Boardman Pro HT - modification recommendations

Shinoke

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a Boardman Pro HT.

It looks like a great allround mountain bike.

I'm doing this through cycle2work, and have a 1k letter of collection. It's currently reduced, so looking to spend the remainder on a helmet, lock, and some modifications.

Been searching on here and found some useful posts by Kowalski and others.

Looks like it's certainly worth changing the saddle, grips and tires. I also don't like the white colour, and the OE grips are really harsh and the saddle pretty hard.

Any advice on what to get would be great.

I found some Halfords discount codes as well if anyone finds them useful:
B13BP20 - 20% of Bike Accessories
B13BK01 - 10% of bikes - this ends tonight I believe

Any advice on insurance really appreciated too, again read on here that british cycling might be the way to go?

Cheers!

Seems like a great place,

Shin

steviecapt

when i bought mine i changed the following items, saddle- selle- italia maxflite gel, peddals- superstar nano techs, grips- ergon gp3, tyres- kenda - small block 8s, and some light inner tubes- latex, and now it rides alot better, although its down to personal choice.

coulddobetter

Saddle, grips, tyres .......probably worth seeing if halfords will swap a few bits over I.e upgrade to a decent black chilli mountain king . ( haggle over price they want your money))

Also get a good D lock something like kryptonite new york , may seem expensive but not when your bike is pinched. Despite 2 d locks mine went fom a locked garage. House insurance ended up paying after a battle . Able to upgrade to the carbon version.

Halfords build up of bikes is said to be iffy but mine was spot on .

It's a lovely bike , spend time setting up the air fork sag and damping. Sram website has a really good pdf section refer to that for fork , brakes, gear indexing etc ( you will need a shock pump halfords/ toppeak more than adequate ) then go ride .

Shinoke

Thanks guys, just trying to decide helmet and try some saddles etc.

Was a bit confused with all the mountain kings, but seems the one people recommend is the folding black chilli.
Wire bead means it can't be folded - does that just make it harder to put on or lower quality too?

There's the "new mountain king" but I don't think it includes black chilli.
So this is the one people recommend?
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242553

Heard some negative reviews too though.

The stock boardman tyres are similar to these?
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_242553

Really want to try saddles and helmets - halfords is quite limited but I guess they can order other stuff in, but need to try it somewhere else.

Anyone recommend a place that has a good selection of cycling stuff in London?

Had a look at the Giro Hex and Xar helmets at CycleSurgery (they're on sale at the moment for anyone interested)
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/giro-hex-he ... sting=true
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/giro-xar-he ... sting=true

Although makes sense to use letter of collection depending on how much Halfords want to charge.

However, haven't had any luck checking out the 661 Recon XC, Fox Striker, Met Koas etc.

EDIT: Found this on wire bead vs folding:
http://mtbtires.com/site2/tech/38-gener ... bead-tires
So looks like the for mountain king it's a weight and quality difference

coulddobetter

Spot on with the tyre , as I said the tread pattern looks the same but the rubber on the tyres fitted as original equipment is dire .black chilli is a silca compound that gives lots more grip. Tyres aren't cheap for decent ones but the difference I found upgrading is fantastic , braking handling are all now much better and safer , I had far too many spills due to the originals for my liking and that was not even on extreme ground.

coulddobetter

Spot on with the tyre , as I said the tread pattern looks the same but the rubber on the tyres fitted as original equipment is dire .black chilli is a silca compound that gives lots more grip. Tyres aren't cheap for decent ones but the difference I found upgrading is fantastic , braking handling are all now much better and safer , I had far too many spills due to the originals for my liking and that was not even on extreme ground. P.S I fitted bontrager team issue xr4 tyres in size 2.3 both ends roll well on sand , roots , local shop east street cycles Walton on Thames recommended and am very pleased. If they still do it boardmans mountain helmet is a good fit and well vented.

YeehaaMcgee

Shinoke wrote:

Looks like it's certainly worth changing the saddle, grips and tires

No, not necessarily.
Try them first, you might find you get on fine with them. There's no point taking anyone else's saddle advice, because their arris is not the same shape as yours.
Whilst I do not particularly rate OEM tyres, you may as well ride them first, depending on how much you ride, where, and how, you may be fine.
so... here's a funny thought, how about you buy the bike, then ride it for a while to get accustomed to it, and THEN consider changing things?

Shinoke

Yeah, I'd prefer to do that YeehaaMcgee, that'd be more sensible.

