Hi,

I currently ride a 2017 Boardman Team 29er hardtail and I’m loving it, however I’ve started doing more offroad (usually the red Kitchener Trail at Sherwood Pines) and I’m finding the hardtail just too uncomfortable for the job, not to mention struggling to put any traction down.

I’ve got ~£1000 to spend on an FS, and I’d initially rounded it down to the following (prices take into account BC and work reward scheme discounts I can get). Any thoughts on whether the Bossnut v2 is worth the extra £204 over the Team FS, and whether the Pro FS is worth the extra £276 over the Bossnut / £480 over the Team FS?

Boardman Team FS – £720
Calibre Bossnut V2 – £924
Boardman Pro FS – £1200

One thing that the Pro FS has that the other two doesn’t is a 1x groupset which really, really appeals (my 29er has an SRAM GX 1×11 and I love it). Not sure if that should be a concern / focus or not??

Also happy to consider other options around the same price range, but really looking to keep it down to 3 figures as opposed to going the other way!!

Mark

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=165499&productId=1378411&storeId=10001

New Voodoo Zobop looks good if you take into account the BC discount. Think I’d have that over the bossnut.

Similar thread last week:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/looking-for-some-advice-on-a-new-mtb#post-8849830

Have you had a go on a full sus. Will it make that much of a difference? £1000 of upgrades to your existing bike would bring about some great upgrades, wheels, tyres, forks, carbon bars, carbon post or dropper? etc.

First thing I’d do is spend some time on a 27+ bike, I found them a revelation once I’d got the tyre pressure right, the guy I ride with borrowed it for a few rides and ended up trading his Giant full sus for one. I’m running 13 psi front & 14 rear on 2.8 Nobby Nic’s through the winter, 3.0’s in the summer but haven’t decided which ones for next year yet.

Ignore the “don’t buy a full sus” brigade. They’re bonkers. Full sus are more comfortable, simple as.

I’d be looking at a lightly used Giant Anthem, Whyte t129/130, specialized camber, etc etc.

Loads about and within price

I picked up a 2014 FS Pro about a year ago – ex display for less than £1k.

The suspension is great on the really rough stuff, and it still climbs as well as my old skool rigid bike – it’s no slower on the flat either.

Sounds like your getting it on a cycle to work type scheme, so has to be new and from somewhere like Halfords?

You’d likely be happy with any of the above so I’d just go for the one that fits you best and you like the look of.

Always going to get the ‘but a better hard tail’ type comments, but having built up a 27.5+ Dartmoor Primal plus HT, I think the full suss is a better bet if you feel you need it.

I love the Dartmoor and in many ways it is much better than the regular full suspension but if the simple reason for wanting a FS is that you get bounced about too much – you won’t enjoy the 27.5+ around Sherwood.

Mine feels great round there until I get tired and then every bump annoys me. With the FS they just get absorbed.

blokie – Member
Hi,

I currently ride a 2017 Boardman Team 29er hardtail and I’m loving it, however I’ve started doing more offroad (usually the red Kitchener Trail at Sherwood Pines) and I’m finding the hardtail just too uncomfortable for the job, not to mention struggling to put any traction down.

Just had a quick watch of a video of that trail and it doesn’t look especially challenging, easily ridable on a hardtail.

That is however, provided you have the required fitness to be able to stand up for the full 8 miles or so of the trail.

If you’re anything like me (coming back to MTB after about 15 years, and not done any cycling in about 5-6 years) your fitness will be the main reason you want a FS bike, as your legs will be getting tired and you won’t have the energy/strength to stand up all the time and then you’re hitting roots/rocks etc whilst sat down which is sending all those hits and bumps straight through your body, which in turn is making you tire quicker. This is exactly what happened to me the last couple of times out, after 6-7 miles I was struggling.

No amount of carbon bars or other upgrades will help this, there’s 2 options:

Buy a FS bike which will be loads more comfortable when you’re tired and your legs need a rest.

Or, get fitter! but you can only get fitter by riding more, and you’d need to put up with the uncomfortable rides before the better fitness appears.

Out of interest, how much do 2.6″ tyres help on a hardtail?

The other thread mentioned above gives the merits of both the Bossnut and the team fs – not much in it between then.

The Zobop mentioned above doesn’t look especially good value / any better than the Bossnut and team fs.

The pro FS is probably a good step up though. Mostly the fork as it has a 140mm Rockshox pike- significantly better than all the other bikes mentioned. Also the Sram guide brakes are comfortably better than all the other bikes and the 1×11 GX is good for the price.

The frame is broadly similar to the team fs I think – but with a bolt through rear end for more stiffness in the frame.

I read somewhere the head angle quoted by Boardman / Halfords is incorrectly stated and it’s meant to be 67.5 degrees – in which case that’s probably perfect for what you’re riding and comfortably more difficult stuff.

Does it have to be from certain retailers? As an extra couple of hundred quid at this price level gets you a lot more bike, especially if you can get last years model bikes with 20-40% off as well as the BC discount.

If not, the extra on the Pro FS is definitely worth it, the forks alone are worth the £200 over the bossnut.

Own the Bossnut V2 size L.
Excellent bike for trail riding.

Pre-assembly from Calibre was very poor. But right now the bike is in excellent shape.

Long term quality I don’t know.
Fun factor – if you are able to do your bike service by yourself – very, very high!

Thanks for the advice guys. I dropped my pressures to 30R and 28F on Saturday and it was marginally better, but not much. I only had them at around 35 previously. I’ve also had a Selle Royal Respiro saddle on there since day one, so it shouldn’t be related to that either.

General fitness is pretty good (happily do 30+ miles of towpaths on the hybrid) plus run 7 or 8 miles a couple of times per week.

I’ve also taken the advice in terms of skills / technique and booked onto a skills course, so I’ll see if that makes a difference prior to buying an FS.

I’m finding the hardtail just too uncomfortable for the job, not to mention struggling to put any traction down

That’s a matter of skill.

The pro FS is probably a good step up though. Mostly the fork as it has a 140mm Rockshox pike- significantly better than all the other bikes mentioned. Also the Sram guide brakes are comfortably better than all the other bikes and the 1×11 GX is good for the price.

To be completely honest, go and look at Chainreaction for a Pike, GX groupset and pair of Guides. Even assuming that’s the ‘old’ Pike that everyone has been raving over for the last few years not the new 2018 model, you’ve got around £1000 just in those items. If the ProFS is £1200, then you’re getting the rest of the bike for about £200. Obviously Mr Boardman isn’t paying RRP for his parts and SRAM are famous for OE discounts but even so, it’s a helluva spec for the price.

Personally, I’m in the hardtail corner but it’s not the right choice for everyone every time, and it’s definitely not the right advice for someone that’s set their heart on a FS. No point buying a bike if it doesn’t make you happy, you won’t ride it. 😀