Boardman Bikes 2011: Range-topping Elite Series AiR, SLR and EM

23 comments
By Jeff Jones in London, UK | Friday, Mar 4, 2011 12.49am

Boardman Bikes launched their 2011 range in London on Thursday evening and the big news is the new Elite Series, comprising the AiR (Aerodynamic Racing) and SLR (Superlight Racing) road bikes and EM (Elite Mountain) mountain bikes.

We were shown six bikes from the Boardman Elite Series, all with full carbon fibre frames: the aero AiR 9.4 with Shimano Dura-Ace and deep carbon wheels (£3,299.99); AiR 9.2 with Shimano Ultegra and semi-deep carbon wheels (£2,299.99); the 6.4kg SLR 9.4 with SRAM Red (£3,299.99); SLR 9.2 with SRAM Force (£2,499.99); EM1.5 hardtail mountain bike with SRAM XX (£3,499.99); and the EM1.0 trail bike with SRAM X0 (£2,499.99).

All very competitive prices for range topping bikes – something that Boardman are already well known for. The £1,799 Road Pro Carbon, which we previewed recently and is based on the aero road frame, will be part of the Boardman Performance Series.

There will also be more additions to the Elite Series, although prices have yet to be confirmed: the AiR/9.8 with SRAM Red and Zipp 404 wheels (ridden by pro triathletes Alistair and Johnny Brownlee), AiR9.0 with Shimano Ultegra and Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels (available only outside the UK), AiR/TT revamped time trial machine, SLR/9.8 with SRAM Red and Zipp 202 (which promises to be even lighter than the SLR/9.4), SLR/9.0 with SRAM Force and Ksyrium Equipe wheels (also non-UK), and the EM/1.7 mountain bike with SRAM XX and a Rock Shox SID World Cup XX fork.

The Elite Series will be sold in the UK via selected (less than a dozen) Halfords stores and a handful of independent bike dealers, who are currently being finalised. They'll be available in summer 2011 and we'll post more details when we have them.

Boardman Bikes are also sponsoring the United HealthCare presented by Maxxis pro road team in the US with a view to expanding into that market. At the time of their UK launch, prices and distribution were being confirmed but again, we'll have details when they're finalised.

AiR

Boardman air 9.4: boardman air 9.4

AiR/9.4

The AiR (Aerodynamic Racing) frame was born out of the successful AiR time trial frame, and has been a couple of years in development. The smooth, rounded tube shapes have been designed to work in what Andy Smallwood, director of operations, termed "real world road use". That is, up to 20 degrees of yaw (effective wind angle to the rider). Thus it's a frame that's suited to road racing, time trials and triathlons.

There's no high weight penalty for the aero frame either: a size L is said to weigh just 2.65lb (1,200g) and complete bikes weigh between 16.2lb (7.35kg) and 16.5lb (7.5kg). A tapered head tube should help with the front end handling, all the cable routing is internal, and the fork is optimised to work with deep section wheels: the inside is flat to help reduce turbulence while the outside is curved to improve airflow.

As with the other Elite Series frames, the bottom bracket and chainstays are a one-piece design, which Boardman say – based on finite element analysis – will improve stiffness in that area. The chainstays are box section, tapering sharply at the end to help overcome a key stress area. Both the AiR 9.4 (Shimano Dura-Ace) and 9.2 (Shimano Ultegra) are well specced, and the addition of cboardman branded 50mm carbon wheels to the 9.4 is a nice touch. The 9.2 features Mavic Cosmics, although cboardman stickers feature heavily.

SLR

Boardman slr 9.4: boardman slr 9.4

SLR/9.4

At less than 2lb (900g) The SLR (Superlight Racing) frame is the lean brother to the AiR. The frame shaping is markedly different, with a box section down tube to increase overall strength. These frames don't come with a rider weight limit – something that Smallwood was keen to stress, pardon the pun. The SLR is built for hard road racing.

