frame measurements for the Medium and Large sizes and also the crank lenghts. Someone must have the details somewhere!!

I'm fussing cuz I've got to tell my company by Friday whether I want a C2W voucher for Halfords or Evans. Decisions...

ugo.santalucia

fuzzynavel wrote:

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

Translation:

I work at halfords and we have just received some of these. They are really nice, especially the bottom bracket which makes me so stiff.
The rest leaves me a little confused when he talks about mould on Nicole Cooke's bike and (possibly pubic) weaves.

Nuggs

fuzzynavel wrote:

gingerninja_22 wrote:

yh i jus gt it in at my halfords they are realy nyc speshally the wrk round the bottom bracket so stiff and yh basically the mould is the same as nicole cookes worlds nd olympics bike, but the team uses 700 weave and the pro at 1500 uses 800 and the race prepped one is 1000 weave

Translation:

I work at halfords and we have just received some of these. They are really nice, especially the bottom bracket which makes me so stiff.
The rest leaves me a little confused when he talks about mould on Nicole Cooke's bike and (possibly pubic) weaves.

Comedy genius. I'm loving your work.

panita

Finally,.. Boardman have posted the specs and geometry...

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/Boardman09_Road.pdf

I test rode the 2009 carbon team yesterday. I don't have any useful comparison other than my Kona Dew but it felt really nice, and surprizingly very smooth. It was only a short ride 10mins in a car park but rode it over a few a bunch bumps, holes and it was pretty kind on my backside.

2tired2ride

Have you guys actually had bad experiences with halfords or do you just not like them because everyone else dosen't like them?

davelakers

The latter I guess.

Everybody loves a bandwagon dont they?

schilbach

I had a look at this bike and if I was in the market I wouldn't think twice. Great Spec...Great look!!!

Monty Dog

2tired2ride wrote:

Have you guys actually had bad experiences with halfords or do you just not like them because everyone else dosen't like them?

Suggest you do a search for posts on Halfords or Halfrauds for the full-on low-down! Anyone who's worked in a bikshop will have plenty of experience - bikes with the forks on backwards, brakes that don't work and the usual trivial stuff. I don't have a problem with the products, just the way they're put together!

bodisgod

Halfords can be hit and miss. Some of the guys DO know what they are doing/taking about. I've been dealing with Matt Sully in the Bristol Brislington branch, he knows his stuff and is extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

I went for the 2009 Team Carbon on a CTW scheme. Went out yesterday for the first time and the bike was excellent. I'm mainly a mountain biker, and have been using an mtb to commute, slicks etc. Have had Cannondale roadbikes in the past.

First thing is the weight, or the lack of it. Secondly is the stiffness, but yet shock aborbsion of the frame/fork combo, makes for a relatively comfortable ride. The bike was well set up, just a few minor adjustments. Gearing works well, double tap levers will take a while to get used to, nothing major. Brakes worked well once bedded in a bit, sandpaper on the blocks helped. Rest of the finishing kit is Ritchey Comp, seems decent, well finished and looks good, if a little understated (good thing on a daily commute bike). There are some nice touches on the frame, cable routing on through the headtube, squared and swaged stays, 1.5" lower headset race. Even the standard Boardman branded seat didn't offend too much.

Highly recommended

Thumbs up to Matt Sully

giant_man

[quote="2tired2ride"]Have you guys actually had bad experiences with halfords or do you just not like them because everyone else dosen't like them?[/quote]
I don't think people would just make it up mate. They have an opinion for a reason, if any outlet is bad people will say. It's getting them to say how good something is, thta's the problem.

panita

Bodisgod,

Congrats on talking the plunge with the Team Carbon, that's the first hands on impression I've read on this bike. How tall are you and what size did you go for? Fit well?

I'm still set on this bike, I think it offers the best value for money at this price alongside Focus/Planet X, just waiting for my CTW voucher to come through which is likely to be after Xmas (sigh..)

For the time being I'll have make do tinkering with mud flaps designs on my commuter bike. A wet/muddy towpath commute (and lack of regular cleaning) has killed my chain and cassette on my new Kona Dew after six months!

bodisgod

I'm 6', 32" inside leg and went for a large. Feels the right size, not too stretched, takes a while to get used to it, but then I haven't been on a road bike for years.

My employer went with Halfords for CTW. However, they can source bikes that they don't stock at their own stores, they did have a good deal on a Viner Gladius carbon road bike for £1k, but they may be all gone now. Anyway, I think the Boardmans are fantastic value for money, well designed and specced, I think CB is onto a winner with the full range, any tests I have read have backed this up. Whilst people winge about Halfords, you can take the bike anywhere for a service, if you can't do it yourself. Just stick with recommended bikehuts.

If you order on-line for reserve & collect you get 10% off at the moment.

bodisgod

Oh and the new Boardman website is up and running

www.boardmanbikes.com

CumbrianMan

Bodisgod

You sound as though you work for RBS. I understand their staff have their C2W thro' Halfords only, and that they can source 'most' bikes.

Makes you wonder how that works with warranty problems for say a Trek or a Spesh, when they don't actually stock them ! Do you go back to Halfords or do they say, well we actually got it on your behalf from xxxx, so you'll have to contact them.

Talking of Halfords, having seen the state of the bikes in one local to me, I'd rather let my two daughters loose with a couple of allen keys and spanners. Having said that, the one on Edge Lane in Liverpool has a mechanic who is the dogs you-know-whats !

Cheers

bodisgod

Work for Orange (as in telecoms, not bikes)! I think Halfords is a common CTW partner. They would sort you out with non Halfords stocked brands, but you might need to deal with head office, which may cause issues in itself!

As I said, go to a recommended Bikehut, I have been there and done that with Halfords service like most, but some of them do know their stuff.

I would highly recommend Matt @ the Bristol Brislington branch.

I believe the frameset alone on the Team would retail for around £800.

I bought the carbon bottle cage as well, nice bit of kit