Boardman CX Owners Thread

pedropete

minnnt wrote:

I went for the Mason X Hunt 4 seasons. They’re pretty nice.

Just did the same (ish). Got a set of ‘4Seasons Gravel Disc’ (not the Mason variant), and what a difference. Bike comes alive when you shed that weight - less brake rub under power too.

For anyone considering a 2016 Boardman CX (2018 version imminent so expect bargains on 2016 model), this is a cracking bike that rides brilliantly and offers superb value, especially when on offer. Key tweaks and upgrades that have changed mine for the better, along with a few notes on issues you may encounter:

Bottom bracket: expect issues with the PF30 fitted at factory. Either put up with Halford’s (seemingly) standard approach of repeated re-installations/replacements and then eventually forcing them to fit a converter, or, budget the £60 up front, do it yourself and save weeks/months of p!ss arsing about. I went with Wheels Manufacturing’s ‘PF30 Threaded Angular Contact BB’ https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/pf30/pf30-threaded-angular-contact-bb-black.html. Spacing is spot on with included 0.5mm shims and the 12mm alloy spacer that comes on the bike. Just be sure to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS

Cables & shifting: Loads of new bikes have badly done cable runs and Boardman seem to get them spectacularly wrong. They also seem adept at kinking inners, ensuring shifting never runs smoothly. Added to that, the ridiculous exposed cable run on the down-tube will cause issues within weeks if ridden in wet/muddy conditions. Given that most Halfwits branches still can’t manage a decent 1x setup, budget £12-15 (search eBay) and fit a fully-sealed cable to the rear mech (Fibrax or similar). You’ll need another inline barrel adjuster too as the one fitted is too small for larger gauge outers. Do this before you even ride the bike as it makes a HUGE difference. Shifting will be so much sharper, faster and more reliable.

Turns out mine also had a bent mech hanger when I got it, so that, added to poor quality and badly fitted cables meant I spent far too long trying to diagnose shifting issues. Classic mistake to assume the hanger will be straight when leaving the factory or bike shop as they’re really not hard to knock out of alignment. If in doubt, ask Halfords to supply a replacement and maybe pick up a spare too, just in case.

Wheels & tyres: Standard Formula/Mavic XM319 wheels are actually pretty decent, and although not light they’re plenty tough enough for bridleways and single track and cope well with potholes and cr@ppy road surfaces. They will also run tubeless with a bit of faffing. I Gorilla taped mine to mount 43mm Gravel King SKs with Magic Milk sealant. In hindsite, Gorilla Tape is a PITA when you need to redo it so save yourself the hassle and spend £12 on a 60mroll of Tesa tape (same as Stans tape) from eBay. Be warned though, the rim joint is leaky as f**k, so it’ll take a bit of spinning, shaking and re-inflating before they’ll seal fully.

Schwalbe ‘Rapid Robs’ as fitted are okay for off-road only riding but useless for on road or mixed terrain. Gravel King SKs are brilliant: fast on and off road, good grip in everything except thick mud and way tougher than Schwalbe’s ‘G-One Alround’. They’re £60 a pair if you shop around. As above, now running Hunt ‘4Season Gravel Disc’ wheels and the bike feels significantly more responsive and happier on climbs.

Saddle: The OEM saddle fitted isn’t too bad at all (your backside may disagree with mine), but did start to beat me up a bit after 20-30 miles. Swapped for a Spesh Avatar Comp Gel which is great for me, but again, results may vary. Best option is to find a bike shop who do a trial scheme, or somewhere like Evans where you can exchange up to three or four times if you don’t get on.

Bar tape: This bike deserves to be ridden off road so you’ll want more padding on the bars if you’re going to avoid numb fingers. Stick some gel pads on the tops, bends and drops and wrap it with some decently thick bar tape: ODI 3.5mm is good, so’s Lizard Skins DSP, and Specialized do some cushy stuff as well. Take the time to clean the bars up though as the factory use horrible stretchy sticky tape to fix the cable runs under the bar tape.

Note: Halfords Brighton (where I purchased the bike) have since reimbursed me for the Wheels Mfg BB, so I’m happy with that outcome. The Brighton team seem to be on their game, with Lee in particular being great at sorting out issues. A shame my local branch of Halfwits are so useless but goes to show that there are still some decent Halfords branches where the staff actually give a monkey’s.

davem399

I have added a set of Mason Hunt CX wheels to my 2017 CX Team and added some 28mm Schwalbe tyres for road use. I have an 11-36 cassette which has closed up some of the large steps between gears on the original 10-42 cassette. I have kept the original Mavics and knobblies for off-road use. So far I am pleased with bike, and the difference between the hydraulic brakes on this and the cable discs on my 2012 CX is night and day.

pedropete

DaveM399 wrote:

I have added a set of Mason Hunt CX wheels to my 2017 CX Team

Did you use the supplied 6-bolt to centerlock adapters or go for centerlock rotors? I ask as the only issue I’ve had with the Hunt wheels is excessive braking noise, which wasn’t there with the Mavics. I’m using the same rotors and pads and re-aligned the calipers to be safe but the noise is a little irritating. Deciding whether to try some different adapters or just buy some centerlock rotors.

davem399

pedropete wrote:

DaveM399 wrote:

I have added a set of Mason Hunt CX wheels to my 2017 CX Team

Did you use the supplied 6-bolt to centerlock adapters or go for centerlock rotors? I ask as the only issue I’ve had with the Hunt wheels is excessive braking noise, which wasn’t there with the Mavics. I’m using the same rotors and pads and re-aligned the calipers to be safe but the noise is a little irritating. Deciding whether to try some different adapters or just buy some centerlock rotors.

