Climbs well, floats in the descents. Good fork travel. snappy shifting

stock saddle, tires

After looking around for a bike that came stock with decent shifters and dérailleurs (not alivio for example) the boardman caught my eye. It has sram x7 everything, a decent fork and has a responsive feel to it. I was following a friened on a fs santa cruz today and this bike blazed through the technical climbs and descents and kept up with him despite this being a hardtail. I didn't have as much float as my buddy, but this bike really held its own. I recently changed out the crappy continental tires for Maxxis Advantage front and back. They helped to soak up some of the vibration and made for a comfy ride. Fot the money, you can't go wrong with this bike. I really can't fault it. Even my friends, who ride much more expensive bikes, don't dis it (at least not to my face). It holds its own and feels like a well machined ride. The welds are really clean and it has an almost carbon look to it near the head tube. I thought of upgrading the avid elixir 3 brakes earlier, but they've proven to be adequate after setting them.

Similar Products Used:

Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, Specialized Stumpjumper