Genuine opinion on Boardman bikes

I have this one, bought second-hand as my first road bike:

https://road.cc/content/review/87462-boardman-road-sport

It's great, no complaints at all.

No further experience with them personally but I've always thought they are good, both road and mtb. Don't write them off simply because they're Halfords.

I've had a carbon roadie and an aluminum gravel bike from them.

Both were well made, rode great and punched well above their price tag.

The wheels are usually the bit that's obviously made to a price point, but that said they will still be serviceable and decent enough.

I think the road bikes and gravel/adventure road bikes are great and I'd have one without even considering the Halfords thing, spec is usually fantastic.

MTB's are usually well spec'd but I just couldn't ride one myself, they are seriously ugly! I know....

Edit: actually I've just checked out their new mtb range and they look decent, but not as good value as they once were it seems.

I had a CX Pro for several years. It was a good bike.

An ad popped up in my YouTube feed today, Dave Arthur I think it was who was reviewing the new Boardman SLR. Looks really good, great value and very good spec….

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-slr-9.6-carbon-uletgra-di2-road-bike-2025---xs-s-m-l-xl-frames-269835.html

Thanks, I'm looking at the ADV 8.9 the price seems good for the spec. it's a little more than my budget but the BL discount will help soften the blow.

I'm looking at the ADV 8.9

That's the one I had, well the original QR model.

Great frame, very good parts spec and the wheels seem to have been updated to a wider internal width now. 

38mm tyres perhaps a little skinny, but depends what you're doing with it. I'm on 45mm now but ride 80% off road.

Posted by: chakaping

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I'm looking at the ADV 8.9

That's the one I had, well the original QR model.

Great frame, very good parts spec and the wheels seem to have been updated to a wider internal width now. 

38mm tyres perhaps a little skinny, but depends what you're doing with it. I'm on 45mm now but ride 80% off road.

Thanks I ride on dartmoor mainly on roads but as the weather improves gravel trails aswell I'm currently very heavy but working on that but hoping by summer to be riding longer distances.

Just said the same in the camino thread; I'm happy with my ADV 8.9 except for the rear wheel engagement - bit jarring when you restart pedalling. Not had it long enough to comment on longevity.

Mate of mine had one years ago and it was really well built and finished. I'd have got one of those early 8.9 bargains back in 2020ish if they hadn't run out of stock before my c2w month came up.

They've made some very nice looking bikes and some horrible ones. Providing it was a nice year I'd have no problem buying a Boardman.

I had a Team Hybrid a few years ago, really good bike. Boardman certainly aren't worse quality than the next brand of bike using Far East frames, which is basically all of them 

I had one of the 1st gen road bike as my first roadbike back in 2009, it was great. Halfords aren't great but they're everywhere and are generally good with warranty issues. 

I've had a couple of voodoo's too which have been good value and I'm looking at another boardman or voodoo as my next road bike. 

MTBs have always been a little bit behind the curve, and are very hardcode but great for general use. Road bikes are bob on.

Boardman certainly aren't worse quality than the next brand of bike using Far East frames, which is basically all of them 

They used to have their own R&D center complete with wind tunnel, they might have been cheap but they weren't just re-badging open mold frames.

The new SLR looks ace, all the latest design developments, with some real world compromises in tyre clearance and geometry.  If I'd not just bought a Colibri Ti then it might have been a contender.

Also got an ADV 8.9 I got it 2nd hand for about £600 which was a result!. It was pretty much unused and sold by a Halfords employee (expect they got it dirt cheap). I'm really happy with it, although agree re wider tyres - wished I'd changed before setting up as tubeless. But as an all purpose bike it's great.

Wife has a previous gen slr which is great, transformed her road riding compared with the specialized allez she had before. Four years in and no issues.

she started mountain biking on one of the old black and orange full sussers a decade ago. The bike is sold now, but still being ridden so no issues with longevity! (She found the much more expensive vitus she replaced it with rode much worse!)

I,m still riding my 2008 Carrera Banshee X.Still going strong with many original parts on it.

I've had various boardmans over the years. Currently have an ADV8.9, with upgraded wheels, it's cracking, my most used bike. But as it was good value I don't mind it getting a little beaten up.

