Boardman Pro Carbon Race Prepared £3299

After nearly four months on test the Boardman Pro Race Prepared has very regrettably been returned. In that time it has been used for time trailling, weekly criterium racing, training and some pretty serious sportives; in other words; a fairly comprehensive test of a bike’s abilities and possibly an unfair one.

Unfair in the sense that not many people would expect one bike to perform all these duties, yet the Boardman has not only helped improve my performances across the board, it has felt and ridden like the natural choice of machine for anything from an evening ‘10’ to a six hour Dartmoor Classic. Not bad for something that took Nicole Cooke to World and Olympic gold medals.

When I spoke to Andy Smallwood, Boardman Bikes’ Technical Director, he was of the opinion that this broad description of the frame’s abilities was simply the outcome of the design criteria that Chris himself had set as requirements for a product that was to carry his name. From the outset every tube was penned to perform specific duties so as to assemble the best performing and most aerodynamic shape at a market leading price.

Starting up front, the head tube houses recessed bearings with the addition of integral guided gear cabling. The fork shape has been determined with the aero-bladed principle in mind, as has the teardrop-shape down tube, which has such thin walls that it can in places can be flexed between fingers. At the top tube the brake cable run enters one side and exits the other; all this shape forming and detail enforcing the doctrine of compliance, stiffness and aerodynamics.

But it’s the design of the rear triangle that really had me raving when I posted my initial impressions of the bike back in May. Curved seat stays help explain the ride comfort over distances but the extra gusseting just below the rear brakes, combined with the shaped box section chain stays which flow through to the hugely oversized bottom bracket shell give an incredible impression of direct drive.

Stamping on the pedals hurtles you forward with a complete absence of flex, just instantaneous momentum. It might sound like a load of bull but until you’ve ridden a bike with this quality of frame coupled to this level of equipment it’s hard to share the sheer pleasure it creates without sounding like a door-to-door salesman.

It reminds me of the reasons why some years ago I commissioned the great Chas Roberts to build the best lo-profile TT frame he could, because without the best machinery I’d never fulfil my potential. Now if wasn’t for the passing of too many years the Boardman could do the same. In fairness, perhaps other manufacturers’ top spec bikes could create the same reaction, or would they? Every Boardman product is tested and signed off by Chris himself and, in this instance, there is a case for saying that a similar bike to the one you can purchase at Halfords is the best in the world…

Boardman have used Ritchey finishing products because they felt the company offered the best range of equipment and were happy to embrace their need for quality and price. Likewise, the SRAM RED groupset along with Zipp’s 404 wheels were felt by Boardman to be the best on the market. Their attributes are well documented elsewhere, and without their use the all-up bike weight of around 14.5lbs would not have been possible.

Again, without the carbon cranks and those carbon deep rims the superb ride sensation would not have been the same. As a footnote, Zipp are now owned by SRAM, who for 2010 have redesigned the wheel hubs across the range. With luck this will mean that the only mechanical niggle I encountered during the test, with the rear hub, will have been designed out.

For us, the buying public, the advantage of having Boardman – or rather, Halfords – deal with so few suppliers means that with the numbers involved they can buy direct at amazing discounts and likewise because they in turn sell direct we see those discounts passed on. Consequently, if you require or just fancy owning a bike with this level of specification no one else can supply it at this amount of money.

Ironically, compared to the middle of the range Boardman Pro, the Race Prepared looks expensive, when you consider they both share the same frame and fork. This highlights a question put to me several times: “Would you buy one.” Well, yeah-but-no-but… What I’d like to see is a paint-finished version of the Race Prep, something like the fabled Nicole Cooke Limited Edition, with carbon finishing kit, SRAM Force and a less expensive wheelset. If priced at about £2300, then it would be a definite ‘yes’.

Sizes XS – XL, weight 14.6lbs for medium minus pedals

Verdict

Superlative road performance from top-spec machine

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Light, stiff, responsive, versatile

Very high spec reflected in price