Boardman CX Owners Thread

tincaman

I have £200 for a new wheelset, would like it for commuting duties and weigh about 1800g, anything available off the shelf, how about these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160829325789?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

apreading

For a little UNDER your budget, you could get these and save some weight: http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=623

If you can up your budget, the Kinesis Crosslight wheels are pretty good too: http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/954929/produc ... tAodBSoA3g

http://road.cc/content/review/69946-kin ... isc-wheels

veronese68

tincaman wrote:

I have £200 for a new wheelset, would like it for commuting duties and weigh about 1800g, anything available off the shelf, how about these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160829325789?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Very pleased with the Novatec hubs on the wheels I have on my Kinesis. Contact that seller through the link to their website as you'll save 6% of Ebay fees and can spec the wheels you want. You should be able to run a lighter rim than a pure MTB 29er rim. I've got Mavic Open Pro CD on mine.

fret

The listed ebay wheels are 26" for 1800g, so how much more does 6" of rim weigh?
Happy with my Crosslights, but I'm still going for something around 1500g. That lack of weight really makes a difference to your ride, it's not a myth as my road bike feels so much more alive.
Save up another £200.00 and go for these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161053500105? ... 1008wt_793 or another £100.00 gets you even better ones AT 1520 GRAMMES.

Another brillaint reason for discs. Yesterday I was on the roadie and hit something metallic on the way home from work and the first time I braked I heard "clonk-clonk" from the wheels every rotation. Turned out it had hit BOTH front and rear rims, taking a lump out of each, the back far worse than the front. Managed to get a small file and emery paper to get the worst out, but that's a £700.00 pair of wheels that is damaged now. Imagine if they were carbon. Totally ruined I bet.

reformedfatty

BB5s tweaked. Now have sensible travel and power, no more gear levers coming round the side of the bars.

Seems to me that all the videos on setting up bb5s are wrong, depicting the cable being attached without the brake being held part on, which results in loads of travel and not actually contacting the discs till the end of it. Messed around with the order and found best results were from this order :

Set pad adjustment so that the disc is centre in the caliper with even amounts of pad both side
Align + secure caliper
Hold brake part way on but not actually causing pads to contact disc, then secure cable.

Result nice sharp braking even from the hoods, short travel, no disc being pushed out to one side.

fret

Are you sure? Only one moving part in the caliper.

reformedfatty

fret wrote:

Are you sure? Only one moving part in the caliper.

Yep, so if the pad adjuster is wound out and you position the caliper with the disc central in the gap, you'll either only get the piston pushing one pad against it, or it'll basically try and bend the disc.

fret

So what makes the non moving part actually move against the disc?

fret

Due to the rather moist morning I used the CX this morning. No missed gears and the SRAM is still very precise.
I still prefer Shimano, especially the old 105 & Ultegra, but Shimano is far more finickey and difficult to set up. Once the cables start to stretch gear selection at the rear is a bit hit and miss and need constant adjustment. Either shifting up or down will suffer and will need a bit of encouragement, or over shifting to shift back.
Nothing like that at all with the SRAM though.

tincaman

Just stripped mine back to basics, mudguards off,
Tyres are 25mm All Conditions
Groupset is Shimano 105
Original crankset.
Saddle is a Spoon
Brakes are BB7
Original wheelset
Total weight is 22.5lb

Are the wheels the first step to an upgrade?

fret

What is 22.5lb? Is that some form of foreign measurement?
That's not bad, considering the weight of a new OEM one is 22lb (whatever that is) Why do manufacturers continue to use obsolete weights and measures?
It's one of the best ways to start. They reckon that 100g of wheel weight lost is equivalent to 300-400g of overall weight, although I read only this week that this could all be a myth and there are many threads to prove or disprove it..
It seems that aero wheels are a better bet than light ones unless you do a lot of climbing or go over 20mph when the aero effect takes effect. I would love to try some 50mm aeros to see if they are actually better.
Lighter may accelerate marginally faster and a wheel is constantly accelerating (some physics law) but then a heavier rim will have a greater rotational mass to aid spinning, so could be better when rolling along at a constant speed.
Confused? So am I

http://www.biketechreview.com/index.php ... erformance

A decent set of wheels will be lighter, spin better on better bearings and will be better built (generally) and have a better ride quality.
For example, my OEM are ovoid for starters!!! :shock:
You do notice a difference in acceleration, there is a lot of difference twixt the OEM and Kinesis wheels I use. Some of it may be in the mind as most of us are probably overweight and not particularly fit either and at our levels it will make little difference. But if a set of wheels FEEL better then that is what really counts.

