Boardman Hybrid

beduffrich
beduffrich Posts: 61
edited December 2011 in Commuting general
Hi all. I have a Boardman Hybrid Team that I have so far done 150 miles on. So far it has been absolutely fine, I'm just wondering how others are getting on with theirs and of any hazards to be cautious of when riding a bike assembled by Halfords?
Commuter: Boardman Hybrid Team 2011

Comments

  • esspeebee
    esspeebee Posts: 174
    My Hybrid Comp town bike is going just fine so far, two months in. I had to to quite a lot before riding it -- reattach the front wheel, adjust both sets of brakes and gears, and stop the crank from hitting the front mech cage, but since doing that it's been pretty much exactly what I wanted from it.

    If you've done 150 miles already then you should have got past all the problems I had long ago.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,459
    I've had a Hybid Pro Ltd for a couple of years now and the only real problem was the inital job by Halfords - they hadn't fastened some of the bolts properly at all and a good pull or on the bars could have have had me riding a bike with no bars :roll: Apart from that it's been pretty much bombproof with just the usual oiling, cleaning and normal maintenance needed, so very happy with the bike :)
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • beduffrich
    beduffrich Posts: 61
    Cool Cool. what do yuo guys use them for? I see on here so many people moaning that Hybrids are a waste of time, I love mine and can see it's for people who want a fair bit of speed but a more upright position (perfect for people with a beer belly like me).
    Commuter: Boardman Hybrid Team 2011
  • esspeebee
    esspeebee Posts: 174
    I use it for riding around town, to work (about a mile through town) and the shops. I mainly bought it because I didn't want to leave two grand's worth of bike in the centre of town, or to have to put on SPD shoes to go to the supermarket.

    However, it also handles much more nicely than the road bike at low speeds, as are common when dodging pedestrians in the centre of Cambridge, while not being such a chore to ride on roads as a knobbly-tyred mountain bike. For longer rides out of town, I still use the 'proper' bike.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Comuting and doing hill training on mine for last 3-4 months (as well as changing diet) brought my cholesterol down from 6.3 to 3.3. Loving mine now - found the ride a bit harsh after a mountain bike when I weighed 17.5 stone but now I am 14.5 stone I have lowered the pressures a bit and it is pretty near perfect. Have bought a cheap carbon handlebar to reduce the vibration on rough roads through my hands, which also makes the brakes and anything attached to the bars shake - despite the carbon forks, but other than that it is fantastic. I also bought bigger tyres but havent fitted them and dont think I will bother now. Have a pannier rack fitted, which was really easy with the way the rear brakes are mounted and the assymetric rear frame.

    Only problem when I got it was that there was no grease on the pedals - luckily I was replacing with SPDs but even then they werent easy to get the original pedals off. Watch out for that if you havent checked yours.

    I did find a small crack in the bottom of the carbon forks, where the wheel clamps in, but Halfords were great - in about 5 days I had it back with new forks fitted.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,459
    beduffrich wrote:
    Cool Cool. what do yuo guys use them for? I see on here so many people moaning that Hybrids are a waste of time, I love mine and can see it's for people who want a fair bit of speed but a more upright position (perfect for people with a beer belly like me).
    I used to use mine for commuting in and out of Central London: now i'm not commuting any more I use it as a road bike for a bit of fitness training and just getting out and enjoying being on a bike (without having to drive a fair way to use a mountain bike).

    Don't worry about the 'hybrid deniers', there are a lot of crap hybrids out there but the Boardman isn't one of them. If you look at the frame and spec it's more like a flat barred road bike with better brakes :wink: and beefier wheels and tyres to cope with potholes, towpaths and some light offroad.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • richVSrich
    richVSrich Posts: 527
    have had my boardman hybrid comp for nearly a year and half now - was commuting through london 7.5 miles each way almost every day...moved offices for a bit so havent been putting the miles down as regularly as i would like, however did my first 100km a couple of weeks ago :D
    Boardman Hybrid Commuter Workhorse
  • Gren82
    Gren82 Posts: 48
    Had mine for about 3 months and have done about 1100miles and had no problems whatsoever, even took it for a 48mile off road excursion and it held up perfectly well (apart from losing a mudguard to some chicken wire). I never bothered with the Halfords 6 week check up because I was afraid of what they might mess up in the process. Cleaning and oiling of the chain is all I've had to do up to now.

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