Boardman CX Owners Thread

fret

[quote
Amazingly this seems to have done the trick, I guess when tightening the QR while the bike was resting on the saddle/handle bars it was possibly pushing the wheel slightly out of the dropouts so throwing the alignment. Seems obvious now.
][/quote]

Make sure the FRONT QR is also tight. Tighter than I have on any other bike I have ever owned, otherwise the wheel rocks in the fork dropouts.

Now had mine since the latter part of November and apart from the brakes nothing has needed adjusting in over 1100 miles.

And just to make you all jealous, I am getting Ultegra Di2 :twisted:

Burndust

someones got some cash to burn :twisted:

fret

Yup.
My customer who is getting a "Variable speed drive" on the order they just gave me.
The lad who does their fire alarms has a couple of MTB's with VERY blingy bits courtesy of my, erm, shall we say, "imaginative descriptions" (eg, 40" TV is a "digital display monitor") on previous orders and they have agreed to treat me for doing so.

Or maybe a custom made pair of stans Iron Cross wheels.

meanredspider

fret wrote:

And just to make you all jealous, I am getting Ultegra Di2 :twisted:

Not ALL of us - some of us have had it for nearly a year *pokey*

fret

Git.
Any problems?

Burndust

picked mine up today...first thing i noticed its alot smaller than i thought it would be...and compared to the crossfire 2 ive been using its as light as a feather....i opted for some marathon plus 35s for now....planning a big ride tomorrow to get used to it

meanredspider

fret wrote:

Git.
Any problems?

Nope - it's really bling but superb bling - totally trouble and adjustment-free and shifting becomes as close to subconscious as I can imagine. Worth every penny

fret

Burndust, rules first.
There is no such word as "alot"

Worth putting on the CX, or my CF roadbike?

meanredspider

fret wrote:

Worth putting on the CX, or my CF roadbike?

Not worth putting on the CX to my mind. Mine is on my Volagi Liscio

Burndust

thanks for the english lesson fret ....anyone else binned they're top brakes cant see theres much point in having them just takes up space....just about managed to get my front light on

Burndust

oh and on the front mech...i have to agree with the comments the front is a bitch to change to big cog...an upgrade will have to wait though....piggy bank is empty

fret

No problem, you're welcome.

I've kept the top brakes for the time being until I change either shifters or bars. I've only used them a few times and they are fierce after the "proper" brakes. My lights just fit, with a top light on the stem as well, you can't have too many lights.
I have a pair of carbon bars on order for my Ribble, so I guess it won't be that long now to change to the compact set of drops already fitted. I don't like "ergo" bars such as those on the CX as you get forced into one position on the drops.

Burndust

so just had this out on a 40 miler....it will be back to halfords tomorrow the front ring will just not shift....now correct me if i sm wrong but to select the big ring its a long push inward on the left lever right

fret

Correct. It needs a good hard push though and the lever does move quite a long way before it shifts. The cable may just need adjusting though.

Burndust

all sorted...had it back to halfords today...got them to sort the brakes out too...lovin the bike...so light and fast compared to crossfire 2....still getting used to the riding position though and standing up on really steep inclines balance all over the place..sure i will get used it though...

essex-commuter

Drove past my local high street bike shop on Sunday...and there is a range of Boardman's in the window. Thought Halfords has the sole selling rights in the UK...when did that change??????

Burndust

pretty sure halfords only have the rights upto a certain model in the range, you can buy the top end road bikes from other bikes shops so i am led to believe, i get the feeling however that the exclusive deal between halfords and boardman may be coming to an end though...as i get the feeling that halfords want to push there carerra bikes...dunno that for sure though

fret

Correct. Decent top of the range Boardmans are available from many other places, Wiggle is one.

Carrera aren't bad bikes either. They are also made by Merida.

fret

Looks as if the Di2 is off as it's £300.00 more than when I last looked!!! I shall have to save my pennies.

