Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon review: a practical, fun and comfortable road bike at a bargain price

Boardman’s new SLR is a performance road bike built for British conditions.

Despite costing only £2,500, the SLR 9.2 Carbon’s brilliant spec and ride quality further Boardman’s reputation for producing high-value, high-performance bikes.

Add in the fantastic, purple-to-black fade paintjob and the Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon offers a lot of bike at a crowd-pleasing price.

Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon frame

As the name denotes, the SLR is a wholly new carbon road bike frame from the British brand.

Boardman doesn’t go into detail on the type of carbon fibre used to build the frame, beyond saying there’s a 'high-grade' C10 carbon blend featured here and on the two pricier models in the range, with a 'medium-grade' C7 blend used on the 9.0 and 8.9 models.

Boardman does say, though, that the frame's aerodynamic shaping was developed using CFD modelling and wind tunnel testing.

Despite these racy optimisations, the SLR features a host of practical considerations – all designed to make it better to ride in tough conditions (as we so often have to deal with in the UK).

The frameset features bosses to fit dedicated mudguards, designed in conjunction with Fend Off, for example. These metal 'guards offer full-length protection, while leaving room for 32mm tyres.

The SLR frameset can take up to 36mm tyres without mudguards and comes supplied with 30mm tyres fitted as standard.

The down tube features two-position bottle mounts, so if you use two 500ml bottles, you can minimise the aerodynamic impact, but you can switch to the other boss position to use 750ml bottles if desired.

On the underside of the down tube is a third set of bosses to add another bottle for epic days out.

The aero-shaped carbon seatpost is clamped in place by a hidden bolt, located underneath the seat tube and top tube junction.

While the stock seatpost is proprietary, you can switch it for a standard, 27.2mm-diameter round post with the aid of a wedge-shaped adaptor if desired.

The bottom bracket shell remains a press-fit BB386, as on the previous SLR. While this might infuriate fans of threaded BBs, BB386 can be adapted to suit most cranksets and offers plenty of space for 30mm spindles and decently sized bearings.

The rear dropout uses SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH) standard, which means replacement gear hangers should be easy to come by, and it means the frame should be relatively futureproof.

After all, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see SRAM bring its direct-mount derailleur design from its off-road groupsets (such as Red XPLR AXS and GX Eagle AXS Transmission) to its road ones sooner rather than later.

Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon geometry

The SLR was originally conceived as a flat-out race bike, but evolved into more of a performance-orientated endurance platform in 2021.

The 2025 SLR gets sportier with its ride position again. On my large-sized sample, the stack has dropped by 7mm to 577mm, while the reach is stretched out to 394mm, up 3mm over the previous model.

Boardman has doubled down on this theme with the cockpit too, which now features a longer, 120mm stem (up from 110mm) and a narrower, 400mm handlebar (down from 420mm).

The wheelbase, at 1,050mm, is short, considering it can run 36mm-wide tyres, with short, 412mm chainstays on the size-large (dropping to 410mm on the small and extra-small models).

The only place things have been relaxed is the head tube angle, which drops half a degree to 72.5 degrees.

Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon build

The SLR 9.2 Carbon is solid value for money at £2,500, while my 58cm test bike tips the scales at 8.6kg.

The build of the 9.2 Carbon is based around Shimano’s 12-speed 105 Di2 drivetrain. Here it’s in classic endurance bike trim, with a compact 50/34t crankset and wide 11-34t cassette.

Up-front, Boardman provides the internal-routing ICR stem with a 400mm-wide alloy bar. The dedicated aero seatpost is topped with a Prologo Scratch M5 saddle.

The mid-depth Alex Boondocks 3 wheelset has a claimed weight of 1,686g, with 30mm-deep and 21mm-wide (internally) tubeless-ready rims.

That means the 30mm-wide Goodyear Eagle tubeless tyres fitted can be run without inner tubes should you wish.

The Eagle is a cheaper version of the high-performance Eagle F1, with a 60 TPI casing and an R:Shield breaker belt for added puncture protection.

What it lacks in the supple speed of the F1, it makes up for in longevity and robustness.

All things considered, the Boardman’s value for money is impressive for 2025.

In comparison, Trek’s Domane SL 5 Gen 4 costs £3,000, yet comes with a 105 mechanical groupset.

Specialized’s equivalent Roubaix SL8 Comp, with 105 Di2 and alloy DT Swiss wheels, costs £4,250. Only Ribble’s Allroad SL Pro, with 105 Di2 and Mavic Aksium 1 wheels, comes close at £2,499.

The SLR 9.2 Carbon’s ride is a formidable combination of a sporty position, quick handling and a balanced feel on the road.

The new frameset’s combination of aerodynamic tube shapes, dropped stays, and straight-legged fork would suggest a stiff ride. On the road, the SLR is anything but.

It is responsive and firm in all the right places, but it doesn’t ever feel uncomfortably so.

The firm yet forgiving ride combines with nimble handling, making for a bike biased towards the racy side of the endurance bikes spectrum.

That’s somewhat at odds with the practicalities of the design – the generous 36mm tyre clearances, proper mudguard mounts (with dedicated Fend Off guards available) and third set of bottle bosses on the down tube's underside.

That has meant throughout testing I’ve been able to store a tool can here, while still running two bottles for long rides.

It’s a simple alternative to a down tube storage port, and it makes sense, especially if you run more than one bike and don’t want to double up on a dedicated toolkit for each one.

As usual, Shimano’s 105 Di2 groupset impresses, and the gearing is well-suited to the SLR’s intended use. As a companion for long rides with plenty of elevation, the SLR 9.2 Carbon gets things right.

The 105 brakes are loaded with power and bags of feel, and they stayed scrape-free and quiet throughout test rides in all weather.

On trend for performance road bikes, the cockpit combines a long stem with a relatively narrow bar.

Although the 40cm bar is a good 20-40mm narrower than my preference, I liked the slightly rearward shape and ovalised top section.

Mated with a compact drop, I managed fine with the width, but I’d still prefer a wider option as standard.

Fortunately, the SLR 9.2 Carbon features a two-piece cockpit, with cables routing externally of the bar, so swapping in your preferred option would be easy.

The SLR 9.2 Carbon covers ground impressively well – it’s especially good at smoothing out poor, vibration-loaded road surfaces, while the swiftness of the steering is on the right side of nervous.

It makes the Boardman a fine descender; corrections are met with instant responses and the confidence from the grippy tyres helps through fast corners.

The Boardman has all the gear range I need for climbing and its responsive frameset makes out-of-the-saddle efforts worth it.

The 1,686g wheelset is middleweight, and like most bikes at this price, the SLR 9.2 Carbon would benefit from upgrades to a set of the best road wheels and tyres.

I could induce a bit of flex from the front wheel in out-of-the-saddle efforts, for example – enough to get the spokes to tick against the brake caliper body.

The spokes sit about 3mm from the caliper, which is plenty of flex, suggesting the spoke tension needs addressing on this test wheel.

Likewise, the tyres have superior grip, but they lack a bit of zip compared to Goodyear’s racier F1 model.

Boardman SLR 9.2 Carbon bottom line

The SLR 9.2 Carbon is a worthy successor to its Bike of the Year-winning predecessor.

The frameset is smartly thought out for UK riders, with generous tyre clearances, the option for dedicated mudguards and a ride that blends racy handling with a smooth ride feel.

It results in a bike that’s long-distance capable and exciting to ride, and makes it a solid competitor to bikes such as Cervélo’s Caledonia 5, the Giant Defy Advanced and the Vitus Venon Evo.