Chronologically over the course of a year (I had six months of blissful ignorance before, bar the addition of the seat QR) I put on some Mud-X’s, a 60mm stem, some V12s (knackered original pedal bearings), Hope BB (knackered original BB bearings), Charge Spoon Ti (broke original Ti saddle rail), XR4/Purgatory tubeless tyres, RaceFace grips, bashring and 36t chainring.

We had fun until it broke my ankle (ok, it wasn’t really to blame…) Every single part bar the front mech (different pull), seatpost (got a Gravity Dropper), headset (different size and the lower bearing is knackered) and seat QR (came with the new frame) is now on a Cotic Soul and it’s rather nice. When I’ve ridden the Soul as hard and far as the Boardman I’ll report back on the difference.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been a typical Boardman maintenance experience if it hadn’t had to have a bearing replaced (rear hub cartridge bearings – apparently they’re rather undersized). I wouldn’t have changed it so soon if I hadn’t had two months off the bike reading magazines and forums – medium HT Pro frame and related parts now looking for good home…

seem to be great value for money and was a serious contender when i got my last mtb last year.

Strangely i’ve never actually seen one of the full suspensions being riden before (seen plenty of their hts and roadbikes and hybrids) so to me they are a bit of niche exotica!

“there are many Giant and spesh full bikes out there that’ll out-perform any niche bike
– then –
no there aren’t: ellsworth, nicoli, sinister, maverick etc.. widdle all over them”

2 highly debatable and subjective points, easy to make but hard to back up really.

My Team Carbon has been doing sterling service for almost two years now, my first ever road bike.

Picked it up on the Thursday, did London-Brighton-London (thats 140 miles luv) on the Saturday, fell in love with roadieing right there.

Upgrade of a couple of bits (Ksyrium Elites the main thing) and it nursed me round Marmotte last summer. Had a couple of Dutch folk there ask me about the brand……they know who Chris Boardman is, see.

Now doing sterling service as my all year commuter over potholed London roads. I’m the fastest man on Holloway Road (Kicks sand in face of hipster fixie douchebags).

And it cost me £500 on Bike2work.

I ddont understand the ‘almost 2k for a mtb frame’ crowd but I also don’t understand those that wear m&s jeans and say ‘look it performs the same, is sensible, cheap and has no need for a belt’ bikes.

My (new) blur4x frame cost me £650. I’m in the middle ground, buy smart but still ‘good’.

I have a Boardman road bike and i love it trying to resist the new carbon mtb now.

Gachet – Member
All everyone keeps saying is decent bike, good value for money, but where’s the desirability? They’ve taken over from the Marin Mount Vision as the white goods of the bike industry. They get the job done but are outdated (the full sus frame looks like a rip off of an old Turner) and a bit boring.

And your point is? Its a bike. Its for riding. If you don’t want one, don’t buy one. Plenty of others have so it can’t be that undesirable to the masses, even if not to the niche lovers.

You can’t really argue against the fact that Boardman do indeed offer a decent product for a great price.

A mate recently bought a Boardman Team FS for £800 in the sale – it’s very well equipped for the price and seems to ride ok too.

I do prefer the look of the rear suspension set up on the 2011 version though.

the full sus frame looks like a rip off of an old Turner

Looks just like my 4-bar 5Spot, but given I’m still riding that and having a hell of a lot of fun on a bike that rides really well, I’m not seeing where getting a similar bike for a third of what I paid is a bad thing.

Gachet – stop digging, I’m getting embarrassed for you.

‘I wouldn’t buy one as I am a badge snob, I’m more infulenced about what other people about me think more the most appropriate bike.

I would also never buy a Skoda as they make me look a bit pikey

It’s a well known fact if you ride a Boardman bike and drive a Skoda you will never ever ever get laid..’

Well I’m have way there, just nipping down to halfords to make myself completely resistable 😀

It is getting pretty embarrassing.

Criticising it’s 4 bar suspension is weak. Obviously companies like Specialized, Ellsworth, Chumba, Nicolai, Merida, Titus, Intense etc are budget bike makers copying an old Turner. I find the 4-bar set up is excellent – minimal bob and wonderfully neutral – you simply don’t notice it working.

