Old-blog

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    Perseverance & proof
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    Performance Centre Q&A
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    Boardman HYB 8.9 - Cycling Plus The term hybrid has long been used as a pejorative in cycling. But that needn't be the case for the often-unloved offspring of road and mountain bike. Get the 'Goldilocks' style balance right, and you've got the ideal bike for what Boardman calls' the city commute or urban adventure.'
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    Boardman AIR 9.2 - BikesETC “In this particular race for pace and pampering the Boardman AIR 9.2 is first over the line"
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    Boardman CXR 9.2 “The CXR 9.2 has lots to offer the club racer, with great performance that won’t break the bank”
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    Boardman AIR 9.6 The AIR has benefitted from Chris Boardman’s aerodynamic acumen as well as his experience against the clock to ensure that the British brand gets to punch well above its weight. Add in some choice Knight Composite deep section wheels, and the 2019 AIR 9.6 looks like a serious bargain.
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    Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon "Blimey, what a corker! The Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon replaces the Road Team Carbon which is road.cc Road Bike of the Year 2017-18, and it's a lot of bike for £1,000."
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    Road Bike Of The Year Best Value 2017 "Superior endurance bike with lovely levels of kit for the cash" - 2017 could be the year that Boardman packs value back into the equation and going on this 9.2 it's hard to resist a specification that includes Shimano Dura-Ace, an FSA SLK carbon crank and high-level RS785 hydraulic discs all for just a pound under £2,300
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    Road.cc Deal Of The Year 2017-18 The Road Team Carbon continues the theme of fun and exhilarating bikes delivered by Boardman that also manage to offer excellent value for money. You can't argue with the performance or kit from this entry-level racer, and the frame is so good it'll be well worth upgrading the parts as and when you can.
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    Road.cc Road Bike Of The Year 2017-18 And so to our winner, and it's another Road Bike of the Year award for Boardman. Last year the £1,799 Road Pro Carbon SLR nabbed the award, this time it's the £900 Road Team Carbon. Boardman is on a roll. The Road Team Carbon continues the theme of fun and exhilarating bikes delivered by Boardman that also manages to offer excellent value for money. You can't argue with the performance or kit from this entry-level racer, and the frame is so good it'll be well worth upgrading the parts as and when you can.
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    Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 You'll need to take the Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.0's name with a pinch of salt as this is no slackened off race bike for those who want a comfortable and relaxed ride. Sharing virtually the same geometry as the SLR Race models, the Endurance Disc absolutely flies – although if going long is your thing you might find the frame a little punishing.
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    Boardman CXR 9.4 It's that time of year when some of us feel the urge to go and get muddy. The whole gravel/adventure thing may have softened some bikes a touch to make them more versatile but Boardman's CXR 9.4 is having none of it.
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    Boardman ATT 9.2 Time Trial Bike An affordable piece of speed weaponry which is more than adequate for enthusiasts and with replacement base bar and wheels reaches near professional level.
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    Best of British The Boardman arguably represents an easier buying decision, given the lower price and the brand’s scale, and we gladly recommend it. The spec of this bike is a bit cheeky but the TTE 9.2 is both affordable and vice free, so you can buy one without the Zipps and upgrade it later.
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    Road Test Winner: Boardman SLR Endurance 9.0 The Boardman rose to the top because it isn’t just a great value bike, it’s a great bike compared to any other ride you want to line it up alongside. In the grand scheme of actual measurable performance differences we doubt you could even plot it, but the way it combines easy efficiency, confident handling and a highly upgradeable lightweight frame is just right for all sorts of riding, from challenging to contemplative. It’s even good enough to forgive its hydrophobic tyres, although we’d definitely change them when funds allow.
