Boardman CX Owners Thread

reformedfatty

Re: the punctures, I found the original excavaders to be very slack on the rim and not very puncture resistant, albeit nothing compared to your experience.

Token work on boardman lately : trimmed (huge amounts of) excess cable length off brake cables.

Need to set up the brakes again though. Rear one is not very effective at all and front one producing alarming juddering under hard braking.

rpjwhite

Picked up wheel from Halfords who had fitted new rim tape. Rear wheel's rim tape isn't great but will keep an eye on it.
Mounted my new Marathon Pluses seemed to go fine (okay I wince every time I pushed down on my pump).

Brakes are rubbing so they need sorting big time. PLus the front mech needs adjusting so the outer arm doesn't run in the top ring.

Cookdn - Well I am stuck with the medium. The step over seems high but not terrible. May well get a shorter stem going to cycle some more and see how I feel.

What mud guards are u running btw. They look very smart.

fret

Yes, the rim tape is awful. Mine punctured twice in 3 days of ownership so I immediately changed the tape. No punctures since then (November) apart from a flint a few weeks back. The OEM Tyres are OK as well, the trick for road use is to ALWAYS keep them inflated to the correct pressure, especially road tyres.

Get a bike fit if you think the bike is incorrect, yo need to have correct positioning if you wish to avoid injury. Standover height for a road bike is always different to a girl's MTB.
At a mere 5'8" I find a 52-54cm frame is ideal, which the CX equates to.

Adjustment of the front mech is easy, just put it on the small ring, slacken the pinch bolt, pull the cable tight and re-tighten the bolt. Any small adjustment can then be taken up on the in-line cable adjusters. Final position of the mech may be incorrect, so adjust it with the stop screws until it stops rubbing.

bikeaider

For anyone trying to get hold of a Boardman Hanger, this one looks like it may be the CX amongst others. Hope its some help and direction:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0925719706

REFERENCE "B9"
Stock eta is around 07/07/13
Thanks Folks.

gotwood25

Just buckled my front wheel to buggery going into the back of my pal this morning (who brakes on a straight flat road!!), took it to my LBS and told it is too far gone to repair.

Looking for some advice, what would you do?

1. Get a like for like replacement

2. Get a better new front wheel

3. Upgrade the wheelset

I know the wheels aren't very good and rather heavy so might be a good time to upgrade (although the Mrs will not be happy as I'm always spending) so if option 3 are there any recommendations out there as to what to go for.

Cheers

ElliottDavo

Get a new front wheel or wheelset. Superstar components do a set for £180 that I'd suggest. I'm selling the original front wheel if you want one however

gotwood25

I was wanting to upgrade anyway, I think the Mrs thinks I crashed on purpose to be honest :-)

Just out of interest how much would you want for yours?

leehunter

Hi guys, first post here, got mie about 2weeks ago. No mods yet but im loving it over my old saracen tour RB.

Just a quick question regarding the pedal cranks. My right seems significantly closer than the left, this is very noticeable when both are at 9oclock closest to the chain stay.

Just wondering if everyone's is like this or only mine?

Thanks

arthur_scrimshaw

leehunter wrote:

Hi guys, first post here, got mie about 2weeks ago. No mods yet but im loving it over my old saracen tour RB.

Just a quick question regarding the pedal cranks. My right seems significantly closer than the left, this is very noticeable when both are at 9oclock closest to the chain stay.

Just wondering if everyone's is like this or only mine?

Thanks

You've taken into account the asymmetric chainstays?

rpjwhite

With new tyres all fitted did a good. 28 miles today.
One thing to ask my back wheel is not centre with seat post seems to be slightly look to the right. Is that normal?

ElliottDavo

£40?

leehunter

No I ain't so that probably what it is?

I was just concerned, it is the drive chain side so possibly that's why, if it is due to more force being induced then that could be why. Just wondered if other peoples were the same or if it was my dodgy glass eye lol

fret

My creak is back. The l/h crank keeps coming loose and the headset too. I guess the CX offroad sportives and use through all of winter and forgetting to grease it didn't help.
Time for new bearings I guess and a good excuse to upgrade the crank.

