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Friday, November 29, 2019

New [to me] bike

This project was kicked off by a cycling friend who said that he was thinking on getting rid of his mountain bike and buying a gravel type bike.  So this got me thinking,  because on our Weston to Weymouth ride in August I discovered that my Genesis weighed nearly as much as an electric bike that someone was using.  So if I had a lighter bike I would be zoomimg up the hills.....well in theory...  and I didn't use my mountain bike much anyway.

So I started looking around and found that there were lots of bikes for sale especially on Facebook Marketplace.  I had a tick list of what I wanted and some brands in mind, but my first choice was a Boardman, mainly because of the good components used.  So after a while this one came up locally and after watching it for a few weeks the price came down by £80.  So it was a must see, and I bought it.   I didnt want to pay out a huge amount as I knew I would have to spend money changing components to suit me.

Here it is just after I bought it, a 2014 Boardman Team CX.   The person I bought it from had hardly used it, as he preferred a pure road bike.


 and here's the finished bike.



The original crankset was a FSA  50/34 which was fine, but on the big ring the gearing was slightly too high for me and limited  me using the smaller gears on the rear cassette.  So I changed this to a  FSA 46T. outer ring.




The rear cassette was originally a 32/11 and this set up would have meant a struggle on the hills.  This was changed to a  Sunrace 40/11 and a rear derailleur extender added so that I could still use the SRAM Apex derailleur.  It works a treat with no adjustments.



A Planet X bottle cage



SKS mudguards front and rear, just to be sociable on club rides and it saves a badgers bum. Like many mudguards they take a lot or perseverance and patience to fit.  The carbon forks dont have mountings for a mudguard, so I got around this by using two Elite bottle cage mounts and mounting the mudguard stays on them. [click and enlarge the picture to see]



My mountain bike I gave to Cardiff Cycle Worshops
who run workshops, train youngsters, and do up and sell bikes.

Here it is the old mountain bike, refurbished and ready for sale at their workshop. 




So whats the bike like?

Well for a start its nearly 5 kgs lighter than my Genesis Croix de Fer and although its only a double crankset, going up hills is no problem with the set up I have now.  I've given it a good work out and ridden hills with up to 19% gradient  and managed them ok.  
Its a different bike to the Genesis, but thats what I wanted, the Genesis is a very good touring bike, but the Boardman is ideal for our club day rides which can be on trail or road.


14 comments:

  1. looks like you got a bargain, Dave, and have made it into a very useful piece of kit. That seems an excellent choice of gear range too.

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    1. Thanks Avus, modern bikes are sold with too high a gearing for me. I think manufacturers are missing a trick not selling bikes with lower gearing as there are many older people cycling and buying bikes.

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  2. 32/11 cassette... my knees are groaning at the mere thought of that!
    Good work hunting that down and modifying it Dave, you've got a very usable bike there. It looks like you've kept the secondary brake levers too, I know some people bin them, and I was unsure of them before I took delivery of my Giant, but having used them, I love them.
    Boardmans have got a good reputation so that bike will do you very well indeed.
    Nice one!

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  3. I'm really pleased with it Mick and its the first time I've had the gear change on the brake levers and secondary brakes. Both are good. The main problem with those Boardman bikes was a weak bottom bracket which often failed after a few hundred miles, but the previous owner had it changed. Its good fun and rides both trails and roads well.

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  4. How nice to find what you wanted at a bargain price! Hope your improvements give you years of riding pleasure. I like the fenders, looks really cool.

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  5. Thanks Sondra. Its a mixture of research , patience and luck when you use these online market sites,but I am pleased with it and I still get as much fun cycling at 70+ as I did at 7.

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  6. Looks like you had fun searching that out and rebuilding it.
    Hopefully winter allows you many miles downhills as well as up.

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    Replies
    1. Yes it was good fun Mr A. Lets hope "the rainy season" has gone for a while at least.

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  7. Looks like a great bike.. 5 kgs is a lot of weight to lose...that alone should make the hills easier to ride aside from your altered gearing.

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  8. Its noticeably lighter, more responsive than the Genesis and so far no hills have proved a problem. I also dropped 4kgs in weight so thats also helped.

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  9. Thanks for your visit, Dave. You are truly the bike expert. Fond memories of my dearest and my biking days and jogging days. Now it's a shuffle to the bathroom. HaHa...just kidding.

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    1. Thanks Wanda and all the best to you for 2020.

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  10. Just saw your comment on my new hair do!! Thanks...nice hearing a compliment from a man, since you know women will be sure to share their opinion..haha. It's easy...and that's what I need right now. Thanks for being my faithful "man" friend.

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As you have taken the time to read my blog and comment then whenever possible I will always reply. Thank you. Dave