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    Active Traveller Magazine Best Road Bike 2017 Winner Active Traveller Magazine Best Road Bike 2017 Winner Boardman SLR Endurance 9.0. Verdict: Everything from the well fi nished carbon frame to the hard-working components has been well thought out and the result is a package that just works. Plus: Great value with a top quality frame worth upgrading later Minus: Nothing
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    Boardman Elite Endurance SLR Disc 9.2 "Superior endurance bike with lovely levels of kit for the cash" It's hard to resist a specification that includes Shimano Dura-Ace, an FSA SLK carbon crank and high-level RS785 hydraulic discs all for just a pound under £2,200.
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    Boardman Mountain Bike Pro 29er "This is a lot of mountain bike for the money considering high-end, specialist creations can top £7,000. The combined result was a very happy, increasingly mud-decorated me." - Pete Walker The Guardian
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    Boardman MTB Team 29er review "We simply didn’t think you could make a bike this good at a price this low"

    Highs: Impeccable handling; outstanding kit list for the money; responsive, trail-smoothing 29er wheels with reliably grippy but not slow rubber. Buy if you want a really great bike at a fantastic price

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    Road.cc Bike of the Year 2016-17 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winner of the road.cc Bike of the Year 2016-17 award, the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR. The Boardman has already scooped the Road Bike of the Year award and it put off all contenders in the overall Bike of the Year shortlist to be named this year’s winner. It put in a really good performance when we reviewed it. When you combine the top level ride and handling, decent equipment and finishing kit, and the price, it just all adds up to offer a complete package. Whether you’re new to cycling or looking for an upgrade, the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR ticks all the boxes.
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    Boardman Elite Air 9.2 Road.cc Verdict 4,5 / 5. Boardman's Elite Air 9.2 is just the ticket if you're looking for a fast bike with a good spec but you haven't got very silly money to spend. It's a good package and the performance is impressive straight out of the box. There are a few minor niggles, but nothing that would make me hesitate to recommend it.
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    Finalist in road.cc Road Bike of the Year 2016-17 Boardman AIR 9.2 - Aerodynamics without the eye-watering price tag. Boardman Bikes are well respected and the new Elite Air 9.2 is a bike to take seriously if you want a high-performance aero road bike but don’t have silly money to spend. Let’s start with the value for money, because Boardman has specced most of a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset with an FSA SL-K Light carbon chainset, so you’re getting first class gear shift performance and solid power transfer from the cranks. The parts are bolted to a full carbon fibre frame that makes use o the latest understanding of aerodynamics, with every surface shaped and curved to reduce drag, so you can ride faster for less energy.
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    Boardman Team Hybrid Pedals A more minimalist take on the flat/SPD theme than the M324s, Boardman`s Hybrids are more than 200g lighter than the Shimano pedals. But the build quality is good, the clipping-in action is reassuring and they come with a two-year guarantee. The contact area with your shoes is slightly longer than with the Shimano pedals, but there`s little difference in feel.
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    Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.4 What we have here is a typical Boardman bike: a lively, responsive machine that’s well-specced and good value for money. There are aspects that won’t be to everyone’s taste and it doesn’t have all the very latest tech, but there’s nothing you can really complain about. All in all, as much as the Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.4 may represent the new normal, it still manages to be stand out from the crowd.
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    Seven of the best… titanium bikes for 2016 A titanium bike has a reputation as being a ‘bike for life’ and, whether or not that’s true, even in a world dominated by carbon fibre, titanium remains an excellent metal from which to make a frame. It’s lighter than steel and has an enviably smooth ride quality, while if in the hands of a skilled builder, retaining a level of stiffness which ensures there’s still plenty of fun to be hand. It’s lighter than steel, too, but on the flip side, is often more expensive. The ‘bike for life’ tag comes from titanium’s anti-corrosive properties, along with the fact it can be repaired, whether that’s polishing the surface of the metal itself, or handling a knock to the hard-wearing frame. As an aside, there’s no doubt in our mind that a well designed titanium can look damn good, too. So it’s little surprise titanium still remains a popular option with riders making a long-term, considered purchase they expect to stand the test of time.
