# Halfords takeover Boardman bikes



## Boyfrom64 (4 Jun 2014)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27705600

Regardless of what people think of Halfords as a bike retailers, do you think this is a good move or not?


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## Cycleops (4 Jun 2014)

Good move for Halfords for sure. It will give them more control over their supply chain. The Brand is well thought of and they should be able to put more money into developing new products.


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## glenn forger (4 Jun 2014)

Plus £15m for Chris, deserves it, great ambassador.


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## GrumpyGregry (4 Jun 2014)

It is a sensible decision. The market for the sale of quality bikes is expanding and Halfords are riding that wave. They had faith in Boardman when the rest of the UK cycle trade didn't want to know and both parties are reaping profits from the relationship.


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## TissoT (4 Jun 2014)

I think Chris has took his bike company has far as it can go , IMO... £15m was a good deal for the both party 
He does spend a lot of his time working on the GB squad ..


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## fossyant (4 Jun 2014)

So long as I can take one away in a box they are fine by me.


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## ShipHill (4 Jun 2014)

As an owner of a Boardman Hybrid Comp and lucky enough to live near a Halfords with good staff who actually know one end of a bike from the other... I'm pleased to hear this.


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## redcard (4 Jun 2014)

Never been a fan of Boardmans. Overpriced, heavy and you usually get a mish-mish of branded and unbranded components. The Performance range is decent but still overpriced.


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## fossyant (4 Jun 2014)

Dunno about overpriced. The frame finish is top notch. No nasty welds is a big plus for me.

I want an older HT Pro MTB.


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## Kevoffthetee (4 Jun 2014)

Good for both parties but I think you have to live near a halfords with knowledgeable staff or these decent bikes are wasted.

I hope this doesn't mean savings vs quality such as mike Ashley has done with sports direct and the brands they have bought. Karrimor have never been the same


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## Cycling Dan (4 Jun 2014)

I would have thought them worth more than £15m but I guess they are not as popular as I thought.


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## .stu (4 Jun 2014)

redcard said:


> Never been a fan of Boardmans. Overpriced, heavy and you usually get a mish-mish of branded and unbranded components. The Performance range is decent but still overpriced.



I got a 2012 CX Team for just over £600. Can't find anything that comes near it for the spec. Ok there are better bikes available, but I can't (or won't) afford them.


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## hopless500 (4 Jun 2014)

@Mattonsea & @Hill Wimp - wasn't it a Boardman that poor woman was on on the NF audax? With the fairly important bits that had dropped off??


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## nickyboy (5 Jun 2014)

Hmmm.....I hope Chris Boardman has thought this through carefully. Now that Halfords have control over the brand, product design and development they can put into the market whatever they want as a "Boardman".

I suspect in the longer term that Halfords will be tempted to rebrand some of their lower spec products as "Boardman" and that's going to devalue the brand for the higher spec stuff. All good business sense for Halfords of course but if you've got a fancy Boardman you might not be too happy to see a £200 entry level product with the same branding.

Having said that, trousering (allegedly) £15m will soften the blow for Chris Boardman if he sees the brand he built being dissipated


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## Mattonsea (5 Jun 2014)

hopless500 said:


> @Mattonsea & @Hill Wimp - wasn't it a Boardman that poor woman was on on the NF audax? With the fairly important bits that had dropped off??


Why would anyone buy a bike from Halfrauds. A brand new road bike and the crank had fallen to bits


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## swansonj (5 Jun 2014)

nickyboy said:


> ....but if you've got a fancy Boardman you might not be too happy to see a £200 entry level product with the same branding


If your motivation for choosing a particular bike is to advertise your exclusivity, then I'm afraid I wouldn't have much sympathy....


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## Big Nick (5 Jun 2014)

Love my Boardman and it got me into cycling

Not sure the move will be good for the brand in the long term but short term a very good financial move for Chris!


