Following up on their recent range overhaul with new Elite road race, TT, and track bikes and the completely new Elite Endurance road bikes, Boardman has also introduced both new hardtail and full-suspension mountain bikes. Boardman has long-held a retail partnership with UK chain Halfords which sells a selection of their bike range, but in mid-2015 Halfords bought Boardman, giving them more backing to further develop their bike range. As we saw at the start of winter the Boardman Elite range has stepped up a notch in both quality and finish. These new mountain bikes are a first look at how the mid-range bikes may be improving as well, with a new updated 2016 Performance range expected to be announced in less than a month. Take a closer look at the new triple-butted aluminum hardtails and full-suspension bikes after the jump…
Boardman’s updated hardtails all inch up their travel with 120mm forks for more aggressive trail riding in 2016. With a similar look, each bike differs greatly in the spec and details. The Pro looks to offer a lot of performance value, while the Comp is definitely more entry-level, lacking the better tech of the bigger wheeled bikes.
The green MTB Pro 29er is Boardman’s top hardtail at £1000. The Pro frame uses a triple butted aluminum tubeset from what Boardman calls an X9 alloy, and pairs with a 120mm RockShox Reba RLT fork. Unlike the other hardtails, the Pro looks to go with a thru-axle out back to pair with the fork. The claimed 11.5kg bike gets a complete SRAM GX 1x groupset, Guide R brakes, and Mavic rimmed wheelset.
The blue MTB Team 29er uses a frame with the same geometry as the Pro, but a step down in the aluminum to an X7 alloy (and QR rear) to get down to £850. It’s still triple-butted, but trims the spec and gains a bit of weight to 12.6kg. The fork goes to a 120mm Recon, but it keeps the same SRAM GX 1x, only with an FSA Comet crank and the trickle down Avid DB5 brakes.
Boardman also has an even lower priced option in the MTB Comp 27.5″. To get the price here down to £650 they drop the spec again a good bit, and curiously make the switch to 650b wheels. The frame is mostly the same as the Team with 10cm shorter chainstays and less BB drop, but cuts corners back to a straight 1 1/8″ headtube too. Build wise, the bike goes with a more budget X5 double, Avid DB1 brakes, and a 120mm Suntour Raidon XC-LO fork. A house brand wheelset, and square taper BB drop spec a bit more and add up to a total weight of 13.3kg.
Boardman’s full suspension bikes have been some of the best value in the UK, and the new models continue that trend of offering an affordable way to get on the trail. The full suspension range includes just two bikes, the Pro and Team, both built around 27.5″ wheels. Both bikes pair 140mm forks to the 130mm frames for a more capable ride, and follow the trail bike trend of the year of getting longer toptubes, slacker headtube angles, and shortened stems. While neither bike gets spec’ed with a dropper post, both frames get internal routing to add one on later.
Like the hardtails the MTB Pro FS uses a higher-end X9 triple-butted tubeset, and gets thru-axles front and rear. For £1500 the Pro gets a solid spec with a RockShox Pike RC fork and Monarch RT shock. Add in a SRAM GX 1x drivetrain with Guide R brakes and there is a a lot of value in this bike claiming a weight of 13.2kg. While the photos Boardman sent out showing the Pro still have a front derailleur mount, we’ve seen at least one bike in the wild that omits it all together for a clean 1x-only build.
The MTB Team FS saves money with the X7 triple-butted tubing and pairs a QR out back with the thru-axle fork. The £1000 bike gets a cheaper RockShox Sektor fork, but keeps a Monarch R shock. Its build is a more conventional SRAM GX double, and pairs with Avid DB1 brakes, with a claimed weight of 14.2kg.
All the new bikes are available now, and can already be found either in Halfords or through regular Boardman dealers.