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    Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR Verdict 4.5/5. Impressive weight and value, and an exciting, rewarding ride – Boardman has nailed the race bike format If you want to put that race licence to good use, smash those Strava KOMs or just want a fast, comfortable, easy-to-ride road bike, then the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR needs to be on your shortlist. With a full-carbon frameset, SRAM Force groupset, Mavic Ksyrium wheels and weighing in at just 7kg (15.5lb), the SLR is a real contender even before you take the price into account – and that challenges even the direct-to-consumer specialists.
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    Is Boardman’s Road Pro SLR silver racer worthy of gold? Verdict: 4.5/5. Boardman’s SLR acronym stands for ‘Super Light Racing’, and at 7.37kg this is at the lighter end of what you can get for £1800. Its geometry and build, meanwhile, leave no doubt as to its competitive aspirations. And while Boardman has long offered you a lot for your money, the brand’s purchase by Halfords seems to have upped the value further. The Road Pro Carbon SLR props up the SLR Race range, but this is very far from entry-level fodder. Its C8 carbon frameset is kitted out with a SRAM Force 22 groupset and Mavic’s Ksyrium Equipe wheels, creating a seriously appetising prospect. The top-tube is long, the head-tube on the short side – so if you like an aggressive saddle to bar drop, you’ll feel right at home here. But for a race-orientated machine, the SLR also has superb bump-smoothing ability, soaking up everything that Wiltshire’s washboard roads could throw at it, and giving us a very plush ride. The seatpost is carbon, 31.8mm instead of the oft specced 27.2mm, but it didn’t cost any comfort, and topped with Prologo’s Nago Evo saddle that has just the right balance of cushioning, feel and support. Acceleration is not extraordinarily, but it’s deceptively quick and whether you’re seated or standing, the SLR’s unfussy straight chainstays, beefy down-tube and carbon cranks transfer your power impressively to the Ksyrium wheels, one of the keys to the Boardman’s pacy nature. These are paired with Mavic’s 25mm Yksion tyres, which feature grippier rubber than Mavic’s first generation offerings.
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    road.cc Road Bike of the Year 2016-17 1st Place: Boardman Road Pro Carbon Another Boardman in the top ten, but it’s the Road Pro Carbon SLR, a new bike launched in 2016, that scoops the coveted top spot. Boardman Bikes have built up a decent reputation for well designed and good value road bikes over the years, and nowhere is this better expressed than in the excellent Road Pro Carbon SLR.
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    Boardman SLR 9.2 Boasting the involvement and know-how of its famous namesake, Boardman Bikes has proliferated over recent years to the point where it now produces eight separate ranges of bikes. Released in 2016 with a fresher look, the new machines look more purposeful than ever — none more so than the SLR models, which are designed to offer comfort on day-long outings without too much compromise when it comes to fast, focused riding. This particular model began the year with a ?2,699 srp which represented value enough. Since then, and following a price restructure, that has been dropped to an incredibly competitive 1,999.
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    Boardman SLR Endurance 9.0 first ride Our first impressions of Boardman's entry-level race bike. With any luck, the days of bike companies plastering their name, logo and pseudo-technical terms all over frames have passed. Boardman’s SLR Endurance keeps it simple with the brand’s name and logo appearing twice each on the black and red frame. The model name isn’t even mentioned.
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    BOARDMAN CX TEAM review by Cycling Plus A couple of years ago we bumped into Chris Boardman at the opening of a local bike shop and he got really excited about a super-light Frankenstein singlering conversion one of our test team had done – using his aluminiumframed Boardman CX bike and the contents of our mountain bike spare parts bin. Whether that was the spark that led to this latest version of the CX Team we don’t know, but whatever the inspiration this is a brilliant example of the new breed of ultra-versatile, categoryblurring ‘road and more’ bikes. The Team’s chassis has only changed slightly for 2016 but the wishbone rear stays are slimmer for more vertical compliance, there’s a flush-fitting rear brake mount and the new top-tube has shed a bit of weight.
