Boardman Team Carbon (09) | $1360
BikeRadar verdict
"Fast and exciting – sets a new standard for sub-£1,000 road bikes"
This is one high-class rig. Exceptionally light and incredibly quick, it performs like a bike costing hundreds of pounds more. In fact, we went back to distributor Halfords and checked the price twice, just to be sure there hadn’t been a mistake.
The frame and fork are fabulous, and the spec isn’t far behind. The low riding position won’t be to everyone’s taste, but we’ve no qualms in saying that it sets a new standard for sub-£1,000 road bikes.
Ride & handling: Fast, lively, assured, accurate … everything you want in a race-bred frame
Weighing in at just 8kg (17.6lb), the Team Carbon is extremely light for the money, and that’s evident from the first pedal stroke. Put your foot on the gas and the Boardman has a turn of speed that belongs to a bike costing way, way more. You’ll be stunned at just how much of a helping hand it gives you.
Get out of the saddle and throw the bike around for sprints or climbs and there’s barely any sideways movement through the frame – the rear triangle doesn’t budge off line. The same is true of the fork – it remained steadfast despite our best efforts to coax it into twisting on the hills.
The ride is certainly firm, especially through the straight-bladed fork and alloy cockpit. It’s not severe, but it’s more about efficiency than relaxation.
The Team Carbon flicks through turns with poise and assurance, and the only time descents get in any way sketchy is when the light weight causes you to skitter on poor road surfaces. The no-name dual pivot brakes didn’t seem to offer quite as much power as those on other bikes at this price, but there’s really not much in it.
Chassis: Lightweight unidirectional carbon monocoque frame and fork package with fabulous stiffness built in
There’s no mistaking that the Boardman Team Carbon is a race-bred machine. Built around a unidirectional carbon monocoque frame with a matching fork, it’s the middle model in Boardman’s range of five drop handlebar road bikes and the cheapest carbon option.
Top of the tree is the £3,000 Road Pro Race Prepared, which has the same spec as Olympic and World Champion Nicole Cooke’s mount – SRAM Red groupset, Zipp 404 carbon wheelset, the lot. The £1,500 Road Pro shares the same frameset, while our Team Carbon’s uses less high-end carbon – T700 rather than T800 – but is out of the same mould.
The Boardman’s stealthy, semi-compact carbon frame is an absolute stunner. With a deep teardrop down tube, a big old wedge of a bottom bracket shell and oversized box-section chainstays, this is a bike that’s designed to provide race-grade stiffness.
It’s the same deal at the front end where the stout head tube flares outwards at the bottom to accommodate a 1 1/2in lower headset race rather than the 1 1/8in version that you get at the top for a touch of extra rigidity. The 150mm head tube gives a fairly low, though not extreme, front end.
The fork that slots in there, unlike the vast majority at this price point, comes with a carbon steerer to cut the grammage, while the chunky crown leads down to confidence-inspiring, triangular-section blades.
Rather than being diverted all the way around that fat head tube, the gear cables duck straight through it, while the rear brake cable runs internally along the length of the top tube.
Equipment: Lightweight SRAM Rival gearing is star of the show, rest of kit provides sound all-round performance
The gearing comes from SRAM’s entry-level Rival groupset – and here ‘entry level’ doesn’t mean ‘poor quality’. It’s about the equivalent of Shimano’s Ultegra.
The single lever Double Tap (two clicks for up the cassette, one click for down) soon becomes second nature and, once indexed correctly, you’ll rarely need to adjust anything. Find yourself in too hard a gear on a climb and multiple shifts to larger sprockets can be awkward because you have to sweep the lever across several times. That aside, there’s really nothing to moan about unless you’d like a sprocket bigger than the 25-tooth fitted to get you up the steep bits.
Ritchey provides the wheels, seatpost and cockpit components. The DS Pro wheels are decent quality and a reasonable weight, and the sealed cartridge hubs spun beautifully throughout testing. Unfortunately, one nipple at the rear unwound completely on our first 90-minute ride. Once we’d eventually retrieved it from inside the 27mm rim and tightened it back into place, the wheels stayed true for the remainder of the test. No harm done.
