# First Decent Road Bike - Boardman Road Comp



## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

Got my new bike today, a nice new Boardman Road Comp from halfords £630 through the cycle to work scheme. my previous bike was a muddy fox blade road bike (universal cycles) that i bought from tesco last year for £170. it was a good bike when it worked but cheap components meant that it started falling to bits

Just thought i would post my initial thoughts on the bike, i've only done about 15 miles on it so far.







first thing you notice about the bike is the looks. to my untrained eye it looks like a bike that should cost a lot more than it does. the white suits it brilliantly and the smooth welding makes it look carbon.

surprisingly when you first get on the bike your first thoughts are about the pedals, there clips which i absolutely hate. i find them inpossible to get back into if i have to stop at a junction. ive bought some double sided spd pedals, just need to get some shoes now.

when you start riding you begin to realize how good the bike is. its a lot lighter than my old bike, it weighs 9.5kg compared to my old bikes 15kgs and the difference it makes is amazing. acceleration is fast and the bike is a joy to ride, when combined with the carbon forks, it soaks up road vibrations well and allows you to keep pedaling where in the past i would coast if the road was a bit bumpy.

Hitting the first hills it gets even better i was able to tackle them in higher gears due to the dfference in weight and felt less tired. using strava for the first run, i got a pb and came second on all the other hills even with a very strong head wind here in north wales.

on the gears front its equipped with sram apex, with a compact 50 34 crank and 11-32 rear casette. the result of this is that its blisteringly fast when in the highest gear and will allow even the newest of riders to tackle big hills with relative ease.

the double tap shifters took a quick google search to learn how to use but i've found them lightening quick to change gear and easy to use, the only downside being is that i cant tell what gear i'm in until i cant shift anymore but you quickly get used to it.

to summarize its an amazing bike that will suit both experienced riders and newcomers. if your looking for a bike in this price range go for it, just bear in mind though, you'll probably want to get a new set of pedals unless you like clips.

i cant wait to do a long ride on it, hopefully the weather will be good this sunday


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## defy-one (22 Jun 2012)

Saturday is your best day 

Good choice of bike!


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## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

im working untill 11pm saturday though, bit of an intensive shift so cant turn up knackered after a 60/70 mile ride  ill be commuting to work so might add a few extra miles on


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## AndyRM (22 Jun 2012)

The Boardman range really does seem to get excellent reviews. Maybe Halfords ain't so bad after all!

That's a lovely looking bike, not sure I'd have the patience to keep a white bike clean!


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## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

AndyRM said:


> The Boardman range really does seem to get excellent reviews. Maybe Halfords ain't so bad after all!
> 
> That's a lovely looking bike, not sure I'd have the patience to keep a white bike clean!


 
car tyre cleaner works great on white bikes


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## defy-one (22 Jun 2012)

I went for a white one aswell. Black is boring


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## Darcy (22 Jun 2012)

You won't be disappointed, enjoy the bike. As already mentioned, Saturday is going to be better weather.


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## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

thinking of giving the saighton 10 mile tt route a go


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## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

did you have problems fitting a front light to yours.. ive taken the lights off my old bike but it doesn't fasten properly. ive got it on but looks like bracket will snap over time


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## Garz (22 Jun 2012)

Patsy O'Brien said:


> Saturday is going to be better weather.


 
Even in the north west?


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## This Time Next Year (22 Jun 2012)

If the pedals are anything like the pedals on the Boardman Hybrid Comp that I got (and I suspect they are) then the clips and straps are easily removed. You'll need to pop out the pedal reflectors with a small screwdriver, and undo the clips with the newly exposed screw. The pedal reflectors pop back in when you're done.

(Unless of course you'd still take clips rather than bare pedals while you wait for your shoes)


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## stephen.rooke (22 Jun 2012)

This Time Next Year said:


> If the pedals are anything like the pedals on the Boardman Hybrid Comp that I got (and I suspect they are) then the clips and straps are easily removed. You'll need to pop out the pedal reflectors with a small screwdriver, and undo the clips with the newly exposed screw. The pedal reflectors pop back in when you're done.
> 
> (Unless of course you'd still take clips rather than bare pedals while you wait for your shoes)


 
the clips are god while riding the problem is when stopping/starting, he pedals flip over and i cant get my foot in


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## cyberknight (22 Jun 2012)

Had my comp a year and its still a cracking bike, members of my club ask if its carbon because of the smooth welds .
I use the bike for riding with the club and its comfortable all day long ,the only thing i would change now is to buy better wheels but for the price they a good set .For commuting i still use my virtuoso as it has a paiiner rack, full gaurds etc and enough lights in winter to land a plane according to my workmates 

I changed the cassette for a closer range ratio recently as i found i never needed wide range cassette to an 11-28 although i probably could have gone to a 25 but its nice to have a bail out gear just in case.The pedals i changed to m520 spd`s as i use 1 system on all my bikes for interchangability , looking to get some single sided versions soon .Since i took the picture below the seat has gone up a bit , the stem has dropped a large spacer, the white tape changed for black as it got mucky quickly and a wireless computer has been ditched for a sleeker version.


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## stephen.rooke (24 Jun 2012)

clipless shoes ordered, should be here monday/tuesday, cant wait


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## Arsen Gere (26 Jun 2012)

I had one, qualified for age group world and european champs on it (triathlon). I gave it to my son after buying a TT bike but missed the boardman so bought another one.


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## NormanD (26 Jun 2012)

No Disc Brakes **SIGH!!**


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## addictfreak (26 Jun 2012)

Nice looking bike, the SRAM Apex is a good group set. I used it in Italy on a Blackhawk hire bike. It was flawless and the gear ratio made the long mountain climbs easy (ish)
White bikes look great, just a little more work needed to keep them looking that way.

Enjoy


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## dugliss (29 Jun 2012)

I`ve been thinking about getting this bike. Is the geometry more "relaxed" or sporty? Hard to tell as the shops never have the size I want to try. I sat on a medium but it felt too big and stretched out for me despite the fella in Halfords insisting that was the size I needed. Don`t suppose they`d sold out of small, do you?
It looks an absolute bargain at the moment, especially with the10% extra discount if you are a member of British Cycling, would take it down to £570


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## stephen.rooke (29 Jun 2012)

dugliss said:


> I`ve been thinking about getting this bike. Is the geometry more "relaxed" or sporty? Hard to tell as the shops never have the size I want to try. I sat on a medium but it felt too big and stretched out for me despite the fella in Halfords insisting that was the size I needed. Don`t suppose they`d sold out of small, do you?
> It looks an absolute bargain at the moment, especially with the10% extra discount if you are a member of British Cycling, would take it down to £570


 
depends what you call relaxed  i have the medium its bigger than my last bike which was a 54cm frame, bars are stretched out more but i find it comfortable when riding at a slower pace and can get some real speed up when thrashing it. see if you can find a halfords around that has the small in stock. i can confirm its an awesome bike, does everything i need it to and has a smooth ride. i got a cut in the tyre meaning i had to replace it as it was eating tubes and i swapped the pedals over to clipless. dont really know of a bike for the same price i would choose over it. next year i might get the carbon aswell or a decent mountain bike on the ctw scheme


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## cyberknight (30 Jun 2012)

I had to get the shops to order in a small as none within 20 miles carried them as standard stock, easy way to tell is to take a tape measure and measure centre of seat tube along top tube to the centre of the head tube , a small is 54 cm , medium 55.5 cm


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