The SLR 9.4, kitted out with SRAM Red and cboardman 35mm carbon tubular wheels (1,100g a set), tipped the scales at 6.37kg (14lb) for a size L – well under the UCI weight limit of 6.8kg. But racers under UCI rules need not be too concerned: once there's a set of pedals on it, a computer and maybe a few feathers, it should sneak up to the weight limit. The SLR 9.2, with SRAM Force, is somewhat heavier at 15.7lb (7.1kg), but it's also £800 cheaper.

EM

Boardman em 1.5: boardman em 1.5

EM/1.5

The two mountain bikes in the Elite Series range are both cross-country hardtails. They're primarily aimed at the racing market, especially the EM 1.5 but the lower-end EM 1.0 will appeal to more trail riders. The frames feature big box section chainstays and down tube for strength and stiffness, internal cable routing to keep things clean, a tapered steerer, BB30 oversize bottom bracket shell, a chainstay mounted rear disc brake and a direct mount front mech.

The EM 1.5 is equipped with SRAM XX gears and brakes, a RockShox SID XX fork and cboardman EM carbon wheels. That adds up to a light 20lb (9.1kg) cross-country racer. It's also the priciest bike in the entire Elite Series, at £3,499.99. The EM 1.0 is a couple of pounds heavier but £1,000 cheaper. That means SRAM X0 instead of XX, and Mavic XM317 rims on Formula cartridge hubs. It can be raced, of course, but should also appeal to fast trail riders, who don't want to be lugging a heavy machine around.

Boardman Elite Series: full specs

Aerodynamic racing bikes

AiR/9.4

  • RRP: £3,299.99
  • Size: S,M,L,XL
  • Frame: AiR ultralight full-carbon monocoque, tapered steerer, BB30, internal cable routing
  • Fork: AiR ultralight full-carbon, tapered steerer
  • Headset: FSA semi integrated
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
  • Seatpost: cboardman Carbon AiR
  • Saddle: Fizik Arione Titanium rail
  • Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace
  • Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace
  • Rear Mech: Shimano Dura-Ace
  • Front Mech: Shimano Dura-Ace
  • Cassette: Shimano Ultegra
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: FSA SLK BB30
  • Bottom bracket: FSA BB30
  • Rims: cboardman carbon clincher 50mm tubular
  • Hubs: cboardman
  • Spokes: Sapim CX Sprint
  • Tyres: Vittoris Open Corsa CX
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 16.2lb

AiR/9.2

  • RRP: £2,299.99
  • Size: S,M,L,XL
  • Frame: AiR ultralight full-carbon monocoque, tapered steerer, BB30, internal cable routing
  • Fork: AiR ultralight full-carbon, tapered steerer
  • Headset: FSA semi integrated
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
  • Seatpost: cboardman Carbon AiR
  • Saddle: Fizik Arione titanium rail
  • Brakes: Shimano Ultegra
  • Shifters: Shimano Ultegra
  • Rear Mech: Shimano Ultegra
  • Front Mech: Shimano Ultegra
  • Cassette: Shimano Ultegra
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: FSA SLK BB30
  • Bottom Bracket: FSA BB30
  • Rims: Mavic Cosmic Elite wheelset
  • Hubs: Mavic
  • Spokes: Mavic
  • Tyres: Vittoria Open Corsa CX
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 16.5lb

Superlight racing bikes

SLR/9.4

  • RRP: £3,299.99
  • Size: S,M,L,XL
  • Frame: SLR ultralight full-carbon monocoque, tapered steerer, BB30, internal cable routing
  • Fork: SLR ultralight full-carbon, tapered steerer
  • Headset: FSA semi integrated
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
  • Seatpost: Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • Saddle: Fizik Arione titanium rail
  • Brakes: SRAM Red
  • Shifters: SRAM Red
  • Rear Mech: SRAM Red
  • Front Mech: SRAM Red
  • Cassette: SRAM 1070
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: SRAM Red BB30
  • Bottom Bracket: SRAM Red BB30 Ceramic
  • Rims: cboardman Carbon SLR 35mm tubular
  • Hubs: cboardman
  • Spokes: Sapim CX Sprint
  • Tyres: Vittoris Corsa CX
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 14.6lb