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User Reviews
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
It would be great if one could buy one! I tried for 3 months to obtain one and Halfords just have not got the stock. They have lost at least one grand sale just from me, I wonder how many more they have lost? It takes a monumentaly crap company to conspire to get such a great product, with excellent reviews and an advertising campaign... and no possibility of making a sale. I'll stick with Focus. Shame, I would have liked to have bought British!
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
The bike is excellent and the review is totally spot on. They have made all the right compromises to get it into the price bracket and is a great frame and fork to start upgrading components on. The weak links are the Ritchey rims (the rear specifically), and Halfords.
There IS a product issue with the rear rims despite Halfords claiming otherwise, and if you buy one ask them very specifically what they are going to do when the rear spokes keep coming loose and dropping inside. "Errm nothing" is likely to be the answer but make a nuisance of yourself and they may replace it. I had it happen SIX times and only solved it by being lucky enough to be able to upgrade the wheels at my local specialist.
Halfords also have no idea about setting up SRAM. As I walked out the door the mechanic said "I've never set up SRAM before", and boy did it show. If you get one, take it straight to your local specialist for a set up. The cost will be worth it as when set up, this bike is amazing. This compares to a £1700 Giant I trialled which was such a good bike.
I have since fitted a pair of Mavic rims and this thing just flies. Worth the money, and then some.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Richard - very helpful comments, thanks. Just got the medium myself, and have barely ridden it - but it is stiff and fast as all hell. Any further tips for me on upgrades? (Obviously) I've swapped the godawful saddle. Brakes look cheap, and were not properly 'centred' at first...i was thinking of getting the SRAM ones...
On the rear rim - no problems so far, but I am forewarned! Should I take it right back now given the comments / review?
I'm a Kingston Wheeler, and got the bike from Twickenham Bikehut, who were OK...
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Have just upgraded from the 08 Road Comp which I adored and must add it left a tear in my eye.
Having said that the difference is truly exceptional, the bike is built for speed and its response is astonishing, having used the previous model for racing the extra the Carbon gives me is brilliant and I cannot wait for my first Tri in April.
Will keep an eye on the rear wheel which sounds a little worrying!! But I must stick up for Halfords Hereford as the set up was excellent and the customer service good too.
Will write a follow up in 6 months to see how my new apple of my eye is doing......
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
It looks like a great value buy... but does the reviewer or anyone else know if they sell outside of the UK eg. Germany etc?
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Used my new Team Carbon for the first time today to do my 6 mile commute into central London. All I've got for comparison is my slightly tired 2001 GT ZR4.0 so not sure my opinion is worth much but the difference in acceleration is huge and the gear changing great (once you remember you've not got shimano shifters).
Having said that, I'm incredibly disappointed to find that, just as mentioned by richardspooner above, the rear spoke has come loose at the rim with the bit at the end (excuse my terrible terminology) having presumably dropped into the wheel. That's after two 25 minute journeys. Didn't happen on my GT in six years.
I'll be on the phone to Halfords tomorrow. Richard, can you give a few more details of why this is happening and what you said to Halfords to persuade them to give you a new wheel. Which wheel did they upgrade you to?
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
To everyone with queries about the wheel problems I had, mine was a chronic problem and my local Halfords store were nice enough but.... well, it doesn't need saying. After the six week after sales care period ended I gave up trying to convince them the product was faulty. "Head office hasn't issued a recall so there isn't a known problem as far as we know". In spite of them fixing the same thing three times or more, and me having receipts for the same repair at my local specialist! Now this was supplied to me only a day after they came onto stock at the end of November so the shops may be wiser and able to be more helpful, so give it a go and present the evidence.
Halfords didn't upgrade me, my local retailer did. He put a pair of Mavic Cosmic Elites on. An already quick bike got even quicker, and now the SRAM is set up propely too (don't get me started on that!), it is a dream.
As for the query on the brakes... In my honest opinion for the speed this bike is capable of the brakes are so poor they are possibly unsafe. Most people reckon the Force components are redundant with the recent upgrades to the Rival group set for 2009, but I put some SRAM Force callipers on and it really gave me a lot of confidence to stick it into the bends. At least you should upgrade to a Shimano 105 level set of brakes as a first priority above all else.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Cheers, for the info Richard et al. I've been looking closely at this bike and I reckon I'm going to order it through the Cycle2Work scheme. I might be due a wee rebate soon so the first thing I'll be doing is upgrading the wheels. Bizarrely though, Halfords are claiming that they don't stock the bikes and won't be doing so till March. Clearly that's not the case judging by the comments on here. WTF is going on with that company?!