I'm pretty sure I'd want to change the saddle and grips, given the grips are white and harsh, and the saddle is white and hard. So I'd swap both for something black and softer. However I would prefer to just get the bike and then get some bits having ridden it a bit. However got about £200 of the letter of credit to use (managed to get the pro reserved for around 800).

Might use it on a kryptonite evolution d lock, cable lock, tools and other stuff though, as Halfords choice is limited

Then get the Giro Xar from cyclesurgery, and later get some superstar nano techs, and other stuff having ridden it a bit.

Planned to use the remainder of the LOC for the helmet and key pieces, but then the Xar is probably full RRP at Halfords, so £100, instead of £60 at at cyclesurgery.

YeehaaMcgee

A hard saddle doesn;t have to be an uncomfortable saddle. What matters is that it's the right shape to support the bones you sit on, colloquially called "sit bones".
And any saddle will be uncomfortable to begin with, until the muscles that support your weight strengthen, and you become accustomed to sitting in a saddle for a while, so making a rash decision straight off will rarely be useful.

As for grips, what do you mean they're "harsh"? Again, softer grips aren't necessarily going to be more comfortable in the long run.

Shinoke

I read they were harsh and tried them out - they hurt just holding them, let alone when riding. And they're white.

tortoise not hair

When I first got mine I got a Brooks B17, topeak saddle bag with tools, spare conti tubes (removed cores and put slime in) kept originals to carry as spares, packet of scabs plus a set of conti travel contacts as summer tyres, track pump + fork pump.
got other bits since then can not stop now, lovin the HT Pro
hope you do your!

Kowalski675

For me the OE saddle felt like sitting on a particularly uncomfortable stone - it would've had to go, even if it hadn't been that gash white, lol - replaced with a Madisun Flux, in much more tasteful black. God knows who thought white grips were a good idea either (replaced with Superstar Size Zero lock ons - cheap and comfortable, but the diamond grip pattern's wearing quickly where the outside of my palms sit). The OE pedals are cheap, nasty and slippy too. For tyres I went with Bontrager XR3 Team Issues (reduced from £35 to £20 each). Bars were an essential change for me too, the OE 680mm just felt too narrow and all wrong, it's wearing 740mm Spank Spoons in a 70mm Race Face Ride stem now.

I've kept all the unused OE parts I took off and I'll refit them if/when i sell the bike in future - it'll make it look much fresher to prospective buyers.

chrisw333

Just spend the extra on stuff you are going to need one way or another - track pump, mini pump, may be a rucksack & bladder. There are better locks than d locks for the home (they are more for on the move), spare tubes, repair kit, Multi tool, helmet, gloves etc

Personally I'd swap the tyres too. Live with the saddle and grips for a bit, they'll probably be fine. But if not, you'll get a better choice elsewhere.

Shinoke

Cheers, yeah sounds like a good idea. Was trying to find an integrated bike and shock pump (then only have to take one with me), found this but no guage:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165661

So guess I have to get the two separately, like:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65661#tab3

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165661

I'll be storing the bike in my flat so don't need home locking. So was looking at Krytonite Evolution and Knog Kabana Cable lock. Never used a bike in the city so not really sure about best combination, but thought I'd lock the wheels to the frame with the cable lock, and frame and other wheel to post or whatever with the d lock.

YeehaaMcgee

Once you've set it up, there's no need to take a shock pump with you on a ride.

chrisw333

Yeah, forget the dual shock & mini pump. Something like a Toppeak mountain morph is ideal mini pump. It's also a good idea to have a track pump with pressure gauge for use at home. Tyre pressure has a big impact on how a bike rides and being able to easily adjust this at home I'd well worthwhile (in addition to making changing tubes, tyres etc at home much easier)

Btw- don't you get a free shock pump with the bike?

tortoise not hair

Remember they are doing 3 for 2 on a lot of these accessories so make the most of that!

coulddobetter

My advice is don't rely on a cable lock , thieves will be through them with bolt cutters in seconds. You need to make your bike the difficult one to pinch and even think of removing the saddle and seat post 2 mins with an allen key and components are gone. Local police can post code frame . Take photos and record frame and fork serial numbers.

cooldad

Or buy a POS off Ebay and a cheap lock for using for the shops etc, and keep the decent bike for decent riding - don't leave it anywhere.

bails87

Do Halfords know that you're coming in with a Cycle to work voucher rather than cash? They might not give you the reduction for C2W.

And do what others have said. If you've got money left over then get* a couple of inner tubes, a pump, lights if you'll be riding on the road, a Camelbak, helmet, gloves, chain lube, multitool, a spare mech hanger, riding glasses.

*Some or all of, depending on £££