Thought I would share my experience

T-Rekster

Hi all

Pretty new to cycling, started off last year with the goal of losing a few extra pounds, I didn't realise at the time that the pounds would be lost far quicker from my wallet than anywhere else....

So I looked around, did a little research, listened to people go on about cheap cycles being a no go, and honestly discounted that as being snobbism amongst the cycling fraternity. In the end I went and purchased a Carrera Gryphon from Halfords, and whilst not a bad bike at all, one season in and I found myself hankering after upgrades which is where the moral of the story begins.

I quickly established that the cost of upgrading the lowly Halford machine far outweighed the cost of buying a new cycle, eventually I visited Cambridge Cycle Company, quite a small shop but very helpful & knowledgable staff, and they let me try the cycle I had my eye on for size, I left the shop that Saturday morning with a brand new Trek 1.2 Compact some road shoes and Shimano clip-less pedals.

17 miles later and I was amazed, how much lighter and how much more comfortable and how much more stable the bike felt, the vast improvement in handling and the simple fact that I instantly seemed to be able to stay in faster gears up hill than I had been able to do before. All in all the difference is stunning and dramatic and my ride has improved 10 times over.

So moral of the story to those considering getting in to cycling when these old snobs advise you to spend a little more money on a better cycle, don't do as I did and ignore them, its actually for a very good reason. :idea:

I am now left wondering how much better gear I could have got for the additional £250 I spent originally on the Halfords Carrera. :?:

T-Rekster
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Berk Bonebonce

Quite apart from that, I am unhappy that there seems to be so many people wanting to give their money to Halfords. The Halfords chain is plain bad, in as much as the wages they pay are so poor you are unlikely to find in one of their stores an employee who is very knowledgeable and capable when it comes to bikes. This is no problem if aforesaid person sells a £50 kiddies bike, but these days Halfords are selling your fairly expensive carbon fibre jobbies. To think that the girl who has sold a car radio to a boy racer might the next hour sell a Boardman carbon fibre bike to a newcomer to cycling is plain worrying.

Peddle Up!

"Old snobs"? Hey!

Stevie Spokes

Berk Bonebonce wrote:

Quite apart from that, I am unhappy that there seems to be so many people wanting to give their money to Halfords. The Halfords chain is plain bad, in as much as the wages they pay are so poor you are unlikely to find in one of their stores an employee who is very knowledgeable and capable when it comes to bikes. This is no problem if aforesaid person sells a £50 kiddies bike, but these days Halfords are selling your fairly expensive carbon fibre jobbies. To think that the girl who has sold a car radio to a boy racer might the next hour sell a Boardman carbon fibre bike to a newcomer to cycling is plain worrying.

Boardmans are good bikes, who gives a shite about the shop where you buy it from. Should we go and buy a lesser bike for the same money at an independent bike shop because the owner is a nice lad??

One Man And His Bike

Thing is, on the flip side of the coin, if you bought a much more expensive bike and found you hated riding and it then got left in the shed unused you would be worse off. (:

Sometimes testing the water with a cheap bike pays off.

velvetytoast

Berk Bonebonce wrote:

Quite apart from that, I am unhappy that there seems to be so many people wanting to give their money to Halfords. The Halfords chain is plain bad, in as much as the wages they pay are so poor you are unlikely to find in one of their stores an employee who is very knowledgeable and capable when it comes to bikes. This is no problem if aforesaid person sells a £50 kiddies bike, but these days Halfords are selling your fairly expensive carbon fibre jobbies. To think that the girl who has sold a car radio to a boy racer might the next hour sell a Boardman carbon fibre bike to a newcomer to cycling is plain worrying.

How you feeling abou tescos moving into the bike market then?

One Man And His Bike

After the BBC report I believe it was about superstore cheap bikes and the shoddy quality, scared for people buying them?

cornerblock

It does not matter at all, where or how somebody discovers how great cycling is. Just that they do. I am sure there are many people who have started off with a BSO from somewhere like Halfords, been bitten by the bug and are now doing cycling holidays in Mallorca. So in some ways Halfords has it's place, if for no other reason than being an introduction to cycling for some. Having said all that, always support your local bike shop
( if it's a good one).

fish156

Stevie Spokes wrote:

Boardmans are good bikes, who gives a shite about the shop where you buy it from.