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
More on the loose spokes story. On its second outing, this am, one of my FRONT spokes unwound completely and the nipple has dropped into the rim (so it's not just a rear wheel problem). I took it round to the BikeHut in the city (Old Bailey) this lunchtime (where they do have loads in stock by the way Leodhasach). They claimed it was all the fault of the Bikehut I had bought the bike from (Twickenham). Apparently all Bikehuts have had a notice from head office telling them they have got to tighten all spokes 'half a turn' before sending the bike out. Anyway I got a bit cross when he claimed he wasn't going to help, (as the wheel had already buckled and I was refusing to commute home on it) - and while we werre still disagreeing about it one of the mechanics starting fixing it! so the junior guys are clearly more helpful than the senior ones. If you are buying one MAKE SURE they have tightened ALL the spokes....
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Another comment... on the brakes. Wouldn't be too hard on them on reflection. They are actually the Tektro R580 lightweights (just not branded). Retail for about $70 US, and are only 11 grammes heavier than the equivalent SRAM Rival calipers (308g vs 257g)! Now they're set up right they appear to be doing the job OK.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Hi!
I'm italian, do you know a website where i can buy it?
Thank you very much!
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
When are we going to see them appear on the Halfords website ? Still have 2008 bikes but nothing of the latest release. Order online and collect in-store combined with 10% off weekend saves £100. But when ......
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
As a racing cyclist and mechanic of some 22 years experience, I would probably say that any cyclist who has tried to get a Boardman Carbon Pro for 3 months should surely have realised that it is, after all, an 09 model! You can`t get what hasn`t been released so the supplier hasn`t lost anything. This bike was still under wraps 3 months ago so it`s impossible for the correspondent to have tried to get one for 3 months as they hadn`t been revealed! He may be thinking of the Road Pro carbon rear triangle which was victim of success as they sold out almost immediately. With full Dura Ace grouppo for £1500, what would you expect! They are now available but share the same problem as GT who still haven`t sent their full range into the shops so Boardman are no exception. Quantities are starting to come thru but with reviews like this, are you suprised they are flying off the shelves. Try reserving one, you`ll get it as soon as they get it. I have a Boardman too so I know what to expect. They are fantastic. Stop crying and have patience or go elsewhere.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
bigdaz, I'm sorry you've not got your references quite right there. This isabout the £1000 Team Carbon, NOT the Carbon Pro. The Team Carbon came onto stock at the end of November in a very select few Halfords and Bikehuts if they were very quick in snapping up the limited initial stock. How do I know this? Because I took delivery of mine 2nd December and it had been waiting instore for me for two days.
Whilst I agree with you about the quality of the Team Carbon bike, you are in fact commenting about the wrong bike and to boot, the sentiments of your closing sentence are out of order.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Quite tempted to get one of these when Halfords are having 10% off online orders and they are available. It does look like a great bike and for the money I don't think anything comes close. I have looked at the Focus Cayo but they are a lower spec this year, I guess its to do with the exchange rate and the Team Milram sponsorship deal. I wondered if richardspooner could let me know what the bikes like to ride and if there are any quality issues and how well the bike was set up.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
It's a really good bike to ride. It is too easy to say 'considering the price it's really good etc', but this bike can stand on its own merits. Out the box it is fast and light, and changes direction nice and quickly but without been overly twitchy. So is as good in traffic as on any ride. It sprints and accelerates well without any overly intrusive flex from the frame or forks, so whilst it is a carbon frame for only £1000, the compromises aren't in the frame. Change the saddle and fit gel bar tape and you have a bike that can cope easily with 60+ mile rides without rattling your teeth out.
Set up was terrible, and this comment is made from the point of view of a customer who tried his hardest to work with the Halfords that supplied it. They can't set up SRAM. That's it in a nutshell. Despite them trying their best they couldn't get the indexing or double tap set and it ruined everything for the two weeks they persisted. I relented in the end and paid to have it done at my local specialist! And then it just transformed it. It's not the prettiest bike or frame, but it's a great starting point to swap components on. If only they could solve the lose spoke issue (which my local bike shop is convinced is dodgy spoke nipples with badly tapped holes that are causing the spokes to rattle lose, not under tightening).
