Boardman ebike

Electrically assisted bikes, trikes, etc. that are legal in the UK
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trev57
Posts: 13
Joined: 27 Feb 2021, 4:43pm

Boardman ebike

Post by trev57 »

Hi. Is there anyone using this forum own a Boardman 8.9e electric gravel bike, just looking for pros & cons or is there a better bike in the same price range, Thanks in advance.

Trevor
richtea99
Posts: 93
Joined: 30 Jun 2020, 9:56pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by richtea99 »

We have a Boardman HYB 8.9e, which is a close match, but I haven't tried it from the 'gravel' point of view - just normal road use.

Pros:
- a pleasure to ride
- light (15-16kg or so)
- well built
- the Fazua drive system is well-designed
- enough power to climb most hills
- around 25-30 miles on continous power, or 50-60 miles if you're using the motor 'on demand'

Cons:
- battery can be fiddly to remove on earlier models - you press a large button whilst also catching the battery pack as it drops out. The newer flick-lever ones are supposed to be easier to remove. Ask at Halfords to try removing/inserting the battery pack. You get used to it, but some people with weak wrists, etc, may struggle.
- the motor Torx bolts seem under-torqued from the factory and may work loose in the first few rides, giving a creaking sound as you pedal. Put some loctite on them & tighten them. It's a very easy fix (or take it back to Halfords and get them to do it).

Competition:
- closest match are ebikemotion / Mahle-based bikes like Orbea Gain, Ribble, Lapiere, etc. The Fazua-based ones are slightly better (removeable battery, and mid-drive being the main pros), but the ebikemotion bikes are usually slightly cheaper and slightly lighter - but only by 0.5kg or so.

Overall:
If you're after something like a 'normal' bike but with some occasional or light assistance, then you won't beat the Boardman on price, IMHO. There are better bikes (lighter, better group sets), but you'll be looking north of £3-4k.

It's like riding a slightly heavy standard bike but with a very strong wind behind you. And that's just the low assistance mode!.
Bliss.
John C
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 Aug 2007, 9:04pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by John C »

Interesting review. Thanks. Does the Boardman have mountings to fix pannier rack and mudguard?
richtea99
Posts: 93
Joined: 30 Jun 2020, 9:56pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by richtea99 »

THe HYB 8.9e definitely does, but I can't answer for the ADV version.
You'll have to have a close look at the public ADV images, but I would expect a gravel bike to have the requisite lugs.

Here's the HYB 8.9e with front and rear mudguards. Note that the front mudguard stays attach to the inside of the forks.

The pannier carrier on ours is a seat post mounted beam type, but if you look just next to the top rear mudguard fixing, there are eyes for a frame-mounted pannier rack.

Image


Image
John C
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 Aug 2007, 9:04pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by John C »

Thanks!
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Cugel
Posts: 5430
Joined: 13 Nov 2017, 11:14am

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by Cugel »

richtea99 wrote: 5 Jun 2022, 10:02am (snip)

Cons:
- battery can be fiddly to remove on earlier models - you press a large button whilst also catching the battery pack as it drops out. The newer flick-lever ones are supposed to be easier to remove. Ask at Halfords to try removing/inserting the battery pack. You get used to it, but some people with weak wrists, etc, may struggle.
- the motor Torx bolts seem under-torqued from the factory and may work loose in the first few rides, giving a creaking sound as you pedal. Put some loctite on them & tighten them. It's a very easy fix (or take it back to Halfords and get them to do it).

(snip)
You soon get the knack of putting in and taking out the Fazua motor/battery module. The trick is to rotate the front wheel out of the way in such a fashion that you can keep the bike upright whilst manipulating the module into and out of the frame, bottom (drive end) first.

