Boardman MTB "issues"

Foll Zofalot

Hi folks,

I've had my Boardman MTB Pro since August 2012 and it is a great bike but I think I have got myself a lemon.




After 200 miles or so commuting back and forth to work the BB failed, now I was aware that Boardy's had this issue but I went for it anyway. Halfrauds replaced under warranty after a bit of a carry on but a couple of weeks ago the spring in the right down shifter packed in and Halfrauds say it will have to go back to SRAM and 'might' be replaced under warranty.
The cherry on top occurred yesterday when play started in the BB with the non drive bolt unwinding, a lookee inside revealed that the bearings are on their last legs - only 2 months old!!!

I'm not a happy bunny but I love my Boardy.

So, out of interest does anybody know where I stand under my consumer rights. Am I entitled to take it back to Halfrauds and demand a replacement?

Cheers

cooldad

Well calling them Halfrauds isn't going to help your case.

The Rookie

None of the parts failing are down to Boardman or Halfords....that is unless the BB shell isn't square....they are all mass produced and fitted to lots of different bikes!

Chunkers1980

Engage your brain dude.

Huckfinn

take the bike back and see what they can do. Failing that buy a new BB and get your lbs to fit it. Don't knock halfords they have their place in the market and are offering some decide bikes (if only they made them big enough for me).

winter_zombie

hi

i have the same bike as you.

like others have said dont knock halfords as thay do have a good range of bikes. i have done just over 350 miles on my boardman in about 4 months. the only issue i have had is ghost shifting and a ripped tyre. i dont want to sound rude so please dont take offence but could it be your rideing style thats causing the extra wear and tear ??

is the bike set up correct for your weight and size??

Shady207

Just joined up to give my limited view on this topic.
I have the Boardman comp (without BB30)
and for the first 6 weeks it was fine.... then the creaking started!!!

after taking it back to my local halfords many many times (it had 3 new bottom brackets/ 1 set of new pedals) it was still creaking when out of the saddle riding up hills to the point of driving me insane!!
The decision was made to issue me with another bike 3 weeks ago.

after taking it out up the south downs once the creaking started on this bike too
I now have halfords quality, bike hut managers and myself meeting today as they are convinced it is the forks causing the creak.
I will report back on the findings

anyway what are your thoughts?? could the bottom bracket be slightly too small for the frame?
Is it possible to fit a BB30 to the boarman comp bike?

The Rookie

What BB do you have then?

Shady207

all i know is what has been told to me by halfords the Boardman comps didnt have BB30's as they are lowest level. the BB30 started at team introduction
Its fitted with the standard FSA powerdrive bottom bracket.
the frames look identical apart from the colour.

i will know more about it all after 4pm today
I have lost all faith in the boardman range tho, yes they are kitted out well but really wished i had gone for the cube attention now

craigw99

has the frame broke? thats the boardman bit the rest are parts that come on many bikes. and parts... well they can fail...

oxocube1

The Beginner wrote:

What BB do you have then?

The MTB comp has an FSA Powerdrive BB with an Alpha Drive Crankset i think? could be an Omega drive.

And to OPs issue. It depends on what is broken on the shifter. I'm a mechanic at a Halfords store and I've had someone with a broken X9 shifter come in before. I had it replaced under warranty because the 'rod' in the centre holding everything together had snapped so it was a manufacturing issue. That is only when a component can be replaced, if it is a manufacturing or workmanship issue. If the component has broken due to neglect, misuse, or accident damaged, it cannot be replaced under warranty and the customer will have to pay fully for the part.

I know all that is 100% correct as it is taken from the boardman handbook supplied with the bikes. OP if you still have yours have a look on page 2/3 it will explain your rights and warranty.

The Halfords store in question will make the call on whether or not it is done on warranty by looking at the condition of the bike in general, and the shifter looking at whether or not the they been shown neglect or if it is a genuine manufacturer issue.

The BB30 bottom brackets do need servicing periodically, again this will be explained either in the paperwork you got with the bike, or from downloading the tech doch from the SRAM website. Especially with the bad weather we have had over the winter, the BB will need servicing regularily.

Hope that helps, if you any more questions, I know a lot of the the Halfords 'ins and outs' and how their system works etc.

The Rookie

Sale of Goods act also defines a users rights......

'Servicing' a BB30 means replacing it, frankly the BB30's just don't last as long as they should.

Lagrange

The OP is right to complain. He is protected by consumer law under various statutes and on principles such as fit for purpose. Halfords is the counterparty to the contract and just cannot fob him off by referring to suppliers of components! To a certain extent they couls cklaim damage by using it in a way it was not meant to be used - but the burden of proff is on them - a subjective assessment is not good enough. It is a friggn mountain bike - it should be robust - take that attitude to them!

Good luck.

thelonegroover

Sounds like someone isn't fitting the BB correctly. The shifter problem could really be caused by anything, surely Halfords could assist in getting a new spring.

Shady207

well... they took out the bottom bracket, overkilled it with copperslip and changed my forks to a new set as they were adamant this was the cause of the creaking.... hey presto no creaking
now for the punchline
after the recent bad weather and riding it in some appaling conditions over the past 2 weeks the creak has returned
i honestly feel its moisture getting inbetween the bracket and the frame. but once you hear it it constantly does your head in
it only creaks when pressue is applied to the LH pedal
so off to halfords it is again.......

The Rookie

Wonder if it's the crank to BB, if the crank came loose at all the chances are the spine pattern is worn and you need a new arm, no amount of new BB's will fix that.

Huckfinn

What pedals do you have?

Mccraque

Ah...the old creak.

My Zesty is prone to this. BB30 & no grease on seatpost were the two issues.