SLR/9.2

  • RRP: £2,499.99
  • Size: S,M,L,XL
  • Frame: SLR ultralight full-carbon monocoque, tapered steerer, BB30, internal cable routing
  • Fork: SLR ultralight full-carbon, tapered steerer
  • Headset: FSA semi integrated
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
  • Seatpost: Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • Saddle: Fizik Arione titanium rail
  • Brakes: SRAM Force
  • Shifters: SRAM Force
  • Rear Mech: SRAM Force
  • Front Mech: SRAM Force
  • Cassette: Shimano CS5700
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: SRAM Force BB30
  • Bottom Bracket: SRAM BB30
  • Rims: Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheelset
  • Hubs: Mavic
  • Spokes: Mavic
  • Tyres: Vittoris Open Corsa CX
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 15.7lb

Mountain bikes

EM/1.5

  • RRP: £3,499.99
  • Size: S,M,L
  • Frame: Ultralight full-carbon monocoque, internal cable routing, tapered steerer, BB30
  • Fork: RockShox SID XX, 120mm travel, 15mm axle, XX Motion Control damping
  • Headset: FSA integrated carbon
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • Seatpost: Ritchey WCS Carbon
  • Saddle: Fizik Gobi titanium rail
  • Brakes: Avid Elixir CR
  • Shifters: SRAM XX
  • Rear Mech: SRAM XX
  • Front Mech: SRAM XX
  • Cassette: SRAM PG1070
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: SRAM XX BB30
  • Bottom Bracket: SRAM XX BB30
  • Rims: cboardman carbon wheelset
  • Hubs: cboardman cartridge bearing
  • Spokes: Sapim CX Ray
  • Tyres: Continental Mountain King Supersonic 2.2in
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 20.1lb

EM/1.0

  • RRP: £2,499.99
  • Size: S,M,L
  • Frame: Ultralight full-carbon monocoque, internal cable routing, tapered steerer, BB30
  • Fork: RockShox SID RL Ti, tapered steerer, 120mm travel, 15mm axle, Black Box Motion Control rebound and compression damping, lockout
  • Headset: FSA integrated carbon
  • Spacers: Carbon
  • Stem: Ritchey WCS
  • Handlebars: Ritchey WCS
  • Seatpost: Ritchey WCS
  • Saddle: Fizik Gobi titanium rail
  • Brakes: SRAM X0
  • Shifters: SRAM X0
  • Rear Mech: SRAM X0
  • Front Mech: SRAM X0
  • Cassette: SRAM PG1050
  • Chain: KMC X10
  • Chainset: SRAM X0 BB30
  • Bottom Bracket: SRAM BB30
  • Rims: Mavic XM317
  • Hubs: Formula cartridge bearing
  • Spokes: Stainless black
  • Tyres: Continental Mountain King 2.2in folding
  • Weight: (excluding pedals) 22.1lb

For more information, visit www.boardmanbikes.com.

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User Comments

There are 23 comments on this post

Showing 1 - 23 of 23 comments

  • Hm,... there is something I'm looking out for - the mighty Air/TT/1! That would make a fantastic fixie conversion. And such a conversion would be partly warranted: the frame was conceived as a track bike after all. But at least I'll be able to attach front and rear brakes. OH BTW, the carbon singlespeed on offer is amazing.

    If only I had money...

  • There are few things that should be changed on the EM/1.0. What are Mavic XM317s with Formuls hubs doing on a £2.5k bike? And standard mountain kings, really? You can do better than that, Boardman. Other than that, really good spec, I wonder how they ride. A great low weight with 120mm of trail ability, bring it on.