The fazua gearbox Torx bolts (4 of) that keep the gearbox (not the motor) with its ISIS splined axle in place within the bottom bracket of the frame should be tightened to 8.5Nm, according the Fazua. I had a similar BB click on the new bike until those bolts were tightened. They generally already have the blue goo that stops the bolts loosening so no need for loctite, if so.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
mrburns
Posts: 4
Joined: 17 Aug 2022, 9:37am

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by mrburns »

Cugel wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 10:26pm
richtea99 wrote: 5 Jun 2022, 10:02am (snip)

Cons:
- battery can be fiddly to remove on earlier models - you press a large button whilst also catching the battery pack as it drops out. The newer flick-lever ones are supposed to be easier to remove. Ask at Halfords to try removing/inserting the battery pack. You get used to it, but some people with weak wrists, etc, may struggle.
- the motor Torx bolts seem under-torqued from the factory and may work loose in the first few rides, giving a creaking sound as you pedal. Put some loctite on them & tighten them. It's a very easy fix (or take it back to Halfords and get them to do it).

(snip)
You soon get the knack of putting in and taking out the Fazua motor/battery module. The trick is to rotate the front wheel out of the way in such a fashion that you can keep the bike upright whilst manipulating the module into and out of the frame, bottom (drive end) first.

The fazua gearbox Torx bolts (4 of) that keep the gearbox (not the motor) with its ISIS splined axle in place within the bottom bracket of the frame should be tightened to 8.5Nm, according the Fazua. I had a similar BB click on the new bike until those bolts were tightened. They generally already have the blue goo that stops the bolts loosening so no need for loctite, if so.

Cugel
That blue stuff is Loctite.

Although the Fazua bolts are usually ok Fazua customer services know of the issue and should be using a stronger Loctite. But lets see.

If anyone suffers from continually tightening them up I would suggest using a stronger Loctite. My bike has done 12000k, It started making the creak at 4k and I swapped to a stainless bolt with a stronger loctite. Done 8k with out tightening.
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deliquium
Posts: 2349
Joined: 9 Mar 2007, 3:40pm
Location: Eryri

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by deliquium »

A few weeks old now and very much enjoying the Boardman HYB 8.9E bought online, unridden or tested :shock:

Several things still need changing to suit my crazy/odball 'needs' :roll:

So far have:

1. Built a new pair of wheels with Ryde Andra 321 rims, Shimano XT rear hub, Kasai FS-FK5D front dyno hub and double butted Sapim spokes all round, brass Sapim nipples.
2. New Panaracer Tourguard 700C x 35 tyres
3. New Ergotech Trekking handlebars 590mm wide with oh so comfortable 47º sweep back (will cut down width by at least 25mm each side soon)
4. New Jtek Long Layback seatpost (necessary to get a Brooks far back enough on a bike with a 73º angle seat tube)
5. Already had in stock a favoured Brooks B17 Imperial - although that will be replaced with an all black B17 standard soon.
6. SKS Edge AL 46mm matt balck aluminium mudguards (look good but stays attach to the inside of the guards which is sub optimal methinks)
7. SKS long mudflap which fortunately just fits.
8. Rear RSP rack (have 3 silver ones on other bikes and really like the lower rails for pannier mounting and the height adjustabilty)
9. New Shimano 11-36 HG50 10 speed cassette (the original 11-42 has two huge jumps between the 15/18 and 18/21 sprockets :evil: )

Still to do:

a) Replace the 44 chainring with a 36
b) Fit a already have SON Edelux2 dyno headlight (unfortunately the carbon forks aren't drilled at the front of the crown :( so will have to mount on the handlebars? :(
c) fit pedal extenders to the cranks as the original FSA 746 crank arms bend slightly outward from the pedal interface - meaning feet clunk and rub the crank :twisted: :twisted:

Only done 63 miles so far and liking it very much. Especially the Fazua part - even though some folks seem to encounter common issues. Hoping this one keeps working ok and continue to impress with the assistance it gives and how smoothly

(saddlebag is a 1950/60s very heavy thick cotton duck Karrimor of Rawtenstall)

