Boardman CX Owners Thread

davem399

apreading wrote:

Out of interest - how much was the hub? And the part number would be useful if anyone can find it. Dont need one now, but I am sure others and maybe me will need it in the future...

Found it! The part number is 124100. See post number 7 in link below. I seem to remember that I paid either £19.99 or £24.99. Mine also came with an 11mm allen socket, although I had already bought an 11mm allen key.

viewtopic.php?f=40038&t=12909289

koontz

Any one know what rim tape I would need for the 2014 cx team the rims are xm319. I have looked on the mavic website and it says.

Recommended rim tape: 559 x 20 x 0.6,

I presume the 559 is the length 20 is the width? and 0.6 the depth?. Cant find any rim tapes that come in this size they either say 16mm ot for mtb without mentioning the depth, and are these rims 700 or 26i?.

fret

700mm, or 29 inch. Just use a hybrid type rim tape, that's wide enough.

buzzgb

Good morning.

After 10 years of running I am finally taking the plunge and buying a bike. The thing is I am 46 and have no clue about bikes whatsoever. So being from Hoylake I have decided to stay true to a local hero and buy a Boardman. Getting a CX Team (2012 version) from Halfords as we have a lot of flat trails close by.

Tracked down this forum and having had a quick scan I have a few questions. Any help here would be really gratefully received!!

1. Lots of talk about BB30 bearings (?) not being greased/faulty etc. This may as well be written in Latin for me. Can someone tell me in really short simple words what I should be checking before I collect the bike?
2. Good lock/padded shorts/multitool/innertubes and puncture repair stuff. If you were recommending 3 other things for a complete newbie what would they be?
3. Do I need to change the saddle? Why do some saddles have a hole in the middle? Help!
4. How much should I ride mileage wise to break myself in gently? I can run 12-15 miles no problem.

Have about a hundred more questions but will leave it there. Thanks in advance for any help. Feel like a 10 year old kid at Christmas which can't be a bad thing!

davem399

buzzgb wrote:

Good morning.

After 10 years of running I am finally taking the plunge and buying a bike. The thing is I am 46 and have no clue about bikes whatsoever. So being from Hoylake I have decided to stay true to a local hero and buy a Boardman. Getting a CX Team (2012 version) from Halfords as we have a lot of flat trails close by.

Tracked down this forum and having had a quick scan I have a few questions. Any help here would be really gratefully received!!

1. Lots of talk about BB30 bearings (?) not being greased/faulty etc. This may as well be written in Latin for me. Can someone tell me in really short simple words what I should be checking before I collect the bike?
2. Good lock/padded shorts/multitool/innertubes and puncture repair stuff. If you were recommending 3 other things for a complete newbie what would they be?
3. Do I need to change the saddle? Why do some saddles have a hole in the middle? Help!
4. How much should I ride mileage wise to break myself in gently? I can run 12-15 miles no problem.

Have about a hundred more questions but will leave it there. Thanks in advance for any help. Feel like a 10 year old kid at Christmas which can't be a bad thing!

The BB30 bearings relate to the bottom bracket area which is the axle that runs through the frame connect the left and right cranks. You won't be able to see how well they are greased as this is fully enclosed so will be difficult to check. It will only manifest itself as a problem after getting some miles in. I have been lucky with mine, 3000 miles over 2 grotty winters.
Extra items to buy for me would be a helmet, mudguards, and a pump and levers to swap tubes at the roadside in the event of the dreaded p*******e.
I would give the saddle a try over several rides before thinking about changing it. Your first ride will probably be a bit uncomfortable, but after a few rides you may well settle into using this saddle, I am still using the original.
Regarding mileage, it seems you have a reasonable level of fitness. I would limit it to about 15 to 20 miles, depending on the terrain, and add a few miles every week or so.

EKE_38BPM

DaveM399 wrote:

buzzgb wrote:

Good morning.

After 10 years of running I am finally taking the plunge and buying a bike. The thing is I am 46 and have no clue about bikes whatsoever. So being from Hoylake I have decided to stay true to a local hero and buy a Boardman. Getting a CX Team (2012 version) from Halfords as we have a lot of flat trails close by.

