2014 Boardman Team FS - new pix

kammybear

Just got it! Was supposed to have it on Tuesday but Halfords were delayed! Got it over the weekend! Not bad for a well specced full suss!

Initial thoughts? Looks and rides alot better than I thought it would with a black blue and silver paint job! Seatpost, stem and handlebars will be getting changed as they're very cheap looking!

Pictures coming up but will be taking it to Sandwell shortly for a proper going over!

kammybear

RandG

I say, that is nice looking.

I've just sold my 2012 FS Team and was intending on buying the FS pro but the colours were hideous. Decided against the Team this time round as it has been slightly down specked from last years model, but loverly looking bike, enjoy 8)

DanDax1990

Nice bell.

@lexD

DanDax1990 wrote:

Nice bell.

And there was me thinking it was the shifter

Nice bike btw hope it is more reliable than others on here.

RandG

DanDax1990 wrote:

Nice bell.

All new bikes must be sold with a bell.

Kowalski675

In Halfords they're often sold by them...

kammybear

The bell will be getting binned as well as the reflectors!

I might keep the reflectors on the spokes though as they're old skool kool!?

Took it to sandwell and was really impressed. This is my 1st full suss. My bike for the last year has been a Cube LTD 29er and I've found twisty bits really awkward on it especially somewhere like Sandwell that is really tight!

Full suss really does smooth everything out? I found myself pushing just a little bit more and the bike turns really well compared to the 29er. The 27.5 wheels don't look comedy large...very similar to 26 actually!

I'll be trying it out at Cannock later this week but I'm looking forward to it!

prawny

Enjoy it round cannock, full suss is great round here. Really tames the braking bumps

Nice looking bike, I think I'll be taking a closer look at them later in the year.

Kowalski675

I'm gonna have a look at the FS Pro, out of curiosity. Well specced for its price.

Are the stanchions on the "Sektor TK Silver" forks ally on your Team 650b, Kammybear? I see thy're still routing the front brake hose wrongly, you'd think they would've figured that out by now.

kammybear

Hard to tell, the staunchions are silver rather than the brushed gold that aluminiums are usually...I couldn't say for sure :-(

How should the brakes to routed? Is it the right hand brake cable thats a bit fishy?

@lexD

Front brake hose needs to be routed on the inside of the fork leg to prevent snagging.

Kowalski675

kammybear wrote:

Hard to tell, the staunchions are silver rather than the brushed gold that aluminiums are usually...I couldn't say for sure :-(

I thought they looked silver in the thread where the guy posted the preview pics, so I suspected (between that and the "Sektor Silver" moniker that they were chromed steel, rather than the ally stanchions of the Team FS 26er. Got a magnet handy?

How should the brakes to routed?

What he said - on the inside of the fork leg to make it less vulnerable to snagging on obstacles. Mine was routed the same as yours from the shop (as were others I've seen), plus it was twisted. The rear brake hose on mine was oddly routed too - it passed to the right of the head tube, then crossed over to run down the left underside of the downtube, so I re-routed that too, to the left side of the headtube. Put a bit of tape on the frame where the rear hose touches it just next to the bottom bracket too - it rubs through the paint in no time.

kammybear

I'm disappointed they're silver TBH as I prefer the gold look...like everyone else!

I'll see if I can find a magnet at some stage this weekend but they have a cheap chromed look to them :?

Thanks for the hose tips guys, I'll get them sorted when I get my reverb fitted, not sure if I'll get the stem and handlebar swapped yet

Kowalski675

kammybear wrote:

I'm disappointed they're silver TBH as I prefer the gold look...like everyone else!

I hate the colour gold, but I'd rather have ally stanchions than steel, lol. A nice pair of black stanchioned Revelations or Pikes would be nice...

I'll see if I can find a magnet at some stage this weekend but they have a cheap chromed look to them :?

