Boardman Bikes 2009: An update from Chris Boardman
Comments
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Bodisgod - thanks for your comments, i can do a few adjustments myself on my road bike, although discs are new to me and I am sure they will bed in, its just I expected after shelling out £850 on a bike that it would at least be checked over before going out. It doesnt take much to check the brakes arent dragging and that the gears are shifting ok (twice)
As for the creaking noise it sounds like we have the same problem, I have followed a useful troubleshooting site (http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html) with no joy and short of dismantling the BB which is a little beyond my competence and tool collection at the moment I am stumped. I did however come across this post on bike radar from last month.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12621136
unfortunately not sure of the outcome, so I am at the mercy of Halfords.0 -
It's fair to expect that the bike is set up correctly and roadworthy!
You shouldn't need to do much with disc brakes, other than pads and fluid, at certain intervals dependent on use. I would leave that to your LBS, although you could probably sort the pads out yourself.
Hopefully we'll get some feedback from the other thread.
Cheers .......0 -
Update on post above, I've just spoken to the mechanic at Halfords and he has changed the bottom bracket, refitted the forks,and anything else he can think of with no joy it still creaks.
He spoke with the boardman HQ and they don't have any suggestions other than to send the bike back to them.
As a result they have offered me a replacement bike and are building it now.
An apology and some vouchers would have been a nice offer as compensation for the hassle, but I'm not being churlish, subject the this one being OK I'm happy that they have been able to sort it out today and that l will still be able to go on the C2C tomorrow, I'll just have to make some adjustments on route if necessary.
I hope you get yours sorted soon.
Cheers0 -
I spoke to Matt at Brislington, he did say they would try and get a new frame in to swap over if they couldn't find the source of the creaking. I will pursue this if all else fails. I wonder if it really is frame related, not good if it is, and is likely to show up again potentially.
Thanks for the update.0 -
I have a Boardman Comp(£649) and a Ribble Sportive(£1099). I bought the Ribble as I intended to demote the Boardman to "second bike" status.
Now, don't get me wrong I like the Ribble but I just can't think it is a better bike by £450. It's not, in fact.
I can't detect that I am any faster on the Ribble than the Comp - and I like to look at the Comp for longer.
It's a great bike. Thanks, Chris. 8)0 -
I'm desperate to get my hands on the Carbon Pro in a medium but Hellfrauds are out of stock!
Can anyone tell me when they'll be available? I have the cash burning a hole.0 -
It's available as Home/Work delivery according to the site. Get yer credit card outChunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter0 -
i think the Norwich store may have had one in, might be worth giving them a ring. Not sure if the stores will deliver though.0
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I am looking to get a Boardman Road Bike Team Carbon Medium 09 through the Cycle to Work scheme via Halfords. Have read through the forum with great interest but must say I am concerned about the build. Can anyone suggest a Halfords in London (or surroundings) that would be recommended to buy the bike through ?0
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abbottti wrote:I am looking to get a Boardman Road Bike Team Carbon Medium 09 through the Cycle to Work scheme via Halfords. Have read through the forum with great interest but must say I am concerned about the build. Can anyone suggest a Halfords in London (or surroundings) that would be recommended to buy the bike through ?
An ex-"Bike Hut" branch of H*fords would be my recommendation.Cycling weakly0 -
That was my initial thought. Thanks very much. Appreciate it0
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Interesting update, thank you. Stock levels seem to be a real issue at present and it would be great if the Halfords website could give more information about this. I did manage to find what seems to be the only available Boardman road bike in the model and size I was after in the south of England, though on calling the store the bike was provisionally on hold for another customer. Big thanks to Sam at the Colchester branch for chasing up the potential non-buyer, keeping me up to date, and releasing the bike for me to collect!. As good or better customer service as any LBS (and my local reputable one recently sold a wheel fitted with tube and tyre to a mate of mine, without rim tape, as we discovered pumping it up just before a sportive(!), so lets not get too misty eyed about them).0
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I had to travel 100 miles to find my Boardman Carbon in medium they held it for 2 weeks while i waited on the Cycle2work voucher, picked it up and now can't see any anywhere in the country now
PHEW!!