Over the 7 1/2 years I have been commuting I have got my time down from 50 mins to around 30 mins on a normal calm day, with the odd sub 30 and a PB of 24 mins with a tail wind. I can't go any faster as I am now in a comfort zone and although I am fitter, it gets no easier and I am also getting older, one probably negates the other. I've gone from a bastid heavy 17kg MTB to a sub 8kg carbon road bike. All the road bikes have turned around the same times, on both 23 and 25MM tyres, even if they have got lighter over the years of ownership. Again I suggest getting older may be a reason as I'm 50 early next year.
What I can say is that the bikes that weigh around 10kg or more (Decathlon, B'Twin, Steel Raleigh, Orbea Aqua, Orbea Onix, Specialized Allez, Boardman CX) have all been 1mph slower on average speeds than my Carbon road bike on my daily commute 9 miles each way.

Standing100

I completed my first sportive on the CX last weekend and although it was tough, it was enjoyable. Does anyone know of any cyclocross sportives in Southern England this year?

jamieayres

fret wrote:

You do notice a difference in acceleration, there is a lot of difference twixt the OEM and Kinesis wheels I use.

Are these the Crosslight CXdisc wheels, Fret? If so, how did you find the finish on them when you first got them/under use?

fret

Standing100 wrote:

I completed my first sportive on the CX last weekend and although it was tough, it was enjoyable. Does anyone know of any cyclocross sportives in Southern England this year?

http://www.cxsportive.com/
Hopefully this crowd will do some later. I did the one ion March and it was very good.
Try this as well, I have already entered.
http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events ... yclocross/
Luckily I also live 6 miles or less from the South Downs Way and it's a good place to use our bikes.

Are these the Crosslight CXdisc wheels, Fret? If so, how did you find the finish on them when you first got them/under use?

That's the ones. I've been using them constantly since April in all weathers and have had no problems, nice satin finish on them and anodised nipples. Haven't even had to tighten any spokes yet either. Better built than the OEM which are now solely for off-road duties. Not as light as I would like, but watch this space.

jamieayres

That's the ones. I've been using them constantly since April in all weathers and have had no problems, nice satin finish on them and anodised nipples. Haven't even had to tighten any spokes yet either. Better built than the OEM which are now solely for off-road duties. Not as light as I would like, but watch this space.

Cheers for the reply. I only ask as I recently got a set, and the rear is having to be returned as it has a gouge on the rim, and the front wheel has several chips where you can see the ally. Guess I must just have a duff pair.

fret

Sad to hear a bad point of view and experience, they seem to get good reviews. The black will no doubt come away with multiple wheel changes, but it will be easy to touch up.
I've only done road duties and just the one 1/2 miles gravel path on mine, but they have now covered well over 1500 miles, possibly 1600 now. I'll keep an eye on them.

Burndust

can anyone reccomend some decent inner tubes?

reformedfatty

Standing100 wrote:

I completed my first sportive on the CX last weekend and although it was tough, it was enjoyable. Does anyone know of any cyclocross sportives in Southern England this year?

How did you fare compare to standard road bikes? I'll be doing my second ever (road)sportive on the 7th. Last sportive I was on a ribble winter but absolutely died on the hills with a 39-23 lowest gear, hence the change for this time.

fret

Burndust wrote:

can anyone reccomend some decent inner tubes?

I just use the cheap ones from Decathlon, around 100g each. I get probably 1 or 2 punctures a year and they hold the air very well, losing about 30 psi during a week, which compares evenly to more expensive items from Specialized, for example.
http://www.decathlon.fr/lot-de-2-chambr ... 43100.html
€2.95, or £3.95 in rip-off Britain. I'm over in 3 weeks so will stock up again, plus my Brother is out there every few weeks so easy to stock up.

How did you fare compare to standard road bikes? I'll be doing my second ever (road)sportive on the 7th. Last sportive I was on a ribble winter but absolutely died on the hills with a 39-23 lowest gear, hence the change for this time

I know the question wasn't aimed at me, but I often go out for a 30-40 mile ride around the South Downs on the road, which have some wicked climbs. Brilliant ride, even with the 28's fitted and as the geometry is the same as my road bike there is not a great deal of difference other than a slightly lower average speed.


I fitted new brake pads on Tuesday. What a difference, the thing actuallt stops again, you don't realise how much they had gone off and I assume (as previously posted) the pads had become contaminated with something as even sanding them down made no difference.

Standing100

reformedfatty wrote:

Standing100 wrote:

I completed my first sportive on the CX last weekend and although it was tough, it was enjoyable. Does anyone know of any cyclocross sportives in Southern England this year?

How did you fare compare to standard road bikes? I'll be doing my second ever (road)sportive on the 7th. Last sportive I was on a ribble winter but absolutely died on the hills with a 39-23 lowest gear, hence the change for this time.

