Boardman Team FS 650B

simonl83

Hi,

I am thinking of hitting the trails again soon. Used to have a MTB years ago (GT Zaskar LE) but I have not had one for 15 years or more now. I went to Cannock Chase a few weeks ago and did the Sherbrook Trail on my friends Cube 29er hardtail and really enjoyed it and would like to do it more often.

I have been looking at the Boardman Team FS. Why is it so cheap compared to other FS MTBs? Surely the forks, rear shock, groupset and wheels would set you back a grand if bought separately.

Are these bikes worth having? I have bought a hybrid and a road bike in the last couple of years but avoided Boardmans despite often being best value so that i don't have to have my bike built and set-up by a 15 year old. But this seems like too good an opportunity to miss to have this spec for under a grand. it appears at first glance to be the perfect way to get back in to MTBing without bankrupting myself.

johnny25

Haven't ridden the FS, but if the HT is anything to go by then I don't think you can go wrong.

I've absolutely hammered the HT 29 Pro over the past 6 months and it appears fine. Great bike for the money.

Check out the reviews - vast majority give the bike the thumbs up.

Reason why the bike is 'cheap' - probably the buying power of the Boardman brand.

Angus Young

You won't find a bad review. And it's Halfords' buying power that keeps it cheap. By all accounts, a very good bike.

IDave

I have the Team FS and it's a great bike for the money. I've had no issues with it so far and it's been an excellent introduction to the world of FS for me. So much easier to ride quickly than my Carrera HT I had previously.

It's quite heavy, weighs in around 14kg. The fork has chrome plated steal stanchions so is quite heavy, but is very smooth and has been good so far. The Avid brakes are ok, I know the majority on here hate Avids, but they're not so bad. They need bled a fair amount, and they fade a little after some heavy use but are easily replaceable.

Some of the finishing kit is quite cheap, but I'm slowly replacing it all on my bike, again only minor details and easy to replace.

I'd definitely recommend it, and for £1k (less if you are smart and seek out the online discounts) you won't find much better.

rockmonkeysc

Buy it at Halfords and if you don't trust the 12 year old setting it up in the shop just book it in for a service at a shop you trust to get it checked over.
Not all Halfords bike technicians are bad, there are some good ones around. My local Halfords is better than my local independent specialist shop.