Boardman Team full suss vs Giant Stance vs ?

joebristol

Hi there, I'm new to the forum having just got back into mountain biking after more than a 10 year gap. Currently have a 1997 Kona U'Hu that I bought from Ebay to see if I could get back into it and it has done the job. Now want something from this century as I've started doing trail centres and would like something with a bit more suspension travel and that doesn't rely on V-brakes to stop you (they're fine at the top of the hill, but half way down my fingers have given up a bit).

So I've ordered a £1000 bike to work voucher from work and have to go through Halfords to get a bike. I know they aren't great, but that's how it is. I'm reasonably competent with bikes, so happy to get it in a box and built it myself.

So the obvious option is the Team FS 650b which has the best component spec on it for the price. I want full suss - I tried to go back to a hardtail just over 10 years ago and that's what caused me to stop mountain biking. I know the arguements either way, but not interested in a hard tail.

I think Halfords can order in more makes than they admit to on their website through the scheme - so with a £1000 budget (you can't add cash to it) what else is there to consider? It appears most manufacturers don't offer full suss at this price point anymore.

There is the Giant Stance 27.5 I've found - which I have a few reservations about. The fork isn't as good from what I can make out and the rear suspension relies on the rear triangle having a bit of flex in it (they've removed a pivot from the Maestro system to save on costs). However it probably has better brakes, being Shimano rather than Avid.

Thoughts on these 2 options, or any other bike suggestions?

The Rookie

I doubt you'll get a Stance through Halfords at £1K as IF they can get it it will be at RRP.

I'd go with the Boardman.

joebristol

It's the Giant Stance 27.5 2 that I'm thinking of. Think the RRP is £999.99. So if Halfords could get it then that'd be the price I asssume - I don't think that price is discounted.

I'm leaning towards the Boardmand at this moment in time, but that's just based on the forks being a higher spec (RS Sektor Silver 130mm with lockout vs RS Gold Solo air 120mm) and it having a 2 x 10 transmission instead of the Giant's 3 x 10.

The only doubt I have on the Boardman is you read about issues with the pivots failing / not greased properly / not torqued up sufficiently. I haven't seen much bad about the Giant's frame.

Does one suspension system work better than the other that you are aware of? In terms of travel the Boardman is 130mm both ends and the Giant is 120mm both ends, but that's such a small difference I'm not convinced I'd notice the difference.

Antm81

I wouldn't say the sektor is the better fork, it is the more basic 130mm+ fork where as the 120mm fork on the stance is probably slightly higher being the gold version as opposed to the 120mm silver.

I know the stance doesn't use Giants maestro suspension but I expect it will still be a good suspension platform.

Hard decision though as both are good bikes. What's the weight of the stance as IIRC the Boardman isn't exactly lightweight.

joebristol

I'm not up on my Rockshox, but is the Stance fork a Sector - all the websites quote is as:

RockShox 30 Gold SoloAir, 120mm travel, lockout, tapered steerer

It doesn't mention it has a bolt through maxle thing either that I can see.

Whereas the Boardman has a Rockshox Sector Silver with 130mm travel, lockout, 15mm Maxle.

I'd kind of assume the 30 Gold SoloAir was a lower range of forks thanthe Sector. I could be horribly wrong though! Maybe I'll try the RShox website - although a lot of bikes seem to have versions of forks that aren't sold seperately to consumers and therefore aren't listed.

Weight wise the Boardman is about 14kgs (so just over 30lbs), the Giant doesn't have it's weight quoted - they have something on their website saying you should get your local dealer to weight it for you and compare to a dealer weighing any competitor bikes to be fair.

Antm81

This will be the fork the stance has https://www.sram.com/rockshox/products/30-gold-tk and is likely to be QR.

RS don't list the sektor silver, possibly an older model or oem. IIRC the silver part usually refers to steel stanchions so add a fair amount of weight. I'd expect the same damper in both though so performance won't be dissimilar.

