Verdict:
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.
‘It seemed a good opportunity for the management team to reassess the brand,’ says Peter Hunt, product and project manager for Boardman Bikes. ‘We deconstructed it, and recognised we needed to drive it forward. We started with the logo – the redesign has given it real equity and more versatility, opening up more colourways and bike designs. As always, Chris [Boardman] was hugely involved in the process at every stage.’
The rebrand paved the way for a complete range overhaul, which notably now includes titanium bikes. ‘The entire company is full of cyclists and we love all forms of bikes, but titanium is a particularly popular frame material among the design team, so it seemed natural for us to develop titanium frames,’ says Hunt. ‘As with our carbon offerings, we decided to make the best frame we could and separate the level of bike by the choice of components.’
The SLR 9.2 is the cheaper of the two complete builds, and its £3,499 price tag includes a complete Shimano Ultegra groupset with RS-785 hydraulic disc brakes, alongside Boardman’s own Elite Five wheels and finishing kit.
Signed, sealed, delivered
Boardman’s PR manager Jamie Mitchell dropped the bike into the Cyclist office, and he was keen to stress that making sure the frame was stiff enough was a priority for the design team. ‘Titanium bikes can so easily feel like noodles,’ he said. ‘ Our team really wanted the bike to feel efficient under power and handle well.’
The designers have succeeded in this – the SLR 9.2 doesn’t give much away in the form of flex, yet the titanium tubing makes the bike feel markedly different under acceleration than equivalent carbon bikes. Where stiff carbon bikes give intense, immediate feedback and can be skittish under power, the 9.2 surges forward; it gains speed assuredly but feels unhurried as it does so.
This stately ride quality is thanks to the comfort provided by the titanium frame. Boardman has harnessed titanium’s inherent dampening qualities well in the 9.2 – the frame (and well-matched carbon fork) has a particular ability to soak up road chatter without feeling dull. The result is an engaging ride but one that lives up to its ‘endurance’ billing; the longer you are aboard the 9.2 the more pronounced the feeling of comfort becomes. Just like a perfectly fitting pair of bibshorts, on rides of over a few hours you tend to forget the bike is beneath you because there is nothing irritating to demand your attention.
Stiffness and ride quality must come at the expense of something, and in the case of the Boardman 9.2 it is weight. It weighed in at 9.5kg on the Cyclist scales and the kilogram or so of extra mass it holds over its titanium competitors at this price is apparent in accelerations or when climbing. The SLR 9.2 seems a bit sluggish when you stamp on the pedals, which takes an edge of excitement off the ride slightly. That being said, once up to speed you get a distinct feeling of momentum and, when this is combined with the 9.2’s smooth ride, it makes you think you could cruise indefinitely on flat or rolling terrain.
Up and downs
Despite being reliable and robust, Boardman’s Elite Five wheels definitely contribute to the chunky overall weight and are an area ripe for an upgrade, which the frame is good enough to warrant. Swapping out for some Zipp 202’s, for example, would shave nearly half a kilogram of rotational mass off the bike. This would have a massive effect on its inertia and definitely give zip to the ride where it is currently lacking.
Aside from the wheelset, you wouldn’t need to consider upgrades for anything else – Shimano’s Ultegra shifting is simply outstanding and the disc brakes are consistently powerful. The own-brand finishing kit and Prologo saddle are great quality too and compliment the accomplished frame well. My only niggle with the componentry was the use of reducing cups and in the pressfit bottom bracket. Although it makes commercial sense to keep the bottom bracket as versatile as possible (pressfit 30 bottom brackets accept all the major cranksets), making the system more convoluted than it needs to be can undermine its performance. The one in the 9.2 became gritty and required a service after just two months of riding. This is by no means a deal-breaker, but it is slightly frustrating that the area needs more maintenance than if a threaded BB was fitted.
Niggles aside, the sophisticated ride of the 9.2 is great to experience. The knowledge that this is Boardman’s first attempt in titanium makes it all the more impressive and future projects from the brand are an exciting prospect.
Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2 four month update
The completion of the Boardman 9.2’s first review served as an appropriate juncture to ring in a few changes to its specification – most notably to the wheelset. It was highlighted as the area most in need of an upgrade because the quality of the frameset outshone Boardman’s own-brand wheels. We were keen to fully exploit the potential of the frameset, so with that in mind Stan’s Notubes’ new Avion wheels replaced the specced Boardman SLR Elite Fives.
As the name suggests, Stan’s Notubes is a brand at the forefront of the growing trend for tubeless wheel-tyre set-ups, with all it’s wheelsets designed as tubeless-ready. It therefore felt sacrilegious to use them with inner tubes and regular clinchers so they were shod with Schwalbe’s Pro One tyres - widely considered as the market benchmark for tubeless tyre performance at the moment.
A modification with such minimal hassle wouldn’t have to perform brilliantly in order to be worth doing but the Avion-Pro One combination is not only simple to set up but transforms the ride of the 9.2. The Avion’s have a 41mm deep profile but still save approximately 300g over the 9.2’s original wheelset, which has a noticeable effect on the 9.2’s acceleration, and it isn’t just speed off the mark that has improved either. It was mentioned in the 9.2’s initial review that once up to speed it gives a distinct feeling of being able to effortlessly tick off kilometres. The semi-aero profile of the wheels and the Pro One’s low rolling resistance really promote the 9.2’s feeling of carrying speed, such that it feels tangibly easier to maintain speeds upwards of 35kph on rolling terrain.
This advantage validates the change alone but the bike is also now undeniably more comfortable. Boardman had done a great job with the ride feel before – in its original guise the 9.2 was ideal for long rides – but the inherent benefits of tubeless: being able to ride suppler tyres at lower pressures, for less rolling resistance, has refined ride feel to the point of luxury, almost nullifying all but the harshest road conditions. It is a joy to spend hours seemingly floating along. Bear with us as we continue to experiment with the 9.2 – we’ll report back in the near future.
Spec
Boardman SLR Titanium 9.2
FrameBoardman Ti10 endurance titanium
GroupsetShimano Ultegra, 11-speed
BrakesShimano BR-RS785
ChainsetShimano Ultegra, 50/34
CassetteShimano Ultegra, 11-28
BarsBoardman Elite, alloy
StemBoardman Elite, alloy
SeatpostBoardman Elite SLR Carbon
WheelsBoardman SLR Elite Five Disc
SaddlePrologo Nago Evo 141
Weight9.5kg
Contactboardmanbikes.com
Review in The Cyclist by Sam Challis, 27th July 2016