boardman/specialized

deka51

can anyone help me decide on a hybrid? have narrowed the enormous choice down to specialized sirrus and boardman. i have around £600 and had a test ride on the sirrus comp which was great. halfords wont let me test ride the boardman (dull). it will be used almost exclusively on london roads which can be pretty bumpy. around 15 miles daily. the boardman seems to have better spec, but do i really need disc braking, sram etc. confused! any genuine opinons most welcome. thanks

tonye_n

Hi,
In terms of quality, both bikes will stand up to your required usage very well indeed over a long time.
If buying off Halfords then be aware that although the Boardman bikes are universally acknowleged to be good value for money across the range, this is quite often let down by very poor customer service from Halfords with regards to initial setup and post sales support.

You may therefore have to factor into your costs the fact that you will likely have to take the boardman bike into you local LBS to iron out any issues that may arise due to bad setup by halfords staff.
On the other hand the Specialized bike will be sold by approved LBS (unless you are buying online) and will probably come with free 1st service (after about 3-6 months of use) to iron out any niggly issues.

Unless you are somewhat experienced and/or handy with minor bike maintenance I would advise not to buy from halfords if you have other suitable options.
Of course your particular halfords branch may be one of the exceptions to this very general rule, but as a noob should you be taking that chance?

Also for regular commuting only, I would chose v-brakes over mechanical disc brakes (at your price range the boardman is unlikely to come with hydro brakes which are much better).

BigLights

i've never tried the Boardmans, but they get a v good writeup. I do, however, have a Sirrus which has pounded the London streets for the last 2 1/2 years. It's awesome, I love it (it's the first time I haven't replaced a bike after 12 months), couldn't recommend it more highly, and much much better in all respects than my previous bikes (2 Treks and a Marin).

tonye_n

+++ I'll never buy a bike from any shop which won't allow even a brief test ride!!

Grenouille

I got a Boardman Hybrid Comp in May and have done about 500 miles on it so far, about 2/3 of that is commuting a similar daily distance as yours. I have to say it is a fab bike. I have mudguards and a Topeak rack on it and it is great for commuting. I will be adding some new spd pedals and bar ends in due course but otherwise I cannot fault it. Sure, Halfords have bad press but my local branch weren't too bad (although they didn't really check or help me get setup on it correctly).

tarbot18

I wouldnt worry about buying from halfords they are like lbs a you get good ones and crap ones learn how to maintain your bike and you wont need to take it back for minor repairs . For city commuting you cant beat disc brakes , i commute on a mtb and a road bike and although the road bike is far easier to pedal and faster i prefer the mtb for the more comfortable position and better brakes.

thesenco

Grenouille wrote:

I got a Boardman Hybrid Comp in May and have done about 500 miles on it so far, about 2/3 of that is commuting a similar daily distance as yours. I have to say it is a fab bike. I have mudguards and a Topeak rack on it and it is great for commuting. I will be adding some new spd pedals and bar ends in due course but otherwise I cannot fault it. Sure, Halfords have bad press but my local branch weren't too bad (although they didn't really check or help me get setup on it correctly).

what mudguards did you have fitted?

cookeeemonster

ok I might be able to help you a little bit here.

In april I bought a specialized sirrus sport - one down from the comp I think? and my brother bought the boardman hybrid comp.

The boardman feels lighter and moves off from a standstill quicker - though this was reduced when I changed from 32c tyres to 28c tyres that the boardman has (not sure what tyre size the sirrus comp comes with?).

We both agreed the sirrus gears were a lot smoother/felt better - some people say that sram is meant to be 'clunkier/noisier' -cant remember the word they used but basically both gears are good but we preferred the sirrus ones (and for me, the shifters themselves were a lot nicer to use)

We both fitted sks mudguards...but due to the disc brake on the boardman fitting it took my brother ages and he nearly threw them in the bin - eventually he bodged them to fit - the point being it's easier to fit mudguards to the sirrus...but ultimately this can be done by the shop anyway when you buy (you really need mudguards if you ride in all weathers - believe me).

So on to my experience with the sirrus...it's been great - 100% reliable and once I got my fitness up I could move at a pretty good speed. It handles the dodgy london roads really well and is very comfortable. I'd definitely recommend it.

the boardman is a great bike...but it's been back to halfords a number of times including for chain and bottom bracket replacement...and basically because the store he went to haven't a clue - it was set up bad from when he bought it and he's never been happy with their attempts at rectifying it (gears not right and a couple of others minor things)

But it does depend on which halfords you go to (and if the mechanic is in on the day you pick up your bike) and if you can do the maintenance yourself.

Overall they're both great bikes but the boardman is probably faster and the sirrus more comfortable/reliable - based on our experiences.

incidently I leave him for dead on my sirrus 4 months on - it's the rider that determines the speed and not the bike unless you're matched very close!

Grenouille

thesenco wrote:

what mudguards did you have fitted?

I think it is the SKS Commuter Narrow Bike Mudguard Set - 35mm Black - I had Halfords fit them for me when I got the bike and they work very well - I have been out in some torrential rain and suffered next to no spray coming off the wheels.

Grenouille

To add to the above, I also had to fiddle with them a little after I got the bike as Halfords had positioned them too close to the tyres so that they almost rubbed. Quite a quick and easy adjustment though.

