Boardman Donor Bikes

[Ferdinand]

I'm looking at doing a conversion on a Boardman Hybrid, and I'd like to ask for clarification on a previous comment.

Cwah said on a recent thread:

yes boardman hybrid are really quick. I had one with a bbs02 and it was nice and quick. But dangerous with potholes

Could you elucidate on that, please, cwah? What made it dangerous?

Thanks

Ferdinand

 

[Ferdinand]

Let me add a discussion starter of my own too.

Reading past threads, the Boardman Hybrid donor bike of choice seems to be the Hybrid Comp version at around £500 new.

Aside: Boardmans have 4 ranges of bike, from bottom to top Race, Comp, Team and Pro, running from about £400-450 to about £1000-£1250, with more and better branded components and quality as you go up the range.

I'd suggest that that is a bit of a false economy, because by stepping up to the next level - Team - you get a lot of mid-range branded components (eg Mavic XM319 wheels, which are a nice solid mid-range MTB wheel, and hydraulic disk brakes) which are arguably all much better suited to the extra stresses imposed by a conversion - especially if you ride it far and quickly. Replacement costs should be pushed that much further in the future.

You also get a carbon front fork which is more comfortable, but I'd welcome opinions on that as an E-Bike component.

The move up to the Team level will cost £750 not £500, but there are two possibilites:

1 - 18-19% discount is regulation at Halfords. 10% for one of their seemingly monthly discount campaigns, and 10% more for membership of British Cycling which gets you insurance too. That makes your £750 more like £600.
2 - These bikes are a Cycle to Work favourite, and are often available on ebay for under £500 either because a replacement is purchased soon afterwards, or it was reassessed as too difficult.

Just my thoughts.

Ferdinand

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Thanks for that info about discounts. I didn't know that. You can get an additional discount by using one of the cashback schemes, like Quidco.

The problem with potholes is the very thin front tyre. On ours, the rear tyre had to go because it's too thin for the Oxydrive rim, so I fitted a 1.5" Marathon Plus. We kept it for a bit like that, but you had to look out for pebbles as well as potholes, so we changed it to 1.25 Marathon Plus. It's now very stable with good grip. Steve has even taken it off-road a few times on very rough cycle routes. The lack of suspension is noticeable on those routes, but on the road it's not at all bad. I'm going to build one for myself soon.

 

[cwah]

on london road, at 25mph, potholes can be deadly. That's why I have full suspension now

 

[selrahc1992]

Thanks for that info about discounts. I didn't know that. You can get an additional discount by using one of the cashback schemes, like Quidco.

The problem with potholes is the very thin front tyre. On ours, the rear tyre had to go because it's too thin for the Oxydrive rim, so I fitted a 1.5" Marathon Plus. We kept it for a bit like that, but you had to look out for pebbles as well as potholes, so we changed it to 1.25 Marathon Plus. It's now very stable with good grip. Steve has even taken it off-road a few times on very rough cycle routes. The lack of suspension is noticeable on those routes, but on the road it's not at all bad. I'm going to build one for myself soon.

I manage to run a very high pressure (145 psi) 700c 23 skinny tyre on the oxydrive rim - but I had to replace the rim tape with quality velox cotton to stop the spoke holes causing punctures when pressure increased as when going over potholes. Fast pedelecing for me resulted in a kind of motorcycle approach of ploughing through potholes,making suspension and fat tyres necessary. Recently I've had to resort to using the oxygen with its skinny tyres and no suspension (its on an old btwin triban) and rediscovered the joy of dodging potholes as one races along,as one would on a normal ultralight racer. It now works for me

 

[Ferdinand]

Thanks for that info about discounts. I didn't know that. You can get an additional discount by using one of the cashback schemes, like Quidco.

The cleanest technique seems to be to reserve online with click and collect, then present the membership card for the 10% off last, since that seems to apply after all the other discounts.

It does confuse the poor computer if they are running 3 or more schemes at once, though.

They also price match which can be useful:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_14552_productId_945392_langId_-1_categoryId_null

There you take in a printout from the other website. IIRC I have price matched Wiggle and CRC.

I believe you can then present your card for the other 10%, which they do by scanning a bar code. There are other bar codes on the page, but I've never asked what they all are.

It is best to know exactly what you intend and to make sure the stuff has arrived because it can take up a certain amount of staff time, and timed badly you could be unpopular.

The last lot I did had some 3 for 2s in it on stuff that was already on clearance and reduced the bill from £165 to about £110. Always worth a check.

The only other discount places I have used more than once have been Sport Pursuit and the German sites.

F

 

[Ferdinand]

on london road, at 25mph, potholes can be deadly. That's why I have full suspension now

Did you try large tyres? (eg 40 or 45mm). The Boardman Hybrids come with 28" road semi slicks, which are the only road component on the bike apart from (I think) the compact chainset.

If so, was there much difference between the bigger tyres and the full suspension you run now?

I'd be interested to note how a more road or touring tyre, rather than an offroad tyre, works with suspension, by comparison with a non-suspension plus big tyre.

I tried the Boardman MX Comp for 3 days before I decided that I didn't need suspension for my mix of 50:50 (ish) road and trail/bridleway/mild singletrack and switched to the Hybrid Team. I replaced the 28mm Vittoria Zaffiro tyres with 37mm Marathon Supreme (fast and supple but with Kevlar - half the weight of Marathon Pluses) within a couple of weeks, and it has been a superb experience.

The only time I came off was when I forgot about the SPD cleats in Central London, or was trying out the local technical Mountain Bike course when it was deserted.

Ferdinand

 

[cwah]

I haven't tried large tyre... but my last crash brought me to hospital with some stich on my forehead.

It happening on evening, where the road is less visible. At 25mph it's really hard to plan...

I have now full suspension with marathon plus. And yes the difference is clear. Longer journey are also much more relaxing. No pain on wrist after longer journey either

 

[mfj197]

I looked quite seriously at the Boardman Hybrid range when seeking a host bike for a fast road conversion for commuting. In the end I didn't get one for the following reasons:

• The riding position is pretty committed, and I was looking for something that, whilst still fast, was slightly more upright than my drop bar road bike
• I know and trust Shimano and don't have any personal experience of SRAM components
• The £500 Hybrid Comp has cable-operated discs so I would need to go to the £750 Hybrid Team for hydraulics

In the end I went for a 2015 Cube SL Road Pro which addressed all these concerns, and got it for £540 (10% off RRP). Cube have dropped their prices / increased spec this year which makes them very good value.

I have fitted fast 40mm semi-slicks which are absolutely great. The handlebar buzz is much less (with the aluminium forks) than on the road bike with 25mm tyres and carbon forks, and the traction, surefootedness and puncture resistance are much better. The tyres are certainly not the same as suspension though - you are definitely still well connected to the road (which is great fun throwing it deep into corners). I'm cycling in to SW London and don't find potholes to be an issue - the biggest bumps are on a cycle track I have to use by the A3!

Michael