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2014 Boardman CX Team... Does it do what it says on the tin?
Okay... Having decided pretty much within minutes of the launch of the 2014 range of Boardmans that the CX team was the next Cycle2Work commuter bike for me, the time has come to put the thought into action... Nearly.
So... for those that have bought one, what do you think?
Is it the great all-rounder it promised to be?
Is it the perfect fast commuter?
Are there any parts that need swapped out immediately?
Are those wheels truly crap?
and... most importantly...how did you get round the mudguard issue at the front? I think I have a couple of viable solutions, but these, like my assessment of the bike itself, are purely on paper at the moment.
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
Latest Forum Topics
Latest Comments
- jakker 1 hour 51 min ago
Physics, it's how things work.
- Simmo72 6 hours 4 min ago
TNT can sit on my seatpost and swivel. Not giving a penny to the vile bean counters.
- Johny 6 hours 13 min ago
Hey Surrey rider do you even know where Hebdon Bridge is? Have you ever been there? Yeah thought not. Soft southern Jessie , we welcome your opinion.
- David9694 7 hours 44 min ago
Dawlish driver suffered seizure before smashing into wall...
- C3a 7 hours 54 min ago
I agree. Off to sign.
- themuffle 8 hours 7 min ago
With both Hunt and Scribe, I really think you'd be mad to get wheels from anybody else.
- Sriracha 8 hours 47 min ago
Weight is a problem when it costs you in energy on the uphill which is lost on the downhill, or lost in braking. But if that energy can be...
- ktache 9 hours 37 min ago
And because they are so likely to flip and are heavier they have to have stronger and wider A pillars which reduces visibility.
- MatzeLoCal 9 hours 43 min ago
What amazes me most is how small the north american market is....
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49 comments
Sorry, that's a typo. Should be Nearside looks good
Yes. Thanks for that. Seems to be the way to go short of spending twice as much for complete wheel. Even if replaced the freehub still got a dodgy nondescript hub and drive side looks sad even tho nearsighted is good.
Cheers Jack.
If the bearings were rusted out, the bearing races are probably toast too. These hubs are disposable items and although "serviceable" will probably be shagged way in advance of your first "I'm going to check and service that hub tomorrow" thought... The reason being that the seals seem to be purely cosmetic.
The good news is that you can swap in a Shimano xt hub and reuse the rim and spokes. Either diy it or get a wheelbuilder to put it together. Total cost of doing this will be 50-60 quid and give you a better wheel than the one you started with.
This sounds like a good solution, as I understand it the rims aren't "bad", but the hubs are disposable, just like the BB5s as I've recently discovered.
Is the XT hub directly replaceable? Does it have the same measurements and whatever as the Formula hub?
When I bought mine it was advertised as being fully mudguard compatible, but neither Boardman nor Halfords were able to supply a mudguard that fit. I stayed in touch with both since October 2013 about it and eventually they released an updated fork.
The solution I used until now was the bolt on Elite bottle cage mounts wrapped around the fork leg. It got me through two winters with SKS Chromoplastics.
@ Newtonuk...
How did you go about getting the forks upgraded and how much did they charge you?
I've had a Boardman Team Cx 2014 since it first came out. First thing I did was to remove the extra brake levers. I solved the front mudguard problem by using a set of race blade mounts rubber banded to the forks. The guards themselves are sks things with stainless stays. I had issues with paint in the threads which I had to remove with a tap. The BB is poor, maybe something to do with the bike being used as a commuter and CX racer. The freehub is rubbish (bearing surface is cheap and soft in the body), I ended up rebuilding the wheel with a shimano mtb hub instead. BB5s are adequate for what I need, may upgrade in the future when they need repadding. Plan to replace the BB with a Rotor BB30 to 24 converter. Overall happy with the bike for a commuter/racer/winter trainer.
Hi.
I have free hub that needs replacing or servicing as rear cassette rocks badly and throws chain off front mech. Bearings on drive side were rusted out after 1500 miles and replaced with loads of grease. When stripped wheel for free hub problem the grease on drive side was dirty brown , but near side was fresh. Can only assume water was coming out of free hub??
Anyway my problem is I cannot undo the free hub bolt as cannot find a tool to fit it. It is not an Allen key, but it is splined.
Tried workshop at work wit loads of tools, also Halfords, waste of time.
Am now at point of buying new wheel but am reluctant to do so.
Any ideas on removal please as am getting desperate.
HELP.
CHEERS.
Generally Boardman use Formula hubs
see here http://www.formulahubs.com/products.php?sid=22
then research how to dismantle. Some require the end caps removing to get access to the nuts, but check first
Have now been to LBS and they removed freehub without much bother. It's an 11 mm Allen key thread which is unusual.
Next problem is to locate another similar freehub. No makings on hub or freehub making the whole. Ensemble very non descript
Cheers,
I didn't know they had produced a new fork, i'll see if I can get it changed
I've just had my forks upgraded to the new version which has mudguard eyelets halfway up the fork legs.
If you haven't used it I'd look to take it back and get them to order you one from the warehouse, which should have the new forks on.
I've just got a CX Team on a bike to work scheme, has anyone resolved the front mudguard issue, finding which one fits the best, I like the idea of the Elite bottle cage clips only which guards did you use with them?
I chose this bike so as I can use it for occasional cross rides too, without mudguards, you've got to get grubby sometimes only not on the way to work!
Do any of you actually look after your bikes?
I do, but the BB click, infinitely adjustable brakes and somewhat vague front mech are 'they all do that sir' items.
