Full Suspension £1000 - Are the Calibre Bossnut / Boardman FS Team really that good?

MadeInMachines

I'm want to spend £1000 or ideally less (especially if it's a hard tail). I was thinking of getting the bossnut but the boardman is now £800 and the pro is also reduced to £1200. Are they really amazing bikes for the money or is it just hype. Would I really be better off with a hardtail like a whyte 901 or a cheaper hardtail like a boardman (if I want to save money). I do places like Gisburn red and black, Grizedale etc.

I know these the calibre and boardman seem very well spec'd for the money since the huge companies in question benefit from economies of scale so would I be getting better value in one of them rather than paying for a more established biking brand? I hear that with a hardtail i'd be getting the same components as a high end full suspension but with a full suspension i'd be getting a budget hardtail components. Is that true, even with the cablire and boardman fs since the companies seem to have well known branded parts. I've always had a hardtail but wanted to try a fs so my inclination is towards that.

Alternatively are they going to turn out to perform poorly and not last the test of time - maybe they have cheaper groupsets and breaks but only good forks?

Thanks,
Pete

supersonic

They are good bikes, great value and have won a lot of awards - but a little weighty, an equivalent spec hardtail wouild be lighter of course. Though I wouldn't want to be going down a difficult black route on a more xc inclined hardtail.

MadeInMachines

Thanks very much for your replies so far. Is the Rockshox mornach RT a decent rear suspension or not really worth having? I notice it on most bikes at this price range. Can it easily be upgraded in the future if I wished to? What about the forks and frames on the calibre/boardman team? Is the pike much better than the sektor? Does the Giant Trance compare spec wise? What about the whole 29er vs 27.5 debate? The trouble I have is I expect a great bike for £1000 as to me its a hell of a lot of money for a bike and probably double what I'd want to spend. But if I get something great that I can enjoy for the next 10 years or so, its worth it.

The Rookie

The RT is OK, not great, but at this price point for an FS about the best you'll get, shocks are very interchangeable, usually you just have to match length (eye to eye) and stroke for a normal air shock. Ironically you could probably pick up a better second hand shock for about the selling price of your new and unused RT.

MadeInMachines

Ah well at least it's upgradable if I wanted. Is an RT still much better than no rear suspension?

Which is the better value? The Boardman team for £800 or the Pro for £1200? I feel like £800 is enough to spend on a bike but at the same would be willing to spend £1200 if its so much better.

The Rookie

Is the RT better than a hardtail? Depends, if your doing a black run then the RT is better, riding on a road the hardtail......it's far from being bad, but there are better available.

MadeInMachines

I won't be using it much for road, mostly trail riding as that's what I enjoy. Better available for that kind of money - how much are we talking to get better?

The Rookie

It's not worth getting a new shock as an upgrade, either buy a bike with a better shock on or get a decent shock (say a Fox RP23) off eBay for about £100, fit it before riding and sell the RT 'as new' and you'll get nearly all of that back.

nasha48

As a new owner of the Boardman Pro FS i must say i am very pleased with it. Pikes are solid and responsive out front and the Monarch Debonair shock is plush tho is perhaps just a little soft at the recommended pressure. A touch more air in the can and a few volume reducers has sorted this though. The frame finish is really nice and, as others have said elsewhere, the blue/yellow colour scheme does look a lot more desireable than in pics online. Guide brakes feel very well controlled with decent modulation and I'm coming from being a big fan of the stopping power of XT's. Cockpit a lot more comfortable than i thought it would be too, particularly on longer flat sections of XC. Even found the stock Trail King tyres performing acceptably though will prob be swapping out for something a bit better as we head into autumn. Overall, excellent value bike all round for the money, it really is.

joebristol

I'm on the previous years Boardman Pro FS (silver / green) which is slightly lower spec than this years Pro FS, but comfortably better than this years Team FS.

I was after the Team FS but due to a bit of a mix up with an order / bike to work voucher I ended up with the Pro.

