Very CX

[Paul99]

No, Boardman is NOT a Halfords own brand. And Nicole Cooke took national, olympic and world titles in 2008 on a Boardman.

I think LJ's comment was a bit tongue in cheek.

 

[lejogger]

No, Boardman is NOT a Halfords own brand. And Nicole Cooke took national, olympic and world titles in 2008 on a Boardman.

I was merely jesting Dusty Bin, a bigger Boardman fan you will struggle to find

I own two of the darn things - and while I enjoy my CX I absolutely adore my upgraded team carbon.

Forget about world and Olympic titles, that thing won me the 2012 PSW hosted Willaston/Clatterbridge five mile time trial. That was before the groupset and wheelset upgrade... And I wasn't even wearing aero overshoes

 

[Rob3rt]

I brought it back to the LBS today, there was a different mechanic there, explained all of aboved, he was dismayed halfords got their hands on it yesterday, yeah right. He went on to criticise the quality of the bike. He said the front derailleur thing that brings the chain over is the same as they have on their bso's. He said sram is
rubbish only the top end is any good, shimano all the way. He fixed it but said it wouldn't last and next time don't buy boardman which is halfords own. I tried to explain it wasn't but he wouldn't have it.

I wonder at which point in the SRAM range they go from being rubbish to incredible?

 

[steve52]

i have a cx too and have none of the above problems so there must be something set wrong or a fault with yours.note there is a 2 click system on the leavers so when changeing up from small to big chainring it needs a long push through both positions, then when on the big ring i click down once so that when i want to change down it only needs one click.hope you get yours sorted

 

[VamP]

I wonder at which point in the SRAM range they go from being rubbish to incredible?

It depends on which ones he has in stock...

 

[The Jogger]

I struggled with the front shifting on my CX for a long while. The solution was to swap the microshift FD for a SRAM Rival one and I've not had a problem since. The microshift FD is really rather poor.

I have no idea why the mechanic would be so down on SRAM. The quality of performance throughout the range is excellent. My CX now is mostly Rival and my Carbon bike is mostly Red, and there is generally very little between them performance wise.

On the whole as a commuter/workhorse/donkey the CX is absolutely fine. It's weighty, the wheels are like lead, but roll well enough and I use it all year round for commutes, tours and winter club runs.
I'm considering swapping out the cranks for something carbon to save half a kilo, and get a set of handbuilts made to save probably a kilo at the very least. But then again, I quite like the fact that it's a bit of a brute. Training on that all winter doesn't half get my fitness up for swapping over to the carbon bike come the springtime.

Ps Boardman are Halfords own are they? Imagine world and olympic triathlon champions riding Halfords own brand bikes

Thanks all for the replies, lj can you give me the exact detail or link to the part so maybe I will get it changed. Cheers

 

[lejogger]

Thanks all for the replies, lj can you give me the exact detail or link to the part so maybe I will get it changed. Cheers

Yep, you can get something like this, this, or this.
Depends on your budget which one you go for. To be honest there's probably very little between them. I have a Force and a Rival on two of my bikes and they're very similar. Both absolutely fine and at one point or another have had them both working well on the CX.
I did a quick google search and these were among the best prices, but you might find a better deal with a bit more dedicated research.

The important point is that you have 3 options: Braze on, 31.8 clamp or 34.9 clamp. You need 34.9 clamp.

 

[The Jogger]

Ok an update, as there is obviously a problem with the front derailleur on these bikes I have decided to give the lbs a second chance. Today I went in and paid fifty quid for a new sram fd which will be delivered next Tuesday and they will fit it for a fiver. I will also drop in my trek 7.3fx to be overhauled with marathon plus tyres and a service. I was going to get rid of them both and buy a new all rounder as in a tourer but then I thought what a waste.

 

[lejogger]

Ok an update, as there is obviously a problem with the front derailleur on these bikes I have decided to give the lbs a second chance. Today I went in and paid fifty quid for a new sram fd which will be delivered next Tuesday and they will fit it for a fiver. I will also drop in my trek 7.3fx to be overhauled with marathon plus tyres and a service. I was going to get rid of them both and buy a new all rounder as in a tourer but then I thought what a waste.

£55 to supply and fit a Fd isn't cheap... What model in the SRAM range? The Rival in the link I sent is only £30.
If you're giving them further business too I'd not be overly happy with that price. Bike discount.de are selling 2012/13 10 speed SRAM Red Yaw for £76 at the minute. That's pretty much top of the range and you don't need anything like that.

 

[Andrew_P]

I'm with LJ £50 seems a bit of a premium although you do need a Band on one Chain Reaction are £34.99 I would at least want free fitting for 50 notes, charging £5 to fit is taking the pish Full RRP is £52.99 according to CR http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-rival-black-10-speed-front-mech-2013/rp-prod31369

Please tell me is not the same shop that said SRAM & Boardman are crapola?

 

[The Jogger]

£55 to supply and fit a Fd isn't cheap... What model in the SRAM range? The Rival in the link I sent is only £30.
If you're giving them further business too I'd not be overly happy with that price. Bike discount.de are selling 2012/13 10 speed SRAM Red Yaw for £76 at the minute. That's pretty much top of the range and you don't need anything like that.

I know it seemed a bit dear but my alternative would have been throwing the head back getting rid of the lot and starting fresh with a new bike. I'll let you know which one when I pick it up next week. Your advice though is much appreciated.

I'm with LJ £50 seems a bit of a premium although you do need a Band on one Chain Reaction are £34.99 I would at least want free fitting for 50 notes, charging £5 to fit is taking the pish Full RRP is £52.99 according to CR http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sram-rival-black-10-speed-front-mech-2013/rp-prod31369

Please tell me is not the same shop that said SRAM & Boardman are crapola?

Yes Andrew the same one but we are a bit limited for bike shops around here.

 

[ayceejay]

a useless mechanic is no more likely to set up the new front changer correctly than he was the other one. I have watched guys fiddle with the limit screws for ages looking for the sweet (noiseless) spot and checking nothing else because that is the limit of their knowledge. I have also seen a mechanic sort out what to me was an unsolvable puzzle with just a minor tweak. My suggestion is either to learn how to do it yourself or find a competent mechanic.

 

[The Jogger]

Well I left it in this mornig and picked it up today. They put on a Sram Apex FDR30334 it was nice just to hear things click into place. I know I probably paid a bit over the top for it but now I can ride the thing and they didn't charge for fitting it in the end. Thanks for the advice, it saved me getting rid of the bike.......

 

[lejogger]

Well I left it in this mornig and picked it up today. They put on a Sram Apex FDR30334 it was nice just to hear things click into place. I know I probably paid a bit over the top for it but now I can ride the thing and they didn't charge for fitting it in the end. Thanks for the advice, it saved me getting rid of the bike.......

The main thing is that you get the shifting sorted regardless of a few quid here and there. The Apex mech will be fine, there really isn't a lot of difference across the range.

Have you noticed an improvement since?

 

[The Jogger]

The main thing is that you get the shifting sorted regardless of a few quid here and there. The Apex mech will be fine, there really isn't a lot of difference across the range.
Have you noticed an improvement since?

Hi lj I haven't had it out yet for a proper ride but what I have done on it, it was sweet. I should be out tomorrow with a few hills to test it out when changing up and down and will let you know but so far so good......