  • who makes the carbon rims? i presume they are re-branded.

  • No soul in them

  • Leg Ripper, what a load of snobbish tosh.

  • they look v. nice & well specced,

    im interested to see the full sus. on offer

    i had the boardman pro ltd last year for 1 month,

    after riding a full sus for a while i decided i wanted another hardtail

    to add to the stable, the bike was very nice but the ride was harsh,

    it seemed to transmit every bit of vibration to the rider.

    A friend of mine who rode a hardtail tried it & said he thought it was

    a little 'zingy'.

    Im back on my full sus now & all is well!

  • XM317's and Formula hubs and mountain kings on a £2500 race bike, why spec £90 of rubbish where it's most imprtant? Downgrade the fork to a Reba and upgrade the wheels!

  • Wow, they've really re-positioned here - £3500 for 3 models, that's a lot more than your run of the mill £999 CTW scheme special they were know for.

    Will people pay £3500 for a bike from a company that's 3 years old?

    That's sold through a car parts retailer?

    Where the staff are often reviewed as poor?

    When you can get something with more cachet from a store that fawns over you and have a cappucino maker and know a thing or two about bike fit and will change a stem to suit your postition for free?

    If you think that stuff doesn't matter you don't have a good idea of how retailing works.

  • Apart from the tube profile looks like Giants TCR, seems Boardman are still playing catch up. Giant also control the manufacturing process for absolute quailty.

  • FransJacques, I bought my Pro Carbon Race Prepared from Halfords just under a year ago and that cost me £3300, so the answer to your question is yes, they will.

  • A fork optimised to work with deep Section Wheels.

    Anyone remember when journo's didn't just copy and paste the press release????

  • I thought that now they have 'established' the brand they were moving into 'real' bike stores? sure i read it on here, I think people need to give the brand a break,

    they started well & have only been around for 3 years.

  • Great looking bikes.

    Am glad they've expanded and dropped the BLACK everything colour scheme.

    Will be taking a look at their mid range road stuff asap.

  • The EM1.5 looks quite good value compared to the camparable spec'd Giant XTC Advanced that's £6000.

  • According to the Boardman website there are 11 bikes in the boardman elite series not 6!?

    3 MTBs: 1.7, 1.5, 1.0

    4 AiR: 9.8, 9.4, 9.2, 9.0

    4 SLR: 9.8, 9.4, 9.2, 9.0

    Bad press release/Copy and Paste job!

  • If your buying a bike for £2000 or £3000 then you probably know a fair amount about bikes. Therefore who cares if the service from Halfords is rubbish, any problems you could fix yourselves. Cant say I have ever taken a bike back to a shop to be fixed, just too much hassle. 10 minutes in the shed normally gets it sorted.

    Smart looking range and very well specced.

    The full suser looks loads better than the previous design.

    I think they are on to something here, especially with Halfords aggressive pricing and massive sales.

  • @woody1545 we were only shown six bikes from the Elite Series at launch - the additional ones weren't mentioned at the time.

    @Woody74 the full susser is part of the Performance Range - we'll have the full story on that v. soon.

  • @richardspooner

    I think he's joking.

  • I have been waiting on the MTBs coming out for months! Gutted there are still no XL frames to fit my gigantor 6'7" body :(

  • Would like a bit more info on the wheels. Are there clinchers available on the deep section carbon rims?

  • @Pumpkinhead456

    At 6'7" you'll need a XXL, something a company like Boardman will NEVER make.

  • @Pumpkinhead456

    @Shaggy_Dog

    I know boardman do an XL, but it has to be ordered in specifically, Im unsure about an XXL, but the XL fits about 6'3 6'4

    also, i work at halfords, and the first time i see the new boardmans is on bikeradar and not at work, haha

  • Really great to see some positive comments about the Baordman range for a change. I own 2 of the 2010 models and although they are nowhere near the spec of the Elite bikes I have found them to be a joy to own.

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