IMG_3761.jpeg

ps if anyone might be interested in any of the original as new parts I've replaced, inc wheels, tyres and tubes, bars, sadlle etc . . ?
Current pedalable joys

"you would be surprised at the number of people in these parts who nearly are half people and half bicycles"
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Cugel
Posts: 5430
Joined: 13 Nov 2017, 11:14am

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by Cugel »

deliquium wrote: 21 Aug 2022, 4:58pm A few weeks old now and very much enjoying the Boardman HYB 8.9E bought online, unridden or tested :shock:

Several things still need changing to suit my crazy/odball 'needs' :roll:

So far have:

1. Built a new pair of wheels with Ryde Andra 321 rims, Shimano XT rear hub, Kasai FS-FK5D front dyno hub and double butted Sapim spokes all round, brass Sapim nipples.
2. New Panaracer Tourguard 700C x 35 tyres
3. New Ergotech Trekking handlebars 590mm wide with oh so comfortable 47º sweep back (will cut down width by at least 25mm each side soon)
4. New Jtek Long Layback seatpost (necessary to get a Brooks far back enough on a bike with a 73º angle seat tube)
5. Already had in stock a favoured Brooks B17 Imperial - although that will be replaced with an all black B17 standard soon.
6. SKS Edge AL 46mm matt balck aluminium mudguards (look good but stays attach to the inside of the guards which is sub optimal methinks)
7. SKS long mudflap which fortunately just fits.
8. Rear RSP rack (have 3 silver ones on other bikes and really like the lower rails for pannier mounting and the height adjustabilty)
9. New Shimano 11-36 HG50 10 speed cassette (the original 11-42 has two huge jumps between the 15/18 and 18/21 sprockets :evil: )

Still to do:

a) Replace the 44 chainring with a 36
b) Fit a already have SON Edelux2 dyno headlight (unfortunately the carbon forks aren't drilled at the front of the crown :( so will have to mount on the handlebars? :(
c) fit pedal extenders to the cranks as the original FSA 746 crank arms bend slightly outward from the pedal interface - meaning feet clunk and rub the crank :twisted: :twisted:

Only done 63 miles so far and liking it very much. Especially the Fazua part - even though some folks seem to encounter common issues. Hoping this one keeps working ok and continue to impress with the assistance it gives and how smoothly

(saddlebag is a 1950/60s very heavy thick cotton duck Karrimor of Rawtenstall)


IMG_3761.jpeg


ps if anyone might be interested in any of the original as new parts I've replaced, inc wheels, tyres and tubes, bars, sadlle etc . . ?
Looks good, that!

Personally I have one or two rear panniers on me rear rack when wanting to carry owt. That saddlebag looks a bit top-heavy, although it's well-suited to the Brooksy look. I do have a-one of the Brooks weeny saddlebags on mine (1.8 L volume only, for little odds & sods).

In respect of the bike feel when hung with stuff, I've noticed the new Fazua gravel/winter bike is far more stable with full rear panniers than was the similar Specialised Tricross unpowered bike I used before in a similar fashion (winter/shopping bike). The Fazua motor & battery module not only lowers the centre of gravity of the bike but also brings it forward somewhat, compared to when I put in the empty Fazua module for unpowered rides. It feels very planted down the fast bendy hills, especially with 45mm wide Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres grabbing the road. The old Tricross needed front panniers filled before the rear otherwise it felt like it was about to do a wheelie on the steeper uphills.

Why do manufacturers put racing-bike gears on everything? And poorly thought-out ratios to boot? Whilst I like having a low gear of 34 X 34 I have no use for a top gear of 50 X 11; or 50 X 12; or even 50 X 13. 14-34 would be a far better cassette choice for such bikes, allowing closer ratios at the high gear end that are so much better at serving up one's ideal cadence in all circumstances. I know some like to pedal down hills in 53 X 11 but they'd go faster if they stopped and just tucked in their elbows and knees instead. :-)

With the e-bikes, I've discovered that the 11-32 11-speed cassettes are better although the big chain ring must be swapped to a 46. (42 would be better but the front mechs won't go down far enough without issue). The high gear end of an 11-34 cassette starts 11-13-15-17 whereas the 11-32 starts 11-12-13-14-15-17. Closer ratios, more useful. The low gear is reduced to 34 X 32 from 34 X 34 but this is insignificant on the e-bike.

