Boardman Pro Carbon SLR..... Overweight?

Did you check that a Halfords bike-build monkey didn't lose a spanner down the seat tube and it's still there?

Interesting thread. I'm buying a new bike and the SLR was on the list. Not any more is it.

I did go to Halfords and asked if they could spec this bike with a wifli deralieur and 11-32 cassette..all met with blank expressions and a comment that I'd have to go to cycle republic for that. 

The German bikes - Rose, Canyon seem more on spec from reviews I read. And you can get a lighter Rose or Canyon for about the same price...

In my newbie experience, weight off the rolling mass  seems crucual - wheels, tyres, tubes makes a hell of a difference. Taking 400g off the wheels, 100g off the tubes and 250g off the tyres has bought me two extra gears for nothing and nearly a 1.5mph average speed increase.  Feels more than the 15% performance gain.

Road cc. did a review, claimed 7.07 kg for the small with Sram force (which is seriously light for a bike with force)

Fair trading act says all goods should be "as described". I think you have fair recourse under that. Take it back to where you bought it first, and take it from there. 

If your bike weight is "within acceptable tolerance" then perhaps as a geature of goodwill, Boardman's will track down and swap with a bike that is 6.8 Kg as that also will be within  tolerance?

Some pretty harsh responses to the OP on this subject.  Like some of the more sensible commenters have said, comparable componentry is important when weighing bikes as the frame is usually circa 20-25% of the total weight - but I read that you had bought a bike advertised at 7.3kg, right?   IMO you have recourse here:  it's certainly an advertising description issue and possibly fraudulent if consistent across the range.   I'd start by demanding a full refund - first call Citizen's Advice - second call lawyer - third call, LBS for your next bike.  Best of luck. 

OP bought a product

Product does not meet the description

OP gets mocked by various

If I had bought a computer processor or storage device which was lower than specified, I'd want a refund or a replacement. No different here.

I find it had to believe something could be engineered with a tolerance of 7%. I note the OP says Halfords agreed on the weight.

I would reflect on the amount we are all willing to stump up for lighter gear - we must be willing as they would not sell it otherwise. Anyway as an example take  the 3T Funda Pro and Team forks, same specs except weight and price, the latter is 50g lighter and about £100 dearer.  Great fun slagging people off but when many are prepared to spend £1K+ to reduce the weight of their steed by .5Kg (take a look at wheels!) he has a valid point.

Plus there is the fraud/disappointment/feeling of being misled aspect. 

The 'have a poo' and my hair gel comment are as much tongue in cheek (steady).

We can be obsessive and may have jumped to a 'strave warrior' judgement but like many other comments, there is a tolerance that if you're paying for lightweight is deemed unacceptable.

I never thought to weigh any of my bikes upon receiving them though...

@peted & @griff

Couldn't agree more.

Personally, I wouldn't be too annoyed by a 100 gram difference, but anything more is just a bit odd. If it was advertised at 7.3kg, I'd expect 7.5 at most...

It's not hard to calculate the fully built weight of a bike. I built up a tt bike recently, I worked out every component needed and added up all the published weights of said components - the true weight of the bike was only 50g different to the calculated weight.

The fact Halfords/Boardman say that bike is within tolerance when it is nearly 7% heavier, too mean means their tolerances don't give the quality I would expect for the type of bike.

I would not be surprised if every component varied from specified weight by a few grams, but it seems unlikely that every component would be over the specified weight, amounting to a full 500 grams extra.

What that would lead me to believe is that the bike frame and forks have a large manufacturing tolerance and that they are heavier than the nominal weight.

This, of course, assumes that you have weighed the bike accurately (whilst no bottles/cages/pedals were attached).

I suspect, that most of us buying a road bike, especially one with race geometry, are influenced by advertised weight, and half a kg is probably enough to sway our judgement between two bikes, all other things being equal. It may well make no measurable difference on the road, but I too would be miffed if I found the marketeers had put one over on me.  As for describing it as "Superlight"? Come off it Boardman, with pedals on this is an 8kg bike!