On a good note, it was the first day of the year that I got home without having to turn my lights on. WOOOHHOOO!!
Had my first small problem today as well, but not the fault of the CX. The SPD'a had got really stiff over winter making de-cleating difficult. A quick squirt of WD40 to get rid of the gunk and some light oil applied soon sorted it. It's small things like this that people often forget to do :oops:

Burndust

heh...fret i'm sure you'll have it in no time....did a 50 miler on mine toda...note to self remember your on slimmer tires and skiiding off at 20mph hurts me and the bike

fret

:oops:

Just the mere 31 miles today, although about 8 were on the Meon Valley Railway, across a field and some of the South Downs Way. as it was dry. Hard work as there is a gradual uphill gradient on the railway and it was quite soft. Nasty headwind at times too.
I couldn't go too far as I had no snack bars, so 2 hours seemed about right
One descent at West Meon involves coming off the old railway down to the road. Looked OK to ride down, with my old trials and Motocross skills, no bother. 1/4 way down, rear locks up, feather brake ( it really needs a 140mm disc),halfway down the front locks and just slides. In for a penny, let both brakes off..................and I got to the bottom OK.
Note to self, make sure you fit off-road tyres next time. 80psi 28mm Gatorskins and wet chalk are not a good combination.

I really am starting to gel with the bike now, took longer than the CAAD9 CX, but we're getting there.

Burndust

well mine is going back to halfords for the third time...clunking now coming from the left pedal....looks like the dreaded bb issue to me...and when cycling....well the only way i can describe it is the bike just sounds rough..
also need to invest in a better seat...really not getting on with the stock one...think i will invest in a gel one

jezash

Chaps,

I saw a few pages ago some discussion on possible wheel upgrades. The original Ritcheys are basic and heavy, if pretty bombproof (they're actually 29er mtb wheels) I tested a set of Kinesis wheels on my CX for road.cc last year and racked up a couple of thousand miles on them. They are a midweight set - you can go lighter (see Stans Alpha Disc wheelset) - but the 400g saving from the Ritcheys is very noticeable.

I've been really impressed with them and would definitely recommend them as an upgrade to the CX.

fret

MMM, sex wee material. Thanks for that.
I may even save for Mavic SLR 29-ers as well.

Burndust

well as it turn out getting the cx was quite timley...was using the carerra today...got to the top of a duel carridgeway and clunk...the back wheel collapsed!...yet another trip to halfords with that one...i only got the bike in september!

fret

Ouch.
Don't stand for ANY crap. Reject it as "Not fit for purpose" under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended.

My new handlebars arrived today. Lovely Carbon fibre and have fitted them to my Ribble already. The Ribble 'bars are more compact a I will fit them to the CX friday or saturday as I have the CX Sportive to do on Sunday.

gotwood25

Just wondering what peoples thoughts were on upgrading the CX Team.

I am a bugger for upgrades and it seems like you can throw any amount of money at it on wheels, groupsets, brakes well anything really. My point is, is the bike worth upgrading or would it be better to put money aside and just get a better bike?

cookdn

gotwood25 wrote:

Just wondering what peoples thoughts were on upgrading the CX Team.

Wheels. The stock ones are heavy and if you are using it on the road you can use the stock wheels for the CX tyres and a lighter pair for road tyres.

This will be my first significant upgrade when I get round to it. Someone did suggest they are effectively MTB 29" wheels so they maybe the first donated part to a franken-29er.

Best regards

fret

I'm not sure it's worth doing, although it is exclusive and loses the HALFORDS tag of course. It's not significantly lighter, both are 10kg according to reviews, different saddle, carbon seatpost, different stem, chainset, seems to have the same wheels, even if the spec says different (perhaps they have de-specced the Team since I bought mine) different brakes. I bet the frame is even the same. Just upgrade your TEAM to the same spec, sell the old parts.
Looks as though the cassette is no longer the wide ratio as before.

The BIGGEST gain in upgrade is wheels. Lighter weight and better bearings are always a very good thing.
Groupset is beter and shifts cleaner and quicker, less likely to wear out as quick.

Mind you, would you be able to do that for the same price? And losing the "Bought from Halfords" is worth at least £500
But change the tape and saddle for black items. White looks awful after about a week of use.


**** Just checked the weights and the Pro and Team wheels weigh exactly the same, near as dammit, 3.78 to 3.86KG, so they may be different.

fret

Also remembered that I weighed the OEM wheels with Gatorskin 8's on, which ARE heavier than the OEM tyres. The rims are definitely OCR as well, so I conclude they are the same wheels.