If the 2011 FS rides as well as it looks it’ll be superb.

All everyone keeps saying is decent bike, good value for money, but where’s the desirability?

It’s in the “decent bike, good value for money” bit.

They get the job done but are outdated (the full sus frame looks like a rip off of an old Turner)

So it’s a bit like one of the true classic suspension bikes? Excellent. Praising with faint damning 🙂

This thread makes me laugh.

I ride a couple nice bikes. 2 nicolais, and a ibis tranny. The bike inride the most though is my boardman. I would not hesitate recommending a boardman. They are good bikes full stop, the fact that they are a good bit less then the competition makes them outstanding.

On the other hand would I recommend halfords? That’s different question.

It is getting pretty embarrassing.

Criticising it’s 4 bar suspension is weak. Obviously companies like Specialized, Ellsworth, Chumba, Nicolai, Merida, Titus, Intense etc are budget bike makers copying an old Turner. I find the 4-bar set up is excellent – minimal bob and wonderfully neutral – you simply don’t notice it working.

Where did I criticise the 4 bar suspension design? I said the Boardman FS looks like a rip off of a Turner design, not that Turners and 4 bar bikes are no good. I don’t think Boardman frames have the beautifull cnc machining and design touches of a Turner do they? Just because something looks similar doesn’t mean it performs as well. The Turner XCE was my dream bike after a friend had a polished one built up with Z1’s in 98 and I own an Intense Tracer with the FSR rear suspension and have always been a fan of that suspension setup, as long as it’s attached to hand welded niche frame…

I can’t speak for the FS. But if you actually rode one of the HT’s (caveat: with some decent rubber instead of the dreaded contis), you’d soon shut up. It rides as good as a many a more expensive bike.

And while we are at it, this tired old tale of ally HTs being harsh is b0ll0x. Overbuilt ally HTs are harsh, but the Boardman simply isn’t. My only real complaint about the frame is that they could do with a tad more rear-tyre clearance.

It’s a well known fact if you ride a Boardman bike and drive a Skoda you will never ever ever get laid..

Babylon is balls deep in you.

as long as it’s attached to hand welded niche frame..

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVvcD4Czx4Y[/video]

Snobbishness – the best way to identify stupid, mindless, arrogant, self absorbed, needy narcissists yet invented.

People who drive skods do get laid. Its the quality and intensity of the act that is lacking.

If a slender girl rocked up on a Perugetti I’d think wow she’s going to be worth talking to….

If Rachel from the council finance team rolled up on her great value Boardman I’d think ‘good value bike love’.

Whether you admit it or not, pary of lifes little pleasures is owning a bike that cost alittle to buy that you cherish and like looking at.

A Boardman is firmly in the winter/commuter/trainer catergory and…..I’d only sleep with Rachel after a few beers of lubrication on my eyes and sensors.

As I am a nerd (I am)- I keep thinking of a skoda but what a thoroughly dull brand. Fast doesn’t make fun. I just keep thinking of value and skoda.

Now I’m guessing here but the folk who ‘rise’ to my comments will be those who can only pull bland girls, drive grey cars and wear sensible jeans

the boardman range looks realy good to me, especially for the £.

I had to resist very hard buying a pro carbon road bike this year. The only issue is how well they are assembled by Halfords, but thats not a show stopper.

At the end if the day are “you” happy riding it? I love my giant defy 3, my hookooekoo and my io the’yre not bling nor “niche” nor “overpriced” but I love riding them. If people want to spend oodles of cash on a bike well thats fine by me, I personally dont see the point. I do however wish some of them got some fitness to justify those expensive bikes at times, as its a crying shame when expensive carbon is bimbled about on.

Now I’m guessing here but the folk who ‘rise’ to my comments will be those who can only pull bland girls, drive grey cars and wear sensible jeans

Maybe just those who are happy enough about themselves and their choices not to need the false reassurance of a ‘brand’ to enjoy their lives?

I know what kind of bike I like.
If it was well made, cost £100.00 and had ASDA on the downtube, I’d be bloody delighted.

