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Boardman Bikes Ride Stateside with Lightweight, Well Priced Road & Triathlon Bicycles

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Boardman Bikes is bringing their road and triathlon bicycles to the US this year, and we got a quick look (and very quick ride) at PressCamp.

First, a bit of background: Chris Boardman raced the famous Lotus bike at the Olympics, which helped bring carbon fiber bikes to everyone’s attention. He still holds three of the four fastest TdF prologue TT records and a three-time hour record holder. In addition to working on being wicked fast physically, he also focused on what the equipment could do for him…and make sure the product didn’t detract from all the hard work he put into his training and racing. If you looked at his bikes over the years, they may have had sponsors’ stickers on them, but they were custom frames commissioned by Boardman.

Following retirement, he started working with Alan Ingarfield in 2005 to launch Boardman Bikes with the goal of giving the consumer the absolute best bicycle for the money. Their first bike came out in 2007, and since then they’ve been one of the fastest growing brands in the UK. Winning performances from Alistair Brownlee (Gold, Olympic Triathlon), Johnny Brownlee (1st ITU World Championships, Bronze in Olympics) and Pete Jacobs (1st Kona Ironman World Championships) and Boardman’s own name brand awareness hasn’t hurt things, but those will only take a brand so far. The bikes need to perform, and here’s how they do that…

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First up, they’ve caught our attention because they’re just now hitting US shores. The first bikes came off the boat in April 2013, and they brought on Fletch Newland (formerly with Cervelo and FSA) to help build the dealer network. They’re focusing on top-level dealers that put an emphasis on fit, with a goal of having 25 to 30 dealers by year’s end. It’s a controlled roll out so they can ensure delivery times and quality customer service.

For the bikes, they have two series, a Performance series that goes up to about $2,000 and the higher end Elite series that they’re bringing to the US consisting of two road bikes and one triathlon bike.

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The SLR is their lightweight, traditional road bike. It comes in four versions, a 9.0, a 9.2, 9.4 and 9.8, with all four coming from the same mold. The bottom three are the same frame just with different paint, but the 9.8 gets higher modulus carbon fiber in the chainstays and BB section so it’s a bit stiffer. Speaking of the chainstays and BB, that “piece” is made as a single unit so it’s stronger and lighter.

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Raw frame weight on all of them is 895g, but paint adds a bit of weight on the lower three models. Only the 9.8 comes in a matte UD finish for max weight savings.

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Chainstays remain thick all the way back with a sharp taper just before the dropout. They say the key stress point at the back is just in front of where it tapers, so they wanted to keep full size stays as far back as they could to make it as strong as possible.

Pricing is pretty good, with the 9.0 starting at just $2,700 with Shimano 105. The SLR 9.2 comes in at 7.09kg (15.63lbs, size XL) with SRAM Force, Ritchey cockpit and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. Prices go up to $7,700 for a 9.8 with SRAM Red, Zipp 202, Ritchey carbon cockpit and a weight of 6.1kg (13.45lbs). The mid-level SLR 9.4 with SRAM Red and house brand carbon clinchers comes in at $5,500 and weighs just 6.8kg (14.99lbs, size Large)…which is right at the UCI weight limit. They say the built the spec so there’s nothing you’d want to immediately take off and replace, with all price points getting Fizik saddles and most getting Vittoria tires.

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The AiR platform is an aero road bike designed with CFD and wind tunnel testing to perform well in “real world conditions” with crosswinds up to 20º. Frame weights are claimed just above 1,000g, and complete bikes with deep section wheels can easily come in under 7kg.

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They use a tapered steerer and full monocoque fork with flat faces on the inside to reduce pressure spots between it and the wheel. Cables run internally through a carbon pipe with Teflon liner. This saves weight over full length housing while making installation and service much easier.

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Like the SLR, all levels of the frame use the same mold with the AiR 9.8 using the HiMod carbon in the chainstay/bottom bracket piece. Despite winning the top short course triathlon events in the world, it’s built with road bike geometry, so you can ride it like normal until you clip on your aero bars and swap in the straight seatpost (versus the 25mm setback option) to get a 75º seat angle. Then you’re ready for triathlon.

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The AiR TT frame is a more triathlon specific frame, again with all models using the same molds.

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The fork has integrated, rear mounted custom TRP brakes that are completely hidden inside the frame.

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Bikes range from $2,700 up to $11,000 with Zipp 808/Disc wheels and full SRAM Red 22.

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Frame weights are around 1,250g, fork weight is around 670g with the brake.

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All frames come in mechanical or electronic versions, each getting its own frame. The electronic models are a bit cleaner with small entry plugs for the wires.

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Some models of the SLR get Boardman’s Carbon SLR clincher wheels, which are their own design.

 

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UK-Rider
UK-Rider
10 years ago

I’m a big fan of the Boardman range, it’s a pity you Yanks won’t be getting the CX model in the range, I’m sure it would be used better over there than the low sales figures seen over here!

Jay
Jay
10 years ago

@UK-Rider, I agree and came on here to say the same. Their CX bikes are very nice, I hope we get them in the future. I was looking into ordering one a year ago but couldn’t find a way to get a frame set sent here to the US. Their disc frame is sleek but simple and has fender and rack mounts.

Sardinian Rider
Sardinian Rider
10 years ago

I love these Boardmans !! Not sure if we can get them here in Italy.

Ck
Ck
10 years ago

I seriously considered ordering one of their CX bikes from Wiggle earlier this year when I was building up a new bike. Even though i’m not in the market for one anymore I would really like to see them hit the US, they’re great value.

Steve @ G4G
10 years ago

I think these bikes are awesome, and have been watching them for a long time. It’s great to hear they will be sold in the US. My only complaint is the excessive amount of decals. Having a bunch of brand decals is one thing, but do they really need to have three model decals per side?

NiceGuySean
10 years ago

Sardinian Rider – you can order them in Europe through Wiggle. I have a 2010 CX Pro which I ride in Rome (and through Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo) and it’s a great bike for the price – I even did the 1st Gran Fondo di Roma on it last year.

truerider
truerider
10 years ago

Good showing. I hope to get my hands on one!

queridiculo
queridiculo
10 years ago

Spoke to my local bike shop here in Florida about the possibility of getting a CX Pro stateside since Wiggle didn’t carry it in my size. Was told that there was a new cross bike planned for 2014 that’s scheduled for release sometime during September of this year, and that there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing it over here then.

Andrew
Andrew
10 years ago

I’ve ridden an SLR 9.8 around the hills of Hong Kong for the past year and love it to bits. Deep respect to Chris Boardman for making such a technical, well made frame available at such a low cost. These have to be the best value frames on the market.

Nick
Nick
10 years ago

I had a Wiggle.com purchased SLR 9.0 that I absolutely loved until the day it was destroyed by a car turning left in front of me. What’s funny is I can’t get a straight up replacement for it now because they don’t sell it on Wiggle any longer and there are no dealers near where I live.

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