I’ve been a long-time browser of this forum (and others) and figured it’s time to give something back…I’ve been riding a 2015 Boardman Air 9.8 for much of the last year and wanted to share my experience.
Here’s the story - Bonus season was good in 2015, and I found myself looking for the “+1;” I had been riding a titanium Motobecane (after the death from old-age of my beloved Klein), and was looking for something:
After doing my research (I tried to get my hands on a Canyon and considered an S5, Ridley Noah, and Wilier Cento1), I decided to go with a Boardman and built-up the following bike with Competitive Cyclist in March:
I’ll start by saying that I love this bike. Between May and November of 2015, I’ve put about 1300 miles on this frame, and the Boardman has put an awful lot of smiles on my face. And the “bang-for-the-buck” is phenomenal – similarly spec’ed equivalent bikes would easily have been $2K more. But I wouldn’t buy it again without some major design changes.
What I Love: On both the flats of TX and the hills of San Francisco, this bike is FAST. While it doesn’t have the rocketship acceleration of a pure sprint machine like the Tarmac, it sustains speed very, very well (particularly with the Zipps). In both a TX sprint and a SF descent, the Boardman brings an exhilarating sensation of speed building with each pedal stroke or revolution of the wheel… this bike makes me understand why people go for aero-road. This speed is also accompanied with a surprising amount of comfort – my legs are tired after a hard ride, but the rest of my body is much fresher than I’m accustomed to. This frame does a great job absorbing the chip-seal of TX and the cracks common to the back roads of Northern California (e.g. Kings Ridge, Morgan Territory, etc.).
What I Dislike: I can now confirm that aero-road = inferior handling; even after 1300 miles of acclimation, my fastest Strava times down a few of the more technical descents in the Bay Area were achieved while riding a rental Tarmac. I will add the caveat that I’m a firm believer in safety over speed, and that I’m generally a slower, less-than-aggressive descender; at this point in my life, it’s just not worth the risk. I will (very) occasionally put on my big boy pants and bomb a descent…but I’m usually middle to back of the pack. The Boardman simply doesn’t feel as stable/planted as a more nimble frame. The bike is slow(ish) to turn over, and has a hard time carving a really tight hairpin turn; the bike holds it’s line well, but doesn’t have a great turning radius - I have to bleed more speed than I’d like to get around a hairpin without drifting into the opposite lane. Tires also seem to make more of a difference with this bike than with others; the Boardman suffers with Gatorskins (my usual trainers), but seems to come alive with GP 4000’s (my race tires).
Handling isn’t helped by the front brake – the integrated aero/TRP brake doesn’t have the bite of a Shimano caliper. When riding this bike, I find myself braking earlier on a turn and occasionally dragging the brake on long and steep descents to bleed speed before a corner. Given all this, I rarely ride my Zipps in SF – I just don’t trust myself, these brakes, and the (often damp in the AM) corners in the Bay Area.
Still – please take this with a grain of salt. I have not ridden a technical descent on another aero-road frame; comparing the handling of the Boardman to a Tarmac (or even a Klein) on a technical descent is clearly unfair, but this is unfortunately the only comparison point I have. I did test an S3, S5, Venge, and Ridley Noah when I first started searching for N+1, but these tests were on the straight, flat roads of TX. The Boardman may well be an exemplar of handing in the class…I only have the experience to tell you that this bike is probably better suited for riding in TX than SF.
What I HATE: Back to the brakes – the aero/integrated/custom front brake (provided by TRP) is not reliable; rather than a caliper style brake, Boardman chose to go for a lever-style similar to 90’s MTB’s where each lever is tensioned by an individual spring. Maybe it’s generational, but I’m not the only one struggling with these brakes… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adO2K3ekc1E. While I’ve had more success adjusting the Boardman front brakes than the guy in the Youtube video, I’ve found that I need to re-adjust the levers ~200 miles; this is particularly irritating given that each adjustment usually involves me pulling the levers off the frame. I do understand that it’s important to use the minimum amount of tension necessary to make the levers work – unfortunately, I’ve found that light tension gives me the sticky lever depicted in the youtube video, and that a significant amount of tension (probably more than is recommended by TRP!) is required before both levers will respond when pulled.
These brakes have recently failed and I have a warranty claim in with Boardman and Competitive Cyclist. While I (grudgingly) have become accustomed to the constant adjustments, the rubbing had gotten progressively worse in the last few weeks. Last week, I caved and took the bike into my LBS. Their diagnosis is that the “springs are shot” and are no longer able to provide tension. I had noticed that the springs had been beginning to “bow” when tension was applied to the bolt, and the LBS suggested that the failure may be due to over-tensioning the springs. While this makes sense (mea culpa), I feel like this is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. In order to prevent constant rub and have brakes that actually respond (relatively poorly) when pulled, you need to exceed the torque recommendations of the manufacturer. However, if you do so, there’s a good chance that the brakes will fail in <1 year!!!
These may be non-issues for a more seasoned (and patient) mechanic. I fully admit that I am neither. I’ve built multiple bikes, but don’t enjoy the process like a true grease monkey; I build bikes to ride. I take good care of my bikes (I religiously lube before every ride, clean the chain ~150 miles, and replace cables/housing as needed) and I expect my bikes to stay on the road. For me, the regular brake adjustments and replacements necessary to support this bike are too much – particularly because springs for this “custom” front brake are very difficult to find.
