Thoughts on Boardman bikes

[Chap sur le velo]

It's a bit more complicated than just the economic benefits that come with scale of production that keeps the price keen. I believe Giant are the largest volume shifter in the industry and they are not so competitive on price.
Boardman bikes have to be keenly priced and they will be looking for savings in (possibly) R&D, Marketing, materials etc etc
The bike reviewed above does seem excellent and great VFM. Well done Boardman and anyone lucky enough to own one. But I also believe sometimes a well spec'd bike developed to be class leading at a price point, might not ALWAYS deliver on those aims. So do your research and buy the bike that ticks the most boxes for you.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Looks I got the bike scene wrong. I had the impression that you buy the bike that you can afford and enjoy riding it.

I had no idea that you are supposed to win races on the cheapest bike. Wasted all these years working hard and squirrelling away money to buy something I like.

What about cars?

 

[Lovacott]

Boardman bikes have to be keenly priced and they will be looking for savings in (possibly) R&D, Marketing, materials etc etc

R&D costs are spread amongst the production. Spend a million on R&D and sell a million bikes, you have an R&D cost of £1 per unit.

Mass production is the biggest cost saving of them all. If you can consistently turn out the same thing, to the same standard using modern production techniques and low cost labour, you can bring unit costs right down.

As far as marketing goes, the name "Boardman" carries some kudos amongst the casual cyclist popping in to Halfords to choose a bike.

I've never seen a bike advert on the telly let alone an ad for a Boardman bike. They kind of sell themselves.

I have to admit, that when looking for a road bike for myself, I was swayed by the Boardman name. It sounded better than Apollo or Carrera.

 

[Maherees]

Email from Bike Radar announcing Road Bike of the year.

"it’s time to announce our Road Bike of the Year… the Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS:

Well there’s none left for sale until February.
.

 

[Lovacott]

Not everyone, just the middle aged guys that I overtake on my cheap heavy bike.

A hell of a lot of people cycle around my way, but I've yet to spot anybody else on a Boardman.

The locals Halfords sells loads of them, but it seems that I am the only one who actually rides one?

When (if) the decent weather starts up again and people start going out in big groups, maybe I might have a bit more luck and see a few others riding the same bike as me?

 

[cougie uk]

A hell of a lot of people cycle around my way, but I've yet to spot anybody else on a Boardman.

The locals Halfords sells loads of them, but it seems that I am the only one who actually rides one?

When (if) the decent weather starts up again and people start going out in big groups, maybe I might have a bit more luck and see a few others riding the same bike as me?

Seriously ? Maybe you need new glasses. Very popular round here. Often see Mr B himself on his.

 

[rogerzilla]

The Team Carbon was a popular commuting option as it was just under £1000. There were three in the bike shed at work.

 

[battered]

A hell of a lot of people cycle around my way, but I've yet to spot anybody else on a Boardman.

The locals Halfords sells loads of them, but it seems that I am the only one who actually rides one?

My pal has one, and I see plenty out and about here in Leeds. I'd have one, my current roady is a Decathlon with Planet X carbon forks, which has my friends laughing. Not sure why.

 

[battered]

As far as marketing goes, the name "Boardman" carries some kudos amongst the casual cyclist popping in to Halfords to choose a bike.

I've never seen a bike advert on the telly let alone an ad for a Boardman bike. They kind of sell themselves.

Watch ITV4 when they have TdF, Giro, Vuelta coverage. EVERY ad break is Boardman bikes, every 5 minutes, at both ends of the ad sequence. The start and finish of the programme have "ring in to win this superb Boardman bike worth £X and £X for accessories. Calls cost..."

I have to admit, that when looking for a road bike for myself, I was swayed by the Boardman name.

I think they have done really well with Voodoo. It's a great sounding brand name, helped by the fact that IIRC back in the 90s Voodoo bikes were a superpremium boutique brand along the lines of Rock Lobster, Klein and Santa Cruz. I'd have one like a shot.

 

[Lovacott]

Seriously ? Maybe you need new glasses. Very popular round here. Often see Mr B himself on his.

