How to lose a good reputation Mr Boardman

[chewy]

Been eyeing up the Boardman for my next purchase. My main problem is the compact chainset, really wanted a triple but will have to do some mats to see how much more gear raio I would gain over the Boardmens compact if I go for a much more expensive Giant or Trek(or the like!).

The Boardman sure looks like value to me, and alot of reviews say the same.....but I would want to build and service my own bike, not sure about my local Halfords skill level (could be fine for all I know), but then I have no experience of my LBS skill level either, to be fair! Either way, I like to personaly check it over myself even though I know I shouldn't have to really.

That what I did with my Carerra and I cant fault the bike, but the nearest a spotty youth came near to it was when he handed me the box!!!

Oh, and near enough everyone should be able to change a spare wheel/check oil levels etc on their horseless carriage. It really is the basics of self reliance.

 

[mickle]

Having the ability to service or maintain your own bike is undoubtedly desireable but not essential. There is no entry requirement for cycling. If Halfords cannot assemble a bike to be roadworthy they shouldn't be selling them, it's that simple, and to me it really is that black and white. It shouldn't fall to the consumer to assemble a bicycle, even if they are qualified or experienced enough to do it themselves.

We aren't expected to be able to service our own cars before we get behind the wheel, just as we aren't expected to service our boilers before we take a fricking bath - so why do people think its acceptable to let a vehicle out on the road without a professional assembly and safety check?

I've seen the bikes which end up in bike shops after being sold in a box and having dad try and assemble it to road going condition with the plastic allen keys which came in the box. These are the bread and butter jobs of independent bike shops up and down the land.



Poorly assembled bikes hurt cycling, because poorly assembled bikes fail.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Having the ability to service or maintain your own bike is undoubtedly desireable but not essential. There is no entry requirement for cycling. If Halfords cannot assemble a bike to be roadworthy they shouldn't be selling them, it's that simple, and to me it really is that black and white. It shouldn't fall to the consumer to assemble a bicycle, even if they are qualified or experienced enough to do it themselves.

+1.

In the back of my memory I recall that there was a thread on possibly BikeRadar where a lot of people were grumbling about Halfords. Mr Boardman himself signed up and wrote something in that thread.

This is the BR thread. Has Halfords' service noticeably improved since (June 2009)?

 

[bauldbairn]

This is the BR thread. Has Halfords' service noticeably improved since (June 2009)?

Cheers for posting the link - very interesting!!

 

[rich87]

I very nearly bought the Boardman Pro carbon in January. Spoke to the guys in Halford's and the guys in my local bike shop. I was pretty much set on the Boardman before even going to see it after reading all of the positive reviews.

However, the people in Halfords new virtually nothing about the bike and did not give me any confidence in the bike i would be buying.

In contrast, the guys at the local bike shop could tell me everything about the Boardman and everything about the bikes they were selling so i could make a proper informed decision. They showed me stripped down frames off the pro carbon and comparable carbon trek bikes and demonstrated the difference in quality. The pro carbon having an uneven surface on the inside where as the trek frame was perfectly smooth, making it much stronger and more reliable.

After this i just couldn't bring myself to buy from halfords and i'm so glad i didn't.

There have been a couple of niggly problems with the trek, but when i took it back to them they sorted it out free of charge and got me back on the road the same day. Amazing service from very passionate cyclists who know what they're talking about. Cycle-ops in Tonbridge, I would highly recommend them!

I purchased a 2009 Trek 4.5 madone off them for the same price as the sale pro carbon from halfords and on this model you have the uneven spoke configuration. The 2010 trek models reverted back to the even spoke configuration so i asked the guys in Cycle-ops whether this was because the 2009 spoke configuration wasn't actually very good. They said the change on the 2010 bikes was because it's more difficult to get the tension correct in the 2009 spoke configuration and as a result of inept bike shops not getting this right, spokes had broken on bikes people had bought.

However, their highly trained staff always get it right meaning they've had no problems with them. I suspect the broken spokes are as a result of the poor workmanship at halfords.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

The bike mentioned in the OP did have problems with spokes and this should have been rectified by your local Halfords branch. As "Festival" says ask to see the manager and if you don't get satisfaction take it to a bike mechanic you can trust and ask them to sort it - then take the bill to Halfords.

Whilst I understand your annoyance on this matter I would have got the LBS to sort out the wheel and got the receipt for the branch to pick up the bill for.