No bike is a good bike if it's the wrong size. In my experience, you're more likely to walk out of a shop with the wrong bike if the staff haven't a clue. (It took me a year to realise I'd the wrong sized bike after I went to a shop that sold mainly kids' bikes.)

bails87

Just for a bit of balance. My local halfords is genuinely good. Much better customer service and better prices than the grumpy d1cks at my LBS. I know they're not all like that though, but that's my point, they're all different.

T-Rekster

Cornerblock wrote:

It does not matter at all, where or how somebody discovers how great cycling is. Just that they do. I am sure there are many people who have started off with a BSO from somewhere like Halfords, been bitten by the bug and are now doing cycling holidays in Mallorca. So in some ways Halfords has it's place, if for no other reason than being an introduction to cycling for some. Having said all that, always support your local bike shop
( if it's a good one).

Good and valid point, having been there I however feel a little angry with myself that I went that route and wished I' had simply hired or borrowed a cycle the first few times before buying a cycle. nothing against Halfords, they do have their place, for example I would find it a little difficult to justify spending a grand each on bikes for all the family for holiday use a couple of times a year which is where the Halfords Carrera range really come in to their own reasonable quality for the money. I'm just still astounded by the difference I found when clocking up the miles on the Trek.

One Man And His Bike

I just clocked your location T-Rekster, I ride out your way some days.

T-Rekster

Really, Small World, where about do you ride, I do Haverhill to Sawston (although the A1307 can be a bit scary at times) on a regular basis and some of the villages around the Bumpsteads area have quiet roads and nice scenery?

cornerblock

T-Rekster wrote:

Cornerblock wrote:

It does not matter at all, where or how somebody discovers how great cycling is. Just that they do. I am sure there are many people who have started off with a BSO from somewhere like Halfords, been bitten by the bug and are now doing cycling holidays in Mallorca. So in some ways Halfords has it's place, if for no other reason than being an introduction to cycling for some. Having said all that, always support your local bike shop
( if it's a good one).

Good and valid point, having been there I however feel a little angry with myself that I went that route and wished I' had simply hired or borrowed a cycle the first few times before buying a cycle. nothing against Halfords, they do have their place, for example I would find it a little difficult to justify spending a grand each on bikes for all the family for holiday use a couple of times a year which is where the Halfords Carrera range really come in to their own reasonable quality for the money. I'm just still astounded by the difference I found when clocking up the miles on the Trek.

Ah hindsight, a wonderful thing, if only we had it. There are so many times I think ' if only I knew then what I know now'. The bike that got me hooked on cycling was soon traded in for a better/more suitable bike and even the upgrade has been upgraded (it never ends!). I still consider the £500 I spent on my first bike as money well spent though because it rekindled a love of cycling that I had forgotten about since childhood.

One Man And His Bike

T-Rekster wrote:

Really, Small World, where about do you ride, I do Haverhill to Sawston (although the A1307 can be a bit scary at times) on a regular basis and some of the villages around the Bumpsteads area have quiet roads and nice scenery?

BSE.

If I am riding near Haverhill I have either come through Clare and am heading towards Newmarket or have come down through Lakenheath/Mildenhall and the A11 through Newmarket to head home on a longer ride.

You get used to the dodgy roads and traffic in time, hence I bomb down the A11 and A14 fairly often. :twisted:

AlasdairMc

fish156 wrote:

No bike is a good bike if it's the wrong size.

That's definitely a problem in Halfords, they don't know their stock and so will try to sell you something completely unsuitable if they happen to have it in their store at that point. A friend picked up a GT mountain bike from them that was easily three inches too big for them, yet the shop assistant convinced them that was normal.

On the subject of Halfords providing an introduction to cycling - fair enough, but how many people get into it seriously on a BSO compared to how many people are actively put off? Their half price full suspension jobs are one of the main culprits for this, people genuinely think they're getting £350 of bike for half that, but unfortunately they end up with a heavy lump that handles like a bent pogo stick.

