new hardtail for a beginner

Vladislav

Hello everyone Im new to this site and to mountain biking and would like to ask more experienced users a few questions
about 12 years ago i had a mountain bike, good old Santosa, made in Taiwan:) no suspension or anything as you can imagine, but it was fun to ride! Im wondering how technology improved over the years! Want to buy a hardtail in the range of 600£. Ive been reading quite a few reviews etc, and at the moment Boardman Comp MTB for 650£ at halfords sounds like a good bike! Ive also been looking at Whyte 801 and 805, 799£ and 899£ respectivly, and i found that they got worse specs than boardman and a higher price! Am i missing something?
What do you think about boardman comp as a first proper mtb?
And is it worth to wait till march, when Boardman will (?) announce a new range of MTB and current one (2011-2012 range) can have a big discount?
Any other maybe bikes worth to look at? (looked at voodoo hoodoo for 450£, but i prefer the look of the boardman comp and also vooodoo is a few kg or so heavier)
my 2c, any opinions welcome

cooldad

The Boardman is an excellent bike, but good luck working out Halfords Random sales.

Barrelmaker

Vladislav wrote:

I've also been looking at Whyte 801 and 805, £799 and £899 respectively, and I found that they got worse specs than Boardman and a higher price! Am I missing something?

In general with the more "prestige" brands you are paying quite a bit for the name rather than the spec.

Vladislav

cooldad wrote:

The Boardman is an excellent bike, but good luck working out Halfords Random sales.

Yes i heard the horrible stories about halfords. Well can i get the same bike from someone else?
My idea was to check if they build it correctly in store, and then i will ride it back home which will take me about an hour or so. I was thinking to ride it around halfords first, making sure everything works, gears etc, before traveling home
Any advise what shall i look on first to make sure they build it correctly?

cooldad

Nothing wrong with Halfords or the bike, it's just that their sales are a bit random.

70\ʹspenguin

The Boardmans are great. Perfect to start with and perfect to keep for a good few years. You can get crap service from any shop. Halfords fall foul to the horror stories mainly because they can not provide a more tailored service that many lbs can. Their knowledge can be lacking and it is fair to say that if you have a moderate knowledge of bikes, you will probably know more than the staff. They are a very large company so they can keep prices down and cut out the middle man. Because they are so large and service so many people there are, of course, far more "stories" to tell about them.

The Rookie

Only place in the UK you can buy the bike is Halfords, do your homework, go in and ask some 'searching' questions, fid someone knowledgeable and build a relationship, get them to do the build on your bike if you can.

Obvious that the place selling twice as many bikes as anywhere else will have circa twice the complaints...

pesky_jones

The Beginner wrote:

Only place in the UK you can buy the bike is Halfords, do your homework, go in and ask some 'searching' questions, fid someone knowledgeable and build a relationship, get them to do the build on your bike if you can.

Obvious that the place selling twice as many bikes as anywhere else will have circa twice the complaints...

What a logical and clear summary!

chez_m356

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Halfords fall foul to the horror stories mainly because they can not provide a more tailored service that many lbs can. Their knowledge can be lacking and it is fair to say that if you have a moderate knowledge of bikes, you will probably know more than the staff.

from the boardman website

What training do you give the staff in the UK?
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.

but you can't always believe everything you read

Vladislav

70\'sPenguin wrote:

The Boardmans are great. Perfect to start with and perfect to keep for a good few years. You can get crap service from any shop. Halfords fall foul to the horror stories mainly because they can not provide a more tailored service that many lbs can. Their knowledge can be lacking and it is fair to say that if you have a moderate knowledge of bikes, you will probably know more than the staff. They are a very large company so they can keep prices down and cut out the middle man. Because they are so large and service so many people there are, of course, far more "stories" to tell about them.

Thanks everyone for you answers!
Ive been looking on ebay uk recently i found that i can get a Boardman MTB HT Pro bike (rrp 1000£ at halfords) used (many in excellent conditions described as barely used) for around the same price as Boardman MTB Comp new at halfords 600-650£. And according to specs Pro version is much better, i now specs do not mean a lot for a newbie like me, but still, dont you think its a good deal if its only a slightly used Pro versus new Comp for around the same price? what would you take here?

cooldad

Depends whether as described is accurate.

Vladislav

cooldad wrote:

Depends whether as described is accurate.

Thats right, mister obvious. Your answer made the whole world of a difference for a newbie like me, never would of thought about that myself
What sort of bike do you have?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MTB-Boardman- ... 4170d192a7
here is only one pic and difficult to say whats the condition of the bike Decisions decisions

The Rookie

Ask some leading questions, get the answers, if it's not as described, walk away - simples..... (sellers can't leave neagtive feedback for buyers either!)

cooldad

As it's collect only it should be easy enough to see before handing over the readies anyway.