Ugo51
Retro Guru
Hello everyone,
I thought to put down some thoughts about my most recent purchase, a Boardman SLR8.6. I bought it back in September, and just clocked the first 1000km (1144 as of today).
I chose the women version for two reasons: the colour, the crank length (165mm). I paid £450 for the bike - new, from Halfords (+£25 for the subscription to British Cycling)
The colour is fantastic. The crank length...turned out to be 170mm.
So, from the get go, there was a problem. A problem that both Halfords and Boardman were unwilling/uncapable to solve, until Boardman Customer Service recognized there had been a mistake on their website and paid me £45 to buy a new crankset. Hats off. I liked that gesture, even though I then ended up keeping the money and the 170mm cranks, as they fit me well.
The reasons why I chose this bike in the first place were 1) the price 2) it had mudguards and rear rack mounts 3) it had a simple groupset, Shimano Claris, which is more than enough for my use. Easier to maintain, service, and replace than the higher ends groupsets.
As it was given to me, fully assembled, the bike was a mess. Some bolts were loose, some overly tight. The handlebar was not centered, the handlebar tape is so badly fitted that prevents the shifters' hoods to sit properly, and the gears were not indexed.
I left the handlebar tape as it is, also because it is of such low quality that will need replacing soon enough, index the speeds, and checked all the bolts.
Now it was a nicely rideable and enjoyable bike.
It's not light, by modern standards, but it feels very light to me, coming from a Carbolite Peugeot, and it's very comfortable. I switched the seat with a narrower one (£15), and I added full mudguards and puncture proof tyres (£60).
So, in total, I spent £445 (considering what I gained back selling the original tyres, pedals, and seat) and I have a very capable bike.
Would I recommend this bike? Well...not sure.
Only to users who know their way around a bike and they don't need to rely on paid help to fix the myriad of little things that don't work. And you surely don't want to rely on Halfords....
For the same amount of money I could have bought a much higher end second hand bike, but in the long term it's difficult to say which one would cost more. For commuting, this bike is great.
Let's see what my opinion will be in a year time...
I thought to put down some thoughts about my most recent purchase, a Boardman SLR8.6. I bought it back in September, and just clocked the first 1000km (1144 as of today).
I chose the women version for two reasons: the colour, the crank length (165mm). I paid £450 for the bike - new, from Halfords (+£25 for the subscription to British Cycling)
The colour is fantastic. The crank length...turned out to be 170mm.
So, from the get go, there was a problem. A problem that both Halfords and Boardman were unwilling/uncapable to solve, until Boardman Customer Service recognized there had been a mistake on their website and paid me £45 to buy a new crankset. Hats off. I liked that gesture, even though I then ended up keeping the money and the 170mm cranks, as they fit me well.
The reasons why I chose this bike in the first place were 1) the price 2) it had mudguards and rear rack mounts 3) it had a simple groupset, Shimano Claris, which is more than enough for my use. Easier to maintain, service, and replace than the higher ends groupsets.
As it was given to me, fully assembled, the bike was a mess. Some bolts were loose, some overly tight. The handlebar was not centered, the handlebar tape is so badly fitted that prevents the shifters' hoods to sit properly, and the gears were not indexed.
I left the handlebar tape as it is, also because it is of such low quality that will need replacing soon enough, index the speeds, and checked all the bolts.
Now it was a nicely rideable and enjoyable bike.
It's not light, by modern standards, but it feels very light to me, coming from a Carbolite Peugeot, and it's very comfortable. I switched the seat with a narrower one (£15), and I added full mudguards and puncture proof tyres (£60).
So, in total, I spent £445 (considering what I gained back selling the original tyres, pedals, and seat) and I have a very capable bike.
Would I recommend this bike? Well...not sure.
Only to users who know their way around a bike and they don't need to rely on paid help to fix the myriad of little things that don't work. And you surely don't want to rely on Halfords....
For the same amount of money I could have bought a much higher end second hand bike, but in the long term it's difficult to say which one would cost more. For commuting, this bike is great.
Let's see what my opinion will be in a year time...
