KTM V Boardman

Cathaoir

I'm considering trading my Boardman Pro Carbon for a KTM elite, does anyone know much about KTM. Anything I should be aware off. Thanks

bendertherobot

http://www.damianharriscycles.co.uk/prod/rac_0033_kt/ktm-revelator-elite-2015-road-bike

that one? First question, why? What has interested you in it?

Cathaoir

A few reasons,
1. I had a boardman team carbon previously, changed last year for Pro carbon ( Halfords replaced bike as frame had cracked and I took the opportunity to upgrade.) I have never felt 100% comfortable on the pro carbon, can't put my finger on the reason.
I have the opportunity to purchase a 2015 model KTM elite at £1600, this bike would have been £2499 when it was purchased new in April 2015.
I know one friend who has a KTM and swears by it,
Upgraded components from 105's to ultegra

Looks like a good bike on the face of it, has only done 1/2 a season, comes with warranty etc.

fenix

I've never heard of KTM bikes before.

Why is it getting sold so quickly - and it's basically done a full season if it was last April ?

I figure on the bike losing 50% of the value as soon as it has been bought so I'd think the KTM should be cheaper.

bendertherobot

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19777145#p19777145]Cathaoir[/url] wrote:

A few reasons,
1. I had a boardman team carbon previously, changed last year for Pro carbon ( Halfords replaced bike as frame had cracked and I took the opportunity to upgrade.) I have never felt 100% comfortable on the pro carbon, can't put my finger on the reason.
I have the opportunity to purchase a 2015 model KTM elite at £1600, this bike would have been £2499 when it was purchased new in April 2015.
I know one friend who has a KTM and swears by it,
Upgraded components from 105's to ultegra

Looks like a good bike on the face of it, has only done 1/2 a season, comes with warranty etc.

£1600 buys a lot nowadays. How about this?

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p5475/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-EVO-RED-2014

I cannot tell you whether the KTM is any good. I can tell you that the Supersix is brilliant.

Bobbinogs

errm, am I missing something? The OP wants to move on from her current bike because some aspect of it is not right...but she doesn't know what it is and yet to solve it she is going to buy another bike based on someone else likes that one?

OP, why not get a decent bike fit? It may or may not make your current bike right but at least it will help you to understand why it doesn't feel right. Once you have that solved, you can look for another bike that meets the criteria, maybe a longer/shorter TT, or anything else that contributes to a bike feeling right.

Cathaoir

Don't get me wrong, I've had the bike fit done, tried various positions and changed things around, just not content on the bike, was very comfortable on the previous bike.
I have ridden the KTM and like it, what I really want to know is, is the any glaring issues or weakness with the KTM or common faults that I should know about?

bendertherobot

Well, there are some. The first is value, it doesn't sound like a particularly good deal, which was the point of my post. Second, how far have you ridden it? It may well be that you need a longer test. What other bikes have you tried? Pop along to your LBS and try some.

Cathaoir

Thanks, this one is from LBS, trading my Boardman and getting similar percentage from new on it.
Will take it for another run and see how it feels. If I'm Comfortable on it, I think that's the main thing, just curious to see if there is anything I should know about KTM - faults / weakness etc

bendertherobot

Never seen a bad review but there's not much out there to form an opinion on. Looks nice enough.

Cathaoir

Thanks, that's sort of my view as well.

Garry H

They used to be the bike sponsor for one of the "smaller" French Teams (Bretagne Seche I think). They rode them in Paris-Roubaix a few years ago.

A brand new 105 equipped one can be had for around GBP1500, there was one being reviewed this month in one of the newer magazines, "Cyclist" I think.

Other than that, don't know much about them, other than they are better known for making rather fine motorcycles!

JesseD

Chap I raced against last year had one and did ok on it (he won the crit series), I haven't ridden one but they look nice/well made but that may be down to the nice colour scheme, the chap who it said he loved it.

That said I am with Bobbingogs on this one, before you buy anything suss out why you don't feel comfortable on your current bike (what was the difference in geometry between this and your old one, I am assuming all contact points are the same and you swapped everything from the broken bike to the new one). Otherwise you risk making an expensive mistake buying a new bike and not being comfortable on that one as well.

That said, the KTM does look nice ( I am a fan of orange on bikes mind so maybe biased)

tomisitt

Go for it...the KTM frame is a peach, KTM know how to build things properly (I had two KTM motorbikes), and they are so much more cool than a Boardman

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/road-bikes/ktm-revelator-4000

whosthedaddy

KTM for me. Love mine

MikeBrew

The frames are quite reminiscent of a circa 2011 Trek Madone.......

Bar Shaker

They will both be far east made bikes, of reasonable quality and with reasonable components.

The only real comment would be that Boardmans sell for ridiculous money on eBay, whereas the KTM would be almost worthless, in comparison.

Just be sure you really want it, before committing.