Boardman bikes.   HANDLE WITH CARE.

10.5.11

I love bikes. Pedal cycles as my grandfather would have called them. I have done ever since my very first bike, a Raleigh Grifter bought for me by my parents when I was a child and lovingly refurbished and re-sprayed by my father. Even my first bike was custom!
I appreciate everything about them, their simplicity, their complexity, their elegance and ultimately what they gave me as a child, and continue to give me on a daily bases, freedom.
There is a purity to cycling that just clicks with me, and which in my view is a mirror for life itself, exhilarating, painful, exciting, hard, and only giving back what you put in.

From this you’ll see I’m clearly a bike geek. So, a number of years back now, when I heard that Chris Boardman was intending to launch a range of bikes I was obviously interested. A successful British cyclist launching a bike brand, in the world of British cycling if that doesn’t get you interested then not much will. When
the company was launched I was really impressed not only by the bikes, but also the design and execution of the brand. I thought the brand design was excellent, it had a solid, bold and confident feel, and successfully made the brand feel like it had provenance. Using the yellow in the C of the name was a clear nod to those more enthusiastic riders who understand something of the meaning of the colour with in the cycling world, as well as a reference to the professional success of the man whose name adorns every bike.

In the spring of 2010 I was looking for a new road bike. I had a £1000 budget and wanted a competent bike to complete some long distance rides and sportive events. Despite looking at a number of other bike brands I knew that I wanted to try the new Boardman Team Carbon. The bike was getting excellent press reviews and for the price the specification was excellent.

It was at this point that as a cyclist who had only ever purchased quality bike brands through independent specialist bike shops that I had to swallow my pride, and remove my preconceptions and walk through the door of a Halfords!

Now I’m sure many people would think I’m a snob, or an idiot for writing the above, but us cyclist are a funny lot. Bikes are not just two wheeled transport to us. We care about them in a way that is alien to many. Our bikes are often an extension of ourselves and due to shared experiences earn themselves a place in our hearts and minds that far exceed the sum of their parts. The very first part of that shared experience is the purchase. The purchasing experience is paramount, and the idea of walking through the doors of the largest bike retailer in the UK left my soul a little cold.

I can still recall the day when I wanted my first mountain bike as a teenager and my father steered me with his hand on my back out of our local Halfords and down the road to the local bike shop!

Although from a business point of view the decision to launch Boardman bikes via Halfords bike hut stores makes sense, I was keen to see if it was at the expense of the customers brand experience. Even at a £1000 which is at the lower to mid end of the enthusiast cyclist market the staff at Halfords were going to have to go along way to give me confidence and handle my brand expectations.
They failed from the outset!

I did aim to be open minded, but from trying to establish the right frame size for me by putting me on a bike with deflated tyres, to a mildly clumsy individual with an allen key slipping and scratching a carbon frame, through to not having a stationary trainer to set the bike up on for detailed fitting, I found my self riding a demonstrator around the car park. I only managed one lap before realising the futility of it and returning to the store. I felt I was in the hands of a well meaning group of people who were set up and trained to sell £150 family bikes!


I still bought a Boardman Team Carbon, I simply insisted that when it was collected by me that it was boxed, and I assembled and set it up my self. Since that point I have really enjoyed riding the bike. It is a superb bike in every respect particularly given the price tag, and it has already begun to earn its place in my affections having completed a number of very challenging events together.

Unfortunately, this month I have had to return to Halfrds to have the headset serviced and new bearings fitted. Having waited three weeks for the bearings to arrive I collected my bike on Friday the 6th of May. The headset had been stripped but was with out the new bearings due to the wrong parts being ordered.  On collection the bike was covered in grease, the computer was reset and the wheel sensor dislodged. In addition the headset dissembled itself on the short ride home due to being incorrectly assembled!

I now find myself in a position where I own a bike that I like a lot! But I don’t have any confidence in the after sales service and support. I can’t even contact Boardman as a brand directly as the contact information on their website is for customer services @ guess who!

As a consultancy Sanders works hard creating products and brand communication graphics along side our clients with the intention to nurture and develop their businesses to provide strong foundations for companies to grow, and to install faith in our clients customers that they are purchasing products from brands that care about the customers brand experience at every level.

Everything that relates to a brand needs equal attention. A great looking brand identity, even allied with great product is not enough if it isn’t supported properly. Serious brands have to start designing the entire customer experience, and this is an area that here at Sanders we’re currently employing time and effort developing. Service design is a critical element of any brand as it ensures that where ever and however a customer experiences a brand it’s consistent and preferably consistently an experience that excels expectations.

As you can guess in my opinion this is an area that Boardman are sadly lacking. If you combine the current unsatisfactory sales and aftermarket experience with the fact that they are imminently due to launch a comprehensive range of top end road bikes, then it’s my feeling that it is time for them to reconsider their route to market. My feeling would be that they quickly need to establish some flagship Boardman specific outlets with competent well trained sales and servicing staff. It’s about time the Boardman brand had a face of its own and not a sub contracted distributor who through my direct experience is serving only to under mind what could be a really successful British bike brand.

Matthew Blofeld
Product Design Director
Sanders Design