Boardman MHT8.9 / brand X dropper post

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I've just realised I never actually updated this thread after getting the bike (late Xmas present to myself).
I don't make big purchases lightly, so a lot of thought went into this, including the possibility of building something from a second hand frame, and I just didn't want to wait for enough bargains to make a scratch build affordable, I wanted a 29er for local winter riding.

As stated above, I regret nothing, and couldn't be happier with the bike. I have swapped the front tyre for a different Vittoria, a 'Martello' for more enduro front end grip, and set up both wheels tubeless. I bought a Brand X 170mm dropper, having weighed up my options, and that fits brilliantly too, at it's highest, I can fully extend my legs, at its lowest, it's slammed right down out of my way. Longer droppers are the way forward, and I'm a bit sad my options are limited on my Orange five due to being a 27.2mm seat tube. I'm giving the fizik saddle a fair crack of the whip before moving to a charge spoon, and fitted a new pair of DMR V12 pedals. Other than that, I'm more than happy with Deore brakes (new Deore are damn good anchors) and SLX 1X11 gearing. The Reba fork is plush and effective, and the frame offers a comfortable position on the bike. I'm now sold on 29ers, but I'm glad I waited until thru axles and wider rims became the norm, as the flex that was common in earlier 29" wheel bikes across the board, is non existent on mine. I have no intention of replacing my Orange five for full suss trail duties, but for day-in-the-saddle XC outings, I can strongly recommend the Boardman at that price point.

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Enjoy and good luck, keep us updated with your thoughts. I too had an uninspiring early venture into 29", but my Christmas present to myself 29er is doing wonders to reverse my opinion. I will "keep it forever" (check the for sale ads in the spring LOL).

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davidj":1s2gmkmj said:

I have no doubt the bike is good, but if my life was based around bikes (like it isn't! - but it's not my job) I would definitely be chasing "more desirable" (not necessarily better) brands.

If you plan to keep it long term then no matter. I seem to change my "keeping this forever" bikes pretty much every few months and desirability affects resale price, hard.

I have spent a lifetime in the IT industry, I have no more interest in upgrading computers, perhaps you are the same with bikes.

Click to expand...

I understand you better now, and perhaps I can explain:

Whilst I am a pretty experienced mechanic, and competent rider, I am definitely not a competitive rider, so when speccing a bike, I'm neither a weight weenie, not do I need downhill level toughness.
Where my job does play a part in choosing my bikes and their kit, is in serviceability and durability for their intended purpose. For this reason, I will never spec an avid or SRAM hydraulic disk brake, because they are awful to work on, and they need worked on often. My experience with Shimano brakes has been far more positive, personally and professionally.
As I've said, most of my bikes have been built from the frame up, with a mix of new and second hand parts, and they do get upgrades, or changes quite often, so it's not like I'm sick of the sight of them or anything like that. In this case, I wanted a 29er, explored the options and found that the Boardman was what I wanted from the new bike, and it, added to my other bikes, have given me a sense of cycling nirvana. I now think I have the right bike for every purpose. The Boardman will replace my voodoo Wanga (which I love very much, but it just isn't the right bike for my hardtail niche) as it is just more appropriate.
Finally, resale values scare me a lot, both when buying second hand and new, and I have made some questionable choices surrounding bikes, motorbikes, cars and technology in the past, and I think I've more or less come to terms with it recently. I try my best to buy what I really want, so that I don't end up selling it and making a loss. This doesn't always work, but it's just a fact of life.

Sorry for being defensive before, I hope this goes some way to explaining how (this) mechanic's mind works when choosing a bike.

I've been doing a bit of overdue servicing on my Boardman FS Pro since the new year. I found the Sram Guide brakes easy to put new pads in, with the help of some brake cleaner (from Halford!).
Today I noticed that the main pivot bearings were a little loose so paid £44.95 for a complete bush kit from BETD. I've never had much faith in my local Halford for parts.
After a little play around I'm 99% sure that the main pivot is the same bearing as a lot of Orange bikes like my previous Sub5. I have one, not two spare bearings from that. Had I had both I would have annoyed myself!
I also fitted a new bottom bracket. It's a fairly standard 24mm diameter at each side unlike some FSA BBs which have a 19mm axle.
Hope you're enjoying the 8.9. I'd love a test ride on one, pretending that I might buy one, which I won't.
I'm happy with my little stable ATM.

An overdue update on this, now that the new look forum makes it easier to see one's old threads. I'll need to get some pictures up here too.

Inevitably the spec did not remain unchanged, but I stand by the overall effectiveness of the package from new. Half of the changes I made were due to having hand-me-down parts from other bikes in the stable, and the only things I really wanted to upgrade were the wheels (for lighter ones, as the boardman factory wheels sacrifice weight to be fairly strong yet cheap) and the stem (as many on here will agree, factory finishing kit items always look a bit naff compared to aftermarket branded items. The stem I chose was also from Raceface, an Atlas 50mm, as the contour line graphics match the boardman frame.
I picked up some Raceface AR30 assymetric rims laced on novatec hubs which saved a fair chunk of weight compared to the boardman wheels. The idea was that I could share these wheels between the boardman and the newly procured Orange Stage Five, but the orange is running 10spd and I got bored changing the cassette and moving the wheels over, so the boardman is now back to using the boardman wheels and the Raceface wheels live on the orange. The next goal will be some fancy bling wheels for the orange and return the Raceface wheels to the boardman once more.

Other parts that were floating around were my SLX M675 brakes and 180mm floating rotors front and rear. It seemed overkill to use the SLX brakes on my bike packing hybrid, so I put them on the boardman. The only real difference between the older SLX and the newer deore level brake seems to be the hand-asjustable reach knob instead of the Allen key adjuster on the deores. The power and feel of both brake sets have been excellent, I wouldn't have bothered upgrading if I didn't have the brakes sitting there. The deores have now made their way into my voodoo wanga bikepacker.
I also fitted the same 675 era SLX chainset from my orange (when that received a Hope Tech chainset) to the boardman, doing away with the stock FSA chainset.

The frame, fork and transmission are all original and I've loved the bike for the 2 and a bit years I've had it now. My only complaint would be how easily the paint scratches and chips off the frame, and as it gets more beaten up, I think I will get it chemically stripped, then polish and lacquer it, going for the raw aluminium look, which I tested on my Kona scrap project and was pleased with the results.

As I bought the bike, boxing day 2018.

Running the AR30 wheels, Brand X 170mm dropper, Vittoria Martello tyre up front, and Ortlieb saddle bag (mounted on the saddle rails only, keeping the dropper clear). I know accessorising a bike this heavily isn't everyone's cup of tea, but with this bike I can ride packless in summer with a bottle in the cage, tube, tubeless plugs, CO2 and multitool in the saddle bag. I've also gone for a mudhugger front mudguard and crud race guard on the rear



Close up of the Raceface stem. Night and day quality difference with the factory stem. Apologies for the rusty top cap bolt. It was a stealthy black colour, but not coated as I thought, just oil dipped, so prone to rusting.


The Brand X dropper and trusty Charge Spoon saddle.