Also got an URB8.9 belt drive, hub gear commuter, I wish the ride was a bit less harsh but it's great for a low maintenance hack/commuter.

No complaints here, I've always kept an eye out for deals on their higher end offerings too.

Thanks folks all sounds positive I'll probably get one then when I hit my next weight target.

I'm very happy with mine, we've been together a while now.  Was an absolute bargain.

My main bike is built on a 2014 TK Pro track frame.  Very nicely finished frame with 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 full carbon fork which is pretty good for 2014.  I think it was a very different company back then though. 

Don't forget that Halfords bought the Boardman brand in 2015 so bikes pre that date my be different quality.

Never owned one, but thought about it a few times over the last ~8 years. Look nice and no complaints from owners I've spoken to.

I have a "Boardman 29 Pro" or something, 2017(i think) model that I got second hand a couple years ago.

I spent a bit of money on replacing some parts to make it more fast/xc-ish, and resprayed it as I am not a fan of lime green. But it came stock with Reba forks, SRAM GX and is seriously light, capable and fast. It feels very similar to the hardtail chisel, and weighs about 11.5Kg. I absolutely adore mine. RRP was £1000 back in the day, I got the whole bike for £280 I think and spent a couple extra hundo on tyres, dropper and a couple other parts. Absolute steal...feels very racy.

This is my bike here as it stands now

Chris Boardman had actual input to the frames, it's not just a name thing. Think it was road cycling slagged a frame as too relaxed and not something a proper roadie would ride. Chris replied saying that at the end of a grand tour it was exactly the thing a roadie would ride.

Excellent value for money, just be careful on the mechanic that built it.

It's early days, and I've only had a couple of rides so far, but I have one of the 2025 ADV 8.9s. Got it to get fit after some time out for surgery.

Really liking it. Quick, everything works great. I didn't bother getting Halfords to build it, took it all apart and built it up. They come with 40mm tyres now, as the trails dry out and I take it more offroad I'll try some 45s.

Was thinking about this last night; the (tiny) bit of snob in me would hesitate initially, possibly to a point of not looking at them to begin with when selecting a new bike, but that SLR above is a very, very good looking bike at a very, very good price (same for the ADV) 

Ultimately, if it gets you out riding and you enjoy it, then that's all that matters.

I have a "Boardman 29 Pro" or something, 2017(i think) model that I got second hand a couple years ago.

I spent a bit of money on replacing some parts to make it more fast/xc-ish, and resprayed it as I am not a fan of lime green. But it came stock with Reba forks, SRAM GX and is seriously light, capable and fast. It feels very similar to the hardtail chisel, and weighs about 11.5Kg. I absolutely adore mine. RRP was £1000 back in the day, I got the whole bike for £280 I think and spent a couple extra hundo on tyres, dropper and a couple other parts. Absolute steal...feels very racy.

I had one of those, and I occasionally think about buying another for doing the odd XC race and bikepacking.

At this price point there are a few variables

geometry

build

retailer back up

The first 2 are easy enough to spot from a website. The bottom one is more complicated. 

But I don't think build quality is a variable. All those aluminum frames are coming the same factories. I think Brant said he went to factory that were building bikes for On One. He saw treks coming off the same production lines

Chris Boardman had actual input to the frames, it's not just a name thing. Think it was road cycling slagged a frame as too relaxed and not something a proper roadie would ride. Chris replied saying that at the end of a grand tour it was exactly the thing a roadie would ride.

I remember his reply in the comments going viral. And he was right, their road bikes are nice and stable but still with quick enough handling.

If anyone's after a barely used medium Endurance SLR with Ultegra, discs and carbon wheels - give me a shout.

Posted by: Jamze

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It's early days, and I've only had a couple of rides so far, but I have one of the 2025 ADV 8.9s. Got it to get fit after some time out for surgery.

Really liking it. Quick, everything works great. I didn't bother getting Halfords to build it, took it all apart and built it up. They come with 40mm tyres now, as the trails dry out and I take it more offroad I'll try some 45s.

Like that.

Funnily enough I have considered one...

It's not every day you can get something "personalised" for free. 😆 

Had a Boardman FS Pro for 9 years (silver and green). It's been great, SRAM X9 and Guide RS brakes. No issues, easy to service and change bearings. Only cost me £1,000 in a sale.