If they're chromed, they'll be steel. I suspected they would be from the new "Sektor Silver" name in the spec list (Recon Silvers have a chromed steel stanchion)

Thanks for the hose tips guys, I'll get them sorted when I get my reverb fitted, not sure if I'll get the stem and handlebar swapped yet

I found the 680mm OE bars on my 2013 model way too narrow. I fitted a 740mm Spanks, with a 70mm stem. Feels better to me:

Kowalski675

Kammy, what size is your bike? I'm just curious, 'cos yours has the smooth gusset between top tube and seat tube, like the Pro 650b (and my new frame), but I saw a Team 650b in a local branch on Sunday and that had this kind of brace:



That one looked like it might be a large though, so I'm wondering if it varies by size. It definitely had steel stanchions too.

kammybear

Mines a medium.

I think it might be a size thing as I've heard that the small doesn't have anything?

One thing I am impressed with is that the frame has piping for a dropper post cabling along the top tube! Nice!

Kowalski675

kammybear wrote:

Mines a medium.

I think it might be a size thing as I've heard that the small doesn't have anything?

I think it must be. I looked at a large today and that had the big brace like in the website picture.

One thing I am impressed with is that the frame has piping for a dropper post cabling along the top tube! Nice!

Yeah, I noticed that - useful addition. It's one feature that's missing from my 26er, you'd have to improvise the routing.

I tried out a 650b Pro FS today (just round the shop). It felt good. Basically it felt like mine, but with considerably plusher suspension (especially the rear) and sharper brakes (it has the Elixir 7 4 four pot trail brakes). I'd love to have the forks, shock and brakes off one to fit onto mine. Dunno how much difference in feel the 650b wheels will give out on the trail, I'd like to have a proper ride on one (well, as proper as my riding gets anyway, lol). Despite the problems I've had with mine i would be tempted by one, with that spec for £1600. Now mine's basically a new bike again I'm toying with the idea of selling it and buying a Pro :? And those black stanchions on the Revelations do look really cool, lol... I reckon that dark chrome effect paint finish could be easy to scratch though, I'd definitely be applying some helicopter tape.

I agree with you that the bars and stem look cheap though, especially the bars (I don't like the shape of them either) I'd put my bars and stem on.

Incidentally, if I were you I'd switch your shifters and brake levers round - the spacing makes far more sense with them swapped over.

kammybear

Thanks for the tip off!

I've only riden it briefly but it feels pretty much like a 26er rather than a 29er. I have a 29er Cube and not sure what I think yet.

Feels like a solid bike and I think once you go full suss...you can't go back!!

ej2320

kammybear wrote:

Thanks for the tip off!

I've only riden it briefly but it feels pretty much like a 26er rather than a 29er. I have a 29er Cube and not sure what I think yet.

Feels like a solid bike and I think once you go full suss...you can't go back!!

I wouldn't say can't go back but I'd always own one
My ideal 3 would be a DH bike, a Trail FS bike and a Steel agressive HT

Kowalski675

kammybear wrote:

Thanks for the tip off!

No worries. Mine came with the brake levers and shifters set like yours, and it was just completely wrong. I swapped them round (with a gap of approx 20mm between grips and shifter clamps) and that put them in the perfect position for my hands. With my hand central on the grips my thumbs are placed to shift without moving my hand and my index fingers reach the brake levers in exactly the right place (just inboard of the end curve) for maximum power and feel. God knows why they set them up how they do - it puts your index finger at the opposite end of the brake lever to where it should be.

One thing that I did notice about the new 650b frame Team/Pro FS is that they have masses more clearance between the rear tyre and chainstays, so won't clog with mus as easily and won't rub on the insides of the chainstays like mine does.

I've ordered a new chain for my Carrera Kraken hardtail and I'm thinking of bringing that back out for local rides, now that the dry, dusty trails of summer are a distant memory. Crap forks and brakes on it though.

Re-Cycle

Full suss really does smooth everything out? I found myself pushing just a little bit more and the bike turns really well compared to the 29er. The 27.5 wheels don't look comedy large...very similar to 26 actually!



That will be because they are 27 inch than and not 27.5 .........

kammybear

Just got back from Cannock and it's first true maiden voyage!

tl:dr - 27.5 is the future for those worried about lack of 26ers in the future. Handles pretty much like a 26er but with some slight advantages of 29ers with none of the downsides (that I can tell) all IMO of course. I would class myself as between beginner and intermediate BTW.