I bought a pair of centre lock rotors, Shimano XT Saint Ice Tech ones. They are a little noisy, but have only done a couple of short rides with minimal braking. It will be interesting to see if they bed in and the noise lessens. I've kept the original rotors on the Mavics that came with the bike.

igsta

Cables & shifting: Loads of new bikes have badly done cable runs and Boardman seem to get them spectacularly wrong. They also seem adept at kinking inners, ensuring shifting never runs smoothly. Added to that, the ridiculous exposed cable run on the down-tube will cause issues within weeks if ridden in wet/muddy conditions. Given that most Halfwits branches still can’t manage a decent 1x setup, budget £12-15 (search eBay) and fit a fully-sealed cable to the rear mech (Fibrax or similar). You’ll need another inline barrel adjuster too as the one fitted is too small for larger gauge outers. Do this before you even ride the bike as it makes a HUGE difference. Shifting will be so much sharper, faster and more reliable.

Turns out mine also had a bent mech hanger when I got it, so that, added to poor quality and badly fitted cables meant I spent far too long trying to diagnose shifting issues. Classic mistake to assume the hanger will be straight when leaving the factory or bike shop as they’re really not hard to knock out of alignment. If in doubt, ask Halfords to supply a replacement and maybe pick up a spare too, just in case.

Just for balance, Ive ridden mine for 1 year now through all weathers and surfaces (incl offroad having made a pair of the standard wheels tubeless with gorilla tape), and have not experienced any trouble with bottom bracket or shifting. Thats with minimal maintenance other than the occasional chain cleaning tool and relube.

Headset went loose on me after couple of months but just retightened myself and no issues since.

to those who upgraded the wheels to Hunt variants, how much weight does that save over the standard rims? Also, have you stuck with XD or back to Shimano, and if the latter, are any adjustments needed for good shifting?

davem399

igsta wrote:

Cables & shifting: Loads of new bikes have badly done cable runs and Boardman seem to get them spectacularly wrong. They also seem adept at kinking inners, ensuring shifting never runs smoothly. Added to that, the ridiculous exposed cable run on the down-tube will cause issues within weeks if ridden in wet/muddy conditions. Given that most Halfwits branches still can’t manage a decent 1x setup, budget £12-15 (search eBay) and fit a fully-sealed cable to the rear mech (Fibrax or similar). You’ll need another inline barrel adjuster too as the one fitted is too small for larger gauge outers. Do this before you even ride the bike as it makes a HUGE difference. Shifting will be so much sharper, faster and more reliable.

Turns out mine also had a bent mech hanger when I got it, so that, added to poor quality and badly fitted cables meant I spent far too long trying to diagnose shifting issues. Classic mistake to assume the hanger will be straight when leaving the factory or bike shop as they’re really not hard to knock out of alignment. If in doubt, ask Halfords to supply a replacement and maybe pick up a spare too, just in case.

Just for balance, Ive ridden mine for 1 year now through all weathers and surfaces (incl offroad having made a pair of the standard wheels tubeless with gorilla tape), and have not experienced any trouble with bottom bracket or shifting. Thats with minimal maintenance other than the occasional chain cleaning tool and relube.

Headset went loose on me after couple of months but just retightened myself and no issues since.

to those who upgraded the wheels to Hunt variants, how much weight does that save over the standard rims? Also, have you stuck with XD or back to Shimano, and if the latter, are any adjustments needed for good shifting?

I haven't weighed both wheels so I can't comment on the weight saving. I went for the Hunts with the standard Shimani/SRAM splined freehub. As I mentioned earlier, I fitted an 11-36 cassette to close up the jumps between gears. I fitted the wheels and didn't have to adjust the brake calipers or the indexing of the rear derailleur. I might have been fortunate, but the changeover was hassle free.

minnnt

The wheels save the best part of a kilo. My CX is around the 8kg mark now.

proto

Thread resurrection!

Seriously thinking of buying a discounted CX Team for the coming CX season, and also as a general hack/commuter. Like the idea of hydraulic discs and 1x11 drive train. Good price too.

Howeve4, I’m a bit concerned about sizing. I’m 5’8” (centre B.B. to saddle top measurement 720mm) and my other bikes all have top tubes around the 54cm mark, whereas the 53cm Boardman recommended for my height has a virtual top tube of 55.5cm. Seems very long to me.

Halfords are going to put it together next Friday for me to try.

So, 5’8” riders, what size bikes are you riding?

davem399

I'm just a shade under 5'8"" and I have a CX Team in 53cm size. I've got short legs (inside leg about 29.5") and a long torso and find the longish top tube a decent fit for me. I've kept the original wheels and knobbly tyres for off-road and got a set of Hunt 4 Seasons and slick tyres for the road. I like the hydraulic discs, much better than the cable discs on my other Boardman CX.

CitizenLee

I'm looking for a new bike for commuting and general messing around on when I don't want to ride my MTB, and I keep finding myself drawn to the 2018 Boardman CXR 8.9 Apex from Cycle Republic, but it's a little over budget (I have a £950 CycleScheme voucher on it's way - I budgeted for a bike I no longer want, hence it's not the max value of £1000).

Does anyone know if Cycle Republic charge an additional fee for CycleScheme? If not I may be tempted to top up the extra £50 myself.

Otherwise I'll probably just go for a 2018 Pinnacle Arkose 1 or Arkose X from Evans.