Tracked down this forum and having had a quick scan I have a few questions. Any help here would be really gratefully received!!

1. Lots of talk about BB30 bearings (?) not being greased/faulty etc. This may as well be written in Latin for me. Can someone tell me in really short simple words what I should be checking before I collect the bike?
2. Good lock/padded shorts/multitool/innertubes and puncture repair stuff. If you were recommending 3 other things for a complete newbie what would they be?
3. Do I need to change the saddle? Why do some saddles have a hole in the middle? Help!
4. How much should I ride mileage wise to break myself in gently? I can run 12-15 miles no problem.

Have about a hundred more questions but will leave it there. Thanks in advance for any help. Feel like a 10 year old kid at Christmas which can't be a bad thing!

The BB30 bearings relate to the bottom bracket area which is the axle that runs through the frame connect the left and right cranks. You won't be able to see how well they are greased as this is fully enclosed so will be difficult to check. It will only manifest itself as a problem after getting some miles in. I have been lucky with mine, 3000 miles over 2 grotty winters.
Extra items to buy for me would be a helmet, mudguards, and a pump and levers to swap tubes at the roadside in the event of the dreaded p*******e.
I would give the saddle a try over several rides before thinking about changing it. Your first ride will probably be a bit uncomfortable, but after a few rides you may well settle into using this saddle, I am still using the original.
Regarding mileage, it seems you have a reasonable level of fitness. I would limit it to about 15 to 20 miles, depending on the terrain, and add a few miles every week or so.

Instead of buying separate tyre levers, buy a multitool with built in tyre levers.
I use a Topeak Alien II and really rate it. I've had it for at least ten years and it comes everywhere with me (many thousands of miles) helping me out of loads of tight spots (p*******s, snapped chains, tightening loose bolts etc).
If I lost it, I'd buy the same one to replace it.

Whilst looking for the Halfords link I looked at the ratings. The lowest rating is 4/5.

buzzgb

Many thanks Dave and EKE, really appreciate the advice! Good to hear the bearings have been fine on yours Dave - hope mine are the same. Got helmet, hadn't thought of mudguards. Will mostly be weekend off road stuff so may go for a cheap plastic clip on at the back for now. Will try the saddle and see how we go. Daft question - do I need to buy a bracket for the pump??

EKE - like the look of the Topeak tool so thats on the list.

Just got to break this gently to the wife now... Will tell her it's a mid life crisis and its a lot cheaper than a Harley!

EKE_38BPM

buzzgb wrote:

Many thanks Dave and EKE, really appreciate the advice! Good to hear the bearings have been fine on yours Dave - hope mine are the same. Got helmet, hadn't thought of mudguards. Will mostly be weekend off road stuff so may go for a cheap plastic clip on at the back for now. Will try the saddle and see how we go. Daft question - do I need to buy a bracket for the pump??

EKE - like the look of the Topeak tool so thats on the list.

Just got to break this gently to the wife now... Will tell her it's a mid life crisis and its a lot cheaper than a Harley!

The pump should come with a bracket. I don't think I've seen one without a bracket.

Go to your LBS (not Halfrauds) and collect brochures for high end racing bikes.
Leave your home PC on the Pinarello homepage.
Start watching TdF videos on Youtube and make her watch footage of Froome grinding away up a mountain stage whilst saying things like "you've gotta watch this, it's ace. Should I shave my legs?".
Tell Mrs Buzz you were thinking about buying some Italian carbon fibre dream machine but decided to go with the Boardman out of local pride.

She'll be so relieved that you'll be keeping your legs in their natural hairy state and not spending thousands on carbon exotica that you may well end up getting extra marital privileges.

Oh yeah, welcome to the forum!

buzzgb

Love it! Will give it a try

If I end up hairless and skint I'll let you know...

And thanks for the welcome.

antsmithmk

Last race of the season on mine tomorrow :-(

fret

Sad days, still plenty of muddy riding yet to be had.