I found the saddle painful after about 40 miles and have now changed that over to a Charge Spoon, which seems great (early days). Generally speaking the set up felt good. The course was hilly with 1119m climb over the 93km course and the bike did well over the hills. The rider did feel it on the later rides!!
Generally the CX feels far more comfortable than my older road bike was.

nufc_fan

Any suggestions for a second set of wheels to use for road. Would plan on fitting 25mm tyres and using for sportives and longer weekend rides and farirly quick 20mile evening rides.

max budget of around £300 not including the tyres.

apreading

If you can stretch, this would be an awesome wheelset: http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/h-pl ... yclocross/

IF you want cheaper, then the Kinesis Crosslight are well under budget and get rave reviews: http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/954929/produc ... tAodnVMACQ

http://road.cc/content/review/69946-kin ... isc-wheels

fret

Mavic Crossmax SLR 29"
I have seen lighter at around 1550g, but can't recall what make they are. 1500g I reckon is about it for clinchers.

jamieayres

fret wrote:

Sad to hear a bad point of view and experience, they seem to get good reviews. The black will no doubt come away with multiple wheel changes, but it will be easy to touch up.
I've only done road duties and just the one 1/2 miles gravel path on mine, but they have now covered well over 1500 miles, possibly 1600 now. I'll keep an eye on them.

As I said, I think I just got unlucky. Only problem is there are none in stock at the distributors for at least 4-5 weeks. Probably going to sell the Boardman CX, sans wheels, now and then put the Kinesis wheels on the yet to be decided upon new bike when I get them back.

fret

Do you want some OEM wheels? I was going to sell mine anyway and get some lighter ones than the Kinesis.

cxrodie

Just thought i would add my thoughts on my cx team
I got my Bike back in July to use a little off road, winter and training bike, started off with standard bike for a few rides and clear that i had to make some changes. First upgrade was changing rubbish Microshift front mech for a Sram Apex, works much better and a lot less stiff, Second thing i changed was the Fsa bottom bracket barrings as they creaked like mad so had them changed by LBS (did not fancy having it done by Halfords) the after market bearings fitted are perfect so far. The next change was the wheels, the Richey wheels are ok for off road but very sluggish on road, I did research on a number of wheels that had to be custom built, looked at Stans, velocity, mavic open pro built around hope or novotec hubs, they all came in at 1600 grams or there abouts and were between £350 - 500. In the end went for Kinesis crosslights from Fatbirds for £235. I have put 25mm gatorskins on them and avid HS1 rotors instead of cleansweep G2's, had to adjust the rear mech slightly and off i went. I have to say they have made a massive difference to the bike, they roll so well and climb a lot better, at 1830 grams not the lightest but the quality hubs and nice rims make the bike feel fast, because the bike is quite stiff anyway it sprints away very fast and the wheels keep rolling. The hs1 rotors are good as well and no squeeking. If you are worried about the extra 200 grams compared to the lighter wheels, don't, save yourself a couple of hundred pounds and go for the crosslights at this bargain price, spend the money on top quality tyres.

fret

The rear of the bike isn't particularly stiff as it's easy to get the disc to rub under acceleration or when climbing.

Another thing I noticed only yesterday is that I had only adjusted the new brakes and calipers the night before and the front started to rub badly on the way home. Cured by tightening the QR. Tension obviously is crucial when setting up and when refitting wheels to ensure the clearance remains the same.

I'm also still getting problems with the crank coming loose under use resulting in a creak. First the FSA and now the SRAM. Shimano chainsets are far better and don't work loose.

Burndust

must remember disposable gloves when removing the rear wheel

fret

Why?

nufc_fan

cxrodie wrote:

Just thought i would add my thoughts on my cx team
I got my Bike back in July to use a little off road, winter and training bike, started off with standard bike for a few rides and clear that i had to make some changes. First upgrade was changing rubbish Microshift front mech for a Sram Apex, works much better and a lot less stiff, Second thing i changed was the Fsa bottom bracket barrings as they creaked like mad so had them changed by LBS (did not fancy having it done by Halfords) the after market bearings fitted are perfect so far. The next change was the wheels, the Richey wheels are ok for off road but very sluggish on road, I did research on a number of wheels that had to be custom built, looked at Stans, velocity, mavic open pro built around hope or novotec hubs, they all came in at 1600 grams or there abouts and were between £350 - 500. In the end went for Kinesis crosslights from Fatbirds for £235. I have put 25mm gatorskins on them and avid HS1 rotors instead of cleansweep G2's, had to adjust the rear mech slightly and off i went. I have to say they have made a massive difference to the bike, they roll so well and climb a lot better, at 1830 grams not the lightest but the quality hubs and nice rims make the bike feel fast, because the bike is quite stiff anyway it sprints away very fast and the wheels keep rolling. The hs1 rotors are good as well and no squeeking. If you are worried about the extra 200 grams compared to the lighter wheels, don't, save yourself a couple of hundred pounds and go for the crosslights at this bargain price, spend the money on top quality tyres.

With the new wheels how does it compare to an out and out road bike? Is there a noticeable speed difference between them and the original wheels? I guess you will see a difference on long climbs etc