Boardman Chainstays

Stoo1701

Hi Guys,
First post as i'm in a fix, looking forward to posting about how this all goes anyway

I'm just about to agree a deal on a Boardman 2012/2013 FS Team for £550 in "immaculate condition" So first question is, is there a catch? This seems like a cracking deal...

Other question is: I have read reports on people feet/calves hitting the rear chainstays or something like that because the fram has poor clearance in that are.. Do any of you have a BFS and could you please let me know what they are like? I have read many reviews & opinions and it seems to be a decent machine for £1k, but I have read about this chainstay issue, and even some quality/finish/frame strength issues. Would you say these were the exceptions?

Sorry to be so to the point, but the guy is waiting for a text back !

Thanks !

Kowalski675

Here's mine:

viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12929894

Great bike for the money, the only problems with mine so far were down to incompetent Halfords monkeys, not the bike. Took it for it's first proper ride yesterday, and it rides better than a bike costing £850 has any right to (it's night and day better than my Kraken, in every department). The heels/calves hitting seatstays thing is only an issue for those with massive clown feet or enormous calves. I have neither, so I've never experienced it.

Stoo1701

I'm a size 11.. would that be considered normal on a 19" bike? (ie: what size are you, and what is the clearance like?)

Kowalski675

I'm a size 8 shoe, and my feet are well clear of the seatstays when pedalling. I'm only aware of the issue since it was mentioned in one test I read before buying.

reformedfatty

I've just sold mine, but I have wide size 11 feet and didn't have any problems with clearance. That said, I know another person with size 11s who did. The difference being that he rode with flats and tended to position his feet differently to where mine were with spds.

njee20

I rub my stays with my heels (not on a Boardman), not really an issue, just means the paint gets scuffed!

rockmonkeysc

The strength of Boardmans chain stays seems to be more of an issue than the width.

cooldad

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The strength of Boardmans chain stays seems to be more of an issue than the width.

Another post composed of random letters?

rockmonkeysc

Do a search for boardman broken chain stays. Before I bought my Boardman road bike I looked up reviews for them, they were nearly all positive. While I was looking I also looked at reviews for the team FS and there are quite a few mentioning broken chain stays. There were even a few pics posted on the Boardman facebook page by frustrated owners getting no where with warranty claims through Halfords.

Kowalski675

I've got a warranty frame on order for my Team FS, but that's nowt to do with the chainstays.

heez29

Can't say I've ever seen a Chainstay Issue on the BBLs. On the latest Team FS there was issues with drive side pivot bolts (the pivot above the rear hub) where they would just fall out. They've revised the bolt design and that problem has disappeared.

97th choice

Kowalski675 wrote:

I've got a warranty frame on order for my Team FS, but that's nowt to do with the chainstays.

Er, great?

milfredo

My brother and another friend have them and they can't fault them. From looking at their build spec for the cash I would snap one up for £500 and not worry about the seat stays. My feat rub mine on my Santacruz, minor scratches, so what.

Kowalski675

97th choice wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

I've got a warranty frame on order for my Team FS, but that's nowt to do with the chainstays.

Er, great?

It is, isn't it.

Stoo1701

Thanks guys, gone ahead with it, it'll be here on Monday Thanks a lot for your advice.. I went into Halfords, they only hard the HT's, but I still got a chance to see the build quality (gorgeous) and the spec up close. As assistant lifted it off the rack, the wheel was at a 45 degree angle to the bars.. I said "yeah, I've heard about how you guys set bikes up" the guy wasn't too impressed, but knew I was kidding him.

He did tell me that the 2012/2013 have spacers added to the crank to widen the pedal away from the chainstays... sounds sensible, anyone confirm this? If not, it's surely a route to a solution

Cheers again, I'll be back..

Kowalski675

Stoo1701 wrote:

He did tell me that the 2012/2013 have spacers added to the crank to widen the pedal away from the chainstays... sounds sensible, anyone confirm this? If not, it's surely a route to a solution

Not on mine. Can't see how that would be possible, without a longer axle (dunno if that's the right word in bicycle terms) on the crankset?

Build quality seems to be a subject of some debate, but the smoothed welds do give the frame the appearance of one more expensive. Few pics of mine here to whet your appetite while you await delivery, from its first proper outing last Saturday:

viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12929894&start=80

Stoo1701

"Thanks a lot Kowalski".. said in a grungy New Yoik accent.. it seemed to fit..

Yes, I'm just on page 5 of your replies I think I've read/seen pretty much all the internet has to offer in terms of reviews, forums, opinions, how bad Halfords can be !!