Id take the quoted weight with a pinch of salt as although not gospel, MBUK tested the Boardman in this months mag and quoted a weight of 15.4kg. No idea if they weighed the bikes themselves though.

joebristol

Wow, 15.4kgs is heavy! I didn't know MBUK had tested it this month - maybe I'll go and buy it to have a read.

I think the 30 Gold is turnkey (tk) damping and the Sektor is likely to be motion control - which I understand is better. But then the 30 gold may have alu stantions so could be a fair bit lighter than the Sektor. So confusing though with the various specs. Bring back the Indy / Judy / Sid / Boxxer names - it was easy to tell what was cr*p (Indy) what was in the middle, what was XC light and what was for DH!

From the little chart on RS site, it might be that the 30 Gold is aimed at XC, and the Sektor is a bit burlier with the maxle for more trail riding? Hence it's added weight. I might be able to find a Giant to test ride possibly, but Halfords don't do test rides for the Boardman - short of a quick spin around the shop.

I'm almost glad there are only 2 bikes to choose from - makes life easier in some respects.

rockmonkeysc

I would ignore anything you have read about Boardman pivots not being greased properly. The bearings are sealed, maintenance free units, they don't need greasing. The actual pivots only need a very light smear of grease to make them easier to remove in a year or two once the bearings are worn.
The forks I would say are equally good. The Giants fork will have better damping and be lighter but it will flex a fair bit more than the Boardmans because of the thinner 30mm stanchions and qr axle. The wheels are probably better on the Giant, they use DT swiss hubs which are basic but solid while Boardman use some pretty nasty Formula hubs. Boardman also use some very cheap headsets. The Boredman does beat the Giant on brakes and transmission.
I think they kind of balance out about the same so based on that and knowing the trails around Brizzle (I assume that's where you are) I would have the Boardman hardtail 29er, it will be much better than either on the local trails and is a better bike for the money.

joebristol

I know I'd get better components with a hard tail for the money, but it was going back to a hard tail that killed my enthusiasm last time. Not making that mistake again - had a quick go on someone's trek ex8 today and it was night and day compared to the Kona I currently have - realised how bad my v brakes are. Not quite sure how I've been keeping up with / beating my mates round numerous trails really.

I regularly do Ashton Court / Leigh woods in Bristol and you don't need full suss for them, but it's more comfortable (I'm 34 and just bought a car because it's comfy rather than fast). I also went to Cwmcarn for the first time a couple of weeks ago and got the bug for trail centres. Found it seriously bumpy / rutted and think full suss is the way to go.

In terms of forks I'm a bit of a hard rider - not the most subtle. Think the sectors might suit my riding best with the chunkier legs and Maxle.

Maybe I'll try and find a Giant locally and see if I can have a quick go. I'm currently using Bomber Z1 drop offs from 2000. Don't think they are a stiff fork, but the 100mm travel is very plush.

penguin_of_death

There's a list of available brands on the c2w website

http://www.cycle2work.info/siteadvicecentrebrand

rockmonkeysc

No Giant on the list of available brands.

joebristol

If you look at point 3 on the c2w page it says they can get any brand from local stores. I know I wanted a Giant racer a few b2w's ago and they got me one from leisure lake bikes. I'm assuming they can still do this.

Which of the 2 bikes have better brakes - I've read bad things about avid elixirs and better things in general about shimano ones.

Boardman has 2 x 10 instead of 3 x 9 gears. Is there much benefit to this?

rockmonkeysc

Ten speed is worth having. Shimano and SRAM are phasing out higher quality components in 9 speed which limits spares choices.
There's not a lot in it between the brakes. The Shimanos are very basic but as good as the Avids.

joebristol

Thanks for all the comments. Think I'm going to go with the Boardman. Bought MBUK this morning as per the comment they were reviewing it this month. Got 4 out of 5 - downsides are the weight and that the 2 x 10 gearing picked doesn't have an 'easy' gear selection for steep uphills. Hoping my legs will be man enough to turn whatever it's got on it - I found Cwncarn a few weeks ago very hard work on the uphill - think we went up on one of the XC routes for almost an hour - but the pay back was about 30 mins of downhill. Loved it and firmly got the bug.