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    Boardman Air 9.0 Revamped for 2016, the Boardman Air has a frame that benefits from the company proprietor’s long association with aerodynamics research. Although the most affordable model in the range, the 9.0 echoes the aero advantages of its more expensive stablemates. Front and rear brakes are hidden from turbulent airflow, it wears a Shimano Ultegra groupset, and is claimed by Boardman to be suitable for TTs, triathlon and general road riding. Could it be the suit-all aero road bike we’ve all been looking for?
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    Boardman Road Pro Disc As well as fresh branding and a new logo for 2016, Boardman also has an expanded range of bikes, and among them is this silvery endurance-based number, the Road Pro Disc. Based on Boardman’s SLR Endurance platform, its frame uses what the company refers to as ‘C7 carbon fibre’, made from strong but compliant fibres from the Japanese company Toray, one of the most respected names in carbon fibre. Appropriately, the molten chrome paint finish makes the frame tubes seemingly flow into each other, and is so shiny you can see your face in it.
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    Boardman Team FS 27.5 BikeRadar verdict and score 5/5 "Superbly sorted new frame and suspension setup makes the Boardman an unbeatable sub-£1000 bargain"
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    Boardman Road Pro Carbon review by Road.cc Overall rating: 8/10. Boardman is making some great bikes this year – both in terms of performance and value – and the Road Pro Carbon is no exception. If you're after a disc brake road bike that's engaging to ride, you should certainly take a look at this. If you're looking for a more versatile all-rounder, it's not such a good fit.
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    Boardman MTB Pro FS There's no getting around the fact that Boardman produces some of the most important mountain bikes on the UK market. Its value-orientated line of hardtail and full-suspension models are some of the nation's bestsellers, and their prominence in Halfords stores undoubtedly brings a large number of riders into the sport each year.
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    Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2 The Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2 is the brand’s first foray into titanium, and it’s done a rather good job. Boardman Bikes has grown steadily since its launch in 2006, building a reputation for good value bikes with astute design touches. But it was acquired by retail group Halfords in 2014, marking a major change for the company.
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    Boardman Road Pro Disc carbon road bike with hydraulic disc This is the new Boardman Road Pro Disc, and it’s the highlight of the updated Boardman range, which we went to the launch of in Wales a few weeks ago. The reason I say it’s a highlight is because you’re getting a full carbon fibre frameset with Shimano’s latest 105 hydraulic disc brakes, all for £1,499. Talk about a bargain.
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    Boardman Road Team Carbon Women’s Bike Bang on the 'Cycle to Work' voucher price point, this offering from Boardman ticks a lot of boxes If you asked me for recommendations on a bike under £1,000 – I would list this Boardman Team Carbon in my top five. Its lively ride and respectable spec means you get a lot of bike for your money – and if that’s not enough the paint job should push you over the edge.
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    10 reasons you'll love this bike: Boardman SLR Endurance The all-new Boardman SLR Endurance doesn’t just look great - it’s a lightweight, high-tech machine. 1. It’s a brand new bike Boardman has thoroughly revamped its Elite range of high-end road bikes for 2016. Gone is the SLS line, absorbed into the redesigned SLR (‘Super-Light Road’) range, now available in ‘Race’ or ‘Endurance’ geometry.
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    Boardman VS Moda “The Boardman is £200 cheaper but it feels like twice the bike… Add some aero wheels and you’ll be away." Looking to start your tri bike journey? Here we put two entry-level £1K steeds from Moda and Boardmanon the road – and in a timed test – to find your first multipsort two-wheel love.
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    Boardman Road Team Carbon So you’ve set your heart on a carbon fibre road bike, but you’ve got a budget of £1,000? You’re in luck, as huge advances in carbon fibre manufacturing and the economies of scale have meant that carbon road bikes are now far more affordable than they were just 5 or 10 years ago.