No mudguards on mine yet as I'm doing the Fforest Brechfa gravel tracks so I'm wary of a thick twig jam. At the end of summer (any minute now) I'll put on the new aluminium Kinesis guards I have ready. Good and stiff, they are. Wide enough to keep wet winter Welsh road clarts from escaping on to my nice paintwork. The gravel tracks will then have to wait until next Spring.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
Malvern Wanderer
Posts: 1
Joined: 21 Aug 2022, 9:55pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by Malvern Wanderer »

I have a Boardman ADV8.9E, which I have had for about 18 months now. I had some initial bad experiences - the bike came with the "old style" push knob to eject the motor/battery, which basically seized up and eventually Halfords just replaced it under warranty with the lever system, which is still a bit clunky, but does at least work properly. I had a problem with the bike developing a creak/click in the bottom bracket which eventually resulted in them replacing the whole unit (sounds like it was probably due to the under-tightened Torx screws in the gearbox mounting referred to in another post - they showed me the computer test read-out from the old gearbox and even i could tell it was very sick). So after the first three months of ownership i was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake, even though when it worked properly it was absolutely brilliant. I have not had any more problems, so it has won me over. I give it some hard use, I am not a light rider and I use it mostly on gravel tracks and the like, so it takes some punishment. I'm not a serious cyclist - I have probably done about 1,000 miles in total over the last year, but they have been mostly on rough terrain and it has not let me down at all. I got Halfords to fit a Topeak Quicktrack MTX pannier and carrier - which has been brilliant (slide on/slide off). I have myself fitted an angled handlebar stem to bring the bars up to a more comfortable riding position for me. I also swapped my well-worn Brookes saddle in, a big improvement on the OEM saddle, which I found really uncomfortable. I'm no techie, but I can't see anything that looks like mounting points for mudguards. The motor assistance is great - what I wanted was something that would help me up the hills and encourage me to get out on longer rides off road - which it has done really well. My wife bought a Ribble with the ebikemotion system at the same time, and she likes it but even though it delivers the same power (250W) as the Fazua system on the Boardman, the latter clearly has much more usable torque for getting up steep hills. I just like it. It's also light enough to go on a two-bike rack with the Ribble on the back of our camper (and whilst the combined weight of the two bikes is well within the 35kg limit of the Thule rack, I can take out the motor/battery and replace it with the stupidly expensive lightweight aluminium thingy, when it turns into just a slightly overweight "normal" bike which is much easier to lift up onto the rack). If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them, but as you can probably tell I'm not an expert and all this talk of changing cassettes, etc, goes way above my head. My brother in law is a bike nut and he said he was impressed at the overall value for money/price balance.
richtea99
Posts: 93
Joined: 30 Jun 2020, 9:56pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by richtea99 »

Malvern Wanderer wrote: 21 Aug 2022, 10:30pm I'm no techie, but I can't see anything that looks like mounting points for mudguards.
See my images above of the HYB version above - 4th post down.
Aren't there the same mounting points on the ADV version? Disappointing if not...
Nerolab
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Apr 2023, 10:23pm

Re: Boardman ebike

Post by Nerolab »

Hi
I need a gravel e-bike in my life to make commuting more fun and more frequent.
I tried the Ribble Gravel ALe which was great fun but the wait times are now prohibitive.
I’ve been looking at a cairn- great spec but £4k plus.
Boardman have the ADV 8.9e which looks like great value especially if you trade your old bike in.
My concerns are 1) are the wheels tubeless ready? And 2) are there enough lugs to take luggage as I want to do some bikepacking
Also, is there a spare battery available for them?
Thanks for your input
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