Boardman Upgrades ???

3lions
3lions Posts: 9
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Hello Bikeradar readers :D

Just want some advise from you the real bikers to a novice like me :oops:

I have just bought a Boardman team road bike 2013 and it is stock at the mo, got the bike for fitness and general riding beeen doing 25 miles rides evey other day at the mo and loving it ....

My Question is ..... What upgrades do you think i should get on this bike ( its stock ) and in what order ??? ie wheels, seat, tyres, crank, casette, seat post, bars etc etc and which ones ..... not looking to spend a bomb but some advise / direction would be greatly recieved ....

Thanks

3lions :mrgreen:

Comments

  • lc1981
    lc1981 Posts: 820
    edited April 2013
    You might get better replies if you give the current spec, or link to it on the Boardman website. Presuming this is it, I'd give the saddle a few weeks to decide whether I liked it, and if not then I'd look to replace that. I might consider replacing the Tektro brakes with Shimano 105 ones. Other than that, it looks like it's pretty well specced and I'd spend money on clothes and accessories instead of upgrades. Have you already bought some proper clipless pedals and shoes?
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    Frame then tyres
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • 16mm
    16mm Posts: 545
    Just replace stuff when it breaks. If you wanted a better bike you could have just paid some extra when you bought it :roll: (ie bought a more expensive one)

    This is a very pro industry website, so I expect it will be full of advice to spend loads of cash on 'upgrades'. With your experience I doubt you'd notice many changes.
    I'd save up for the best cycling clothes I could afford, as good clothing really makes a difference.
  • 3lions
    3lions Posts: 9
    Yer Sorry just asumed that people would know abit of a long shot really thinking about it lol
    so here it is ... this is from confords website

    Approximate Weight (KG): 9
    ■Brake Type: Dual Pivot Caliper Brake
    ■Chainset: FSA Gossamer BB30 compact crank 50/34T
    ■Forks: Full carbon uni-directional
    ■Frame Colour: Grey
    ■Frame Material: Alloy
    ■Frame-: Ultra lightweight X9 triple butted aluminium frame with tapered headtube, internal rear brake cable and BB30 bottom bracket
    ■Front Brake: Tektro R580 Dual pivot
    ■Front Mech: Shimano 105
    ■Gear Shifters: Shimano 105
    ■Gender: Mens
    ■Handle Bars: Boardman alloy anatomic
    ■Headset: FSA 1.1/8 - 1.5 Aheadset
    ■Number of Gears: 20
    ■Pedals: N/A
    ■Rear Brake: Tektro R580 Dual pivot
    ■Rear Mech: Shimano 105
    ■Saddle: Boardman black with cro-moly rails
    ■Seatpost: Carbon Boardman 350mm x 31.6mm black
    ■Stem: Boardman black alloy 31.8mm
    ■Tyre size: 23c
    ■Tyres: Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c
    ■Wheel Size: 700c
    ■Frame Size (cm): 53 - 54
    ■Cassette: 12-25T
    ■Exact Frame Size: 53cm
    ■Geometry: Semi Compact
  • 16mm
    16mm Posts: 545
    I'd upgrade to a size 57.
  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    Just ride the bloody thing as you've only just got it and then upgrade and replace as and when necessary - this will also give you sufficient time to save enough money to make any upgrades worthwhile.

    If it was good enough to buy in the first place, it's good enough to ride for some time. If the components, wheels etc are not deemed to be good enough by you in such a short space of time, then you should have bought something else.
  • duckson
    duckson Posts: 961
    Got a Team Carbon (SRAM Rival spec) and i changed the saddle as it was a bit uncomfortable over 30 miles for me (now got a Fizik Arione, no problems now).
    Changing the tyres can make a nice difference depending on what you start with but the Vittoria's will be OK.
    Pedals for clipless with the shoes is also a worthwhile upgrade if you havent done so already.
    Fit (eg stem) is also important so do some research online at least and make sure the saddle, bars, stem etc are all setup ok for you.
    Cheers, Stu
  • Gren82
    Gren82 Posts: 48
    As stated above I'd leave it as stock and ride it for a while and eventually you'll pick out areas that would benefit an upgrade. I've had the same bike for a year and the only place I've felt the need to spend money was a new saddle (arione r3) a wider cassette for hills and black bar tape as that white gets grubby quickly on my commute. However if I didn't commute and the roads didn't look like Dean Gaffneys face I might have bought lighter wheels..
  • stueys
    stueys Posts: 1,332
    It's a good spec bike already, the boardman cockpit stuff is fine as well. I'd ride for a whole as people have said, tyres then wheels would be first things to do. Saddle if you don't find the current one comfy. Once you get past that point you are into very marginal gains, I would be looking to take a step up in bike before doing anything else.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Yep you'd not really notice a benefit in upgrading much on there. It's a nice bike. A new chain set etc won't radically alter it.
  • canny_lad
    canny_lad Posts: 329
    Decent bike that. If you struggle a bit on hills you could put a bigger cassette on the back (12-28) but otherwise just get out and enjoy it.
  • TOM14S
    TOM14S Posts: 100
    1. Brake pads.
  • lc1981
    lc1981 Posts: 820
    TOM14S wrote:
    1. Brake pads.

    Yes, my first set of road wheels were eaten by the stock pads on a set of Tektros, and then by the stock pads on the Shimano brakes that I replaced the Tektros with!
  • charlie_potatoes
    charlie_potatoes Posts: 1,921
    lc1981 wrote:
    TOM14S wrote:
    1. Brake pads.

    Yes, my first set of road wheels were eaten by the stock pads on a set of Tektros, and then by the stock pads on the Shimano brakes that I replaced the Tektros with!

    +1 to this.

    I changed my standard Tektros pads for Swissstop green.

    A pair of continental gp4000's tyres with lightweight inner tubes would be nice for the summer. Stick your old ones back on for the winter.

    Good bike for the money is the Boardman although not everyone on here is a fan :D
    "You really think you can burn off sugar with exercise?" downhill paul
  • guado78
    guado78 Posts: 29
    Charlie Potatoes wrote:
    lc1981 wrote:
    TOM14S wrote:
    1. Brake pads.

    Yes, my first set of road wheels were eaten by the stock pads on a set of Tektros, and then by the stock pads on the Shimano brakes that I replaced the Tektros with!

    +1 to this.

    I changed my standard Tektros pads for Swissstop green.

    A pair of continental gp4000's tyres with lightweight inner tubes would be nice for the summer. Stick your old ones back on for the winter.

    Good bike for the money is the Boardman although not everyone on here is a fan :D

    +2 for the pads and as said a set of Swissstop Green will make for a vast improvement in braking.
  • freddiegrubb
    freddiegrubb Posts: 448
    Brake pads defo. I changed to koolstop salmon almost immediately (vast improvement) , people may slag off tektro but it's the pads that are the problem. You may also find a problem with the saddle, the best of luck with that one.
  • Bar Shaker
    Bar Shaker Posts: 2,313
    Pads - Swisstop Greens or Koolstop Blacks
    Tyres - Conti GP4000S and some Conti race lite tubes

    Both good improvements to an otherwise already nicely specc'ed bike.

    Beyond that, your next upgrade should be a bike fit.
    Boardman Elite SLR 9.2S
    Boardman FS Pro
  • rich164h
    rich164h Posts: 433
    Bar Shaker wrote:
    Pads - Swisstop Greens or Koolstop Blacks
    Tyres - Conti GP4000S and some Conti race lite tubes

    Both good improvements to an otherwise already nicely specc'ed bike.

    Beyond that, your next upgrade should be a bike fit.
    spot on!

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