When my boardman started creaking - was easier to find. As per my post of a couple of weeks back, it had a cracked frame - the weld between the top tube and the seat tube. If you've replaced all the items other than frame, check the seatpost and frame.

Nb - Halfords replaced mine no questions asked. Fantastic service.

rattyc5

i have the boardman hardtail pro too.had problems with the bb30 bearings so they fitted a new set.halfords did not put it back together properly(washers wrong way round) and they hammered the bearings in with a chisel! i got bike home and took crank apart and put washers right myself. i also clean and grease the bearings myself now. also ordered the tools to replace the bearings myself too. i would still buy from halfords as i think the hardtail pro is the best bike for the money but will service parts myself or go to lbs.
i think all that needs to be done is grease the bearings regularly. when they do go they are only about £12 to buy.
obviously some of you cant repair your own bikes.maybe you should learn. a young lad in his 20s at work got a puncture on his bike a few months back and does not know how to fix it!! so he now walks 2 miles to work.

Lagrange

Nice post rattyc5.

Greggors

I had a creaking when I was either standing up pedalling or pulling the front brake on hard. Turned out the headset top cap needed tightening up, not that it needs to be very tight, its possible that the stem might have been tightened too much first i guess.

Just one more source for creaks.

Shady207

So... after a couple more times it has been into Halfords for the same creak!! The nice people at halfords are replacing the whole bracket/ crank from the standard alphadrive that was on it to a sram xp7 at no cost to myself if it works i will be happy again

Halfords 2 wheel support and boardman know of this creaking issue and basically are dong nothing about it unless a customer consistantly complains.

jimangus

Did this resolve your issue
I had my boardman comp HT for 2 weeks and developed play in the BB
i took it back to halfords who had it for 2 weeks
After which it was still awaiting the part i emailed the head office who ordered me a replacement bike
Now 2 weeks later it getting this exact problem your describing with the creaking when pedalling hard

Its and annoyance but after paying £600 for a bike i want it to be in tip top condition for longer than 2 weeks

steviecapt

ive had my boardman bike for just over a year, i had the creaks in my bb, so bought a replacement and fitted it myself, no probs since, i also went right through the whole bike and serviced it properly, instead of halfords way which is if it doesnt make a noise its ok kind of servicing, from what ive read on line about halfords staff, some times you will be lucky and get a good mechanic, but most of the time there just not trained well enough, even though my bike was in warranty i still did the work myself, that way ive only got myself to blame if some thing goes wrong, ive talked to two ex halfords bike mechs, and both said its usually down to bad fitting, either over tightening or lack of grease when fitting, to me its better to fit it your self or take it to your lbs and get them to fit the bb properly, for the cost of a new bb its not worth messing about with halfords and all the hassle they cause, plus in the long term its always better to learn how to service your bike yourself as its an ongoing thing your bike will always require, quicker and cheaper in the long run aswell, i would never advise anyone to take their bikes into halfords , unless you know the mech who works in that particular branch

Shady207

Just to give an update
The new crank and bottom bracket worked a treat
no more creak

according to Halfords, Boardman are updating the crank on this bike for 2013-14 models

moral to the story
demand a new upgraded crank as boarman know of the issue and will not do a product recall but will upgrade on an individual basis

heez29

The above is bullshit and just trying to pass off. A properly fitted BB in these frames is what it comes down, not inadequate parts.

AgentK88

Shady207 wrote:

Just to give an update
The new crank and bottom bracket worked a treat
no more creak

according to Halfords, Boardman are updating the crank on this bike for 2013-14 models

moral to the story
demand a new upgraded crank as boarman know of the issue and will not do a product recall but will upgrade on an individual basis

I'm starting to get a creak which sounds like it's coming from the BB on my Boardman 2012 Comp HT. Which crank set and BB did they use when replacing the old one?

I currently have the FSA Powerdrive fitted and was looking for an alternative replacement

benpinnick

FWIW FSA powerdrive cranks are problematic - they tend to come loose, which then screws your BB. Get a Deore set up and you'll be fine.

FishFish

craigw99 wrote:

has the frame broke? thats the boardman bit the rest are parts that come on many bikes. and parts... well they can fail...

No - all of it is the Halfords issue - that is consumer law.

TJ20862

i work at halfords we have had these problems before with ur bike exacly, your not the only one you may be able to but you will only get a gift card to buy something in store, so they will generally replace with a new model. but this all depends on the staff who are working hop that helps

UKES

AgentK88 wrote:

Shady207 wrote:

Just to give an update
The new crank and bottom bracket worked a treat
no more creak

according to Halfords, Boardman are updating the crank on this bike for 2013-14 models

moral to the story
demand a new upgraded crank as boarman know of the issue and will not do a product recall but will upgrade on an individual basis

I'm starting to get a creak which sounds like it's coming from the BB on my Boardman 2012 Comp HT. Which crank set and BB did they use when replacing the old one?

I currently have the FSA Powerdrive fitted and was looking for an alternative replacement

Hello mate

Ive recently had the same issue and instead of farting about with Halfords for weeks i just went with the assumption thats id have a look myself, and if it was knakkered id just replace it.

As its a sealed unit it was hard to tell but the bearing did sound rough on the spindle, i basically greased between any moving part and also the threads inside the frame. The creak had now vanished but in fairness ive not hammered it since it did it, also unsure which part of the greasing did the trick but so far so good. If it starts again i will just replace it.

Easy job takes about an hour if you have the tools, halfords sell the lockring tool for the fsa overdrive and the crank arm extractor, about £10 each. I got satisfaction, didnt have to deal with Halfords and now know how to replace it if it starts again.

Give it a go