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## Elybazza61 (5 Jun 2014)

swansonj said:


> If your motivation for choosing a particular bike is to advertise your exclusivity, then I'm afraid I wouldn't have much sympathy....



And to be fair you see as many (if not more)Specialized and Trek bikes about than Boardmans and that doesn't stop people buying S-Works or Madones/Domanes.


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## Andrew_P (5 Jun 2014)

glenn forger said:


> Plus £15m for Chris, deserves it, great ambassador.


 From memory CB is/was only a minor shareholder in Boardman Bikes less than 10% if I recall correctly and not even a director, I always assumed he must have had a decent royalty deal for using his name and possibly payment for bike development. I would guess CB has been savvy enough that part of the deal will be continuing royalty payments from Halfords and he gets 9% of the 15 million


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## SquareDaff (5 Jun 2014)

I've had 3 Boardmans and they've all been top quality, well specced and comparitively cheap. In fact I still have 2 of them (the other was stolen) and they're both still going strong. Bits have never "dropped off" (my CX has about 5k miles on it, the hybrid 8k) - but that maybe because I always insist on building my bikes from the box. Hopefully this will mean that Halfords will start stocking replacement parts for Boardmans as getting some components can be quite difficult.


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## glenn forger (5 Jun 2014)

He's had worse days.


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## Rooster1 (5 Jun 2014)

Boardman, Hoy, Pendleton, English peeps who've turned (or attached) their names to bikes.

And before that Eddy Merckx, Freddie Grubb, Guerciotti, Jan Janssen.

Cavendish has is own products via Spesh, but what of Sir Bradley - will he ever go down this road ?

Any other notable names I have missed?

Found a great list of Bike Brands on Wiki btw .... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bicycle_brands_and_manufacturing_companies


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## Doc333 (5 Jun 2014)

A really good analogy is to compare Halfords to American Golf. When you want some golf clubs building you go to a proper club fitter, because a set of clubs built properly will be for life. Yes there are a few American Golf stores who do have great staff who can do what you want. Halfords is exactly the same and you may get lucky and have your new bike built correctly, but the number of reviews I read (Because I wanted a CX) put me off and so I went elsewhere with my cash.

Maybe Halfords should have a proper technician in every store who has been to the Boardman factory and been trained. This would be a great marketing tool because, I bet there are more people than me who opted to go elsewhere and so Cannondale got my cash from my LBS


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

fossyant said:


> Dunno about overpriced. The frame finish is top notch. No nasty welds is a big plus for me.
> 
> I want an older HT Pro MTB.


What size?


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Mattonsea said:


> Why would anyone buy a bike from Halfrauds. A brand new road bike and the crank had fallen to bits


Because that has never ever happened on any other brand of bike sold anywhere else has it?


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## fossyant (5 Jun 2014)

GrumpyGregry said:


> What size?


 
Prob medium ish !


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Andrew_P said:


> From memory CB is/was only a minor shareholder in Boardman Bikes less than 10% if I recall correctly and not even a director, I always assumed he must have had a decent royalty deal for using his name and possibly payment for bike development. I would guess CB has been savvy enough that part of the deal will be continuing royalty payments from Halfords and he gets 9% of the 15 million


What? You mean he didn't weld the frames or build the bikes up himself? Well I never.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

fossyant said:


> Prob medium ish !


Soz can't help. I know of one maybe going locally which is deffo a large, and I may retire mine, also large, in October.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Doc333 said:


> A really good analogy is to compare Halfords to American Golf. When you want some golf clubs building you go to a proper club fitter, because a set of clubs built properly will be for life. Yes there are a few American Golf stores who do have great staff who can do what you want. Halfords is exactly the same and you may get lucky and have your new bike built correctly, but the number of reviews I read (Because I wanted a CX) put me off and so I went elsewhere with my cash.
> 
> Maybe Halfords should have a proper technician in every store who has been to the Boardman factory and been trained. This would be a great marketing tool because, I bet there are more people than me who opted to go elsewhere and so Cannondale got my cash from my LBS


Had the tech in your LBS been to the "Cannondale" factory in Taiwan?

