Whcih Boardman to choose?

davidcrowley2006@yahoo.co

Hi,

I have narrowed the bike I want down to 2 choices after a few weeks or looking around.
(Please dont recommend any other bikes cos my girlfriend will kill both you & me if I change my mind)
My company do the cycle to work scheme through Halfords & Boardmans seems the best.
I had decided on this years Hybrid Team:
(Spec)
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/hybrid/hybrid_team.html

When I went into the shop, they had last years Pro on display & told me they would give it to me at a discount as it was a display model:
(Spec)
http://www.thebikelist.co.uk/boardman/h ... 2010/specs

I prefer the look of last years Pro & common sense would mean that the Pro is the better bike (even if it was lasts years) but as I dont know much about bikes, I want to confirm that the Pro is the better buy. (it does cost £50 more than the Team)

Thanks,
Dave

HamishD

Both very good bikes.

My missus has the 2010 Team and an excellent hybrid it is too . The handlebar grips and bar ends are a bit crappy but you can change them over to some ergo jobs for less than £50.

Pro has better brakes than the team and think the frames a bit lighter too. Definitely worth the £50 upgrade. You will not find a better hybrid bike anywhere I reckon.

And I prefer the white colour (not that that should inflence you!)

Cheers

H

davidcrowley2006@yahoo.co

Cheers for the reply.

Just to clarify, I am comparing the Pro 2010 to the Team 2011.

I'd presume the Pro 2010 would have better running gear but I just want to make sure.

I love the white as well so I'm hoping that the running gear is at least the same spec as the Team 2011.

HamishD

Pretty much same drivetrain I would have thought. Maybe the new ones are running Apex instead of x7 etc but same level. The downgrades in drivetrain etc that have happened over the last couple of years (in order to maintain retail pricepoint) have levelled off as they were chiefly down to FX considerations...

The Pro (whatever year it is) is a better bike than the Team.. . . .

Enjoy!

H

davidcrowley2006@yahoo.co

Thanks for the clarification.

I was thinking that the Pro would be better but I wanted to hear it from somebody who knew thier stuff. (Obviously, with the ratings Halfords are getting, I didn’t trust the guy in the shop & wanted a second opinion.)

Hopefully collecting it tomorrow or Thursday so can’t wait.

I have been cycling a Carrera subway single gear on a 11km (each way) commute to work since last October so I think I will see a massive difference.

Thanks Again!!

neilvx

I would go for the Pro

Conjoy

I had the Pro until it was stolen - just make sure you get it serviced outside of Halfords, they are atrocious.

daveyroids

I like the boardman bikes but just a question for those who own them. How reliable are the parts? One of my local bike shops slates them for reliability, is this just a bitter bike shop owner?

neilvx

I have a 6ft plus friend who had a frame crack on him around the crank, wasnt even on the welds either.

That_Bloke_Just_Off_The_A

Whoever designed the forks on the team and pro is a numpty because the dropouts have the small tab where one would normally find a mudguard eyelet but, the eyelet has not been drilled thus making it completely pointless.

stuartm9999

One thing that you might want to check is I think the newer team has fittings on the front forks for mudguards (and paniers) whereas the old one (which I have) does not - so possibly the old prod does not either.

The front eyelets on the bottom of the fork make it easier to fit full size mudguards (and front paniers if you are carrying a lot in to the office).

As far as I can tell the pro just has higher spec equipment - gears and brakes. Wheather you'll actually notice the difference or not though?

I replaced my older commuter hybrid after 12 years of pretty loyal service so, as you can imagine, all the running gear worked much better - basically because it was new! Must say that hydraulic disc brakes are so much less hastle than old school. I even bled mine easily with a kit from ebay.

You can read about my experience here - http://www.top-beer.co.uk/post/2011/03/ ... hs-on.aspx

Make sure you check everything on the bike is tight after a while. People say this is Halfords - but I would say its every bike as metal does actually stretch when its first put under stress or strain - i.e. screws lengthen - and I've certainly found shoddy work doen by "Local Bike Shops" too.

Bar Shaker

daveyroids wrote:

I like the boardman bikes but just a question for those who own them. How reliable are the parts? One of my local bike shops slates them for reliability, is this just a bitter bike shop owner?

Yes.

It sounds a bit more plausible than slating them for the outstanding value they represent.

mlang

daveyroids wrote:

I like the boardman bikes but just a question for those who own them. How reliable are the parts? One of my local bike shops slates them for reliability, is this just a bitter bike shop owner?

The reliability is probably down to having a proper set up in the first place. Some Halfords are ok, some are appalling. Same with LBSs.

All the people I know who know their stuff say (concede ) that they're incredible value with very good parts and excellent frames.

MrChuck

daveyroids wrote:

I like the boardman bikes but just a question for those who own them. How reliable are the parts? One of my local bike shops slates them for reliability, is this just a bitter bike shop owner?

Parts on all these bikes come from the same ranges from the same manufacturers, just hung on different frames, which themselves are made in a relatively small number of factories. So broadly speaking there isn't really much room for one brand to be more or less reliable than any other.

If anything a Boardman at a given price point is likely to have parts from higher up the range than the competition, although in this game 'higher up the range' doesn't necessarily mean any more or less reliable.

So it sounds like a bitter bike shop owner, although I suppose it's possible that Boardman owners have more problems because the bikes have been badly set up by Halfords. That's no reflection on the bikes themselves though, and it's not as if all LBS mechanics are necessarily any better either!