Boardman or Trek?
neilcoe
Posts: 6
in General Chat
I'm researching my first road bike purchase and it's down to '09 Boardman Comp' vs. '09 Trek 1.5'. Budget £700 tops!
Does anyone have constructive advice regarding the two in terms of frame quality and general value for money?
I need something that I can use for many many years to come as I believe in buying for the long term and upgrading / repairing. I have a Trek MTB of 15 years still going strong today (admittedly with many upgrades) and that says a lot for build quality. Saying that, £ for £ the Boardman does look better on paper and reviews.
Any advice welcome.
Cheers
Does anyone have constructive advice regarding the two in terms of frame quality and general value for money?
I need something that I can use for many many years to come as I believe in buying for the long term and upgrading / repairing. I have a Trek MTB of 15 years still going strong today (admittedly with many upgrades) and that says a lot for build quality. Saying that, £ for £ the Boardman does look better on paper and reviews.
Any advice welcome.
Cheers
0
Comments
One word of warning, don't expect any customer service from Halfords, such a shame they are the only dealers, but there you go...
I did and bought it. I rode both trek and specialized and they were heavier less balanced and a lot less responsive. The spec of the boardman wipes the floor with both of the others and before the upgrade brigade chip in; why buy a bike with lower spec and an average frame when you can have the boardman which already has a very good spec, a light frame and fork and has had some great reviews.
I have always been a keen competitive cyclist both on and off road and have previously owned trek, specialized and an idependant british made road bike made to my spec, however in all honesty the boardman has been the best so far.
However as previously mentioned don't rely on Halfords to be anything more than useless when it comes to advice or support. Take it to your LBS, mine is a specialized dealer and they look after it for me. They were also quite gobsmacked at what you actually get for your hard earned. And finally haggle with the manager, I got a £300 discount eventually.
You got £300 discount! How did you manage that?
How did you go about getting the right size, my local halfords are not prepared to get two sizes in for me to try, even though I offered to put the bike together. They wouldn't even allow a supervised ride to test the bike out in the car park!
I guess my local halfords is not as bad as I thought considering you couldn't even get to ride a bike. Mine had all of the 2008 size bikes in stock and two of the 2009 for me to try. We adjusted as required and they were happy for me to try them out around the local estate (I did leave the wife and kids as deposit!).
I got the discount because I asked for it. I wanted a 09 bike they didn't have and they wanted to sell the 2008 display bike. The guy was a bit unsure at first but I persisted and had the cash. Remember that the mark up on this sort of thing is huge. If you dont ask you dont get.[;)]
Carbon - part internal cable rounting 10/10 cycling plus.
Discounts available if you ask.
Bike republic the new bike hut stores.
G
Now all I need to do is haggle a bit. Something I wouldn't dream of doing with my LBS but Halfords - you've just got to!
Cheers All
There certainly isn't any in the whole South West of England!!!
Check them out.
G
Against that I see the view on this thread is that the Boardman is a better bike, so I will go and have a look at one in Halfords.
If I went for the Boardman - are Halfords really so shocking that I should just get the bike out of there as quick as I can and never go back?
Easy one, that: YES.
The LBS that sells the Trek is a five minute walk from my house, so I think they probably win even if the spec is not so good as the Boardman.
I felt that, despite the great reviews, I didn't want to buy one without even trying it.
Plus, the level of knowledge of the two Halfords guys I came across was miniscule compared to that of the guys in my LBS.
I bought the Boardman Team Carbon no test run - love it.
Bought my wetsuit with no trial - love it.
Tests are important but can be overated!
Sometimes the advice and recommendations of others outweigh it IMO.
Sometimes you just have to go with what feels right.
Not all will agree but heh..........
G
I've still not bought the bike yet (finances) but will be soon, I hope. GHarv, I totally agree with you. Gut instinct is the best choice for all you decicions and with that it is the Boardman for me. I would dearly love for my LBC to be selling me the Boardman Comp, as I believe in local trade, but how do you justify buying something that doesn't feel right for you just to help your local economy? All my day to day shopping for food, clothes, books etc is local so not going to beat myself up.
However, will it be possible to haggle a price out of Halfords when they will have to order one in especially for me?!? Or do I need to travel 55miles to nearest store that stocks them
N
Remember they will have targets to meet! Even if they have to order.
Putting my work head on ask them if they have the ability to do discounts for club members.
They'll no doubt say yes or they'll have to ask.
They'll come back probably straight away with 10% and probably won't need evidence.
If they give 10% they'll give a bit more with a nudge - use good cop bad cop with the wife/partner or friend or go away and come back.
Could you do it today at £x be a bit cheeky at least if they knowck you back you know where their limits are.
Be brave.
If you don't ask you don't get.
Good luckk.
G
So, in the end I worked out my budget - something I thought would be a reasonable for a starter - OK for the first TTs and Tris, but once I knew a bit more about what I need, it can be relegated to the training/backup bike next year.
So, I took my budget to the Local Bike Shop - said what my requirements were, and basically let them decide. I also don't have the space for a full workshop, so what the LBS to be involved in the odd service/fix now and again.
Just waiting for it to arrive now!