BOARDMAN TEAM TT

Boardman know aero and, of course, have a long association with triathlon as well as Chris Boardman’s own exploits. Australian Pete Jacobs rode their AiR TT9.8 to Ironman world championship glory in 2012, while Britain’s Joe Skipper broke the Ironman Texas course record on the brand’s AiR TTE in 2015. So you have to think that this tri-specifc aero understanding also went into the Team TT and that Boardman wouldn’t be willing to put his name on a bike that merely looks aero. Our timed test suggested that’s certainly the case as, with no obvious advantage in its build, the Boardman went over a minute faster than the Moda at the same power, on the same evening, in the same kit. This, then, is a proper race bike.

THE BUILD

The Team TT is the entry model in Boardman’s range and the only aluminium frame. The downtube, seat tube and seatpost are all aero profled,as is the full carbon fork. The head tube is short socheck you can achieve your ideal stack height – fvesizes, two more than Moda offer, will help.Even after nine years, we’re still impressed byBoardman’s ability to use their direct sales modelto provide exceptional equipment on their bikes atevery price point. The Team TT has a SRAM Apexgroupset, Vision cockpit and an ISM Adamo saddle,the latter an especially praiseworthy andcomfortable inclusion that shows they reallyunderstand triathlon.The rear brake is tucked out of the wind behindthe bottom bracket and the gearing is racy –53/39, 11-26. Wheels are always a compromise atthis price and the Boardman is no exception. Whilethe own-brand 30mm rims have a small aeroprofle, the wheels should still be your frstupgrade. This is an assumption that Boardmanmake right through the range as every modelcomes on training wheels.

THE RIDE

Bikes at this price have to be worthy of upgrading so that you don’t outgrow them too fast if the bug for tri really bites, and Boardman have nailed it. The Team TT doesn’t feel like a wannabe, nor a cynically specced niche-plugger; this is the real deal. The frame is stiff under power and handles with encouraging neutrality so you’ll soon be carving around roundabouts in the extensions. There’s some lateral fork fex but only when out of the saddle and climbing aggressively. The wheels are the weak link, of course. They’re stiff but heavy and slow. Again, they’re fine for training but don’t race on them; as always, budget for some proper aero wheels. Thus equipped, the Team TT will, we promise you, be faster than any two-, four-, even six-grand bike on its original training wheels. A broad aero clincher wheelset with 25c tyres will also smooth the frm ride a lot. Otherwise, the Team TT is ready to race and won’t need upgrading any time soon. The ISM saddle is brilliant, and the Vision cockpit is both aero and accommodating, too. The base bar has a proper wing profle and also some compliance over poor roads, while the dense pads stay comfortable on long rides, though they don’t match the shape of the rests as neatly as they could. There’s loads of easy adjustability but you might want to swap the extensions to J-bends for a more natural wrist angle. The SRAM Apex drivetrain delivers crisp shifting and well-spaced ratios. We missed the closer stack of an 11-speed cassette during the timed test but you could fx that with an 11-23 set-up for fatter courses. The Boardman’s time of 23:35mins in our 10-mile TT test really put the Moda in its place, and is impressive given the road helmet we were wearing and the basic wheels. With an aero helmet and wheels it could probably go a minute and a half faster for the same power (323W). That course isn’t remotely quick, either, but the Boardman is.

HANDLING 85%

Good steering, stability, power transfer and speed

SPEC 88%

Vision bar and ISM saddle are highlights; no weak links

VALUE 91%

Proves you can have great performance for under £1k

COMFORT 92%

Really good bar and great saddle start you off right

 VERDICT 89%

The Moda Mossa

The Moda Mossa might be doing its very best to sound Italian but this is actually a British brand and the bikes are designed, tested and assembled in Derbyshire, though, of course, it’s all manufactured in the Far East. The Barelli branding on the components is Moda’s as well. It may not be quite as exotic as you thought, but Moda has some real scale behind it. Owner Moore Large is a major UK distributor and since Moda launched in 2009 with 10 bikes, the range quickly grew and now totals 32 models across nearly every category. The Mossa is the cheapest of three tri bikes.