I have to admit that, like the rider over Xmas, my CX has put on weight this weekend.
Why, when I have been trying to get it down to 8.5kg?
Well, the answer is simple. My farkles arrived on Thursday and today I have been hooning around the local woods and thicket on this

I got fed up with removing the mudguards and changing wheels for muddy days, so thought I would treat myself. It arrived with 105 kit and extremely heavy (2400g) wheels, so the Kinesis were swapped over and the OEM's re-fitted with the wi-fli cassette.
Swapped the seat post, seat, handlebars and Ultegra shifters/rear mech from the road bike and hopefully it is now sub 9kg down from the OEM 9.9kg.
Overall it seems excellent so far, the Continental CycloX King tyres hold well in mud and gravel, BB7 brakes are a vast improvement over the BB5, so that's the next upgrade for the CX I guess and then the hand-made wheels to return the Kinesis to the CX as well.

Anyway, the Ribble roadie is now up for sale with a combination of Ultegra and 105 for £900.
New wheels, bars, shifters, saddle and seat post to just under 8kg if anyone is interested.

antsmithmk

That looks like a nice bike. Those cross king tyres are superb, they slice through mud like a knife through butter!

fret

Thanks. It's as nice as the old Cannondale CX9 I had. I've only done around 20 miles or less today, so first impressions are VERY good. Stiff BB, not particularly light after a 7.5kg road bike, but around the same as the CX Team. The 46/36 crank is brilliant as well.

I was going to buy a new CX Team for commuting and go stupid with the weight loss on the current bike, but after seeing the few problems that people have had and the extra weight it has gained, I decided to go carbon.
That and the fact the new silver colour looks cheap and uninspiring compared to the old grey and yellow bike.
The good news is that the Boardman is now shifting properly again. I must have had some weird anomaly with the Ultegra cassette I had fitted.

Muzzledoctor

Went for my first proper road ride and a ride along the canal in the last week or so and the experience was good. You can definitely tell that the tires are running a lower pressure and steering is definitely more lethargic. I haven't found the front derailleur too bad so it will stay on for the time being.

Piece of advice for those looking to change their outer cables. Get some Cable Magic lubricant. All my bikes are built using the stuff and my gear changes are slicker and braking better compared to when I didn't use lubricant on the inners. Oh, and a big +1 for SKS P45's, surely the best there are.

antsmithmk

Ok cross season is now over.

What are the smallest width tyres I can fit to a 2014 Comp?

What mudguards should I buy?

Doing the above turns it from a mean lean racing machine into a wet day club ride mobile?

fret

I would go for 25mm and no smaller, although for this time of year and comfort use 28's, there's not much difference in overall speed.
SKS P45's. Best on the market and worth every penny.

No and yes. It makes a good all day audax/sportive bike though and is around the same weight as other sportive bikes such as the Specialized Allez.

Bit of a bugger tonight, 2 punctures on the way home, the second was my fault as I pinched the tube and then proceeded to carry on home. I never realised bike tyres actually made so much noise when they blew!!! Even the car behind me stopped.
On checking when I got home I still can't see what caused the hole as it is on the inside of the tube and I have decent rim tape. Perhaps the tube has perished, although it's only just come out of the box.

antsmithmk

Ok ordered sks in black 35-38 width and 28mm gators. Thanks

fret

No need to thank me.
I didn't notice a difference in time between 23, 25 and 28 tyres, but the 28's are excellent for winter and are more comfortable as you can run lower pressures if you want. After switching back from the 23's I had fitted in the summer I don't think I will go back to that narrow, but may use 25's again.

Mind you, I'm officially "very old" this year, so times are now getting a bit irrelevant I don't think I will ever be a threat to any UCI riders.

Muzzledoctor

Right, so I'm thinking of building some new wheels for the CX and know what rims and spokes I'd like to use. Now I need recommendations for hubs. At about £500, the Chris Kings are out, so are the DTSwiss for similar money. I'd like 6-bolt hubs so puts most higher end Shimano out too. I've been looking at Hope or Novatec, any other suggestions? I'm building them myself so I need hubs that I can buy online or in a store. Thoughts and suggestions?

apreading

Muzzledoctor wrote:

Right, so I'm thinking of building some new wheels for the CX and know what rims and spokes I'd like to use. Now I need recommendations for hubs. At about £500, the Chris Kings are out, so are the DTSwiss for similar money. I'd like 6-bolt hubs so puts most higher end Shimano out too. I've been looking at Hope or Novatec, any other suggestions? I'm building them myself so I need hubs that I can buy online or in a store. Thoughts and suggestions?