Not unreasonable recommendations due to unacceptable wait for warranty repairs if one can't diy, but be prepared for a fight if this lady's recent experience was anything to go by (you have to register [free] to read the whole thread). It involved a kid's bike, it took her over 3 months to get Halfords to pay up after getting an independent report, filing at the small claims court, getting a default judgement plus numerous emails etc.

The independent report says:

without prejudice

gt chucka
frame no p9fll0345
inspection instructions quote to correct bike set up

inspection results the bike has had minimal use and would only require a basic service of £25 plus the cost of a new stem the service adjustments are as follows

rear gear hanger straigntening
chain device positioning correctly and set up
rear gear set up
brakes set up
general torque setting check on whole bike
replacement stem due to thread stripping caused by cross threading

we have checked the whole bike and have found that only the stem needs replacing due to incorrect fitting. apart from this the only other work needed is the basic service charge of 25.00 on inspection we have found many issues with the set up of his bike which should not have occured if the bike was correctly set up when the bike was built and pre delivery inspected to conform to the british quality standards we are happy to carry out the work needed to this bike as we are confident that the basic service would rectify these problems all of the work carried out by us is done by cytech qualified mechanic and would be tested prior to the delivery back to the customer

inspection mechanic

 

[mr Mag00]

i bet this guy wont get his bikes from Halfords boardman-bikes-signs-aussie-pete-jacobs

 

[Ghost Donkey]

Interedtingly my new LBS (following a move) employs a very good and enthusiastov young mechanic who previously worked at halfords. I'm happy to let him work ony bike now and I'm guessing he did a good job a halfords. It's down to luck who you get and I generally avoid them but I have the luxery of a good LBS at the end of my street. An old student flatmate of mine used to work at halfords
I wouldn't have let him loose on a can of beans never mind my bike.

 

[utdrd]

I bought a team Carbon 2010 a while back and cannot speak highly enough of the bike. That it was purchased through Halfords is inconsequential to me although evidently this mere fact is quite disturbing to some regardless of 'build' issues. The snobbery of some cyclists never ceases to amaze particularly when one looks at the democratic ethos of cycling as an activity. Not being a bike mechanic myself (but with a modicum of knowledge)I believe Halfords did a reasonable job in assembling the bike although I did have to make some adjustments to the brakes. The actual bike mechanic appeared to know his stuff and seemed genuinely interested in turning out a product he could stand over. For what it's worth I ride my team carbon wearing cycling gear from Lidl and Aldi except for the £50 overshoes bought at the LBS which are falling apart!

 

[skudupnorth]

Like i said before,the guy at Halfords White City that i ordered my SC comp fixed was over the moon that someone was getting one in because he had not seen one....something about gears and stuff being more popular That made me feel like there was someone that actually took an interest in the product.Once i got it home i could not be more happy with it although i did change the drops to bullbars but that was just personel riding style,nothing to do with the bars that were supplied with it.

 

[ancientreg]

Hi,
Would be interested to hear from similar (or different) experiences to mine. Just after Christmas I bought a Boardman Pro Carbon. I am sure in theory it's a great bike, but my experience has been very disappointing. After no more than 70 miles a front wheel spoke broke and, having waited 3 weeks for Halfords to find space to book it in and re-tweak the wheel, I had gone no more than 15 miles before another/the same front wheel spoke fell out again. A week ago, Halfords promised they would have a replacement wheel by today. No call, no response when you try to ring them. It seems to me that a bike is only as good as the customer's experience of it .... glowing reports in the bike press, Chris Boardman's laudable design philosophy are, in a short time, going to be worth a crock of s*1t if the assembly and after care are third world. Neither can Boardman bikes separate their reputation from Halfords simply by refusing any contact with the customer on their web site and referring all calls to Halfords. Boardman seeks to profit from a commercial deal which leverages Halfords component purchasing power and their sales outlet reach. Unfortunately, for us and him, he has to trade that against Halfords dismal reputation for service and maintenance quality. For me at least, the trade is beginning to look like a poor one. Would be really interested to hear others' experiences. Is this a growing trend .... or have I just been unlucky?

 

[ancientreg]

i've got a carbon fibre Boardman, bottom bracket failed after only 3,000 miles. Stillunder warranty, took it back three times, problem still not sortrd at time of writing,what a mess . Once warranty period expires, Halfords will see me no more. Shame, bike is agood 'un.

Ancientreg