I bet there are thousands unlike you who bought boardman; judging by the way the ranges sell out.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Andrew_P said:


> From memory CB is/was only a minor shareholder in Boardman Bikes less than 10% if I recall correctly and not even a director, I always assumed he must have had a decent royalty deal for using his name and possibly payment for bike development. I would guess CB has been savvy enough that part of the deal will be continuing royalty payments from Halfords and he gets 9% of the 15 million


No more royalty payments to CB was part of the deal.


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## Dogtrousers (5 Jun 2014)

Rooster1 said:


> Boardman, Hoy, Pendleton, English peeps who've turned (or attached) their names to bikes.
> 
> And before that Eddy Merckx, Freddie Grubb, Guerciotti, Jan Janssen.
> 
> ...


Lemond?

By the way, what's changed?
Before: Halfords have exclusive deal for Boardman brand, except for the Elite line. CB is chairman and design director. _(and gets royalties)_
After: Halfords have exclusive deal for Boardman brand, except for the Elite line. CB is chairman and design director. And a bit richer. _(but doesn't get royalties)_

_Edited in line with _GrumpyGregry's post above.


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## Andrew_P (5 Jun 2014)

GrumpyGregry said:


> What? You mean he didn't weld the frames or build the bikes up himself? Well I never.



Not sure anyone did think this? A company called Boardman Bikes Ltd selling bikes with C Boardman on it quite surprised *me *he was only a minor shareholder in the business and not even a director.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Andrew_P said:


> Not sure anyone did think this? A company called Boardman Bikes Ltd selling bikes with C Boardman on it quite surprised *me *he was only a minor shareholder in the business and not even a director.


In charge of R&D with input into the design. That was pretty clear from the foundation of the company I think. iirc he's never been a director.


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## Dogtrousers (5 Jun 2014)

Wandering off topic a bit, was anyone else slightly surprised that after years of zooming around velodromes in lycra riding on whispy little fixies, the first bikes that Victoria Pendleton designed were equipped with shopping baskets, and more suited to floaty summer dresses than lycra. How did that happen, I wonder?


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## Leaway2 (5 Jun 2014)

Rooster1 said:


> , but what of Sir Bradley - will he ever go down this road ?


It will probably be a Lambretta.


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## Mattonsea (5 Jun 2014)

GrumpyGregry said:


> Because that has never ever happened on any other brand of bike sold anywhere else has it?


And you think they offer a great service??? How many people moan about the level of quality on CC.


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## markharry66 (5 Jun 2014)

Think I have just lost complete interest in Boardman bikes as a brand. Stuff Halfords one of the worst shops that happen to sell bikes or have a so called bike department


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## MisterStan (5 Jun 2014)

Rooster1 said:


> Boardman, Hoy, Pendleton, English peeps who've turned (or attached) their names to bikes.
> 
> And before that Eddy Merckx, Freddie Grubb, Guerciotti, Jan Janssen.
> 
> ...


Wiggo has already released a clothing line with Fred Perry - not bikes i know, but...


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## biggs682 (5 Jun 2014)

oh dear never mind will be a long time before they become a classic or vintage bike


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## nickyboy (5 Jun 2014)

swansonj said:


> If your motivation for choosing a particular bike is to advertise your exclusivity, then I'm afraid I wouldn't have much sympathy....


Me too....I have a btwin (decathlon) nice bike and couldn't care less if its the same brand as the triban 3. But I suspect not everyone thinks like this. Look at the hooha when Halfords started stocking Pinarellos


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## nickyboy (5 Jun 2014)

GrumpyGregry said:


> Had the tech in your LBS been to the "Cannondale" factory in Taiwan?
> 
> I bet there are thousands unlike you who bought boardman; judging by the way the ranges sell out.


