[Closed] Head V's Heart

Yes

Nope, perfectly acceptable thought pattern.

Completely wrong

Dreadful snobbery.

I had a Boardman hard tail a few years ago. Did the WHW on it, indeed that's why I bought it.

The spec was excellent and the bike was light, for no alot of money relatively speaking in the bike world.

Just get it bought, but have it sent to store boxed and build yourself.☺️

i was in a similar boat. Wanted a Norco Optic after it got PB bike of the year. didnt want to have to use Evans.

I swallowed my pride and bought it. Love it.

But that was more shop dislike than brand dislike.

I personally wouldnt ride a bike i didnt love, be it the brand, colour, whatever. With bikes or anything i am passionate about, i try and buy with my head, but usually ends with buying with my heart!

Your heart is smarter.

I think you need to get over yourself.

If the boardman has decent geometry / frame design and materially better components than other posher brands at the price then I’d buy it. I don’t have a Boardman at the moment but I’ve had one of their road bikes and one of their mountain bikes and both have been great.

If the spec is only marginally better on the Boardman then fair enough, get the posher brand of it makes you feel better.

What I wouldnt do is buy a frame with a nicer brand written on it if it meant I got a noodly fork with poor damping when the Boardman has a stiffer fork with decent damping for example. At the lower end of things a lot of brands like trek /
Cannondale / Specialized are serving up a skinny stanchioned RS Judy (or worse) with a coil spring vs the likes of Vitus who are getting you a 32mm stanchion fork with an air spring for example.

Buy the Boardman, decorate it to look like a Ferrari. Ladies will be begging you to make babies with them.

I was the same until I worked halfords hq and got to know the bike designers and met Boardman a few times, now they’d be my go to in that price range for whatever bike I was looking at

I've recently been through this. With the price of the bike/spec I want being from £3k-£5k aka Boardman through Cervelo, I couldn't bring myself to spend that amount of money on something I don't feel emotional about.

Hence, I'm sticking with my current bike for now.

[checks out bike]
Looks decent. Buy it.
Or what's your alternative list of similar hardtails with 120mm forks? Vitus maybe?

My road/gravel bike is a Boardman. I've covered all the logos with black electrical tape...

I know right? Who'd want to be riding a bike with someone's name one it? Someone like BOARDMAN??

The yobs and yoofs will be shouting "who does he think he is? he's not Chris Boardman! Olympian, GOAT, Tour de France hero, cycling ambassador and advocate? He's not Chris Boardman! Shame! SHAAME!"

Why do you look down your nose at Halfords and Boardman? Because Halfords used to only do shit bikes. Well, that's changed. So change your opinion.

I've a few Boardman bikes, hardtail and a couple of road bikes. Can't go wrong with them. Very good value for money, which when on a budget is more important than the brand name. Plus they probably come out of the same far east factory as many other makes of bike that you may consider.

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I don't really get the hatred that many on here have towards Halfords. Ok I would never trust them to build or repair my bike. They don't always have the greatest selection of top end bikes, parts and accessories. But they are not bad priced especially if you have British Cycling membership as you get 10% off. Usually do price match and are convenient in most parts of the country with good opening hours.

I drive a Vauxhall.

The Boardman is too good for you. Get an Apollo. That'll learn you.

alterative? A bit more trail?

I've seen a few and was impressed with the value and quality - the frames are light and well made.

I bought a 2014 model Boardman FS Pro in 2015 as part of my return to cycling after breaking my back.

It's been fantastic for the money, and better equipped than many 'big names' costing 2-3x as much.

I got it for less than £1k as it had a scratch on it. Can't fault it TBH. Frame bearings are readily available (changed just once last year) and even the formula hubs have been excellent - dead easy to change bearings (again just changed once) in the rear hub.

Go get a Vauxhall Monaro.

The Vitus options look way better - better geometry (subjective obviously), no putty covered welds like Boardmans - no SX and Judys, but more sensible real world spec choices.

Apart from perhaps commuting, very few of us actually need our bikes. They're not tools to do a job, they're toys. So, whatever you think of Boardman bikes / Halfords, if you don't want the bike don't buy it!

https://alpkit.com/products/sonder-frontier-nx-eagle This is similar spec isn't it? I haven't looked closely. OOS now but 15th March isn't that far off.

I went with a Boardman road bike because it was the only option worth having from employer's cycle to work scheme.

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Heart knew that it wasn't the bike I really wanted.

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A few years later... I love it and am emotionally attached.

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I ride with pride - logo polished - in the knowledge that it's a better bike than stuff at twice the price. It's a sort of inverted snobbery. I like the idea of knowing better and how those that may look down their noses are truly ignorant. That gives me a lot of joy. And most true bike lovers will appreciate your choice.