Deluding yourself that you are a better, more discerning person than somebody else, based on how susceptible you are to advertising is pretty sad.

And not knowing what you like, being unable to differentiate between good and bad and simply relying on other people to make your choices for you, based on fashion and advertising budget is absolutely pathetic.

So imagine you buy your food in the Tesco value range as according to you its the same and its just advertising?

Hasn’t this kind of gone off topic – the thread on pistonheads was about the best value mtb, in terms of pure price the boardman is doing pretty well compared to many brands.

But yes I’m sure hawt girls get excited when the op rocks up on his expensive bike, seatpost all the way down, lowridin’.

Wouldn’t buy a Boardman because it’s from Halfords, end of.

So imagine you buy your food in the Tesco value range as according to you its the same and its just advertising?

Eh?
Not what I said at all. Try reading it again.

Good stuff and bad stuff exists.
The trick is knowing for yourself which is which, and not allowing yourself to be influenced by your own narcissism.

I had a bacon sarnie for breakfast.
The bacon came from Aldi.
To me, it tastes nicer than the bacon from Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons or Asda.
Seems to contain less water and fat too.

If I ignored all this and STILL bought my bacon from Sainsbury, spending more for something I enjoyed less, just because I was worried about others perceptions, how stupid would that make me?

Hora being a plonker again? Nowt new there then!

I met a chap out on his Boardman FS yesterday above Lee Quarry. He was very happy with his purchase and that’s the main thing. I had a good look at it and the main frame is VERY well finished, beautifully smoothed after welding. Made my £2’400 Wolf Ridge look industrial by comparison. Has RS Reba forks, RS Monarch shock, the rocker link appears to be well machined and all felt tight etc.

About the only thing i don’t like about it is the fact it is a rocker-arm-linkage design and i don’t really like the look of them from an aesthetic viewpoint, which is really silly!

Great bikes at a fantastic pricepoint – if you like the look of them.

Anyone sneering at them from a snob point of view is simply being a word that begins with B and rhymes with snob…

So imagine you buy your food in the Tesco value range as according to you its the same and its just advertising?

Entirely missing the point – it’s about content, quality and performance vs branding. If you look at the ingredients in the value range they tend to be much worse. But to continue with the analogy, when buying Naans recently I was comparing Sharwood and own brand ones. Even discounted the Sharwoods were more expensive but they contained ghee and yoghurt, which makes a real difference, so the brand was better because of the content, and worth paying for. However I’ve found the opposite at times, but that’s comparing the supermarket ‘finest’ range with the brand – money talks, to a point – and it’s easy to forget that most people would consider a one grand bike a very expensive bike! We’re not talking about £100 BSO’s.

To look at it another way, I’d never equate label whores with being the hottest women around – they’re often orange and wearing things that neither fit nor suit them. At the other end of the scale are those that don’t give a damn and buy cheap clothes that also don’t suit. And in between are the attractive ones, who aren’t in designer labels head to toe but know how to present themselves – they may even have tolerated the non-existent customer service at Primark to get a top that looks very much like one from Armani at a fraction of the price (not dissimilar to the Boardman buying experience…) I’m sure this clothing analogy works just as well from the other gender/inclination perspective!

I was reading a recent interview with one of the Boardman designers in WMB recently.

He said the biggest issue that they had had with the perception of the bikes was that because they were well specced for the money, some people had incorrectly assumed that the frames must be rubbish to make up for this.

It’s nonsense of course, the frames are made in the same factories, with the same materials and to the same designs as the bigger brands.
The bikes are cheaper because of the distribution model and Halfords buying power.

😆

pary of lifes little pleasures is owning a bike that cost alittle to buy that you cherish and like looking at for the three weeks you own it before getting another

FIFY
Good value bikes for sure. if you want a very reasonably priced bike that will handle everything that most people want to do then they are excellen value.
If you want to impress the niche monger whores who frequet STW probably not the best buy. Would I have one depends on the ride quality but the spec is good at the price. there is probably more marketting mark up on premium brands of bikes or sporting goods than there is on other products- they know people will pay silly money for stuff tell a non cyclist what you pay for brakes or shifters -I can get a bike for that etc. thie bike oh i can get a car for that etc. We are not typical consumers of generic bikes on this forum we are largely tarts on this issue , myself included. Deore on my bike I think not etc

It all comes down to if you studied harder at school you might be able to treat yourelf to lifes luxuries. Do you also automatically assume that if you see a chap on a 5k road bike he’s obviously all the gear?