Think my b2w voucher should come through around the 18th of this month - can't come soon enough now!

As soon as it does I'm going to have a bash at selling my Kona on retrobike either as a whole bike, or split the parts. Think the rear shock (RS Bar) and the Bombers will sell ok, not too sure about the rest of it. Maybe the wheels will go for a few quid - prob worth £20 or £30 for some mavic rimmed wheels complete with tyres that aren't too worn (mountain kings).

kirby700

Speaking as an ex Boardman team FS owner, generally the bike was fine and not had many issues with the second frame (1st frame paint started coming off near suspension pivot) the second frame came and was assembled but they didn't check the pivots were tight which rather stupidly I assumed they had so had to mess around a bit tightening pivots up in the middle of a forest. The only thing mine used to so was creak and "crack" a little bit even though I had kept the pivots nice and clean. Also against it for me was trying to get spares for it. Hubs were irreparable as spares aren't available (front wheel's sealed bearing an obscure American standard) rear wheels freehub stopped functioning after a year and these were not serviceable nor replaceable hence why I bought new wheels. Bolts on the pivots are a bit soft too so when tightening them up you have to really really careful as again Halfords are not interested in getting you new ones.
Avid Elixirs suck the big one, really awkward to bleed as again I have them on my Nukeproof


This sounds like I was really down on the bike but it was a good entry into Full suspension for me but would I recommend it over a Giant stance - I just do not know.

joebristol

Which year of Boardman Team FS did you have - was it the 26 inch wheel one, or the 650B one?

Having worked through what components are on the bike I'm convinced the boardman is the better deal. However you do find some reviews online where people have had issues with pivots on the rear suspension. Aside from this, it's just the usual Halfords thing - don't trust them further than you can throw them, unless you happen to have a good tech in your local store.

If it wasn't for the frame issue thing I'd not have any hesitation to go for the Boardman - but I just have a slight doubt now. I'm fairly mechanically minded, so I'm not afraid to go over a bike once I've got it - about the only thing I'm not confident in is my ability to index rear derailleurs properly. I'm happy withremoving cassettes / cranks etc - I do that periodically on my Boardman racer when I give it a thorough clean.

So for me, the one benefit to the Giant is the reputation of the manufacturer - I haven't found much online that suggests the frame would have any issues.

I think the Boardman has better:

Forks (based on the Sektors being more suitable for hurling down a hill than the 30 Gold TKs - although the insides I think are both TK dampers and the 30 Golds are lighter with aluminium uppers).
Groupset

The Giant may have a better frame.....not sure about the brakes. The ones on the Boardman are now DB3's, not Elixirs - although I think they're just the equivalent replacements. I suspect the Shimano brakes maybe more reliable / easier to bleed.

Wheel wise although the hubs might be a bit iffy on the BM, the rims are probably bettter than those on the Giant.

Any further thoughts?

Antm81

The DB3s are essentially rebranded eleixirs after SRAM stopped using the Avid name. Having used elixir 7s, lower end shimano brakes and also higher end shimano brakes, I'm unlikely to use SRAM/Avid brakes again in a hurry after the amount of maintenance the elixirs needed compared to shimano.

kinioo

Paul's has still got this one :

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s1p494 ... M-X-2-2013

this is what I recently got myself, and boy its fast !!!!

joebristol

Ok, so brakes are a downside against the Boardman. If I go with that one I'll have to see how it goes, but bear in mind I may need to upgrade to Shimano if the bleeding / setup proves to be a drama.

I looked at the link to the Giant - I'd have to see if somehow Halfords could source that from Paul's/ or whether Paul's would accept Halfords bike to work vouchers. Sometimes they seem to be able to do that sort of stuff / sometimes they can't.

