Hi Everyone,

Got the Cycle to Work scheme through work. Only downside is that its provided by Halfords. I've been looking at the Chris Boardman range. The mountain bikes arnt too great, However the road bikes seem fairly well spec'd for the money. Being a XC rider, I don't know much about road bikes.

Any thoughts on the Chris Boardman Team Carbon for £1000? i.e. is the frame any good? How do they ride? Is the general spec of the bike good for money? Any alternatives?

Link to bike below:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_502025_langId_-1_categoryId_165710

Any help much appreciated!

JRS

It's brilliant for the money – one of the guys here got one on B2W too.

FWIW, Halfords can supply brands other than the ones they sell in store. You get your voucher then need to call their central number and arrange it there and then they deliver the bike to your local Halfords.
http://www.cycle2work.info/employees/contact1.html

Might be worth calling them on that number though just to confirm that's still right!

Regardless, for the money, the team carbon is definitely one of the best bikes you can get – IIRC every review of it backs that up too – eg 10/10 in C+

Hi
I cant give too much info at the minute but I have just got one of these through C2W too-except its a large.
Only done a couple of short spins so far to get the set up right but first impressions are excellent.
Its my first road bike so still getting used to the "stretch" to the bars compared to an mtb.
Its very light approx 17lbs and flys along when you press on the pedals.
Also well impressed with the SRAM Rival shifters which you push the same way to change up or down the block-short tap to go down the block, longer push to change up the block. Sounds weird but you get used to it very quickly.
The reason I bought it (apart from the cost) was that one of my mates who has raced on road and track recommended it-apparently it is rated in the roadie mags as being as good as other bikes much more expensive.

A slight word of warning though-I had read some stories that said spokes could come loose on the rear wheel especially so took mine straight to a mate who fixes my bikes. He said that drive side spokes on the rear were not tight enough so he sorted this out and trued the wheel slightly. Also the brakes were not adjusted properly as the "cam" thingy on the the calipers were in the wrong position when the cables were adjusted

Hope this helps a bit
Cheers
Steve

I have one via C2W……I actually set up the scheme in our office with Halfords specifically to get the Team Carbon.

Please put all the anti-Halfords stuff out of your mind, this is a proper road bike. Have upgraded the seatpost (too short) and stem (too long) to nice Thomson but apart from that it's terrific. Will in time replace the wheels but they are prett good as is for now. Frame and fork are pretty top-end, Rival shifters and drive are very very good.

And FWIW my local Halfords (St Pauls, London) couldnt have been more helpful, set the bike up nicely, checked the spoke nipples (they'd had an issue or 3) and sent me on my way.

Did London to Brighton and back on it and loved it, my first roadie too. Is in the office today being drooled over by my workmates.

Yesterday they were all "thinking about getting a bike"
Today it's "ooooooh thats nice, can I really get one of those???"