THE BUILD

The challenge for manufacturers at this price is controlling the cost without compromising performance too far. Moda has a slight advantage because it has its own Barelli component brand and its parent company is the UK agent for American Classic wheels, so both adorn the Mossa. The American Classic Victory wheels, shod with Kenda Kontender Lite tyres, are not very racy; they have 24/28 spokes and a shallow 25mm profle. If that lot saved money, it hasn’t gone on the groupset. The Shimano Tiagra drivetrain is modest for the bike’s price. What’s more, the gearing (50/34, 12-28) isn’t ideal for racing and the crank length (172.5mm on a size M frame) is long for tri use. The Mossa only comes in three sizes, so check the geometry carefully to be sure you’ll ft one properly. The head tubes are short on all sizes but that’s cancelled out by the tall minimum stack to the aerobar’s pads. The seat-tube angle of 76° strikes a sensible balance beween TT and tri use, and aero shapes abound. The sliding saddle clamp helps further, allowing a good range of positions. Mossa also offers a ‘Dream Build’ service, which allows you to spec your own bike, albeit from a set menu.

THE RIDE

Our time with the Mossa didn’t begin well. The cheap Barelli road saddle is all but unrideable as soon as you settle onto the aerobars; frankly, just horrifc. There’s an element of personal preference to saddles but one like this has no

place on a tri bike. We swapped it for a brilliant Fabric Tri for the rest of the test. Things didn’t really improve from there. The Barelli aerobar has horns like Lurch The Bull (Google him) and their bizarre length both places the brake levers miles away and creates fex. It looks like it should offer loads of adjustment yet it’s unable to go as low or narrow as most people ride. The Barelli brakes are decent but the shifting is heavy, as if the cables are lubed with tar. The handling, while stable, lacks precision because the frame isn’t very stiff, nor the wheels, despite the high spoke count that saps speed. What potential impetus remains is further limited by the Kenda tyres, which roll like ffty-pence pieces through chewing gum. The ride is unpleasant, unrewarding and, as we found out in our timed test, very slow. We ftted Garmin Vector 2 power meter pedals and rode a 10-mile TT course at 323W for a time of 24:41mins. In the same clothing and at the same power output, half an hour later the Boardman was 1:06mins faster. That’s a vast margin, equivalent to some 2:30mins at the 40km Olympic distance, or over 10 minutes for an 180km Ironman bike leg. At £1,200, the Mossa is signifcantly more expensive than the Boardman yet it needs a new saddle, cassette and tyres before it’s anywhere near the same level, if not also an aerobar and chainrings. And you’d still need aero wheels as well, so where’s the value? Spend half the money on clip-ons and aero wheels for your road bike and we promise you’ll go faster.

MODA MOSSA

HANDLING 70%

Neutral steering and good stability but it’s slow

SPEC 35%

Lots of low points and no highlights, disappointing

VALUE 37%

Poor kit and ride but £200 more than the Boardman

COMFORT 25%

Woeful saddle, frm wheels, hard tyres

VERDICT 42%

This was the most clear cut head-to-head test we can ever remember carrying out, and it was the bike that costs 20% more which got a mauling. The Moda is so massively disappointing that we wonder what sort of development went into it. Usually we can always fnd some enjoyment in being out training in nice weather, regardless of the bike we’re on, but the Mossa actually made us feel sad with every pedal stroke. It represents everything that’s ever been wrong with entry-level bikes – it’s ‘aero looking’ rather than truly aero, and the miserly spec is a laundry list of false economies that exploits the wide-eyed naivety of those new to tri.

BOARDMAN V MODA

OVERALL VERDICT

The Boardman is £200 cheaper but it feels like twice the bike and then some. It’s built to a price and runs basic wheels, naturally, but nothing else about it will hold you back. It’s geared for racing, the contact points are outstanding and the geometry is tri-friendly. Add some second-hand aero wheels and you’ll be away. Tri bikes at this price have greater duties than simply providing immediate value. They also have to be worth upgrading and able to keep pace as your ftness develops. But more than that, they should feel inspiring and exciting, a gateway to the next level of multisport competition. The Boardman is a shining example of that.

Review in 220 Triathlon, July 2016