Of course as you already allude, the "Cannondale" factory is also the "Boardman" factory and the "Specialised" factory....and the......and the......


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## nickyboy (5 Jun 2014)

markharry66 said:


> Think I have just lost complete interest in Boardman bikes as a brand. Stuff Halfords one of the worst shops that happen to sell bikes or have a so called bike department



Oh dear.....we're back here again. I will say it one more time:

Halfords business model is not to replicate the LBS "have a natter and get some advice" way of operating. They sell to people who know nothing about bikes and want a simple, non-intimidating interaction like when they go to Tesco for their weekly shop.
They dominate the sales of bikes in Britain. They have their business model right, the LBS that are closing down don't


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

nickyboy said:


> Oh dear.....we're back here again. I will say it one more time:
> 
> Halfords business model is not to replicate the LBS "have a natter and get some advice" way of operating. They sell to people who know nothing about bikes and want a simple, non-intimidating interaction like when they go to Tesco for their weekly shop.
> They dominate the sales of bikes in Britain. They have their business model right, the LBS that are closing down don't


I'd tweak it to say they also sell to people who know a heck of a lot about bikes and who don't need their advice/workshop et cetera.


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## jarlrmai (5 Jun 2014)

Every cyclist has to make a mistake when they buy their 1st bike, Halfords are there to fill that niche.


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## Brava210 (5 Jun 2014)

redcard said:


> Never been a fan of Boardmans. Overpriced, heavy and you usually get a mish-mish of branded and unbranded components. The Performance range is decent but still overpriced.


Overpriced compared to what?
Apollo?


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Mattonsea said:


> And you think they offer a great service??? How many people moan about the level of quality on CC.


Over the years I've bought several bikes off of them and not had a problem. I do wonder if uninformed consumers have problems with them, but then they also have problems in LBS's. The best vfm bike I have ever bought is my Boardman HT Pro. I couldn't even source the drivetrain and wheels for that bike's rrp.

As to service. Depends on your priorities. They are open 7 days a week and late evenings on five of them. They offer click'n'collect on 10,000's of items and do price match against all the household names. That's the sort of service I like. Not available in any of the three LBS in a similar distance from my front door.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

In fact; guess what! I'll be visiting Halfords tonight after work for some brake cables. Where else could I get them from at 19h00 on a Thursday?


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## Globalti (5 Jun 2014)

Er... many LBSs stay open late on Thursdays.


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## jarlrmai (5 Jun 2014)

Try funding a replacement quick link on a Sunday.


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## Brava210 (5 Jun 2014)

Plus I get 20% discount on everything at Halfords, just bought a Pro Carbon Road bike


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## Chris Norton (5 Jun 2014)

I'd never slag off any of the bikes that Halfords sell. It's some of the monkeys that put them together that are really dangerous. Buy a bike and take it to someone who can make em up. Or do it yourself, not hard.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Jun 2014)

Globalti said:


> Er... many LBSs stay open late on Thursdays.


Not around here. And one still does half day closing. On Thursday.


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## Brava210 (5 Jun 2014)

I just like the quality finish of the Boardman frames personally


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## nickyboy (6 Jun 2014)

Globalti said:


> Er... many LBSs stay open late on Thursdays.



Not many open on a Sunday though....a day when a lot of folk actually want to shop for leisure items


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jun 2014)

nickyboy said:


> Not many open on a Sunday though....a day when a lot of folk actually want to shop for leisure items


and how many get stuff in for you next working day?


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## martinclive (6 Jun 2014)

MisterStan said:


> Wiggo has already released a clothing line with Fred Perry - not bikes i know, but...


£75 for a polo shirt!
I'm off to TK's


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## Elybazza61 (6 Jun 2014)

Any other notable names I have missed?

Cippolini and wasn't Pinarello an ex-racer? Lapierre?


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## jarlrmai (6 Jun 2014)

Sir Walter Raleigh greatest rider of all time.


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## Crankarm (6 Jun 2014)

I wait eagerly for the new Boardman Apollo bike.