thank you halfords in Wakefield0 -
hi chris
im very sorry to disappoint you, but i have positive and negative feedback
positive: good bikes
negative: ugly, now i think i speak on behalf of everybody, when i say that the bikes are good, but ugly! i do not mean that harshly, but if you look at a GT GTR Series 4 2008, it is not very expensive, but it is better looking than the Boardman Road Comp 09, and it's nearly two times less expensive!!
thanks0 -
take that back, my PC accidently clicked on the back button, without me knowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
very sorry0 -
hi chris
im very sorry to disappoint you, but i have positive and negative feedback
positive: good bikes
negative: ugly, now i think i speak on behalf of everybody, when i say that the bikes are good, but ugly! i do not mean that harshly, but if you look at a GT GTR Series 4 2008, it is not very expensive, but it is better looking than the Boardman Road Comp 09, and it's nearly two times less expensive!!
thanks0 -
It's fantastic to see Chris B here speaking common sense. However:
I think he underestimated the value in his name.
Producing what seem to be excellent machines at any price, and incredible ones at the price they've been selling for, with his name on the tubes, was also going to be successful.
Why Boardman chose a static and much-maligned retail chain, with all the stock and image association issues that that was going to bring, is quite beyond me.
I recently spent £1800 on a road bike but didn't consider Boardman, frankly because of the association with Halfords. I bought a Giant, from a real bike shop.
It's 2009. Wiggle, Evans and Chain Reaction are doing how many more high-end cycle sales online than Halfords are in their shops?
What Boardman needs is an accessible, quality, on-line sales platform. A tie-in with a national chain of physical bike shops is useful, but only to the extent that people can go and see which size fits. And even that's not so important if the information on sizing is clear. Everyone with 1K+ to spend on a bike has access to the internet. These purchases are planned.
Good luck to them - it would be fantastic to see the company succeed, especially if some British manufacturing can be factored in at some point.
And one last thing to wide-eyed forumeers cooing on CB's every word: Remember, he's still just trying to sell us stuff. ;-)0 -
Well I can only say that I am disappointed. I have been waiting for a cheque to come my way and monitoring the situation.
I have been struggling around on one bike for both on and off road duties for the last couple of years and now I have the money to spend (when the cheque clears) I want to buy one decent mountain bike and one decent road bike... I can't afford the earth but I do want quality and reasonable spec. so the Boardman range is right up there, at least it would be if it wasn't for the issues identified already.
2 months on from Chris' post there are still significant supply and customer service issues. When I find a store with "stock" it turns out to be on display, poorly (if at all) prepared and not exactly cared for, which is proven and further compounded by watching the way the (largely pre-pubescent) staff handle them. I regularly check online to see if both bikes can be ordered for delivery. This seems to change daily and they are never both available to order online. Also, I have now resorted to checking all over the country and calling the stores which indicate stock, to find that they are display bikes or they don't actually have the stock shown and they will correct that error "soon".
I suppose I should mention that I am after a MTB FS Pro Large and a Road Team Carbon XL.
Ok, they are still good value, but if I am paying RRP, I want a new bike, just out of the box. In fact, I want 2 new bikes, just out of the box. Not stuck unlovingly on a display stand and molested by dozens of potential punters to be then "prepared" by little Jonny on his holiday job to collect beer tokens for nights out on the pull with his mates. If there was a little more info about the preparation of the delivered bike option I may be swayed, but as it stands, I feel like I'll be waiting a long time to get what I want and I may well have to take up other options for the road bike, such as Ribble, but I have no idea where to go next for a decent FS MTB at a price I can afford.
I am not a serious competitor but I am basically returning to cycling for fitness and fun after a long time messing about in cars. Now I'm fitter I want to go play in road time trials and some of the shorter MTB races. Even when I am able to go motor racing again, I intend to keep on cycling to keep fit and enjoy our green and pleasant land.
Chris, if you read this, please let your colleagues know that the current state of affairs is not good enough and the Boardman brand really does need to consider its options on how to improve sales and service, with urgency. Even being able to contact Boardman people instead of the frankly useless Halfords "customer service" team would be a start. They can't even sort out a basic website log-in issue after 2 weeks of trying!
I'll post the final outcome of my journey on here.0 -
I believe that Halfords have made a serious statement by closing the Cycle Republic brand (and in fact the York shop as I have recently discovered).
I bought the Carbon Road Pro from York CR, partly because I rode the bike, and it was fantastic, and partly because they put themselves out to get the right ride for me, unlike most of the LBS I tested at, who seemed to think the bikes would sell themselves.