YIMan

Any idea if/when 2013 models may go on sale?

leehunter

September ive heard for the new range

Standing100

I took the plunge 3 weeks ago and bought the CX. I have struggled with the brakes, squeaking and then simply not doing what they are meant to do, i.e. stop the bike. But things are improving and I'm falling in love. The fact that I can simply take a turn off a country road and happily follow a woodland path is fantastic. This evening I've change the tyres that came with the bike for a pair of 25mm Continental Gatorskins and yes the bike goes faster and is more efficient, but I feel like the bike is not as much fun. My commute into work each day will be faster and easier, but is it all about speed...?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good set of tyres that work well on roads, but allows you to go off road?

warren_s3

Standing100 wrote:

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good set of tyres that work well on roads, but allows you to go off road?

I could do with same recommendation. I'm waiting for Smart Sam Schwalbe's to turn up as I wasn't convinced by Excavadors.

Just ordered some new rims from Harry Rowland for road duties (Mavic Open Pro with Novatec hubs), keeping Ritchey hoops for CX duties / out of season.

Bike is just about where I want it now bar the wheels, just need my back to bed in to geometry (nursing a slipped disc back to health) then I can flip stem over and make it a bit more aero.

brassnipple

Standing100 wrote:

I took the plunge 3 weeks ago and bought the CX. I have struggled with the brakes, squeaking and then simply not doing what they are meant to do, i.e. stop the bike. But things are improving and I'm falling in love. The fact that I can simply take a turn off a country road and happily follow a woodland path is fantastic. This evening I've change the tyres that came with the bike for a pair of 25mm Continental Gatorskins and yes the bike goes faster and is more efficient, but I feel like the bike is not as much fun. My commute into work each day will be faster and easier, but is it all about speed...?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good set of tyres that work well on roads, but allows you to go off road?

Give the brakes time and they will come good, eventually providing rather terrifying stopping power once properly bedded in! Like yourself, I love the freedom that the Boardman offers. Its probably not the best bike at any one thing, but it does allow you to to go both on and off road at a decent pace. I have replaced a top end mountain bike and road bike with a specced up CX and have not looked back.

In terms of tyres I have stuck with the OE Excavaders so far as I tend to ride a mix of road and trail on most occasions and they seem to do the job nicely. However, they do have a fairly soft compound and will probably wear out quickly if you commute a lot on road. I would also be interested if anyone has found a better on/off road compromise for similar weight?

rrichar88

My brakes were set up terribly. I did around 200 mile and took it back to a friend at Halfords who sorted them. I'm after getting some mudguards and panniers now though because I really wanna do some camping touring. Is it possible to put front panniers on a CX team? Also, if I want to use both 25mm road tyres and occasionally change to the OEM tyres which mudguard should I opt for? Are the SKS Chromo 35mm wide enough for the OEM tyres?

alexul

After reading these latest posts about tires, I finally decided to change the Excavaders with Continentals Cyclocross Speed. The original ones had around 1500 km, over 90% on road and the rear tire lost about half of it's pattern. A few times I felt I lost traction on steep ascends and also, not matter how hard I inflated them they still sounded Like I was riding with a flat.
So I put these Conti's. From the spec they say they are 50 grams lighter. On descends where I don't accelerate I noticed only a small speed increase, maybe 10%, but I don't know how fair it is to compare the used with new. They are 50% off at bike-discount, http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k762/a ... 0x35c.html so for 30 euros the pair I don't think it's a bad deal.
But I am more and more inclined to go with road tires like 25mm, considering the amount of ride I do only on road and hope they can also handle the little off road I do. I've read stories about people going even with 23mm tires on soft off-road.

fret

I have 23mm tyres on mine for commuting and I have done the odd gravel path with them fitted. THey are Gatorskins, so puncture protection is my main concern. They last around 2 years or 8000 miles/13000kms generally.

reformedfatty

28mm gatorskins here. 23 would be too narrow, its important to show roadies that they've been overtaken by something with hybrid sized tyres.

