£850 Budget Help Me Pick A Bike (Advise Needed)

chez_m356

winter zombie wrote:

im 90% wanting a boardman team but the monkeys at halfords do put me off

but they are specially trained monkeys

The Halfords Bikehut staff receive additional training to deal with the Boardman range. Each store that stocks the range will have sent at least one mechanic to the Boardman Training Academy, where they received intensive training by skilled mechanics and representatives from the component suppliers. Please ask in-store for the Boardman trained member of staff.

winter_zombie

well i have just brought my bike.

so i just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all your advise and views/options

i will try and get some pictures and post them

for you guys who are woundering what ive brought.... well its......................

BOARDMAN TEAM PRO brand new, unwanted gift from a guy on ebay for half price.

i have the halfords paperwork and boardman manual

so thank you all for you time and help :P 8) :P

J_asonR

Nice one Winter Zombie!

Please do keep us posted on how it rides and stuff as well as picks and this is my soon to be too!

winter_zombie

hi

im going on a ride tomorrow so i will let you know

my first inpressions are WOW the first things that just smack you in the face is the weight of the bike, its just so easy to lift it up and carry, the second thing is the disk breaks, befor i got the boardman i was using deore breaks i brougjt only 3 weeks ago from chain reaction cycles at a bargain price of £25 for the full kit including the leavers. the breaks on the boardman are just insane i just lightley pressed the front break when i was rolling on and it listed the back end up a bit. they are 1000 times the instant stopping power of the deore. on my first ride i will have to be carefull because i can see myself forgetting and pressing them like on the deore and getting throw on or killing myself LoL. the look of the bike and the frane just oozeing the omfg WOW factor. i used to love my zaskar back in the day because that had a wow factor because it was quite a rare bike and light, well this is better. its not as rare but feels much more powerfull and as light. i just hope to god i dont kill my self now.
pictures will be added tomorrow evening stay tuned

winter_zombie

wellits monday and as i said i went out on my new baby, the first picture is of the bike on the sunday evening just after i recived it. the second picture was taken today at sherwood pines after i had just finished my blue run route.

it dosent look at muddy because the tyres did a great job




well for my first ride review of the bike

the first thing you will notice is the 2x10 gears, it felt strange at first because you will probley always be in the big ring. the middle ring will only be needed if your going up hill or doing things like tricks/jumps ect

the 120mm Rockshox Reba SL suspension forks with lockout on the bike are just great, i havent set them up for my weight as yet because i dont have a fork shock pump yet. but they handles well today with very little bob when i put my foot down.

the Continental Mountain King 26x2.2 wire bead black feel and look great, they handled well today in the wet/mud and roll great too on the tarmak on the way home.

the Seatpost Carbon Boardman 400mm x 31.6mm black is light and looks strang but only time will tell i gess

the Saddle Boardman black with cro-moly rails is again light but probley wont be to everybodys taste because of the racey style, i would compaire it to a selle italia xc seat. if your used to this kind of seat you will find it great but if your used to a more padded seat you will want to change it. my only comment to boardman would be "why a white seat ?" the seat just wont be white for very long unless you look after it well.

the Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes are amazing, infact i would say scary at first. i havent had disk breaks befor as ive always been a v break man. but today they just amazed me, as most of you will know v breaks just hate been wet or muddy and trying to stop in the wet or mud just takes longer and rubbs crap on our rims. but the Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes dont have that problem and so you dont have to worry about stopping distance or ruining your rims. they will stop you with out question and if your not carefull even throw you off

the sram front mech and shifters are crisp and shift perfact, in my option they worked as good as my xtr on my old zaskar le. im very inpressed with them and as things wear our i will stick with sram and buy the same again or upgrade to the next sram 0 system. top marks

ive said it before but the frame is just amazing, it looks so sexy with the smooth weld/carbon look. i would advise anybody to go to your local halfords and see it for yourself.

the complete bike weight is very good, you can pick it up with ease with one hand, the halfords site says 12.5kg, i dont have scales so i cant tell you but trust me its light.

so is the bike worth it ? YES its amazing, the retail price is £999 as of october2012. BUT their is also bargains out their to be had just like mine. so if your not in too much of a hurry shop around on ebay as their is always bargains, a lot of people buy a bike ride it 2-3 times and dont like it or just dont have the time. so they sell it on ebay, ive been on ebay for around 10 years now and my advise would be if you find something your after message the person and ask them what price area their after or what cash price would they take outside of ebay. remember ebay sellers fee's are 10% of the final price so a bike with a buy it now of £700 will be charged a final sellers fee of £70 them the payapl fee for reciveing money. so make sure you point this out to the person, this way your more likeley to get a bargain and they get a cash sale with out the high ebay fee's. this has worked a lot for me just remember be nice and polite after all they have what you want !

i hope this has helped you all, if you want to ask anything i will gladley try and help

winter_zombie

wednesday 10th october Update:

went out to sherwood pines today and did 20.88 miles

the bike again was amazing, the only very small issue was the squeaking back brake, but it needs beding in so its normal i gess. the white grips and seat are still a poor color choice. they work well and feel good but why the hell white !
the bike is a 5* brillent bike and i would advise anybody to buy one, the spec is great and the bike looks sweet