@efail - I'd be very miffed if my bike was that 'over' the advertised weight. 

Note you should remove any bits off the bike for an exact weight, the weight is not expected to include cages, pumps, pedals or any parts  swapped out from the stock supplied parts.

Don't be bothered by the some of the voices here naysaying your post, I'd send it back or complain until Halfords or Boardman offered you some lighter piece of equiptment to bring it down to the advertised weight. which is reasonable. 

If they just state that it's within tolerances, then just say that it's within your tolerances to reply daily to every twitter post of theirs with 'Boardman adevertise 7.3kgs when the actuial weight is 7.8kgs you have to ask what else might be within allowed tolerances?' 

Have you taken all the crap off like reflectors, chain guard (bell even)? And what size is that weight quoted for, because that makes a difference? Also it depends how the bike has been built up, is the spec you received exactly the same as the one Boardman are quoting the weight for? Different inner tubes, valve stems, tyre widths, bar tape/end caps, crank/stem lengths can all make a difference, even cables and outers. When you take into account all of these potential variables you can see why so many manufacturers don’t even go down the route of advertising bike weights. 

Quote:

Have a shit before you go out, that must be worth a half kilo weight save.

Seriously, who are these perverts/masochists who go out for a ride with a half kilo package in the tubes? In fact, does anyone NOT take a poo before going for a ride? It's not a weight saving if you would be doing it anyway.

Anyway, is this a new thing, to pretend we don't care about the weight of our road bikes? Is half the industry not dedicated to making things lighter? 

If you're not happy send it back but you'd be cutting off your nose to spite your face. It always comes out really well in bike tests.

In the real world you won't notice the extra weight.

I'd be concerned my petrol tank had a leak and thank my landlord for pouring a proper pint with a head and not being a southern softie...

All those people giving the OP sh*t, have a word with yourselves.

If you went into a petrol station and filled up your car, paid for the fuel and then got in your car to discover that the tank was even 5% short would you go back inside and kick off about it?

Fcuking right you would.

If you went into a pub and the Landlord poured you 500ml instead of a pint would you mention it?

I suspect so.

All the Billy Big Bollocks chat about having a shit etc... ridiculous. When companies think it's OK to quote one figure and short change you, and you accept it, then it just makes it all alright for some other firm to take the piss and we all lose.

Well done OP, take Boardman to task over it. I suspect they would have kicked off if you'd paid them 7% less while suggesting that the monies offered were well within your economic tolerances.

I’m carrying a bit too much timber to worry about half a kilo or so, but if i was lighter and I’d spent such a considerable amount on a bike that clearly isn’t super light I’d take it back as not as advertised. I can’t quite understand why so many are giving the OP a hard time. Hey ho. 

If you are that bothered about the weight why didn't you weigh it before you bought it?  And as for Strava, did you really only do 152.00m of elevation gain last year?  Forget weighing things, forget recording things on some website in the hope of impressing some one (why else would you be telling total strangers how much you had done, no one else gives a shit) and just ride your bike and enjoy it.

Is this a serious post? Jesus...

Never, in a million years, could I imagine this spoiling a day out on the bike. Have a shit before you go out, that must be worth a half kilo weight save.

Quote:

If all the bikes are coming out plus 500g it seems less plausible to quote a plus or minus range and appears to be more the norm.

I had this issue with some lightweight hiking gear (Mountain Hardwear sleeping bags...).

Quoting a plus or minus range is the most dishonest/inaccurate part of this scenario I think, does anyone really believe that there are bikes out there that are 730g LIGHTER than stated? 

Apart from Pinnarello of course, who just took the lightest 10% and marketed them as extra-light and charged extra 

p.s. re: 'just have a poo' comments, does anyone NOT take a poo before they go for a ride? (recent Giro winners excluded of course)