The DT Swiss 350 should be similar, maybe just a smidgen more than Hope. At similar money, the American Classics are worth a look too - thats what I got on my handbuilts because I wanted quiet freewheel and DT350/Americn Classic were the two best choices, with the ACs being a bit lighter but also having steel reinforcement on the freehub to stop the cassette digging into the aluminium, which can be a problem on many light hubs. The DT350s have an awesome reputation, and I very nearly went for them. Hope just too noisy, but Novatecs are great value as long as you buy the right ones. Shimano seemed quite heavy at this price range.

Muzzledoctor

Thanks for response. I saw from earlier in the forum thread that you had some AC hub- based wheels built. The problem is finding anyone, other than wheelbuilders, who stock them in the UK. I hear you (pun intended) about the Hope Hub volume issue so I'm off those I think. Will probably end up with Novatecs until I decide whether Chris Kings are worth the money.

Anyone else have any hub advice?

meth_tical

Having just recently purchased the Boardman CX Comp, I got it home to realise the front wheel was REALLY tough to get in. I lined the rotor up in the pads and the clearance was sufficient but the right hand fork leg (as your looking towards the face of the bike) moved in about 1cm and I had to push it out to get the hub in and tighten up the QR. Should their be that much movement in the fork legs. I've not rode it yet as I wasn't sure if its cause for concern.

antsmithmk

Mine is the same... The dropouts make it very tough to get the wheel out. Its fine to ride.

tincaman

Woohoo, Kinesis Cxdisc wheels fitted and ready to go for tomorrow, lost a pound in weight off the bike too

veronese68

Muzzledoctor wrote:

Thanks for response. I saw from earlier in the forum thread that you had some AC hub- based wheels built. The problem is finding anyone, other than wheelbuilders, who stock them in the UK. I hear you (pun intended) about the Hope Hub volume issue so I'm off those I think. Will probably end up with Novatecs until I decide whether Chris Kings are worth the money.

Anyone else have any hub advice?

I have Novatec hubs and am very happy with them. I had my wheels built by Ugo Santalucia, one of the mods on here, and he recommended them. I think the ones I have are the 711/712. At the time I had to get them from the far east, but I believe you can get them in the UK now.

Muzzledoctor

Thanks Veronese68, I'm leaning that way too as they for with decent skewers and I'm running similar road hubs and have been happy with those. Laced onto WTB rims with SAPIM race spokes, I'll be good to go. Thanks all.

meth_tical

antsmithmk wrote:

Mine is the same... The dropouts make it very tough to get the wheel out. Its fine to ride.

Thank you. Maiden voyage tonight to get everything dialed in and set up right ready to take over commuting duties.

arthur_scrimshaw

My stock rear wheel bearing is on it's last legs, I cleaned and re greased it about 400 miles ago but I didn't catch it in time and it's knocking again so time for new cones and balls. Any idea were I can get these? On other bikes I've had to strip the parts out and go to my lbs for him to match up the cones?

Also any ideas how the weatherproof the driveside bearing, the nds has a nice rubber cap sealing the bearing from all the crap but the DS has nothing apart from a curved steel washer? I appreciate it sits within the freewheel so has some protection but seems a bit agricultural?

antsmithmk

meth_tical wrote:

antsmithmk wrote:

Mine is the same... The dropouts make it very tough to get the wheel out. Its fine to ride.

Thank you. Maiden voyage tonight to get everything dialed in and set up right ready to take over commuting duties.

No probs. I found it all needed dialling in again every 10 or so days for the first 6 weeks, the disks still drag a touch as well even after 3 months

fret

The forks could be just another 'mercun invention to stop people from taking out law suits on the manufacturers should the front wheel fall out.
HSE and all that rubbish.