Quite glad it's "immaculate" used, maybe the last guy did the bolt tightening etc for me ;D

Kowalski675

Unless his name's Stevie Wonder or David Blunkett then he's probably done a better job than 98% of Halfords monkeys would.

Just been giving mine a wash and lube, ready to get dirty again. Make sure you fit a chainstay protector if he's not left one on for you.

johnsav

Good luck with it.
I've had 2 Boardman FS team bikes in the last 2 months and both broke. I strongly suspect that the rear (horst) pivots are poorly designed. Both my bikes developed problems which displayed as an annoying creak under power. Some investigation showed that the thrust washers in the pivots were being eaten by the spindle that goes through the bearing. The most previous bike also had a seal missing from one bearing and both rear bearings also felt notchy. Not good for a 5 week old bike.

Quite why is a mystery but I've also found out that Halfords/Boardman aren't offering a full suspension bike in their line up for 2014. Draw your own conclusions!

baser

I have quite pleased with my 2012 Pro FS. I don't get the wheels off the ground very often but I do weigh a good 100kgs and I am pretty hard on kit.

My (size 12) feet do rub on the frame but its only rubbed some of the decals off the rear stays, not too bad. I also have to say the paint on the bike is pretty bad, it has lost quite a lot of paint.

The only thing I have had to replace are brake pads and bottom bracket so its done well. I have also dinged a wheel but it straightened out and has not been a problem since. Did find a couple of the suspension pivots had worked loose but I have had that before on other bikes and should be checked with regular maintenance anyway.

I have not noticed the flex in the frame, not sure if the 142 x 12 rear axle on the Pro makes that much difference?

All in all I've been pretty pleased with mine.

Kowalski675

Didn't realise that the Pro had a 142x12 back end. The Pros were all sold out some time back though.

Stoo1701

Ok, Bike arrived. In Perfect nick, looks like it was took down the street 200yds ! Made up. Feels great, but i have a lot to learn about the new equipment compared to my '96 Rocky Mountain with oldskool groupset etc ! (Deore DX/XT. (the Rocky was robbed from outside my house, 30 second windows I have sulked for 17 years, and am now back in the saddle lol) tbf, I had the rocky down to 21 pounds.. so light and spritely.

Coupe of questions. Yes it has Elixir 3's, yes I've read all sorts of terrible things about them, but they seem ok for now.. so here are the questions !!

1) Back brake lever goes straight to the handlebar, no action from pads at all... has the fluid leaked out? or bubble? Do I just get a bleed kit? (looks easy enough !)

2) Got RS Shock pump today, guy at LBS said would fit MonarchR AND Forks (Sektor TK, that's "SekTorrrr" if your an American Pump good on monarch, but does not seem to fit forks Am I missing something>

3) I weigh about 74kg, could someone suggest a good starting point for the pressures?

4) Should I loktite the pivot bolts? or once they are tight, do they stay in place?

5) Getting tools, (got a ton of sockets, bits, spanners etc today in general) but which specific tools do I need for this bike? I'm not setting up an all-bike repair shop, but a little unsure about which BB spanner for eg.


You guys have been really helpful so far.. don't mean to prey on your good nature ! Help really appreciated .

Chainstays are fine, no rub

Kowalski675

Stoo1701 wrote:

1) Back brake lever goes straight to the handlebar, no action from pads at all... has the fluid leaked out? or bubble? Do I just get a bleed kit? (looks easy enough !)

2) Got RS Shock pump today, guy at LBS said would fit MonarchR AND Forks (Sektor TK, that's "SekTorrrr" if your an American Pump good on monarch, but does not seem to fit forks Am I missing something>

3) I weigh about 74kg, could someone suggest a good starting point for the pressures?

4) Should I loktite the pivot bolts? or once they are tight, do they stay in place?

5) Getting tools, (got a ton of sockets, bits, spanners etc today in general) but which specific tools do I need for this bike? I'm not setting up an all-bike repair shop, but a little unsure about which BB spanner for eg.

Sounds like you got a real bargain there then. Nice one. Makes mine look expensive at £850 now, lol. As for your questions:

1: They might not necessarily need bleeding. My front lever had more travel than the rear, but advancing the pads sorted it. Take the wheel out then pump the lever (carefully) until the pads are about 1mm apart. Then (if you have it) insert the red plastic pad spacer between the pads to force them apart slightly. If you don't have it, carefully prise them apart with a flat bladed screwdriver (or similar) until they're 2mm apart. Then loosen the caliper mounting bolts, replace the wheel and pump the brake lever half a dozen times. Hold the brake on and retighten the caliper mounting bolts. You should then have a properly centred and adjusted brake. If there's still excessive lever travel they may need bleeding, but do the pad advance first, and you may save yourself some hassle and money. It worked on mine - both brakes now have the same lever travel and are properly centred, with no dragging.