Because the weather has been crap, most of the road cyclists I've seen out and about this year, have been club cyclists out training.

Most of the serious cyclists around here use the local bike shop which has affiliations with some of the local cycling clubs. Sadly, they had nothing in my price range which tickled my fancy.

The Halfords buyers will be the family cyclists (mum, dad and 2.4 kids) and people like me using the bike more for utility than sport and looking for value for money..

Once the weather gets better, I'd expect to see the Halfords bikes out in force as the seasonal cyclists come back out again.

I have to say that I do love my Boardman. It's the best bike I've ever owned but having said that, I've never ridden anything which cost anything near a grand before so I'm comparing it to a stable of cheap bikes I've owned over the years.

For the average wage earner, £5,000 is too much to spend on a bike but £1,000 isn't out of the way (about the cost of a week in a caravan in Devon).

What Boardman/Halfords seem to have done, is hit a sweet spot where performance and quality meet at an affordable price point.

Bike of the year doesn't mean that it's the best bike you can buy. But it probably is the best bike you can buy for that amount of money.

 

[cyberknight]

Because the weather has been crap, most of the road cyclists I've seen out and about this year, have been club cyclists out training.

Most of the serious cyclists around here use the local bike shop which has affiliations with some of the local cycling clubs. Sadly, they had nothing in my price range which tickled my fancy.

The Halfords buyers will be the family cyclists (mum, dad and 2.4 kids) and people like me using the bike more for utility than sport and looking for value for money..

Once the weather gets better, I'd expect to see the Halfords bikes out in force as the seasonal cyclists come back out again.

I have to say that I do love my Boardman. It's the best bike I've ever owned but having said that, I've never ridden anything which cost anything near a grand before so I'm comparing it to a stable of cheap bikes I've owned over the years.

For the average wage earner, £5,000 is too much to spend on a bike but £1,000 isn't out of the way (about the cost of a week in a caravan in Devon).

What Boardman/Halfords seem to have done, is hit a sweet spot where performance and quality meet at an affordable price point.

Bike of the year doesn't mean that it's the best bike you can buy. But it probably is the best bike you can buy for that amount of money.

C2W through halfords has done a lot too aid their cause too

 

[Lovacott]

C2W through halfords has done a lot too aid their cause too

That's what swung it for me. My £1000 SLR 8.9 will cost me £328 less thanks to the tax break.

 

[cyberknight]

That's what swung it for me. My £1000 SLR 8.9 will cost me £328 less thanks to the tax break.

me too , our company classes the final payment as a benefit in kind so we pay them £30 at the end and the rest of the final valuation fee we pay only tax on over a year so erm 20 % of the fee over a year ?

 

[Lovacott]

me too , our company classes the final payment as a benefit in kind so we pay them £30 at the end and the rest of the final valuation fee we pay only tax on over a year so erm 20 % of the fee over a year ?

I'm getting a bit of stick at work from some of the very unfit blokes because I don't actually commute on the Boardman.

However, because I cycle commute, I am allowed to spend £1000 on spare parts so I bought a whole bunch of spare parts conveniently supplied as a fully assembled CF road bike.

The boss has no problem with what I have done and actually encouraged me to do it and I have not broken any of the scheme rules.

So the moaners can go eat another pie and sod off as far as I am concerned.

 

[DRM]

I'm getting a bit of stick at work from some of the very unfit blokes because I don't actually commute on the Boardman.

However, because I cycle commute, I am allowed to spend £1000 on spare parts so I bought a whole bunch of spare parts conveniently supplied as a fully assembled CF road bike.

The boss has no problem with what I have done and actually encouraged me to do it and I have not broken any of the scheme rules.

So the moaners can go eat another pie and sod off as far as I am concerned.

Well there's no reason you can't use it in summer, and if you get up one morning to find, for example a flat tyre you can jump on the Boardman and be sure you're not late for work, stuff the moaners, they are the ones that'll be costing the taxpayer more, a lot more when they're laid up in hospital.