OT - Why hate Boardman bikes?

South Bound

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BinLaw looking to buy something modern and finding it hard to ignore the value of the Boardman range in comparison to some others. I can advise fairly knowingly about the spec, but never having ridden one struggle with recommending them above certain others he is looking at.

Trouble is, lots of his mates have (IMO) over-priced Speshes etc and are putting him off the idea of buying a Boardman.

Now, I totally get that Halfords has a variable reputation, so understand nervousness about buying from there, but as a fairly competant bike fiddler I am confident that I could set the bike up properly.

Does anyone have any horror stories about the brand from first hand experience?

(flip side is he should just buy the Rocky Mountain reduced £700 on CRC!)
 
if i was him id keep a load of £20s in my wallet to the sum of the money saved from not going for the brand marketing . when the noses rise get them out and slap them across the faces with a bunch of them :LOL:

didnt someone work out last time that the parts alone total the cost of the boardman so you end up with a free frame essentially ?

if he really wanted to twist the nipples hard how about putting the saved money to paying for a fitness coach . do some secret training then decimate the fat wallet riders with fitness and skill
 
After buying the Epic last year (first new purchased bike in 10+ years) I can confirm they are overpriced. I was quite shocked that the best part of £1800 still left me with deore cranks and rear hub.

Ofcourse its even more pricey this year with the relative price hike in shimano goods.

That said, overall I am happy with the bike (although I did have the chainset swapped out for an XT one before I collected the bike). Meant to get the hub swapped at the same time but forgot to order it, and its still running smooth (supprised me a little too) after a years worth of mud and abuse.
 
I think Boardman bikes are frowned upon because they're sold by Halfords and they sound like a cash-in. If they were called 'Bordmani' and sold in high-end shops they'd sell for twice the price.
 
I'd think they were OK were it not for the fact that most that come through our workshop need secondary PDIs, need parts changing or are advised to be returned to point of sale to get it right the first time.
 
i actually think the boardman bikes do represent good value for money, i just hate that he had to do it in conjunction with halfords to bring out a brand.

if he could have done with out halfords financial backing i think the brand wouldn't have the halfords stigma and would grow to be a brand with a huge amount of respect.
 
Couldn't bring myself to buy one recently, it wasn't the brand or the fact it was Halfords, it was just the fact I couldn't choose SRAM over Shimano. My Kona Kula had £110 off it so to me it represented as good value at £790 as the Boardman did, also as it is an 08 bike when the final value on the Cycle to work scheme comes it it will be worth less than an 09.
If he is anywhere near Hereford Halfords there do have 2 08 Kulas left and he may be able to get more discount now than I did.

Carl.
 
I saw the Boardman range in halfords the other day - blimey, they're good value!!! If you want it buy it, tell your Specialized owner friends that they're sheep (I f*cking hate modern specialized bikes and how Specialized seem to have franchised out seemingly every bike shop in the uk but that's another story) and then ride past them whistling a merry tune......There's no better way to sh*t on a bike snob than beating them.... :D :D :D
 
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