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Well I've got mine on order. LoC voucher came through on Tuesday but I'd asked for one to be sent up when I popped in to the shop last Saturday. To be honest I don't think I'll let them anywhere near it and will pop along to Alpine Bikes next door and get them to set it up for me. The service in my local of branch of Halfords has been nothing short of abysmal and there's no chance I'm going to let them tinker with it too much.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Picked one of these up on monday, after being assured that my fears of halfords poor setup were unfounded by the manager, was offered a bike with an upgraded carbon crank for the same money so snapped it up. Was told it was a medium frame but got it home and found it was the small. The gears were hopelessly indexed which I sorted but I shouldn't have had to. The upgraded crank rubbed the front deralileur regardless of how you set it. Bike was light as a feather and looked fantastic, But same as ever Halfords aftersales/service is completely useless, Returned the bike...
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Was really interested in buying one of these after reading the review - needed a small and was told by the local dealer that there were only 10 in the country this size (according to their database). I asked if they could ship one to my local Halfords dealer and left my contact details. That was over a week ago and I'm still waiting to hear from them either way. This seems symptomatic of the kind of service that other reviewers are experiencing. and seems a real shame that a potential winner is being brought down by poor service and backup not to mention the loss of a £1000 sale. I think I'll go with the Kiron especially as the Easton wheels sound excellent.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Apologies in advance as I don't have a review to submit, but I have been reading this post with great interest. I too have the opportunity to get a deal from Halfords on the cycle2work scheme. I was going to go for this bike, but now I'm torn between last year's 'Road Pro 08' model and this team carbon 09, based on comments about problems and upgrade requirements etc.
It's really to be used for general fitness training and a bit of time trialing, no road racing. Since the road pro is reduced from £1,399.99 is it a better value buy than this carbon model? I don't want to have to spend lots of money upgrading what is undoubtedly a lighter, better frame though. I used to be a keen road racer but I've been away from the cycling scene for 15 years now and I'm completely out of touch with components etc. I'd be grateful to hear some opinions about what I should go for and why. Whichever I go for will be much better than my old Raleigh 531c tube 36 spoke rim, 12 speed machine...
Many thanks in advance
Mark
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Mark
The 08 bike is much better spec with shimano top level dura-ace shifters, front and rear mech. The Truvative carbon chainset and carbon Tektro brakes are also quite good for a bike at this price. It also has Ritcheys top level alloy wcs seat post, stem, bars and the same wcs wheels that are on the £1500 09 pro. The 09 comp has sram mid level rival shifters, front and rear mech, sram chainset, and Entry level Ritchey comp,seat post,stem,bars and wheels. I guess its down to which bike you like to look of or if you want the carbon frame or alloy and carbon mix. If you wanted the 09 you could always upgrade what you didn't like. If i was you i would try and visit a Halfords with both instock so you can get a good idea of which will suit you. In my opinion i would go for the 08 as i dont think it would really need any upgrading. I think having the Ritchey wcs wheels and dura-ace more than makes up for not having the full carbon frame.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Many thanks for the advice Clockworkali. After finally making my mind up to go for the 08 bike I contacted Halfords. Apparently even though they have no Team carbon 09 available until Apirl, I can't get an 08 pro bike as they have completely sold out and are not restocking. Team carbon 09 it is then...
I have to say that the wheel issue on this bike bothers me though. Maybe they'll address it before April.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
I got the bike delivered last week and it was set up by Halfords....... When I got it home I the front brakes were loose and the gears weren't perfectly indexed but that only took a few minutes of tinkering to get sorted. I FINALLY got out on it this morning (too much snow for me to risk it before) and after my first run I have to say I'm very pleased with it. The rear wheel (so far) hasn't been an issue, it handles beautifully and flies up the hills. The SRAM kit seems to be good, although it took me a couple of miles and a bit of cursing to get used to it!
MarkGixer.. I'm not too sure what tales Halfords are telling you but they've got plenty in stock, there was no trouble at all in getting mine ordered. Although when one of my friends phoned up customer services he was also told the same thing.