Boardman bikes are fantastic value for money, but then so are other brands that get sold by reputable retailers with the service to back them up. I'd much rather go to an LBS and pick up a slightly more costly bike (of similar price to the Boardman range) if I know that they've taken the time to fit it to my needs perfectly.

cornerblock

AlasdairMc wrote:

fish156 wrote:

No bike is a good bike if it's the wrong size.

That's definitely a problem in Halfords, they don't know their stock and so will try to sell you something completely unsuitable if they happen to have it in their store at that point. A friend picked up a GT mountain bike from them that was easily three inches too big for them, yet the shop assistant convinced them that was normal.

On the subject of Halfords providing an introduction to cycling - fair enough, but how many people get into it seriously on a BSO compared to how many people are actively put off? Their half price full suspension jobs are one of the main culprits for this, people genuinely think they're getting £350 of bike for half that, but unfortunately they end up with a heavy lump that handles like a bent pogo stick.

Boardman bikes are fantastic value for money, but then so are other brands that get sold by reputable retailers with the service to back them up. I'd much rather go to an LBS and pick up a slightly more costly bike (of similar price to the Boardman range) if I know that they've taken the time to fit it to my needs perfectly.

You are right, better off going to a proper bike shop. It's just that there are some people who when thinking of buying a bike, think of Halfords. Sad but true. And while most probably end up with a crap bike rusting in the shed, there must be some who end up getting really into cycling, which is a good thing. There is no reason why a person on a £350 bike can't be getting the same pleasure from cycling as a person on a £2000 bike. Might be harder work but they can still be enjoying it!

martincashman

Local Bike Shops can be intimidating for people new to cycling, especially if you walk in off the street and don't know your stem from your bottom bracket. I didn't cycle this time last year but some friends were mountain biking and I wanted to give it a bash. When I went to my LBS, they simply wanted to know how much I would spend - didn't care whether I was experienced or new to cycling, didn't care what type of terrain I would be using the bike on - didn't explain the options available. I was offered 1 bike that matched my price range and that was it.

I didn't take it and decided to do a bit of research myself and this tends to lead to Halfords as they have the bikes, specs and prices up as well as customer reviews - I also sought out independent reviews on the bikes I was interested in. In the end I settled on a GT Aggressor XC2, which was on sale. A buddy had gone for the LBS bike offered to me at slightly higher cost, for that he got less gears, no disk breaks and lower spec all round.

That was April '10, in August the cycling bug had really bitten and armed with a decent budget and better knowledge I decided to get a road bike, I tried the LBS again and offered the Trek 1.2, which is a good bike but I wanted something different as these were all over the place - LBS wouldn't hear of it tho, this was the bike I should buy and that was it.

I went to some further afield bike shops and explained I had the bug and wanted to buy a good road bike that would do me for a long time to come and I wouldn't feel the need to upgrade after 12months - I wanted carbon. The boardman was in my mind as a back up, I found a lot of the shops very stressful, assumed I knew every brand and technical term and knew exactly what I was looking for.

Then I found a store that were just genuinely nice, spent ages talking about what cycling experience I had, why I was interested in road cycling, about their own shop club with beginners section. When it came to the bike, I was interested in a cube for €2,000, I knew a lot about the bike from research - They agreed, of course, but said I should try a Kuota at €400 - I loved it and bought it. A few weeks later my dad bought a Cube there for €1,100 after nearly been force fed the Trek 1.2 at the other LBS.

Then when the winter kicked in and the roads got mucky, I didn't want to ruin my Carbon flyer - so I decided to get a winter bike but didn't want to break the bank. The shop I got the Kuota from only had bikes starting at €750 and that was too much. After previous experience I didn't want to waste my time with the other shops again, so I bought a Carrea Virtuoso in Halfords, it's a pig compared to the Kuota and Halfords lie about the estimated weight but it has served me good all winter and spring.

If I was getting another bike tomorrow I'd be more confident in bike shops but that 3 bikes later, if it wasn't for halfords I probably wouldn't be cycling at all.

AlasdairMc

Martin,

I'm glad to hear that you've got into biking in some way - I'm not complaining about the premium Halfords bikes, it's just the knowledge of the staff that is severely lacking.

