Boardman Team Carbon Feedback

Ironguard
Ironguard Posts: 3
edited June 2009 in Road beginners
I've been lurking on here for sometime trying to decide what to buy so when I bought the boardman team carbon I sort of new what to expect of the Halfords service. I thought I'd put some of my experience with it on here maybe to help someone in the same position I was.

First I decided that due to the patchy service in store that I would order online, my thinking being that if there is a team that does nothing but the online bikes then they might be better at it.

The bike arrived quickly and I put my pedals on it and straighten the handle bars. The basics of the build seem ok, the problem comes in the detail. For example I almost immediately noticed that the breaks weren't set up properly, a two minute job even for a novice like me.

I then took the bike out for a ride, the gear alignment was terrible so on getting home onto the internet and find instructions for setting up. I'm a novice but thirty minutes with youtube an alan key and a screw driver and I had the gears set up better than the supposed professionals at Halfords.

Would I buy the bike again, at the moment yes. All the problems have been easily sorted, but come on if I a novice can do it why wasn't it done in the first place? End of the day love the bike hate the service, worst case I can take it to the LBS if there are problems I can't figure out.

Comments

  • rogerthecat
    rogerthecat Posts: 669
    M8 I have only been visiting this forum for 3 months (ish), however it's the same storey time and time again, upshot is good bike, poor service, spend either an extra 40 at you LBS or do as you do, either way, It's a crying shame that Halfords are the only stockists of these wonderful bikes. :(
  • dandrew
    dandrew Posts: 175
    Mine is fine and happily my local shop is the Bikehut St Pauls London where they seem to know their stuff. It's going in for a slightly delayed 1st service and hope that I'll be able to give them some positive feedback.
  • Ironguard
    Ironguard Posts: 3
    Not for one minute Saying all the shops are bad. The problem is it seems like pot luck what you get. Even in their mail order where it should be easiest to get it right as a company, they still seem to be struggling.

    As I said in my first post though none of the problems are insurmountable and you still get a great bike for silly money.
  • spursn17
    spursn17 Posts: 284
    dandrew wrote:
    Mine is fine and happily my local shop is the Bikehut St Pauls London where they seem to know their stuff. It's going in for a slightly delayed 1st service and hope that I'll be able to give them some positive feedback.

    +1 from me, I've had mine 2 weeks and was set up ok by St Pauls bikehut. Only had to raise the seat.
  • butcher_boy
    butcher_boy Posts: 117
    http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12629742

    Mr Boardman is aware of the issues with Halfords.

    Feel free to advise him on the other link