Buying a Boardman at Halfords saga

Scoobynutta

Long post alert!!


Hi, I'm after a bit of advice really. I was interested in a lightish commute/light off road bike and after a bit of research plumped for a Boardman pro carbon ht. On Sunday, I searched Halfords website for a branch and reserved the nearest one, over 10 miles away. I get a call from the branch Monday morning saying they had just the one in stock which was a demo shop floor one, to get a box fresh one would be the best part of a week, would I take the demo model? Also their Boardman trained mechanic had phoned in sick, could I pick up Tuesday. 

I go to the store Tuesday. Boardman mechanic shows me the bike, i have a brief look at the bike, check the suspension which doesn't  fully lock out ( told this is normal), I notice the bike is a bit heavier than I'd imagined. Anyway I  pay circa £1500 for my carbon bike and off I go. It dawns on me when I get home that the cabling for the bike is externally mounted. All the gumph I've read say it should be internal and hidden. I call up the store and question it. The tech says he's baffled, maybe it is an old model. I could take the bike back to the store and pick up the other one they had in sto k. Strange I thought, there was supposed to be just the one carbon ht. I take the bike back within the hour. The tech has finished his shift.I was directed to the other bike by the store gopher. Said bike had internal cabling and etc. The finish on the frame was terrible, no scratches or gouges, but it was if something was spilled all over it. The gopher reckons the paint was coming off. 

Obviously I'm not going to accept this bike either. I leave empty handed with a promise the tech guy calls me up the next day. I do a bit of research over night and am fairly convinced I've been handed a pro alloy ht which is a model £500 cheaper! And this stuff about it being 'old stock and the previous model', sounds all wrong.

I call the shop in the morning and ask for the manager to investigate. The manager gets back to me admitting the tech had prepped an alloy bike and presented it as a carbon. I'm again told I can have the demo which is supposedly ok.  I'm not going to accept this bike as the frame looked all damaged. I'm told the alternative is a weeks wait for another bike.

As it stands now, I've told the manager I'll be in this evening to try and sort this mess out. I was supposed to be away the weekend on this bike, I'll have to cancel this. I'm £1500 down with no bikes and I'll have wracked up
over 60 miles with nothing to show for it. The manager has stated they'll "throw in some accessories as a gesture of goodwill", yet I'm very much peed off with the whole experience!  

I've been completely been put off with a carbon ht, boardman itself and very much with Halfords. 

I'm now considering a hybrid boardman, possibly the pro. This store has all hybrids in stock. Should I go for one of these and push for a heavy discount for the inconvenience? I feel I've been fobbed off. I get 10% off with a nus discount code.

Am I being a bit precious? 

Any advice welcome!

njee20

A week is a very short wait for a bike. Annoying, and they are clearly a little inept (or deceitful) to sell an alu one as carbon, but just chill, get the right one next week, accept their offer of free stuff and get on with your life.

cooldad

Scoobynutta wrote:

Am I being a bit precious? 

Yes

bompington

Your mistake was that you forgot to drip a few drops from a water bottle onto the frame to see if it melted ;-)

gazl

...a friend at my work had a difficult time trying to buy a boardman bike from halfords a year ago & he ended up complaining to head office.....he got £30 of vouchers. Anyway, he didn't buy the boardman in the end because of the poor service & he used the vouchers for some Kona gloves.

prawny

Just a thought, are the carbon mtb's naked finish like the road bikes? Loads of people come on moaning in the road forum about the finish looking all wrong when it's just how UD carbon looks

It's probably wouldn't look like this



More like this

Rigga

Scoobynutta wrote:

I've been completely been put off with a carbon ht, boardman itself and very much with Halfords. 

I'm now considering a hybrid boardman, possibly the pro.

That makes sense!

Anonymous

So you bought the carbon, they gave you the alloy model, and you (and possibly they) did not notice?

I guess if gloss painted it's less noticeable (raw would be easy, and both the above photos are classic for carbon), but the alloy would have welded joints surely, not to mention would be heavy and if you tap it, it doesn't sound like plastic!

Choices are simple though as per your rights, they give you your money back in full, or they provide the correct bike as ordered.

If you can't wait, take the money and find a better bike in a better shop. If you can't find a good LBS cheap enough, you'll still get better service in an Evans and pick up some great bikes there.

As for the demo being scratched up, it's unlikely that it will have been used. They don't do demo rides and think they don't like them going round the car park now either. The best it will have done is a circuit of the shop floor.

But then they could have put up a returned one as the demo.

Walkertalker

Hassle free and no worries, but you have to wait.
http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes ... tml?b=2556

Scoobynutta

The frame wasn't chipped and scratched. It appeared to have been cleaned with a spirit or something which I can only describe as leeching into the fibre. It certainly would no be a factory finish. It was all over the frame. 
Yes I accepted the bike not noticing it wasn't carbon. But it's the first I've seen, and to be fair, from what I've read about the ally model, they're famed for their carbon look. 
I would imagine a tec in a "bike hut" halfords would have noticed.   
Then to compound the error by saying it was a previous model?

supersonic

The alloy models llok very carbon esque with the filed welds, however still a silly mistake.