It's not getting a rating of 5 purely because of the Halfords customer service and the fact that I wasn't able to try the bike before I left the shop. The guy who set it up didn't even bother to check whether it was the right size frame for me! He just took my voucher and handed the bike across with a 'there you go' before heading off to serve the next customer. Be warned if you're using the voucher - make sure you get something extra to to bring the value up to a grand. The bike retails at £978 and he put it through as £999. It's not a huge amount of cash but I'm going to go back in and see about getting a couple of bits for the £22 they owe me :-)
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
In response to both Zoro12345 and KAV 1964.
I think that you are being overly harsh in giving the bike 2 stars. The bike itself is excellent and your gripes are with Halfords and not the kit itself. KAV1964 if you go with the Kirion then I hope that it is all you want but your purchasing a bike without even seeing it in the flesh never mind having stood over it!
Think that people are looking for things to try and rubbish what is an excellent piece of kit. Having used my 09 Team I can only say that it is truly the best £1000 bike I have ever ridden. Having also ridden some of my fellow riders considerably more expensive steeds then I can honestly still say that I am still more than happy with my Boardman.
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0.3
User review of Boardman Team Carbon (09)
Pencil, I can actually see both sides. As an owner of the bike from early December of have experienced every problem there is to have. Be it component related, human error related, or organisational failure from Halfords and Bikehut. If as a customer I didn't have access to a very, very good local specialist to solve the problems, who has also loaned me some great bikes to which I can compare this, I doubt there is anyone would say I was being unfair to if I scored the bike so low. I'm sure the Boardman company would want to see WHY one of their potentially biggest sellers is getting labelled as sub standard!
Granted to score the bike so low simply because you can't GET one as KAV 1964 has, is unfair (and stupid in my opinion).
But then as an owner who has finally got the bike setup properly I think it deserves the four or five. However, that is with an objective outlook, a great deal of patience on my behalf, and hindsight. It is a stunningly good bike, which paid me back in spades on a ride Sunday. So I agree with you as well.
There is no doubt though, the quicker Boardman get from underneath this Halfords exclusive deal the better. For the company reputation, the kudos of the products and the repeat custom that comes from properly supplied bikes (which Halfords AREN'T doing!).
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Specification
- Name:
- Team Carbon (09)
- Built by:
- Boardman
- Price:
- $1360.00
- Available Sizes:
- L, M, S, XL
- Weight (kg):
- 8
- Weight (lb):
- 17.61
- Year:
- 2009
Frame & Fork:
- Frame Material:
- Ultralight unidirectional T700 carbon fibre monocoque
- Frame Weight (g):
- 1185 g
- Fork Model:
- Ultralight carbon fibre monocoque
- Headset Type:
- FSA Orbit integrated cartridge bearing
Brakes:
- Brakes Model:
- R580
Transmission:
- Cranks Model:
- SRAM S350 compact 50x34T
- Bottom Bracket Model:
- SRAM GXP
- Rear Derailleur Model:
- SRAM Rival
- Front Derailleur Model:
- SRAM Rival
- Shifters Model:
- SRAM Rival 10 speed
- Chain Model:
- Shimano CN-5600
- Cassette:
- Shimano CS-5600 12-25T
Wheels:
- Front Wheel Weight:
- 1153 g
- Rear Wheel Weight:
- 1736 g
- Rims Model:
- Ritchey Pro 20H front, 24H rear
- Tyres Brand:
- Continental
- Front Tyre Model:
- Ultrasport
- Front Tyre Size:
- 700x23C
- Rear Tyre Model:
- Ultrasport
- Rear Tyre Size:
- 700x23C
Contact Points:
- Saddle Model:
- cboardman, Cro-Mo rails
- Seatpost Model:
- Ritchey Comp 31.6mm
- Stem Model:
- Ritchey Comp OS 31.8mm
- Handlebar Model:
- Ritchey Comp OS 31.8mm
:
- Standover Height (cm):
- 77 cm
- Top Tube:
- 56 cm
- Wheelbase:
- 99 cm
- Bottom Bracket Height (cm):
- 27 cm
- Chainstays (cm):
- 40.5 cm
- Seat Tube (cm):
- 47.5 cm
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