Steve@Tern

I think for your budget, you'd struggle to get to a Sirrus Comp - the 2012 models are still around the £800 mark. The Elite however can be got for £500 or so, down from £600 list.
On the comparison with the Boardman, I would tend to agree with the general feelings expressed above - I'd be happier with the carbon forks, triple chainset and reputation of the Sirrus over the discs of the Boardman.

supersonic

The same people make the Boardman as the Sirrus - Merida. the spec varies of course, but the frame quality is nigh on identical.

thesenco

Grenouille wrote:

To add to the above, I also had to fiddle with them a little after I got the bike as Halfords had positioned them too close to the tyres so that they almost rubbed. Quite a quick and easy adjustment though.

o.k thanks. same ones i had fitted. i also thought they were a touch to close but didn't get round to tweaking them before having a nasty accident when rear mudguard got sucked up over rear wheel and jammed between wheel and seat-stays. mudguard destroyed, paint chipped

if you've not had problems though, it gives me confidence to replace it with same one and just check clearances are bigger. read on another post that someone fitted the 45mm version. wonder if this would be better, especially as i may need to increase tyre size over winter to a 30mm? halfords man was very sceptical that anything bigger than the 35mm sks guards would fit though.

davegore2005

Grenouille wrote:

thesenco wrote:

what mudguards did you have fitted?

I think it is the SKS Commuter Narrow Bike Mudguard Set - 35mm Black - I had Halfords fit them for me when I got the bike and they work very well - I have been out in some torrential rain and suffered next to no spray coming off the wheels.

On a side note...two halfords could not get these mudguards to fit on my hybrid comp as the steel bars would not fit around where the disc sat and they refused to either bend the bar anyway to fit in case it snapped whilst they were in the process of fitting, I ended up getting the crud roadracer's fitted and they work a treat..or at least did until my bike got stolen last week....but will be getting the same again when the replacement bike arrives

Dave

JamesB5446

Steve@Tern wrote:

On the comparison with the Boardman, I would tend to agree with the general feelings expressed above - I'd be happier with the carbon forks, triple chainset and reputation of the Sirrus over the discs of the Boardman.

Do you have a very hilly commute that requires a triple?

My dad has a Boardman hybrid. Set up was fine, some Halfords have good people, like some LBSs. I would try a different store to see if they'll let you test it though.

Dellsinho

thesenco wrote:

o.k thanks. same ones i had fitted. i also thought they were a touch to close but didn't get round to tweaking them before having a nasty accident when rear mudguard got sucked up over rear wheel and jammed between wheel and seat-stays. mudguard destroyed, paint chipped

This exact same thing happened to me this morning on my commute, luckily no chipped paint, just scared the hell out of me when it happened. I don't think there's enough support on the rear mudguard between the seat stay mount and the rear support from the single wire stays. I feel like there should be a second wire stay between these two locations like on most guards - a V-shaped wire stay set? Poor design.

Just wondering; did you take them back to Halfords to get your cash back?

apreading

Totally different bikes - one a comfy, relaxed, cruiser (Sirrus) and the other an agressive racer (Boardman). You can adjust some of the character with stem angles and setup etc but the overall chartacter is inherent and will remain.

Sirrus has really poor spec components for the money, boardman really good spec components for the money.

Sirrus absorbs the bumps much better and the carbon fork is really good - will ride much smoother than the Boardman.

Boardman is lighter and disc brakes are much stronger - especially in the wet.

No need to get Halfords to service the boardman - take it to your LBS if you want.

If you want it cheaper, join British Cycling - take the Ride membership for £24, use the TForL12 code for 50% off and pay by direct debit for another 10% off - makes it £10.80 for the year and gives you 10% off anything in Halfords (on top of any other offers)

Every other week Halfords have 10% off making the Hybrid Team £675 (down from £750), add the 10% for British Cycling membership making it £607.50 and then use Quidco to get another £20 back (although you have to wait a while before they pay Quidco).

Would deffo recommend one with a Carbon fork rather than Alu.

JamesB5446

If it helps, I've just done the C2C with my dad over three days. He's got a Boardman hybrid (the £500 one with Sram X5 bits) and it seemed to do fine.

mpdouglas

I can't speak highly enough of my Boardman Hybrid Pro Ltd. It was just as well set up by Halfords (New Malden) as my Bianchi Infinito was by the LBS that supplied it (they both needed some fettling but I am a perfectionist!). It's been super reliable and hasn't needed any work other than routine lubing of the chain and replacing the (mediocre) Vittoria tyres with some decent Conti GP4000S 700x25 ones. Purely out of curiosity, I pulled the spindle out of the front wheel last weekend and it was like new inside. The rubber seals on the hubs clearly do their job as the bike has been ridden in all weathers.

The SRAM Rival road groupset (many hybrids use mountain bike components e.g SRAM X5 and triple chainrings)shifts as sweetly as any bike I've ridden and the doubletap shifters are excellent. I find having the same gearing configuration as my road bike a big benefit - I jump back and forward between the bikes without having to retrain my brain.

I've done about 1500 miles on it and use it daily for a 33 mile round trip commute in to central London. I don't think there's a better bike for it. Can I lap Richmond Park quicker on my Bianchi - yes, marginally. Do I prefer commuting on the Boardman - absolutely. It's a shame that it's called a "Hybrid" as to most, this phrase conjurs up images of a mountain bike with non-knobbly tyres. The Boardman Hybrids are much more like road bikes with flat bars and disc brakes - which kind of makes it the perfect bike for commuting. It stops on a sixpence and you are able to cover the brakes very effectively at all times (which in central London is a big plus).

A bit of a radom braindump, but I thought it would be helpful to share my experience of a Boardman. Absolutely NO quality issues (quite the opposite - nothing needed in 1500 miles), outstanding disc brakes, fast and no heavier than an alloy framed road bike (Specialized Allez - 9.7 KG, my Boardman - 9.7Kg, Specialized Sirrus Elite - 12.7KG!)