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    Boardman CX Team review by BikeRadar BikeRadar Score 4.5/5 and verdict "Surefooted, purposeful yet smooth all-rounder with excellent spec for the money" Highs: Excellent ride and parts for the money Lows: Inevitable extra weight of lower cost components Buy if: You want all the advantages of a wide-range single-ring transmission and hydraulic disc brakes at a bargain price
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    Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2 review by Cyclist The Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2 is the brand’s first foray into titanium, and it’s done a rather good job - now with four month update. For: Refined ride, Against: A bit portly, bottom bracket system
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    Boardman Road Pro Carbon The Guardian Green flash: the Road Pro Carbon is a good introduction to the Boardman elite range. Chris Boardman, MBE, sometimes known as the Bike Prof for his masterly attention to detail, relaunched his eponymous range at the start of this year. As you would expect from a relaunch, the considerable hike in tech, quality and design was matched by a price rise. If you were tempted by the Prof’s smooth and dextrous frames but didn’t think you could quite afford one, then your reticence has been rewarded. Halfords is currently holding a 15% sale on all 2016 Boardman bikes. Does that mean they aren’t selling as well as hoped? Maybe, but who cares – they are sodding good. I’ve ridden the Road Pro Carbon and it was a revelation. Fast, comfortable and, thanks to very grippy disc brakes, safe in all this summer rain. It’s built around Boardman’s award-winning SLR Endurance frame platform and uses its C7 carbon throughout. You’ll find it treads a fine line between balance, stiffness and weight. Add in the ever-reliable Shimano 105 5800 groupset and Shimano RS505 hydraulic disc brakes and you have a surefire winner. Go on, treat yourself – you’re worth it…
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    Boardman Team FS Verdict 9/10 All of changes that Boardman has made to the Team FS for 2016 are positive ones. You still get one of the best-dressed bikes for under a grand, but the frame now possesses a ride quality that’s every bit as fitting as the finishing kit adorning it. In the end, it was a very close call between the Boardman Team FS and the Calibre Bossnut. If the Team FS came with the stiffer, 142x12mm rear end, and better tyres, Boardman could easily be looking at a double-digit rating.
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    Boardman Air 9.9 Verdict: Boardman has changed its look and upped its game with the Air 9.9, but is it greater than the sum of its parts? Like Chris Boardman’s carefully honed time-trial position, Boardman the brand has been tweaking and tuning its bikes for nearly a decade now. Having earned its place alongside the big players, though, Boardman has shed its long-established skin, with new owners, a new logo and this, an aero road bike aimed at the very top of the market.
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    Boardman Team Carbon - Thirteen of the best road bikes under Where once you would never find a carbon fibre bike for less than £1,000, the black stuff is no longer the preserve of cyclists with big budgets. Take the Boardman Team Carbon, for example, which is built around the brand’s SLR Endurance C7 carbon fibre frame and fork. We snuck the Team Carbon out for a first ride at the launch of Boardman’s 2016 Performance range and, while it might lack the aesthetic appeal of the more expensive Pro Carbon, we found it had plenty in its favour; stiff enough to ignite on a climb, but with enough comfort to spend long hours in the saddle, and a lot of bike for its £999 price tag. Specced with ten-speed Shimano Tiagra, you won’t find many better carbon bikes for less than a grand.
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    Boardman Team Carbon Imagine for a moment that the road bikes in Boardman’s new Performance range are characters in a romantic comedy. The Pro Carbon, with its polished-chrome paintjob and hydraulic brakes, would undoubtedly be cast as the head-turning beauty that gets all the attention. The Team Carbon, meanwhile, would play the slightly plainer but brainier best friend – the one that gets all the best lines and could turn out to be the suitor’s ideal partner. There’s no denying the Team Carbon isn’t as eye-catching as the Pro Carbon but its charms are more than skin deep. Spend some time getting to know it and you discover a bike with hidden charm, a bike that gradually wins you over by appealing to your head rather than your heart.