Boardman ADV 8.9 E

[vornstar]

I think it's the start of the hill that has burned me out in the past and made the rest of the hill just miserable. Added to that I suspect I may have long covid now given that I was doing 40 mile rides last year at 16mph average and now I'm struggling to do a flat 6 miles at 12mph since getting covid last October. I've got lots of work to do. Thanks for the info.

 

[richtea]

Please do let us know how you get on, once you've got rid of the long Covid. And go easy!

 

[vornstar]

Picked up my bike this morning and took it for its first ride, which included the hill which will be part of my commute. Once I'd figured out the assistance (didn't read the instructions before I headed out), it was a dream going up the hills. I still had to work hard but it was easy on my legs. The bike is alright. A few build quality issues which I'll get Halfords to look at and it feels like I'm riding a £300 bike rather than one 9 times that value, but I know the money is in the motor and battery. The weight (of the bike and of me) made cycling above 16mph feel like I'm cycling through mud. It's not a light bike. Totally fine for the commute I'll be doing, which I might try out tomorrow when I don't have to be at work for a set time.

 

[richtea]

> it was a dream going up the hills. I still had to work hard but it was easy on my legs.
I'm really glad to hear it does the trick. It's not a free ride, but it's a darned sight easier than no assistance. A nice balance.

> The weight (of the bike and of me) made cycling above 16mph feel like I'm cycling through mud. It's not a light bike.
Not light for a non-assisted bike - quite true, but try picking up a 'standard' ebike at 20-25Kg - ooof!

I'd be interested to know what the build quality problems are. Something to watch for (on our 2020 bike at least) is the Fazua bottom bracket Torx bolts coming loose because they weren't tightened enough at the factory, but that was about it. An easy fix if you have Torx keys, or get Halfords to check/tighten them.

 

[vornstar]

> it was a dream going up the hills. I still had to work hard but it was easy on my legs.
I'm really glad to hear it does the trick. It's not a free ride, but it's a darned sight easier than no assistance. A nice balance.

> The weight (of the bike and of me) made cycling above 16mph feel like I'm cycling through mud. It's not a light bike.
Not light for a non-assisted bike - quite true, but try picking up a 'standard' ebike at 20-25Kg - ooof!

I'd be interested to know what the build quality problems are. Something to watch for (on our 2020 bike at least) is the Fazua bottom bracket Torx bolts coming loose because they weren't torqued enough at the factory, but that was about it. An easy fix if you have Torx keys, or get Halfords to check/tighten them.

Slight buckle on rear wheel, the battery doesn't sit flush, the brakes are very spongie (the front one won't stop the bike) but the worst thing is the bottle cage bolt sheared off when I tried to unscrew it as it was obviously cross threaded when built and the bolt is made of plasticine. It's very rattly too.

 

[gzoom]

The bike is alright. A few build quality issues which I'll get Halfords to look at and it feels like I'm riding a £300 bike rather than one 9 times that value, but I know the money is in the motor and battery. The weight (of the bike and of me) made cycling above 16mph feel like I'm cycling through mud. It's not a light bike. Totally fine for the commute I'll be doing.

Your views on the rest of the bike isn't far off, without the motor support its nothing special, however the frame is very sturdy. I've hit the tarmac with mine a few times now, and the bike has survived much better than me!!

I would 100% suggest swapping the tyres for Marathons+ ones for puncture protection, and a quick use of Google will show you plenty of options on how to make the bike work more effectively at over 16mph .

I've actually just picked up mine after its 2nd service. It really hasn't had an easy life, but works really well with the various bits I've now added.

 

[vornstar]

Funny you should mention the Marathon tyres. They were supposed to give me the Marathon Green 38c tyres I ordered but they've given me the marathon plus 25c so got to take them back tomorrow.

 

[richtea]

Slight buckle on rear wheel, the battery doesn't sit flush, the brakes are very spongie (the front one won't stop the bike) but the worst thing is the bottle cage bolt sheared off when I tried to unscrew it as it was obviously cross threaded when built and the bolt is made of plasticine. It's very rattly too.

That's an annoying list, agreed:

Slight buckle - factory fault but Halfords can fix that easily. A quick spin of the wheel and let your fingernail tap on each spoke - you can find the loose ones by the different tone. Repeat after they've finished to make sure they've done a reasonable job. Only one positive, with discs any small buckles don't matter much because you won't get any (rim) brake rubbing.

