Assembling 2014 Boardman CX – really poor finishing from factory. Take it back?

Hi,

Was putting my bike together and noticed the head tube has not been smoothed after lathing and has a minor chip near the headset under the lacquer.

Rear triangle has not been cut out properly and rear disc is not flat.

Tempted to take it back for a refund or an exchange.

What would you do? I did get the Team £450. And it’ll get damaged CX.

Guess I’m expecting a mint bike. I won’t be buying another Boardman.

Take it back. You purchased a mint item not a bit of unfinished tat.
Take it back and you may get a apology gift

I reckon this thread needs pictures for the STW massive to decide.
It could be mass bombers at Halfords or a prescription of Growaset for you, depending on the photographic evidence 😀
Ultimately, it’s your new bike and if it has genuine faults then now is the best time to get them put right.
I wouldn’t let it put me off the whole Boardman brand though.

“Minor chip”. Unimportant. It’s alloy and you’re unlikely to ever try to sell the frame.

“Rear triangle has not been cut out properly”. A bit ambiguous – more info needed. Is it actually forcing the rear wheel to run off angle?

“Rear disc not flat”. I’d be back to the shop if I had a bent disc from new.

Sub-£500 bike: not cheap but you’d expect it to be ready to ride. Yes take it back.

Take it back if it’s such that it will pee you off from day one.
Would be different if they sold it to you cheap because it had the damage but even though it was reduced that was to clear old stock so not relevant to the condition.

I’ll take some pictures this evening and post back.

Maybe I’m being too picky.

It was sold as a new item – I just used work vouchers and BCycling discounts to get the price down.

I’ve read elsewhere about Q.C. issues. Have not ridden yet as I was about to fit BB7’s.

This is my 3rd CX as the first one had damaged fork drop outs from being dropped in the warehouse and the second one had a dent.

I unboxed this to check in store but didn’t see the tiny things I’ve noticed.

Also found the Apex adjuster in the lever keeps on turning rather than getting tight.

I’m taking it back for another exchange or a refund. Maybe the universe is telling me no…

They will be be fine with it going back, just be polite and don’t go in all guns blazing.

Do any of the issues affect the functionality of the bike.?

Be aware that as it’s the 2014 model they may well be down to the last few in the system so a direct replacement maybe impossible depending on the stock levels.

This ^^^

I took it back, it had too many things ‘wrong’ for me as a new bike.

They couldn’t guarantee me a replacement item from another store would be OK as they were display models.

Halfords have ordered me the new 2016 model (I’ll pay up the difference).

I am grateful they refunded me and were really good (customer service) about it.

So what happend with the bike?

As it is new (never used), I assume they will fix it or just put it on display for the price they being sold for.
Besides it was put together by myself with love and affection lol.

I could have taken the older display model and you could see the huge difference on the finish on the head tube.

I was unlucky I guess, but giving them another chance.

My local store has some really good customer advisors offering great service.

Jeebus OP don’t go buying a Planet X or your head might explode…

Bent discs, headset not seated due to oval head tube, shifters can’t be adjusted as the screws in the levers have thread to turn against and the shop guy said my front dropouts were bent which is why I could centre the wheel.

If you like buying trousers and tat with holes, then be my guest and buy the bike for £900 rrp.

Last bike brand I bought was a Cannondale, spot on finishing and worked like a dream.

My Boardman Team carbon road was also spot on.

I think the OP is right. A little scuff or two, or a frayed cable or poor adjustment somewhere, meh. Just get over it and ride. The amount of daft issues he had? Why not take it back and get one that is correct.

Any issue when buying something new would mean it going back. A little scuff maybe I could live with if they couldn’t replace it and were willing to reduce the price a little, a frayed cable they could just swap out for a new one.
You’d like to think that if they had built the bike, they’d have noticed and would’ve taken care of it.

To be fair on them and slap my wrist, I bought the bike boxed.

The first one had bent drop outs as the box was totalled during transit.

The second one was missing parts.

The 3rd one is what you’ve read.

The display one was perfect and I could have taken that but I want to assemble it – not that I don’t trust their mechanics.

The issue list seems to keep getting longer with each post, seems like the OP was was written looking for a bit of comeback, like you were being a fuss pot…

slowly it emerges that a bit of de-buring, wonky rotor and minor paint imperfections are actually at the bottom of a shitlist including an oval headtube, bent forks and two abortive purchases of the same bike?

This would be one of those narrative complaints then?

3.6/10

The display one was perfect and I could have taken that but I want to assemble it – not that I don’t trust their mechanics.

So take home, take it apart then put it back together again.