Boardman spares – not available

Hi all

First post on here.

I have a 2009 Boardman FS Comp. Had a couple of problems with the lower pivot bolt on the suspension arm ( exactly as described here : http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/boardman-fs-bits-fallen-off-damn-now-i-have-to-call-halfords ) working loose. Incidentally, if it works WAY loose it jams the chainring which is not fun if you’re devoid of talent and going at maximum chicken at the time. Anyway, I took off the chainring and crank and applied threadlocker to the thing, but in my determination to ensure it didn’t work loose again, I snapped the head off the bolt. Note to self, get a torgue wrench.

So, went into Halford and they told me it’s extremely unlikely they will be able to get hold of the part. For a 3 year old bike ! I have a forty year old motorcycle in the shed that I can get parts for.

Is my only option to have the bolt machined ? Do Halford ( and Boardman ) really not hold parts for their ‘legacy’ MTBs or is there a known back door route to getting hold of parts ?

Sorry for the essay. I could have written ‘I need this part’, but I needed to vent.

Thanks in advance.

It doesn’t surprise me that Halfords don’t support ‘older’ models (i’ve got a 2009 MY Boardman, so know where you are coming from) it might be worth scouring ebay to see if some enterprising sort has started making what you need..?

Phone another Halfords?

I’d wait and see what Boardman say rather than just going by what the bloke in Halfords reckons.

I’d wait and see what Boardman say rather than just going by what the bloke in Halfords reckons.

Arnt they the same thing? I thought Halford’s own factories made Boardman. Hence why alot of the parts are the same as Apollo and Carrera.

I believe it’s an independent company that has an exclusive distribution deal.

But my point was more that sometimes shop staff are not as well informed as they could be about the products they sell.

I can’t imagine for a second that Boardman (or Halfords) are machining their own bolts, they’ll be off the shelf items. I agree, it’s bad that a major distribution co like Halfords can’t have the foresight to hold a stock of spares of this sort, but I’d suggest once you work out what it is you need, you’ll be able to track down a source relatively easily.

In fact, can you work out what bolt it is; I’ve got a great local bolt shop and would be happy to ask them if they stock something suitable.

Isnt there a legal requirement to support products for a certain period of time. Not talking about warranty just available spares etc.

My advice- pause your rant til they’ve actually tried to find one for you.

mjsmke – Member

Arnt they the same thing? I thought Halford’s own factories made Boardman. Hence why alot of the parts are the same as Apollo and Carrera.

Go on, which parts are the same as Apollo? Which parts other than typical OEM bits are the same as Carrera?

Which parts other than typical OEM bits are the same as Carrera?

according to a thread on here yesterday, certain Carrera, Boardman and Kona models share deraillieur hangers.

Any small, local engineering shop would make you up a replacement. It won’t be cheap to get a one-off made mind, but if it’s you only option then it’s probably worth it.

tthew – Member

according to a thread on here yesterday, certain Carrera, Boardman and Kona models share deraillieur hangers.

That’s pretty much the definition of “typical OEM bits” don’tchathink? 😉 Same hanger fitted my On One, and tons of Specializeds, some Marins…

Go on, which parts are the same as Apollo? Which parts other than typical OEM bits are the same as Carrera?

Mech hangers and saddles are the most obvious. They are made in the same factory. I use to work in halfords so i should know.

I wouldnt be surprised if the part the OP needs are the same as Kona. You could try Betd’s website.

The saddles on Apollos are the same as Boardmans? (answer- no)

If you struggle try Goldtec/BETD. They are pretty good at sorting this sort of thing. Sorted me a pivot bolt for an Intense Spider years ago.

The saddles on Apollos are the same as Boardmans? (answer- no)

Well done, though i didnt say boardman saddles were the same as apollo. I said saddles and hangers are the same…. Saddles from carreras and hangers from both apollo and carrera. Sorry if i didnt specify every parts origin.

The point is though, if the OP looks at other bike from halfords he may find the required part. Specificly kona and carrera full sus bikes.

mjsmke – Member

The point is though, if the OP looks at EVERY other bike from EVERY OTHER RETAILER halfords he may find the required part. FTFY

Although I’m not quite sure what you are after, Stig Fasteners will probably have what you need – although it may need a bit of searching for the particular type of bolt you need, and assuming you know the dimensions.

TBH 95% of bike parts are standard bits (*cough* specialized) you can get in any decent hardware store.

