thinking of buying a Boardman team road bike which comes with an aluminium frame and wondered how it would ride ? would it be comfy enough for long rides etc or is it worth looking for different type of frame

i’ve done 100 mile sportives on alu bikes … no issues.

big difference going from a 23mm tyre to a 25mm tyre in confiness as well.

second thing would be a carbon seatpost … they also soften the feel.

looking at the boardman team … you’d be fine. most important thing above all else is a good fit on the bike.

Would be fine, perfect for it.

You’ll be fine, I bought an aluminium cannondale and haven’t looked back, fast light and looks great. Discomfort over the bumps has never concerned me, even on really long rides.

The Boardman bike is getting great reviews, although for aluminium my first thought would be Cannondale.

What size are you lookin for? I’ve a spare 2010 Boardman Team Carbon in medium that is surplus to requirements as I’ve got a Specialized Roubaix now.

Nowt wrong with tinfoil.

Boardman gets great reviews if you are happy to buy without a test ride

Alternatively there are loads of options out there with all sorts of deals right now e.g. [/url]

that didn’t work as a link did it…

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/19739/Orbea_Onix_Bira_Carbon_Bike_2009

Nothing wrong with aluminium – get a good fit and that’s a lot more important than the frame material.

cheers guys for your input! work has told me it has to be from halfords on a bike to work scheme so even better deal 🙂

For long rides it might also be worth looking at the Boardman CX bike.

if it has to be from halfords then in your position I would go for it – try and ride a couple around the store to ensure a good size/fit, but go for it on account of the good deal and the reviews the whole range gets

enjoy,

Worth a look at the planet x offering as well. Alumnium can ride very well and still be light enough to be competitive with carbon (since you’ll probably get more aluminium frame for your money compared to carbon).

Carbon forks would be important IMO and a carbon post would be a nice extra.

I’ve got a lovely 05 principia which probably see’s the most of my riding; it’s light, feels great and is plenty comfy enough for big rides. The fact it’s Alu, rarely enters my head. But it’s not as nice as my parlee.

Epicsteve, price and condition for the carbon Boardman?

Aluminium as a material to build frames from is very misunderstood. It can very readily be made to be forgiving and “comfortable” even. It totally depends on frame design and use of the material. Straight gauge oversized tubes will always be harsh, tubes hydroformed to provide flex in some areas but not others will do exactly that. Aluminium has come a long way, 15 years ago they were expensive niche items, these days ally is de rigeur at most price levels and we’re much better off for it.

What mboy said ^^. My aluminium race bike is lighter than a lot of carbon bikes, still rides and handles brilliantly and is comfy enough for all day rides.

You won’t go wrong with the Boardman, they’re great bikes, fantastic value for money.

looking at the spec sheet it does say that its triple butted too so that should help ??

a lot of sense is being said here, carbon is way overrated imo.

My aluminium de rosa is a joy to ride, stiff in the right way, lightish, not scared of the rough stuff, basically its the best road bike i’ve ever owned. a good modern ali bike is a completely thing to those of 10 years ago.

Alu road bikes aren’t like a rigid hardtail. Far less bumps to deal with overall so don’t worry

I’m liking these positive comments 🙂 🙂

My alu Cervelo S1 is ace. Despite the big stays and aero downtube it is still comfy over distance. Go for it!

I got my first road bike last year – an alu frame specialized secteur. Was a bit worried about how comfy it would be but it’s really suprised me, no problems at all riding it for hours on end. It seems to have quite a lot of spring in it, much more so than my alu hardtail mtb.

Oh, and a Ti post in the right frame looks much nicer than a carbon one 8)

I’ve got an alu (carbon seatstays and forks tho) 2006 spesh allez. I had a nice columbus steel italian paganini before that. The Pag was too big, the allez fits “just right” I think. It’s faster, more responsive but harsher but I don’t get back aches n stuff cos it actually fits. Much, much more important to get something that fits than what it’s made from.

Just because it has to be from Halfords doesn’t mean it has to be something offered on their shop floor. They can get in pretty any main stream bike you fancy. Only problem is it’ll be at RRP. They can’t get things like Focus, Canyon, Planet X, Ribble, etc that are sold direct from the company or a sole distributor.

I got them to order a Giant in a few years back, don’t think they were selling Boardmans then though. Definitely worth a look around to see it there’s anything else you like, that said I think my search would start and end with a Boardman too at that price range.

An aluminium frame will be fine, as said above a carbon seatpost will make life easier as will a good saddle. My current roadbike has a cheap Ribble frame on which I’ve done 6-7 hour rides without problems, prior to that a Dave Quinn aluminium with the same lack of problems.

Epicsteve, price and condition for the carbon Boardman?

Something like £750. Bike is pretty much as new (or will be when I wash it) – I even still have the original box. It was bought new at Christmas and has done something like 500 miles or so since, with a fair bit of that being on the turbo trainer. It’s standard except for having a 11-28 cassette fitted instead of the original 11:25 (which I still have and could swap back).

It’s the model with 20-speed SRAM Rival and Ritchey finishing kit.