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## Dogtrousers (6 Jun 2014)

Does Tullio Campagnolo count?


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## Crankarm (6 Jun 2014)

£10-15m, if he did trouser this much, is not a small sum. And given he is already a little bit minted makes him even more minted. Think how many really nice bikes you could buy or have made bespoke for you. Or look at it another way CB has just sold an awful lot of bikes. How much would you get for all your bikes?


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## GrumpyGregry (6 Jun 2014)

Elybazza61 said:


> Any other notable names I have missed?
> 
> Cippolini and wasn't Pinarello an ex-racer? Lapierre?


Yep. a significant number of the grand tour and one day classic winners from the 20's to the 60's


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## tadpole (6 Jun 2014)

Chris Norton said:


> I'd never slag off any of the bikes that Halfords sell. It's some of the monkeys that put them together that are really dangerous. Buy a bike and take it to someone who can make em up. Or do it yourself, not hard.


OK, let me get this right, you think a person who has never built a bike is likely to do a better job, than someone who has built 30 bikes in the three months. Even if the build is not up to your standards, it has to be better than some ham-fingered no nothing who wants to do all the assembly with the multitool he got in a M&S Christmas cracker. Right?


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## markharry66 (7 Jun 2014)

My own halfords round here is terrible. Great for innertubes. Would never spend money on s bike with them as they find it difficult enough to process a payment


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## Joey Shabadoo (7 Jun 2014)

Rooster1 said:


> Boardman, Hoy, Pendleton, English peeps who've turned (or attached) their names to bikes.



Oh Hoy is English now is he? Must have won something.


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## midlife (7 Jun 2014)

Anybody remember what happened when Harry Quinn sold out to Ernie Clements................lets not hope history repeats itself 

As an aside, a few years back I decided to get a modern new bike and almost bought a Boardman Pro as it seemed pretty well screwed together and lets not deny it......... the price was less than a grand. However, I eventually went for a Basso as I could afford a few hundred extra quid and the bar tape on the Basso was a properly put on! 

If I didn't have the extra cash I probably would have the Boardman in my garage.

Shaun


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## Chris Norton (7 Jun 2014)

tadpole said:


> OK, let me get this right, you think a person who has never built a bike is likely to do a better job, than someone who has built 30 bikes in the three months. Even if the build is not up to your standards, it has to be better than some ham-fingered no nothing who wants to do all the assembly with the multitool he got in a M&S Christmas cracker. Right?



Wife and I bought bike from Halfords. Front brake fell to pieces on ride back home. I'd take my chances to be honest.


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## DooDah (7 Jun 2014)

Dogtrousers said:


> Lemond?
> 
> By the way, what's changed?
> Before: Halfords have exclusive deal for Boardman brand, except for the Elite line. CB is chairman and design director. _(and gets royalties)_
> ...


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## Dave W (16 Jun 2014)

Boardman bikes are great, Halfords service is awful. 

I recently bought a full sus team and it's been a nightmare. I asked for it boxed because I've had a couple of bikes off them before, all built badly. Despite this it came assembled, again badly. No grease on the seatpost, pedals ridiculously tight with no grease, brakes routed wrong. It then developed a creak on both sides of the bottom bracket under load. I took it back, was told 5 days later it was fixed then went to collect, bike was wheeled out and the creak is still there. Left it again, another 5 days pass went again to collect today, creak still there. I asked if it's actually been looked at, was told they didn't know. 

It's like banging your head against the wall. 2 wasted journeys and I'm still in the same position. 

Hopefully the takeover won't affect the brand but the bike mechanics and service really need to improve. They replaced the BB on my CX after just 8 months and were going to charge me for the bearings until the debacle with the full sus. Even then I've had to clean up the gallon of grease smeared all over the bottom bracket area.

I don't even blame the staff, the business clearly doesn't give a toss about staff retention and training. They're set up to fail unfortunately.


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