The closure of CR in York has told me a couple of things. The stock was all for sale at bargain prices which to me means the other York Halfords branches will not be selling any higher end (Condor, Merida, Boardman, Kona, etc) bikes, just the Carrera and Apollo 'scrap metal waiting to be dumped' models. Nor will they stock quality parts or accessories, just the Bikehut basics range. The staff had all gone too, and the shop was staffed by a couple of young ladies, who were helpful if you wanted a bargain.
I do not believe Halfords are committed to cycling in any way shape or form. The message I am getting it that they are now purely box shifters. The situation that existed when Chris first entered into business with Halfords does not pertain any more. If I were looking now, I would not buy a Boardman bike, because the opportunity to ride one, or to talk to someone about them does not exist.
I'm glad I bought the bike I did, when I did. I'm sad to see a good bike shop closed, and i refuse to believe it was not profitable. I suspect rather that customer service carries a premium, and the margins are less, and so CR was just not as profitable as shifting boxes. Perhaps Chris insisting on how his bikes were sold caused Halfords to bin the bike shops because then they could push the online sales side?0 -
There was an interview in the Daily Mail this week with the Halfords CEO, bike sales are hugely up & he stated they are committed to improving the higher end sales of the business to attract more "serious" cyclists back through the doors.
Then was questioned about his bike, he doesn't even own one (yet he says, to be fair).
They have a serious staff issue, I think they pay peanuts & get monkeys, and are still more geared to motorists.
Majority of their stiff is lower end & budget level, and that's O.K., until you put a Decathlon 2 doors down as at Lakeside & then they just look shoddy.
Large number of items are labelled incorrectly or not priced at all, staff seem to have no idea, and loads of people have experienced really poor service by their "mechanics".
The key to this is to see how they perform over the next 6 months to try & improve their reputation & service.
Personally I bought a Ribble online despite admiring the Boardmans for many months, partly through choice (I wanted Campag not SRAM) but mainly due to availability, and knowing I would have the hassle of getting it set up correctly.My knees hurt !0 -
Dear forum members, i have read through the posts with great intrest on this topic of halfords and boardman bikes, can you take the time to give me some much needed advice on the purchase of a new bike, my dilemma is: I am a total amature to road biking but after covering quite a few miles on the road on my mountain bike (and enjoying it ) feel the need to get a bike better suited, My work supports the cycle to work vouchers which are in conection with halfords, now do i get the cheapest carrera bike in the view that i might not notice any diference to a expencive one due to me being a amature cyclist or do i go the whole hog and get the team carbon at £ 999? I think it works out at just over £600 through the cycle to work scheme, my mates are keen time trialists and would like to have a go, any advice will be appreciated0
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carbonevo wrote:Dear forum members, i have read through the posts with great intrest on this topic of halfords and boardman bikes, can you take the time to give me some much needed advice on the purchase of a new bike, my dilemma is: I am a total amature to road biking but after covering quite a few miles on the road on my mountain bike (and enjoying it ) feel the need to get a bike better suited, My work supports the cycle to work vouchers which are in conection with halfords, now do i get the cheapest carrera bike in the view that i might not notice any diference to a expencive one due to me being a amature cyclist or do i go the whole hog and get the team carbon at £ 999? I think it works out at just over £600 through the cycle to work scheme, my mates are keen time trialists and would like to have a go, any advice will be appreciated
If you think even for a second that you will get hooked then spend the grand
If you are the sort (and be honest with yourself) who buys stuff and loses interest in it within a month, then get the Carrera Virutoso for £329 and be happy that you have only cost yourself £200, and that if you suprise yourself and go against your norm and get hooked you still have a decent enough bike to keep you going.0 -
FOAD wrote:carbonevo wrote:Dear forum members, i have read through the posts with great intrest on this topic of halfords and boardman bikes, can you take the time to give me some much needed advice on the purchase of a new bike, my dilemma is: I am a total amature to road biking but after covering quite a few miles on the road on my mountain bike (and enjoying it ) feel the need to get a bike better suited, My work supports the cycle to work vouchers which are in conection with halfords, now do i get the cheapest carrera bike in the view that i might not notice any diference to a expencive one due to me being a amature cyclist or do i go the whole hog and get the team carbon at £ 999? I think it works out at just over £600 through the cycle to work scheme, my mates are keen time trialists and would like to have a go, any advice will be appreciated
If you think even for a second that you will get hooked then spend the grand
If you are the sort (and be honest with yourself) who buys stuff and loses interest in it within a month, then get the Carrera Virutoso for £329 and be happy that you have only cost yourself £200, and that if you suprise yourself and go against your norm and get hooked you still have a decent enough bike to keep you going.