I was actually looking at the GT Aggressor Elite last year as a cycle to work hardtail, its spec was head and shoulders above most out there at the price. However, the fact that Halfords didn't publish and couldn't obtain any detailed specs, prohibit test rides and pretty much committed me to purchase if I ordered one into store to look at meant that I went elsewhere. Unfortunately they are not geared up (see what I did there? ) to sell decent bikes and the quality of service is always hit or miss with them.

all

ALaPlage

Opinions are most often formed by personal experience however sometimes opinions are proffered through word of mouth and not personal experience. By all means take advice and listen to the views and experience out there however ultimately go and experience it for yourself.

Halfords have good and bad staff like any business. Equally in my experience the same goes for some LBS. I bought a Boardman bike and had a mix of experiences in three different Halfords stores before buying it from the branch where I felt they did know what they were talking about and took some time to ensure that the bike was the right size. I even got a spin around the car park on the showroom model. The other two branches varied from a young lad not knowing much at all about bikes and just looked at me blankly when I asked about sizing (as Boardmans were small, med or large) and one where the guy just sucked his teeth every time I asked a question and made me feel like I shouldnt even be considering spending so much money on a bike and had I looked at the carrera range they had in starting at around £300. Turned out he couldnt sell me a Boardman at that time as non in stock and a wait time of around six weeks. I'd already told him I wanted the bike within a fortnight. So his angle was to try and move me into a bike he could sell me that day.

When I decided to "upgrade" my experience with a new bike I toured lots of LBS in North Yorkshire and Teesside (my job allows me to get around!). Mix of experience from staff who were interested in helping me and understand my riding needs and experience to some who talked to me like I was from a different planet and assumed I understood all the lingo and current models pros and cons to some who just wanted to sell me what they had after understanding my price range.

So the moral of my rambling is there is no magic answer as some would have you believe and that the LBS is the place to go. I believe it is the place to go but you have to find a good one and sometimes that may take some time and some travelling around.

Big up to JE James in Sheffield, Cycle Heaven in York, Woodrup Cycles in Leeds, Westbrook Cycles in Stokesley and Biketraks in Great Ayton.. All proved to be really interested in me and selling me the right thing and all have had some custom from me in one way or another as a result. Oh and as for the Halfords.... I had to go to Silverlink near Whitley Bay to find a branch that at least had some idea of how to look after an inexperienced and born again cyclist - but they did get me back into cycling.

rake

surely if you dont have any knowledge yourself or are even incapable of doing a little research regarding sizing etc you may be i the wrong market for expensive bikes anyway. i dont see the problem in that respect. i dont understand why you need your nose wiping if you know what kind of bike and size you want. there are pleanty of fit calculators around.
you can get a plethora of answers on here about sizing which seem to nail it down from current owners if you have no clue yourself.

stevee_p

Well, my experience is very similar to others by the sounds of things.

I wanted to get into road cycling, but couldn't really afford a new bike outright. Then the Cycle to Work scheme came along, and I could choose from any bike + accessories in any Halfords....

The boardmans were the only bikes I was interested in, and I saw they had good reviews etc, so got a Road Comp.

That was 2 years ago, and I still ride this bike weekly. For a beginner, Halfords bridged the gap perfectly, for me at least.

However, I would now never dream of taking my bike back for any servicing etc.

I bought my wife a town bike, (with old-school Sturmey Archer gears) and this came out of the shop in OK condition, but the gears were never set up correctly. I took it back twice, and each time it came back in pretty much the same condition.

In the end, I took the bike my relatively local LBS, and they took £20 off me to fix the issue. Turns out it had never been set up correctly, and even had some pieces of gearing etc missing altogether.

From now on, where possible, i'll try and always use the LBS. The bikes themselves from Halfords (Boardmans specifically) are good in my eyes, and you get what you paid for. Its the level of knowledge of those that serve and service the bikes that let the place down. But that's just my local Halfords.

And as I worked in 3 different branches when I was just out of uni, I can agree that some have very knowledgeable staff, and some really don't. Its just pot luck if you get one of the good guys or not...