Good point druidh.

Thanks for the responses all. I didn’t mean to start another Halfords bitch fest. It’s a great bike, and the breakage is my fault. I just did NOT expect the reaction at Halfords to be ‘meh’ with a shoulder shrug.

I have a motorcycle frame in with a machine shop at the minute, so I might ask him if he can knock one up. I may get him to knock up 10 and flog then on the bay. It’s not a standard bolt though, it’s like an axle with a large washer on one end and an alun head bolt in one end to keep hold the whole suspension sub frame on.

I’ll wait to see if Halfords come good, but he wasn’t optimistic. I’ll check with BETD as well. Then either get one machined or look to see if someone is breaking for spares.

Surely there’s a secondary market for Halfords here though….

what does the bolt look like?

sizes and dimensions would also help

I do think you need to contact Boardman bikes directly.

Partly to solve the problem, partly so we know if they aren’t supporting older models

From Boardmans site:

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/boardman/boardman_contact.html

Customer Service: UK & Eire

Performance Series: Thank you for your interest in Boardman Bikes. If you have any general questions with regards to the range, please ask a trained member of staff in one of the Boardman stores for assistance. If your question relates to your new Boardman purchase, please contact the store where you purchased the product(s) from – contact details can be found on halfords.com.
If you would like to speak to a Boardman customer service team member, please email them at: customer.services@halfords.co.uk or call: 08450 579 000. Please include ‘Boardman Bikes’ in the subject title bar – it will ensure a priority response.

Elite Series: Please contact the IBD you purchased your Boardman Elite Series bike from.

Funny how they have a Halfords email address….

find a merida agent… they make them!

Thanks for the contact number.

Called customer services, who advised me to go into a local Halfords. When I pressed her that doing that wouldn’t progress my problem any further, and asked whether they can supply parts for older bikes, she took my number and promised a phone call from their ‘bike guru’.

So, we’ll see.

Photos of the bolt on the way.

Bike guru?

Maybe you’ll get a call from the man himself??

😀

It’s a bolt, they are quite common. Try a proper hardware store or google the Size/Specs.

It only becomes special when you put it in the bike not before

It’s not really a bolt. I’m no engineer, but it’s not a bolt.

The third shot show where I’ve sheared the head of the alun headed bolt that screws into the ‘axle’.

Also just called Merida who denied any involvement with Boardman and certainly don’t provide parts for them.

It might be possible to have the remainder of that allen bolt removed.

My Giant pivot axle/bolts look very like that.

flamesnm – Member
… promised a phone call from their ‘bike guru’.

Isn’t that just someone who posts on here under their own name anyway?

Another recommendation for BETD here if you have no luck with Boardman.
They made up a main pivot axle for my Coyote DH3, I kept bending the stock one. Not cheap but it out lasted the frame 😐
They basically made a steel axle drilled & tapped with an appropriate sized cap screw & washer to hold everything together.

Its a shoulder bolt,there are hundreds on e bay,just measure it and get the correct one.Simples

It does look like a shoulder bolt, but the end with the screw sticking out actually screws into the ‘shoulder’. Imagine another bolt head where the exposed screw is that rotates to separate the two pieces.

I’ll give BETD a try.

No call from either the Halford store guy, or the customer service guru. 😕

Had a look at the Giant pivot bolts, and they appear to be tapered where the Boardman one is dead straight.

Just called the customer service team again. They’ve given me a part number and told me to order it in store. When I told them I already had the part number and it was the store that told me they couldn’t get hold of it, they told me to try again.

So, I’m going to try a different Halfords.

if you are still stuck i will make you a new one, email in profile

Not all Giant bolts are tapered. IIRC the ones on my 2006 Reign weren’t.

Look in and around HERE.

Hello,

Firstly, allow me to introduce myself; I control all of the spares for cycles exclusively available from Halfords. I’m sorry for the late reply as I had some issues with setting up an account with Singletrack, an issue that they very quickly rectified.

I am sorry that you have had an issue with the 2009 Boardman FS, however we do stock the spares for you and as a result should be able to rectify this issue very quickly.

Flanesnm – Would you please PM your contact details so that I can speak to you directly and arrange the parts to be sent to any store of your choice.

Again, I am sorry for any inconvenience that may have been caused by stores or customer services but I’ll endeavour to get the spares to you ASAP.

Kind Regards

Halfords Technical Support