Battery doesn't fit flush - is it as flush as gzoom's (above)? That's what ours looks like. There is a part-open position on our 2020 bike which is a bit of an odd design, but your 2021/22 catch is a different design. Ours is like a safety catch design - you try to release the battery and it partially unlocks it - it's no longer flush with the down tube - and then a second press properly releases it. I just wondered if the newer lock has a similar partial unlock position and you're seeing that. The easy way to test is the give it a good squeeze and see if it will go further into the frame. It will click in audibly if so.

Brakes: - they must need bleeding. Again Halfords can fix that easily. Hydraulic discs are usually (almost) too good on bikes.

Bottle cage: it doesn't seem to be standard fitment, so incompetance at Halfords, not Boardman factory? Hopefully the frame thread was stronger than the plasticine bolt.

 

[vornstar]

That's an annoying list, agreed:

Slight buckle - factory fault but Halfords can fix that easily. A quick spin of the wheel and let your fingernail tap on each spoke - you can find the loose ones by the different tone. Repeat after they've finished to make sure they've done a reasonable job. Only one positive, with discs any small buckles don't matter much because you won't get any (rim) brake rubbing.

Battery doesn't fit flush - is it as flush as gzoom's (above)? That's what ours looks like. There is a part-open position on our 2020 bike which is a bit of an odd design, but your 2021/22 catch is a different design. Ours is like a safety catch design - you try to release the battery and it partially unlocks it - it's no longer flush with the down tube - and then a second press properly releases it. I just wondered if the newer lock has a similar partial unlock position and you're seeing that. The easy way to test is the give it a good squeeze and see if it will go further into the frame. It will click in audibly if so.

Brakes: - they must need bleeding. Again Halfords can fix that easily. Hydraulic discs are usually (almost) too good on bikes.

Bottle cage: it doesn't seem to be standard fitment, so incompetance at Halfords, not Boardman factory? Hopefully the frame thread was stronger than the plasticine bolt.

It doesn't look as flush as the one in that photo. Halfords man said it's adjustable and will have a look. Halfords have the bike now to have a look at the bolt and give it a check over. Forgot to mention the slight buckle.

I did a 32 mile ride this morning. I had 4% battery remaining at the end. Most of the ride was on the lowest level of assistance as I could see I was going to struggle to make it. I definitely need a better saddle. I do love the bike though.

 

[gzoom]

.
I did a 32 mile ride this morning. I had 4% battery remaining at the end.

Is that the return trip for the commute. A battery charger at work or 2nd battery will become very hand especially if you end up going over 16mph support limit. Not having to worry about charge status due to having charging at work has made my commute much more enjoyable as I can use the full power of the bike with no worries.

 

[vornstar]

That's there and back. I'll be taking my charger to work initially. Not looked into how much a second one will cost yet. I was experiencing range anxiety for much of the ride today.

 

[quilkin]

Most of the posts here are about commuting and/or day rides. Just wondering if anyone uses their ADV for touring? It seems to have fittings for a rack. But I'm wondering how comfortable an Al frame would be for touring. I would normally do around 100 km a day touring ( I know the battery won't support that but I'm reasonably fit so would probably only use the motor for hills more than 4-5%)

 

[gzoom]

I see no reason why you cannot tour with the bike. Its nothing special though the motor support. At a push I think you can get 40-50 miles out of the battery if you stay within the 15.5mph cut off and aim to go above that speed on most flats. A second battery however will give you more room to cover 60-70 miles in a day.

 

[vornstar]

Halfords fixed the broken bottle cage bolt but I noticed on my maiden commute yesterday that they'd fitted the bottle cage on upside down 😂.

Left the assist on 'rocket' and got home with 52% charge (charged at work before I left). I'm reasonably please with that for a 16.5 mile ride given my weight plus the weight of the bike.

I'm finding the ride very harsh. I've ordered a suspension seatpost (arriving today) to try and take a bit of the sting out. I have coccydynia and while I don't want to change the saddle for something that looks like a medical aid, I do need to change the fizik one that comes with it for something more suitable.

Keen to get fitter and go faster. Averaged 14.9 mph on the way there and 15.1 on the way back. The assistance is nice but I'm shattered. Slept the rest of the day.

 

[gzoom]

I'm finding the ride very harsh. I've ordered a suspension seatpost (arriving today) to try and take a bit of the sting out.

Have you tried just reducing the tire pressures. The frame is actually really compliant, but Halfords for some reason wants to pump the tyres up to 70PSI when they can run at 50PSI.