Unidirection carbon looks very odd, often like pools of water under the lacquer! I will post pics of my bikelater to show you that this could be completely normal.

Rushmore

might be a silly question....

But why would you want to spend £1500 on a bike that will be used for just commuting??

Sound like a bit of overkill to me for a first bike in all fairness...

If I was a weight weenie xc racer, or into long xc rides at least... THEN I would probably consider £1500 on a HT.

You could just spend £500 on a HT, get used to riding and what style you want to do... and save a grand...

You don't wanna be the guy with all the gear no idea.....

sandy771

I bought my first mountain bike in Halfords - never again. I had one of the bolts holding in the rear suss snap when we moved house (bike was in the transporter). Service from the new local Halfords was appalling. When I first called they initially asked me to rush it over (10 mile trip) but then didn't touch it for a week. They could not get a new bush for the bike (a Carrera, i.e. halfords own) and tried to make me pay £20 up front when they needed to order a new bolt in. They ended up fitting what was best described as a stock bolt off a car that clearly wasnt designed for the job that it did - a real bodge but as I had been to the store 3 times at that stage I just thought enough was enough.

A month or so later I took it into my LBS for a service and came out with a Talon, although I have had some small probs with the Talon and then a Trance the LBS always bent over backwards to sort the probs out and hence I will be spending more money there.

My advice would be to avoid Halfords like the plague and go to an LBS who live and breathe bikes, long term they will prob want your future custom and will make sure you are happy.

gezebo

I think you have every right to be annoyed.

Just because you didn't notice does not make any difference. It could have been a grandparent buying a present...

There are plenty of people out there who pay ££££ for bikes, cars etc who know nothing about the product and it would be more than reasonable to assume that a nationwide chain of shops could provide you with the correct bike that you've paid for.

If I was in your position I would be asking for gift vouchers to cover the fuel you've wasted and my money back to shop elsewhere.

andyparker

I'd be annoyed as well. As you point out its the inconvenience of having to go backwards and forwards in the car and chasing people to sort out - not to mention the cost of your time and fuel etc.

A complaint should be resolved as quickly as possible and with as little fuss as possible after just one expression of dissatisfaction. As I pointed out on another thread handling a complaint well and efficiently can often leave the customer happier than if nothing had gone wrong in the first place

Stevo_666

Scoobynutta wrote:

I'm now considering a hybrid boardman, possibly the pro. This store has all hybrids in stock. Should I go for one of these and push for a heavy discount for the inconvenience? I feel I've been fobbed off. I get 10% off with a nus discount code.

Am I being a bit precious? 

Any advice welcome!

The Pro is a very good bike for commuting - mine has been bomb proof and is quite quick on the road for a hybrid - it's really a flat barred road bike with disc brakes and slightly beefier wheels. Off road? Unless it's very light off road I wouldn't - no suspension and fairly skinny tyres makes for hard work.

diy

I would second what everyone is saying about boardman carbon bikes. I have a team carbon road bike and the finish does look very odd. You can actually see how the layers of carbon have been laid on the dolly. No amount of high gloss resin filler based polish will get it looking glossy.

I also question the logic of spending £1500 on a MTB for commuting. I paid £650 for my team carbon road bike which had been used about 3 times by the previous owner, not even enough to wear the bobbles off the tyres.

A new Boardman is ok, a used boardman is even better because their "halfords own brand" image makes them depreciate. There is no way I could have picked up a nearly new £1000-1200 ribble or specialized for that kind of cash used.

I don't know how far you intend to commute and what the roads are like, but you may be better with a road bike. Personally I'd get my £1500 back and then look for a nice used road bike circa £500-700 and then maybe a used mtb for the same again.

The Rookie

diy wrote:

"halfords own brand" image makes them depreciate.

Just wait until Boardman pull them out of Halfords like GT have done......pick up a used one and the right time and instant profits a year later!

Simon

cooldad

The Beginner wrote:

diy wrote:

"halfords own brand" image makes them depreciate.

Just wait until Boardman pull them out of Halfords like GT have done......pick up a used one and the right time and instant profits a year later!

Simon

It's speculators like you that have brought the world economy to it's knees. You are the evil spawn of satan.

The Rookie

Yeah baby!

That's ten boardmans won on ebay so far....I'll have cornered the market soon!*

Simon

*All virtual of course!

Scoobynutta

It's not my first bike. I have a 2008 specialised fsr pro which needs new shocks, and a newly built yeti 575 anniversary. I'm not commuting on the yeti or comfortable leaving it anywhere apart from in the house.
I'm off the ht boardman completely if the frame finish is supposed to look like that. I think I'll risk a hybrid pro from another source for my 'all the gear and no idea' London to Brighton this year ;-)

Anyway, I took a refund last night after an offer of 10% off. As I received 10% off anyway it wasn't an offer at all!
I think I'll just complain to Boardman and Halfords customer service. The store in question is Halfords in Hemel Hempstead.

delcol

I'm not commuting on the yeti or comfortable leaving it anywhere apart from in the house.

but your prepared to leave a £1500 carbon hardtail somewere...

i dont get your logic at all...

my commuter bike is chaep and nasty £329 scott road bike does the job,,

njee20

might be a silly question....