If you can stretch to it, then it's a better bike by far. Is lighter than the Team, and the Pike forks on the Pro are a big upgrade on Rockshox Sektors (if that's what is on the current team). I've got Reveletations which are somewhere between the two (same chassis as the Sektors but better damping) and having had a hire bike with Sektors on the difference was surprising. Pikes smash both of the other forks into the undergrowth as they have a better damper again, and much stiffer legs.

Brakes are also fantastic - SRAM Guides have been surprisingly good - strong but with good modulation - and I recently bled them and it was very easy.

If you can find a Pro (there's not much stock left) then go for it I say.

Crazyjenkins01

I considered the BM Team as I used C2W, however I am super happy with my Bossnut!
Upgraded tyres, pedals and added a dropper and I'm stoked. The BM Pro looks an impressive machine though having seen one in the store

jackkat

I have a bossnut...had it for 6 weeks or so...am very, very happy with it. Am a newbie to biking but recently went to lake garda and hired a cube stereo 140 hpa and a cube fritz, both of which cost a lot more than the bossnut and I felt the calibre really compares well. Feels like you can ride it through a wall

markross

Nasha48 wrote:

As a new owner of the Boardman Pro FS i must say i am very pleased with it. Pikes are solid and responsive out front and the Monarch Debonair shock is plush tho is perhaps just a little soft at the recommended pressure. A touch more air in the can and a few volume reducers has sorted this though. The frame finish is really nice and, as others have said elsewhere, the blue/yellow colour scheme does look a lot more desireable than in pics online. Guide brakes feel very well controlled with decent modulation and I'm coming from being a big fan of the stopping power of XT's. Cockpit a lot more comfortable than i thought it would be too, particularly on longer flat sections of XC. Even found the stock Trail King tyres performing acceptably though will prob be swapping out for something a bit better as we head into autumn. Overall, excellent value bike all round for the money, it really is.

I'm thinking of swapping my tyres for Autumn / Winter also. Any idea what the maximum width it will take? Was hoping to try some 2.4" but not sure if they'll fit. Which tyres were you thinking of getting?

nasha48

markross wrote:

Nasha48 wrote:

As a new owner of the Boardman Pro FS i must say i am very pleased with it. Pikes are solid and responsive out front and the Monarch Debonair shock is plush tho is perhaps just a little soft at the recommended pressure. A touch more air in the can and a few volume reducers has sorted this though. The frame finish is really nice and, as others have said elsewhere, the blue/yellow colour scheme does look a lot more desireable than in pics online. Guide brakes feel very well controlled with decent modulation and I'm coming from being a big fan of the stopping power of XT's. Cockpit a lot more comfortable than i thought it would be too, particularly on longer flat sections of XC. Even found the stock Trail King tyres performing acceptably though will prob be swapping out for something a bit better as we head into autumn. Overall, excellent value bike all round for the money, it really is.

I'm thinking of swapping my tyres for Autumn / Winter also. Any idea what the maximum width it will take? Was hoping to try some 2.4" but not sure if they'll fit. Which tyres were you thinking of getting?

Looking at it by eye I reckon there's clearance for a 2.4 front and rear yes. Personally I'll be sticking a Hans Dampf Evo Trailstar 2.35 up front and a Nobby Nic Pacestar 2.25 on the back

joebristol

On the 2015 pro fs I've put on 2.4" Continental Mountain King 2's in the black chilli compound. Plenty of clearance through both the frame and the forks.

Assuming it has Mavic x319 rims then I think they make the profile of the tyre quite rounded as they are relatively narrow rims (according to the writing on the side they can take upto a 2.3" wide tyre).

From personal experience Nobby Nics aren't that great. Han Dampf have good reviews so was considering those - only downside appears to be quick wear of the tread blocks.

If I hadn't been so tight and bought some tyres on offer I'd have been looking at Maxxis High Roller 2's.