I normally clean my cx twice a week in winter, I have on it my stand and check everything all the time. If I was to draw one positive from all the issue I've had, it's that I am a much better bike mechanic than I was.
Yes. I do.
Do you ride a bike every day regardless of the weather or road conditions?
My CX is in use 5 days a week and is my normal mode of transport. The issues I have with mine are down to poor component quality or inferior setup at the manufacturer/retailer.
At 2100 miles, all I should be replacing is a chain (which I did at 1800)
I do as well, 5 day a week commute.
Poor component quality, you get what you pay it's a £1k bike, that you're riding day in day out. Stuff will fail. Especially if you're not giving it the attention it needs.
My commuter gets more attention than my race bike, because it's the one I depend upon on a daily basis.
Very true words bollandinho!
My CX got a new front mech after two days (more of a preventative measure), the Interrupters came off and the bar tape replaced. The BB bearings were removed and greased to stop the infernal click that started after one week.
Things were fine for about 6 months, until last week...
Back brake froze solid due to water ingress
Front brake adjuster bolt disintegrated
Big chainring sharktoothed after 2100 miles
To be fair these are component issues that are not entirely un expected as I have found FSA chainrings to be very soft and have seen many complaints about BB5 brakes.
They brakes are going in the bin now.
My Boardman has been great, I didn't get it from Halfords though. I can't think if any type of bike which matches a cyclocross for versatility, large tyre options, mudguard mount capable road or sportive bike.
My Boardman has been great, I didn't get it from Halfords though. I can't think if any type of bike which matches a cyclocross for versatility, large tyre options, mudguard mount capable road or sportive bike.
Maybe a touring bike, especially a modern one with discs, essentially does everything a CX can do but has the extras such as racks and guards better catered for. Take those off and stick CX tyres on and essentially you have a CX bike. (Touring does not necessarily equal heavy and CX does not necessarily equal light).
It might be the case that a CX is set up with a more aggressive riding position than most tourers but that's generally just a matter of frame size and adjustments.
That said I used an old Dawes sports bike for everything TT, Road Race, converted for track, grass track, cyclo-cross, touring and commuting. I think most bikes are more versatile than many of us think. I even rode a couple of cross races on a Raleigh Pro (although I fell off a couple of times due to the 23mm road tyres, the side pull campag brakes were fine though!).
I had nightmares with my 2012 Boardman CX Team. The crank came off and after some light threats about head office and trading standards it was replaced with a brand new bike that the head of cycling at the branch built up personally.
It was still built up terribly, but at that point I gave up on Halfords entirely. I took it to a proper bike shop and got it fixed up (Billy Bilsland's in Glasgow) and it became an amazing bike.
Replacing the rubbish front mech with a SRAM Force one made it a much better bike, and I love it a winter road bike and all year commuter.
I also replaced the Avid BB5 brakes, but that was more frustration at adjusting them than true necessity.
tl;dr Great bike but don't let anyone in black & orange anywhere near it with a spanner.
What did you replace the brakes with? Thinking of doing some tinkering with mine because I'm sick of faffing with the BB5s (as I have been for the whole 18 months I've had it).
Sounds like you're really unlucky or really hard on bikes!
Ok where do I start. 8 months in....................2 sets of cranks as they kept falling off, 3 Bottom brackets plus 2 sets of bearings, front mech bowed out and has been replaced with a Sram rival, front shifter broke, 2 free hubs only 4 weeks apart and the rear mech doesn't sit as straight as it should straight . I am now on first name terms with the staff at my local halfords. When it works its great, it just doesn't work that well very often.
VeleoPeo wrote "Point of order - the Spyres are fully cable actuated, it's the HyRd that are cable to hydraulic on the brake mount. Running the HyRd on my Crosslight Pro 6 and they're bloody excellent - well worth the extra outlay."
and is completely correct I had confused the spyres with the HyRd's
http://road.cc/content/review/85499-trp-hyrd-mechanical-interface-hydrau...
Back to Halfords today to swap bike for non-cracked replacement.
Bike wasn't as built as much as I expected, having called them yesterday, but they had to swap rack, guards and pedals, so a few extra minutes wasn't an issue.
Noticed a little glob of rubber under the headset as they were finishing off and thought "here we go again"...
Gave the bike a thorough once over and noted a few small bubbles in the paint... then I checked the headset...
First I see a couple of small dings on the top surface of the headtube. Steering felt quite tight, so loosened topcap... it wasn't tight, so I tightened it back up to 5nm torque and turned the bars... chunks of ground up headset seal fell out of the bottom!!!
Turns out the dings in the headtube resulted in something like a grater on the inside. It was this that was destroying the headset.
Halfords very kindly paid for my taxi home. Their customer service has been excellent. Shame that Boardmans QC is so bad.
Prior to this I have highly recommended Boardman... this experience is changing that.
I now need to finish repairing my very bashed hybrid so that I have transport tomorrow.
Even though it's going back, here are my first impressions following the ferry run and the first commute:
Harsh but responsive ride
Accelerates well
Brakes not so well
Bar tape crap
Wheels needed 2 minutes in the jig of truth
Front mech poor shifting
Strange front brake cable routing. Comes right to left BEHIND the fork?
Interrupter levers too close to centre line for comfortably safe use
This is however a very good bike for the money. Some of the issues above are build related and others are a function of me having not ridden for seven weeks and still being in recovery after crashing.
When I swap this one for the non-cracked replacement it will quickly lose the Interrupters and gain an Ultegra FD and probably acquire better brakes fairly soon after that.
Terrible! I must admit, I emailed them every week for several weeks before I got a response.
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