It is.

But why would you want to spend £1500 on a bike that will be used for just commuting??

Why not?

If I was a weight weenie xc racer, or into long xc rides at least... THEN I would probably consider £1500 on a HT.

Hardly a 'top of the range race bike', still mid-range at very best in the grand scheme of things!

You don't wanna be the guy with all the gear no idea.....

Why not?

but your prepared to leave a £1500 carbon hardtail somewere...

i dont get your logic at all...

my commuter bike is chaep and nasty £329 scott road bike does the job,,

Seeing as a 575 even built on the cheap is at least double that is it really hard to understand...?

A significant proportion of my riding time is commuting. I've got a 'cheap' £700 Allez (which frankly I don't like) with £1000 PowerTap rear wheel I usually use. It's out of order at the moment so I'm on my Dura Ace equipped Trek Madone, I want to enjoy my commute, a nice bike makes the (45 mile each way) ride more enjoyable. We've got reasonably secure parking (it would have to be someone with a security pass who nicked it), and if it goes then that's what insurance is for. It's only a bike. Saying that mind, I'd not leave my mountain bike anywhere!

Scoobynutta

delcol wrote:

I'm not commuting on the yeti or comfortable leaving it anywhere apart from in the house.

but your prepared to leave a £1500 carbon hardtail somewere...

i dont get your logic at all...

my commuter bike is chaep and nasty £329 scott road bike does the job,,

I have fairly secure bike parking at work, but there's always a worry over theft, even damage. It would be less of a drama on a halfords bike than a limited edition yeti.

Same applies for camping type weekend away rides.

The price of a bike is relative. Some might think a bike worth over £300 is a luxury for a commute. A brief perusal of some of the bikes at work confirms this

delcol

ah.. right

my old place of work had a bike rack and zero security.. i would never of considered using one of my mtbs to commute on,, way to valuable to leave chained up to a fence or in the 5h1tty excuse of a bike rack.
hence my cheap and cheerful scott bike... should of been £400 but was on offer for £329,99

A significant proportion of my riding time is commuting. I've got a 'cheap' £700 Allez (which frankly I don't like) with £1000 PowerTap rear wheel I usually use. It's out of order at the moment so I'm on my Dura Ace equipped Trek Madone, I want to enjoy my commute, a nice bike makes the (45 mile each way) ride more enjoyable. We've got reasonably secure parking (it would have to be someone with a security pass who nicked it), and if it goes then that's what insurance is for. It's only a bike. Saying that mind, I'd not leave my mountain bike anywhere!

i think you belong in the road forum :P 45 mile to commute to work each way i would not even drive that for a job... curious though how long does that 45 min cycle commute take you,, and how long does it take to drive it... thats crazy to think you cycle this distance to work spend howmany hours in work then cycle back again...

njee20

To be fair I ride in one morning, train home, then train in, ride home. And I try and escape to our Horsham office which is far closer at least once a week.

It's from rural Sussex into the City of London so driving's not an option. Riding takes c2:30 depending on traffic lights (there's over 100 sets once I'm inside the M25). Generally leave at 6:45 and be at my desk showered by 9:30ish. Train is slightly quicker; leave mine at 7:20 and get in at 9, but frequently delayed and £36 a day.

leaflite

I'm off the ht boardman completely if the frame finish is supposed to look like that

Carbon frames that dont have that "water under the laquer" look generally have a cosmetic carbon wrap outer layer over the carbon or are painted. This is unnecessary and adds weight.

diy

Njee - you need a motorbike.

I have been tempted to take the boardman in a few times. I am lucky enough to have my own parking space in our underground carpark in the city, so I too could leave the bike securely. My commute is 28 miles thereabouts and i normally take the motorbike because its 45-50 mins at a relaxed pace. I have done it at just over 30 once at 5am. By train its about 1h:10, but coming back can often take 1h:30+.

On the other general comments about assuming this was the OP's first bike and that they were clueless about what bike they needed. We probably took guidance from the fact that its hard for us bike geeks to accept that someone could be in to high end bikes and not know the difference between aluminium and carbon.

I really do think the OP needs a road bike. Njee - I started out with the idea of an allez but quickly upgraded, I had my eyes on a tarmac or roubaix before buying the boardman. In some ways I regret not buying the roubaix, but since the boardman has mostly sat on the turbo trainer its hard to justify the expense irrelevant of being able to afford it.

Stevo_666

Njee, I think that commute distance could win you some sort of prize on the commuter forum.

njee20

Njee - you need a motorbike.

That wouldn't get me fit though, plus no parking, plus they're not allowed in the Cycle Superhighways, I often beat motorbikes over the last 9 miles or so, plus I could just put that money towards a new bike!

Njee, I think that commute distance could win you some sort of prize on the commuter forum.

I poke my head in there periodically, it's always the same few people. Met a couple of them, and they seem nice!

diy

plus they're not allowed in the Cycle Superhighways

only those with a solid line. half of the blue cycle lanes on my commute are just painted in bus lanes. I reckon I will give it a go once it brightens up a bit. Problem is no shower facilities at work