AiR

The development of the AiR TTE also informed the rest of the collection, not least the updated range of AiR aero road bikes. The new frame hides the rear brake behind the bottom bracket, while the top-of-the-range AiR 9.8 integrates the front brake into the fork, in a design which is said to be more user-friendly than the AiR TTE. The tube profiles have also been refined.

“We didn’t integrate the brakes on the 2012 AiR because we wanted to make sure the brakes work just as well as those on normal road bike,” Boardman told RoadCyclingUK. “I’ve been using these and took this bike out to the Tour de France and rode it down Alpine passes. We also took a lot of the tube shape information we got from the time trial project as well.”

Needless to say, all cables run internally, while the seatpost can be set in four positions to ensure the rider can get their position dialled in for road riding, time trials and triathlons. There’s also a PressFit bottom bracket and oversized chainstays to boost stiffness.

Again, the frame is mechanical and Di2 compatible and claimed weight is 1.15kg. The geometry sits between the super-low SLR and sportive SLS, with a 150mm headtube on a medium frame.

Continuing the theme, the AiR will be available as a frameset for £1,599.99, or in six builds. We won’t run through them all here – you can see them on the Boardman website – but the range starts with the Shimano 105-equipped AiR 9.0 (claimed weight 8.3kg) for £1,999.99 and tops out with the all-singing AiR 9.8 (7.1kg), with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 and Zipp 404 wheels for £7,999.99.