Two things I hate in life, the snobs and the inverted-snobs (‘I didn’t want it anyway crowd).

If I could afford a decent bike why the hell would I go near Halfords? Don’t justify your ideology either.

Flame me, I can take it and give it back in spades. Big tufty ‘salt of the earth’ types tend to be slight and embittered northerners in reality..

It all comes down to if you studied harder at school you might be able to treat yourelf to lifes luxuries.

yes there is no gentic component to intelligence and everyone who achieves things in school/life did so just by their own hard work or lack there of. This si particularilt relevant to public school educated children of Millionairres iirc. WTF is the relevance of this view to this debate?

Do you also automatically assume that if you see a chap on a 5k road bike he’s obviously all the gear?

If i see someone with all the gear do I assume they have all the gear 😯 – tautology – if you had worked harder at school you could have avoided that error 🙄

Two things I hate in life, the snobs and the inverted-snobs (‘I didn’t want it anyway crowd).

Relevance and the top bit seemed a tad [intelectual] snobby to me BTW.

If I could afford a decent bike why the hell would I go near Halfords?

perhaps becasue the bike is a half decent bike for less money than the snobby/premium brand you covet?

Don’t justify your ideology either.

Nope to leftfield for me to even have clue what you may mean

Flame me, I can take it and give it back in spades. Big tufty ‘salt of the earth’ types tend to be slight and embittered northerners in reality..

What is the point of a pre emptive ad hominem attack on anyone who may question your wisdom?

For me life’s luxuries are having the time, ability and fitness (and people and weather) to enjoy the riding I want to do. I love riding bikes, I don’t greatly like buying them, I don’t like servicing them, and once I’ve got past the novelty of having a new shiny one I don’t spend very much time looking at them! I just want a bike that I can enjoy riding and as long as it doesn’t feel like it’s holding me back then I’m happy.

It’s nice to see that my writing on here has an air of uneducated Northerner because my great-great-grandfather was one of them. I wouldn’t want to be stereotyped as a well educated successful posh sounding Southerner, as that could result in even worse prejudice being inflicted… (NB: I’m only Southern because my Dad had to move south for work and thus I’m not using ‘Northerner’ as a pejorative, most of my family are!)

It all comes down to if you studied harder at school you might be able to treat yourelf to lifes luxuries.

Where the hell did that come from?
I can see how higher intelligence would lead to a rejection of marketing nonsense and a lower intelligence to a greater acceptance of it, but application? Please explain.

Two things I hate in life, the snobs and the inverted-snobs (‘I didn’t want it anyway crowd).

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Pity, possibly, but hatred is a bit harsh. 🙂

If I could afford a decent bike why the hell would I go near Halfords?

So you don’t believe Boardmans are decent bikes?
Why not?

Care to define, in terms of ride feel, geometry, quality & materials
what you consider to be a ‘decent bike’?
Please then explain how these criteria relate to the name on the downtube.

@Junkyard

Why are you bothering? You might as well just punch yourself in the face for what good it will do.

I don’t have ideology as I’m not a Socialist. I have common sense and admiration for another mans hardwork.

I’m not sure what people are arguing about now, but I’m sure Boardman are delighted that their bikes have caused such a stimulating and vigorous intellectual debate anyway.

Jamie – sorry IGMC – A fair point

I don’t have ideology as I’m not a Socialist

Other flavours of ideology are available.

I have common sense and admiration for another mans hardwork.

I’m beginning to question the common sense bit TBH Hora 😀
Someone with common sense would recognise value and have a nose finely attuned to marketing bullshine.

Anyway, off for a spin in my Aldi cycling kit.
Oh, the shame! Should I wear a full face lid in case someone recognises me?
Perhaps they’d like me more if my jacket was more expensive?
And that’s what’s important, isn’t it? 😀