mmm, decisions decisions, thanks for that, it's what i was sort of thinking anyway, do you know with the cycle to work scheme if you can get another voucher next year when its all paid off ? Also with reading through the posts that the boardman has some braking issues and wheel problems, i dont want to spend another grand replacing things soon after i bought it..0 -
Chris, i was all set to buy your Pro mountain bike but Halfords unfortunatley lost my sale for you.
After finally finding one in my size I was quite surprised when i got there (after waiting for half an hour to speak to someone) to find that i couldn't take a test ride on it, even with the offer of a deposit being left on my credit card. The most they would allow was about ten feet, inside on a concrete floor - is that really good enough for a customer trying to spend £1,000?
Fair to say my next stop was to a proper bike shop, that allowed me to take a proper test ride. I might not have as well specced a bike but at least i could make an informed decision on it's suitablity.
I'd suggest you or someone within your organisation goes to a couple of Halford's stores and tries to buy a bike to experience it for yourself.
Even with your excellent sales to date, i expect if your range was sold through Wiggle or even Evans you'd have sold a lot, lot more - the stigma attached to Halfords puts a lot of people off. For example, on paper your £1k road bike is the best option IMO, however you only need to read a few posts in the road section to understand that many wont buy simply because of Halfords.2011 Genesis Equilibrium 10 (black frame) | 2011 Tricross Sport | 2008 Carrera Fury0 -
I have my LoC and am looking for a cyclocross bike. I have it on good authority that Halfords have a bar code reference on their system for a Boardman cx bike. I have been trying to find out the spec and when this is likely to be released as, based on other Boardman bikes, it should be good value for money.
Does anyone know how to contact Boardman Bikes as I couldn't get a number from directory enquiries and there are no contact details shown on their website.0 -
I've been waiting 6 weeks now and today have been told by my Halfords store that the bike is another 6 weeks away! :evil: I'm going to go in tomorrow and get my deposit back, bloody annoyed!!!!0
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Has anyone found a method of getting an accurate delivery date for a Boardman bike from Halfords?
So far, delivery always seems to be about 2 weeks away, but never actually gets any closer.
My letter of collection for the cycle to work scheme has a 4 month expiry date, and seemed excessive at the time.
Now it doesn't seem long enough.
CJ0 -
Well, a week on from placing an order (2 bikes - FS pro and Team Carbon) on a 1 week delivery estimate, I've been told another 3 weeks wait, and judging from the other posts here that is also utter nonsense. The store staff have been only friendly, polite and helpful, the information they have given having come from the supply people at head office. The store manager is investigating further but I don't hold out much hope of success. If I don't get a sensible response in the next week I will cancel and recover my deposit.
If only I could speak to the BOARDMAN people DIRECTLY and make other arrangements, this would be sorted quickly an efficiently. HALFORDS are NOT the right route to a healthy rate of sales and a healthy reputation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
They may be great bikes, but Halfords really need to sort out their customer service..
Ordered my Boardman Team FS online on Saturday - order gave a delivery date of before the end of the week (today!).
Checked back on Thursday and the status of the order hadn't changed so I rang customer service - apparently it was awaiting address verification as I wanted it delivered to work, although noone had been in contact. Eventually someone rang and verified the address and confirmed delivery would be today.
Checked online this morning and the order had changed status to 'Cancelled'! Rang them up again and was told my details would be passed on and someone would ring me back. Several hours later and nothing so I rang them back again.. put on hold and eventually told that the order was not cancelled and that it was due for delivery on Monday.
Enough was enough (difficult to approve delivery to where I currently work).. order is now cancelled - Halfords £1000 loss will be the gain of my local bike shop / Wiggle.
As mentioned at the start.. probably great bikes but..
PS. Halfords have just left me a message saying that the reason my order was cancelled was due to the bike being out of stock - completely contradicting what I was told earlier about delivery on Monday.. :roll:0