Here's my review:

Firstly, I've been riding a 29er Cube LTD Pro hardtail for the past year and after initial hurdles, I soon adapted to the different riding style required. Climbing a bumbs were conquered easily but switchbacks and tight and twistys were its weakness as I found the wheels were massive for some of the tight bits at Cannock.

Handling:

No such problems with the 27.5. It turned great and I found it very agile. Obviously there were teething problems as sometimes I turned the handlebar too much as I was used to a 29er but this should improve as I get used it. I found the bike flew over most bumps, still had that fun feedback feeling but not the uber 4x4 wrecking machine feeling you get with a 29er. A good compromise between 29 and 26 IMO.

Drivetrain:

Felt it was pretty crappy. I'm used to Shimano and the SLX/XT setup on the Cube is much more solid and reliable feeling as well as smooth. It all just feels really noisey and crappy. Not impressed with the FSA/ X5/X7 setup. Just feels "old" despite being a new bike. Lack being able to go up and down multiple cogs, noisey/slow gear changes. I think it might just be set up badly by Halfords? All in all, a weak point of the bike

Suspension:

My first full suss. Love it. Hard for me to comment fully as I'm not an expert but I felt much more confident riding and the bouncy feeling is fun lol! Love the front rockshox quick release ocne I got used to taking the wheel off! I can do it without having to put the bike on its back! Awesome!

Looks:

I love the frame shame and it does look like they've put lost of subtle touches to the frame. The stem/handlebar etc is all very cheap and shitty, especially the seatpost quick release!

Overall:

For £1000 its a pretty good full suss! I'll ride it and sell it and cube off in the spring and probably get a 650b Canyon Nerve as I'm a convert to full suss!

kammybear

Totally forgot:

Brakes.

Avid 1s. I've upgrade my cube to XT so unfair to compare but the Avids are strong to stop but modulation isnt very progressive? If thats the word? Pressed it too hard quite a few times. They're very noisey as well!

davefelcher

Kammybear, are you selling your FS Team? Just saw one for sale on eBay with the pictures you posted in this thread. It seems to have been taken down now though.
Just picked up my new Boardman yesterday. Looks awesome, can't wait to ride it.

kammybear

Not sure why anyone would want to use my photos, they were pretty crappy. I think I'll be keeping the Boardman for a while unless I see a bargain I can't resist as I'm sure my next bike will be my "forever" bike ie somekind of 150mm AM bike

Been down to Cannock today and taken a few more decent shots of the bike in the wild.

I'll be selling my Cube LTD Pro 29 now as I don't think I'll be using it again, 29" wheels are not for me I think.







(Mother nature helped me save time taking off the front reflector lol)

IDave

Getting nice and dirty!

I just bought a new Team FS too, I'm looking forward to seeing what changes you make to yours.

What pressures are you running your shock and fork at?

declan1

Looks great. Would highly recommend moving the brake levers towards the stem so when your hands are in their natural position on the bars your index finger is resting in the curve at the end of the lever. Almost all factory bikes come with levers pushed right against the grip.

Kowalski675

kammybear wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to use my photos, they were pretty crappy.

A scammer sellng a non existent bike, presumably.

You must've hit that log hard to embed your front wheel in it like that...

Kowalski675

declan1 wrote:

Would highly recommend moving the brake levers towards the stem so when your hands are in their natural position on the bars your index finger is resting in the curve at the end of the lever.

Already suggested that. Best thing to do is swap them inboard of the shifters - they're in completely the wrong place from the factory.

kammybear

IDave wrote:

Getting nice and dirty!

I just bought a new Team FS too, I'm looking forward to seeing what changes you make to yours.

What pressures are you running your shock and fork at?

I initially decided to keep it stock as I see it as a stopgap bike to see if a full suss is worth it and it is!

I've got a Reverb to stick on it but after a few near misses due to the pedals being awful, looks like I'll have investing in larger pedals :oops:

I've had no time to change anything round yet but thanks for the tips guys! Still need to take a reflectors off!