I've heard many folk dissing the Elixir range, but now I've centred and advanced the pads on mine they feel pretty good. Not as much power or feel as the Shimano XT or SLX I've tried, but good enough for my riding. If/when i feel the need to upgrade I'll swap them over onto my Carerra.

2: Daft question, but - have you removed the screw cap off the fork leg top, to get to the valve underneath? Should be a standard schrader valve, like the shock.

3: There is a sticker on the back of the left fork leg that gives guideline pressures for the forks as a start point, but you just need a bit of trial and error. The fork leg and shock shaft should have rubber o rings on for measuring travel and sag.

Starting with the front, you want about 20% sag as a start point. Push the o ring down to the bottom of the stanchion, against the seal. Get on the bike and stand in your attack position, both feet on the pedals (get a friend to hold the bars, or do it next to a wall to support yourself. Then give a few good hard bounces on the fork. Let it settle after the last bounce, so it's just supporting your weight, and slide the o ring down until it's touching the fork seal again. Then get off the bike, being careful not to compress the suspension any further. Measure the sag (the distance between the o ring and the fork seal). 20% is 26mm, so if it's more than that add some air pressure, or if it's less reduce the air pressure. Repeat until you're happy with the measurement.

Then do the same for the rear. Same process, but with you sat on teh saddle, rather than stood on the pedals. The shock shaft has engraved markings at 10, 20 and 30%. A good start point is around 30% (that's what I've got mine at to start with and I'm using most, but not quite all of the travel out on the trails).

I've started with my rebound adjusters set in the middle, experimenting with those is the next step after setting your sag (you want the suspension to rebound fast enough to recover from hits without packing down, but not so fast that it bounces).

4: Personally, I've just checked that mine are tight, and will check them regularly. If they show signs of loosening then I'll add some threadlock.

5: You won't need anything specific until you want to remove the rear cassette or BB.The BB tool is the common one that does Shimano too, you can get on for about £12.

Hope some of that helps.

Since you got such a bargain, buy some decent grippy pedals ASAP - the OE ones are garbage.

Stoo1701

Cheers Kowalski

1) Pumped the brake last night, seemed to start biting, will take off wheel and try full procedure later, but I think your onto something a car I had did the same thing a couple of years ago !

2) Yes lol, I did take the cap off, and it is a standard schraeder, so my new bike pump fits it, and the pump tops out at 80psi, which is about right for my weight.. with some tweaking. the monarch has a smaller diameter proprietary screw-on connection which the shock-pump fits, but the bike pump does not.

3) Thank you that's exactly what I was looking for ;D

4) Thought so, I made sure they are tight.. do you think a hactual torque wrench is best for these bolts (and others) I've never used one on owt before, I've got by with my own awesome common sense of what is tight/too tight

5) Shimano compatible, heard

Been out for a little run, and the bike is frickin awesome looking forward to getting fit again

Thanks again to all you guys esp. Kowalski, the private detective from Hells Kitchen, New Yoik ;D (aww come on, its a cool name bro

Kowalski675

No worries, happy to help. Glad you're liking the bike - they do ride really well for a budget bike, feels (and looks) like it cost more. Hard riders may well be able to get it out of its depth, but the suspension feels pretty damn good to me.

The pad advance trick worked for me (closes up the gap between pads and disc, for less travel and a better feel). I didn't get the pad spacer with my bike, so used a screwdriver, but my LBS gave me a spacer since (useful if you're transporting the bike with front wheel out too).

I'm puzzled by your pump problems - my forks and shock both have a standard schrader connection, I bought a Beto shock pump cheap off Ebay and it fits both. :?

I checked my pivot bolts with a torque wrench (I already have a 5-25Nm Teng wrench in my motorcycle tool cabinet), you can check them by feel if you're confident in your inbuilt hand calibration, but don't be tempted to overtighten - last thing you want to do is strip a thread. I checked the crank arm bolts with the torque wrench too, and used it on the stem and handlebar clamp bolts when fitting the new cockpit. To my mind it makes sense to use it on safety critical fasteners (habit from years of tinkering with and rebuilding motorbikes), since I've already got it in my cabinet.

Kowalski's a driver from San Diego though, not a P.I. from New Yoik. :P

Stoo1701

Thanks again Kowalski
The ad advance didn't work, too far gone. But the bleed kit arrived and worked a treat, back brake is now awesome... !!

Kowalski675

All's well that ends well. Did 21 miles on mine this afternoon (scuffed the end of my right crank arm on a rock strike, grrr). Actually found the brakes feeling a bit lacking on one (long, fast and v. bumpy) downhill section, but fine everywhere else.