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Was working on a friend's old Boardman hardtail not long ago and that too was surprisingly pleasurable. There are some great touches on the bike that many exotic brands just don't have. Not stuff that stands out, just small things that help create a bond that you don't immediately feel in Halfords next to the spoilers and steering wheel covers.

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Go with the Boardman. You'll learn to love it!

Ive got a Boardman gravel bike

I feel dirty when i ride it, even at night when no one can see me i still think what if someone spot me on it!

In the garage its shunned by my Colnago road bikes and Specialized emtb

Its my dirty little secret that was an ebay bargain and its my go to bad weather bike

Nothing wrong with being a brand snob but its nice to slum it now and again!

If Netto sold good bikes at decent prices, I'd buy one. 🙂

You need to love your bike.
Heart wins.

I had a Boardman FS Pro, great bike with top quality Sram components - in fact my son is still running it now.
I did go down the take it home boxed and assemble yourself route.

However I have had 9 Vauxhall's so maybe take that into account..............

You need to love your bike.
Heart wins.

I'd agree with this. I bought a cube cx bike years ago, did my first cx races on it, 3peaks, gravel before gravel, commuted etc. But I still couldn't love it. I realise not everyone needs this connection but I can look back on bikes I used to own with fondness. Not as important as the doing but still important to me.

I feel dirty when i ride it, even at night when no one can see me i still think what if someone spot me on it!

In the garage its shunned by my Colnago road bikes and Specialized emtb

Its my dirty little secret that was an ebay bargain and its my go to bad weather bike

I’d feel dirtier riding the ebike tbh 🤷‍♂️

The power of brand... esp when so many bike brands share production facilities, frame suppliers etc. I tend to think of it in terms of how much the people behind the bikes/brand GAS about the product and my experience with it. That's what a brand does vs a label on a product - maintain a reputation for good things or values, if you're just shifting boxes for profit I'm not interested. Might be ok for washing powder but for products like this it's very different. And it's interesting how many people only see the retailer in these own brands, or how much the retailer influences what the brand can be (can go both ways too).

The power of brand…

When I worked in the food industry I went for an interview in the only marzipan factory in the country. (A long time ago - may have been called Renshaws, in Liverpool?) The bloke who showed me around told me how one of the glossy Sunday supplements had just done a test on marzipan from different shops, and someone like M&S or Waitrose won it decisively. This factory supplied all the marzipan to all of the shops with exactly the same recipe.

At the time I worked on butter and cheese, and butter was the same. Consumer tests would always show that people thought the more expensive butter tasted better despite the fact that it was exactly the same as the cheaper alternative.

Obviously, butter and marzipan don't have geometry and components to consider, so this comparison is limited to the effect of brand, packaging and price..

To be honest having boardman written on it makes it only slight less desirable than having Carrera written on it near me. The local "wheelie" kids absolutely love them, especially 29ers 3 sizes too big for them. This also makes them very popular with thieves unfortunately.

this comparison is limited to the effect of brand, packaging and price..

'Expectancy Theory'. Of two identical bikes, one painted up as a Cervelo and one a Boardman, the mock-up Cervelo would almost certainly be reported as the fastest by more testers.

I snapped a gear cable so yesterday popped into my local Halfords for a replacement. They only had some expensive ones in which I didn't want, so they gave me a standard one free!

They only had some expensive ones in which I didn’t want, so they gave me a standard one free!

EH?

If you're not making your decision based on geometry, components and price then you're a marketing departments dream!
You could look at it another way - Boardman's actually improving Halford's reputation by allowing them to stock good bikes.

To be honest having boardman written on it makes it only slight less desirable than having Carrera written on it near me. The local “wheelie” kids absolutely love them, especially 29ers 3 sizes too big for them.

It's hardly the kids fault that they have been bought bikes "to grow into".

I'm fine with a Boardman, I have had 2 and I'd have another but you need to like the bike you buy so rational or not, I think you've made your mind up.

Boardman’s actually improving Halford’s reputation by allowing them to stock good bikes.

Halfords bought Boardman bikes years ago. They aren't just the dealer now

It’s hardly the kids fault that they have been bought bikes “to grow into”.

No, apparently they are easier to get the front up on & "sick" 🤷‍♂️

Nothing wrong with being a brand snob but its nice to slum it now and again!

said the bloke with a specialized!

Halfords bought Boardman bikes years ago. They aren’t just the dealer now

Interesting - didn't know that. With Boardman and Voodoo, Halfords are dishing out decent bikes after years of Apollo nonsense.