That bike is a large too - probably a bit big for me at 5'9. However there is another Giant in a small that is the same price and reduced (another Trance) - I'm on the edge of the maximum height for that size - so that could be an option. I'd rather have a short bike with a high front end, then a long bike personally (I have short arms compared to my height / leg length). Little 'dino-arms' like a t -rex as one of my mates puts it - which is charming.

rockmonkeysc

You won't be able to get the bike from Pauls Cycles with your Halfords voucher.
I wouldn't worry about the Boardman frame. The reason there are more reports of frame issues is just the number of bikes sold. Only a tiny percentage would have had issues.
If you don't like the brakes you could sell them for £30ish and get a pair of Shimano Deore for £70ish

cooldad

Joebristol wrote:

I looked at the link to the Giant - I'd have to see if somehow Halfords could source that from Paul's/ or whether Paul's would accept Halfords bike to work vouchers. Sometimes they seem to be able to do that sort of stuff / sometimes they can't.

Apart from being too big, probably, in big red letters

"DUE TO LIMITED STOCK WE ARE UNABLE TO OFFER CYCLESCHEME PURCHASE ON THIS BIKE"
So no way on earth are they supplying it to Halfords.

joebristol

Good point well made. I saw that after my last post. So I may enquire with Halfords what other bikes they maybe able to get / where from, but the Boardman is very much in the box seat. I'm used to buying things where you could be taking a chance - I recently bought a Citroen DS5 which is full of toys....but from a company where reliability of electric systems isn't their forte......

LJ.

the Boardman will have DB3 brakes on it unless it is really old stock

kinioo

cooldad wrote:

Joebristol wrote:

I looked at the link to the Giant - I'd have to see if somehow Halfords could source that from Paul's/ or whether Paul's would accept Halfords bike to work vouchers. Sometimes they seem to be able to do that sort of stuff / sometimes they can't.

Apart from being too big, probably, in big red letters

"DUE TO LIMITED STOCK WE ARE UNABLE TO OFFER CYCLESCHEME PURCHASE ON THIS BIKE"
So no way on earth are they supplying it to Halfords.

Sorry, missed this bit ??

joebristol

On a quick look at one of the screens before posting I didn't see it, but then the big red writing hit me on second look!

I don't think Halfords would source via that bike shop anyway - I know in the past I've had a Cannondale from them via Leisure Lakes bikes.

Been reading some reviews on the Stance that i found (on US sites) and the gearing on them has been in for some poor reviews - I hadn't twigged the front mech was 'altus' for example. That's almost not even a mountain bike mech I don't think - the sort of stuff you get on a bike costing around £200 I suspect. The forks also got criticised for being a bit bendy / not very plush. I think the Sektor on the Boardman will have similar movement / damping, but will be stiffer as the stanchions are 32mm rather than 30mm, and it has a bolt through front hub in stead of QR.

The Giant is effectively a single pivot type design, with the shock driven by a rocker - but with no extra pivot in the rear triangle. That the aluminium in the rear triangle has to flex by a couple of mm for this to work freaks me out a litte.

I went and sat on a Boardman Team FS in Halfords last week and it felt nice. Although the guy was trying to convince me it was the right size (it was a 19" frame) but it felt too long to me. So I think the 18" Boardman is the way forward (they only sell 16" / 18" / 19" according to the Halfords website).

joebristol

Had a proper result on the bike front. Ordered a boardman team fs 650 and it got lost with a courier between stores. Not quite sure what happened then, but as there were no other ones available at the moment they ordered me a pro fs 650b and charged me just the £1000 bike to work voucher as normal!

First proper ride on it today round Swinley Forest (first time there and thought it was pretty awesome) and love the bike. My mate has a Kona Process and I kept up with him just fine on the downhill bits of the red / blue loops. He whooped me on the ups, but they aren't the fun bits anyway