Question for you all - how much travel do you have on your apex brake levers? at the moment for heavy braking I end up with the gear shifters sticking round the side of the drops and having to ping them back forward. Not a huge problem but seems odd.

brassnipple

I agree on the 23mm vs 28mm assertion! Why have a bike that can take fat rubber and not use it? I read an interesting article in one of the bike mags (honestly!) that suggested that 28mm can be as fast if not faster than 23mm / 25mm - although I take great pride in being slow on all sizes, tread patterns and compounds....... :oops:

I've got some 28mm continental 4 seasons to try, but loving the off road capability of my CX so far and sticking with the OE Excavaders for a bit longer.

In terms of the brakes, it sounds like you need to adjust your callipers as you have way too much travel on those levers Bro! initial bite should be after just a few mm travel at the lever and you should be doing a 'superman' over the handle bars before the levers reach the front of the drops. Some good posts on youtube showing how to set them up / adjust them properly. :idea:

apreading

The 4 Seasons 28mm are actually more like a 26mm (maybe 26.5 at most) - they come up VERY narrow. I have some Ultremo ZX in 28mm to try on mine at some point - not really the same as 4 seasons though. Not sure how wide Gators come up, but my 25mm 4000s on the front is almost as wide as the 28mm 4 seasons on the back and is supposed to roll much better due to the black chili compound - neither has seen the fairy yet either...

brassnipple

Thats an interesting observation on the 4 seasons apreading, which might explain why they are still pretty quick for a 28mm. I will report back when I eventually fit mine.

I'm running H plus son Archetype rims, which are quite wide at 23mm, so they could well make the 4 seasons come out more like a true 28mm?

fret

The current trend of road wheels is to have a wider rim which changes the shape of 23mm tyres, which makes the tyre and rim combination more of a teardrop shape which makes them more aerodynamic.

25mm is used by a lot of teams now as the ride is more comfortable, especially over distances in cobbled races (where many use 28mm) and they have been proven to roll as fast as 23mm.
I have also read the article about 28mm tyres, but there were 2 reasons fitting the 23mm wide ones.

A. they were hanging up in the garage after being removed from winter duties on the Ribble.
B. I was trying to get the CX as light as possible :oops:

An exercise which has seen the bike lose around 750g so far. To lose more would be hard unless you went stupid with pricey top end components. 2-300g on the wheels is possible, as too is 100g on tyres, then a lighter saddle, chain, rear RED cassette, iner tubes, rim tape, pedals, 46 tooth CX ring and then that's about it.

I'm just awaiting the last couple of parts to fit and then we will have a grand weighing ceremony to see what has been achieved.

apreading

brassnipple wrote:

I'm running H plus son Archetype rims, which are quite wide at 23mm, so they could well make the 4 seasons come out more like a true 28mm?

I'm on Archetypes too...

brassnipple

leehunter wrote:

Just a quick question regarding the pedal cranks. My right seems significantly closer than the left, this is very noticeable when both are at 9oclock closest to the chain stay.

Hi and welcome - congrats on your purchase and hope that you have many happy cycling miles ahead!

The chain stays are asymmetrical meaning that they have a slightly different form/profile on either side - is this what is causing the visual discrepancy? If viewed from the side, the left one is slightly lower than the right and this is 'normal'.

Otherwise,if you mean something different, might be best to post a photo if you can and one of us can advise if its something that needs some attention.

brassnipple

fret wrote:

An exercise which has seen the bike lose around 750g so far. To lose more would be hard unless you went stupid with pricey top end components. 2-300g on the wheels is possible, as too is 100g on tyres, then a lighter saddle, chain, rear RED cassette, iner tubes, rim tape, pedals, 46 tooth CX ring and then that's about it.

I'm just awaiting the last couple of parts to fit and then we will have a grand weighing ceremony to see what has been achieved.

Hi Fret - just lost another 50g on some new handle bars and I think that pulls me below the magic 20lbs threshold now (excluding pedals). I seem to recall that you said in a previous post that you lost a lot weight by switching out the OE skewers. What sort did you go with as I may give that a go with my next bit of pocket money? :?:

brassnipple

apreading wrote:

brassnipple wrote:

I'm running H plus son Archetype rims, which are quite wide at 23mm, so they could well make the 4 seasons come out more like a true 28mm?

I'm on Archetypes too...

Good call - fantastic rims and not at all pricey for what you get. Really chuffed with mine and Glad I went with them rather than the Mavic Open Pro's as the extra width is really handy. 8)

What hubs/spokes did you go with?