Because of these brakes, I cannot recommend this bike – not only do the front brakes fail to “bite” on a fast descent, they are extremely sensitive and ultimately unreliable. I have had to re-adjust the front brake every 2-4 rides, every time I change the tire, and every time I ship the bike; as noted above, these brakes are a pain in the @ss to adjust. I worry every time I bump the fork, and I find myself worrying about adjustment even while riding – if I brake too hard, will I have to deal with rub for the rest of the ride?!? (This happened once when I was descending Mt Hamilton; I couldn’t get the brake to stop rubbing road-side, and had to pull the lever and limp home.) At this point, I simply do not trust this front brake. And that is a big problem.
But isn't she a beaut?
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Here’s the story - Bonus season was good in 2015, and I found myself looking for the “+1;” I had been riding a titanium Motobecane (after the death from old-age of my beloved Klein), and was looking for something:
- Unique. I like talking about bikes, and enjoy having an “unusual” bike.
- Aero, e.g. “faster.” I’ve been doing more triathlons recently and, while I doubt that I’ll ever buy a TT/Tri bike, have experienced firsthand the advantage presented by aero.
- Relatively affordable. My target was <$5k.
After doing my research (I tried to get my hands on a Canyon and considered an S5, Ridley Noah, and Wilier Cento1), I decided to go with a Boardman and built-up the following bike with Competitive Cyclist in March:
Frame: 2015 Boardman Air Elite 9.8
Components: 3T Toronova LTD (Carbon) bar, 3T alloy stem, Dura-Ace ST-9001 shifters, Dura-Ace 52/36 crankset, Dura-Ace BR-9010 rear-brake, Ultegra 6800 derailleurs and cassette (11/28)
Wheels: HED Ardennes LT (daily riders + climbers), Zipp 404’s (TX and race wheels)
Components: 3T Toronova LTD (Carbon) bar, 3T alloy stem, Dura-Ace ST-9001 shifters, Dura-Ace 52/36 crankset, Dura-Ace BR-9010 rear-brake, Ultegra 6800 derailleurs and cassette (11/28)
Wheels: HED Ardennes LT (daily riders + climbers), Zipp 404’s (TX and race wheels)
I’ll start by saying that I love this bike. Between May and November of 2015, I’ve put about 1300 miles on this frame, and the Boardman has put an awful lot of smiles on my face. And the “bang-for-the-buck” is phenomenal – similarly spec’ed equivalent bikes would easily have been $2K more. But I wouldn’t buy it again without some major design changes.
What I Love: On both the flats of TX and the hills of San Francisco, this bike is FAST. While it doesn’t have the rocketship acceleration of a pure sprint machine like the Tarmac, it sustains speed very, very well (particularly with the Zipps). In both a TX sprint and a SF descent, the Boardman brings an exhilarating sensation of speed building with each pedal stroke or revolution of the wheel… this bike makes me understand why people go for aero-road. This speed is also accompanied with a surprising amount of comfort – my legs are tired after a hard ride, but the rest of my body is much fresher than I’m accustomed to. This frame does a great job absorbing the chip-seal of TX and the cracks common to the back roads of Northern California (e.g. Kings Ridge, Morgan Territory, etc.).
What I Dislike: I can now confirm that aero-road = inferior handling; even after 1300 miles of acclimation, my fastest Strava times down a few of the more technical descents in the Bay Area were achieved while riding a rental Tarmac. I will add the caveat that I’m a firm believer in safety over speed, and that I’m generally a slower, less-than-aggressive descender; at this point in my life, it’s just not worth the risk. I will (very) occasionally put on my big boy pants and bomb a descent…but I’m usually middle to back of the pack. The Boardman simply doesn’t feel as stable/planted as a more nimble frame. The bike is slow(ish) to turn over, and has a hard time carving a really tight hairpin turn; the bike holds it’s line well, but doesn’t have a great turning radius - I have to bleed more speed than I’d like to get around a hairpin without drifting into the opposite lane. Tires also seem to make more of a difference with this bike than with others; the Boardman suffers with Gatorskins (my usual trainers), but seems to come alive with GP 4000’s (my race tires).
Handling isn’t helped by the front brake – the integrated aero/TRP brake doesn’t have the bite of a Shimano caliper. When riding this bike, I find myself braking earlier on a turn and occasionally dragging the brake on long and steep descents to bleed speed before a corner. Given all this, I rarely ride my Zipps in SF – I just don’t trust myself, these brakes, and the (often damp in the AM) corners in the Bay Area.
Still – please take this with a grain of salt. I have not ridden a technical descent on another aero-road frame; comparing the handling of the Boardman to a Tarmac (or even a Klein) on a technical descent is clearly unfair, but this is unfortunately the only comparison point I have. I did test an S3, S5, Venge, and Ridley Noah when I first started searching for N+1, but these tests were on the straight, flat roads of TX. The Boardman may well be an exemplar of handing in the class…I only have the experience to tell you that this bike is probably better suited for riding in TX than SF.
What I HATE: Back to the brakes – the aero/integrated/custom front brake (provided by TRP) is not reliable; rather than a caliper style brake, Boardman chose to go for a lever-style similar to 90’s MTB’s where each lever is tensioned by an individual spring. Maybe it’s generational, but I’m not the only one struggling with these brakes… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adO2K3ekc1E. While I’ve had more success adjusting the Boardman front brakes than the guy in the Youtube video, I’ve found that I need to re-adjust the levers ~200 miles; this is particularly irritating given that each adjustment usually involves me pulling the levers off the frame. I do understand that it’s important to use the minimum amount of tension necessary to make the levers work – unfortunately, I’ve found that light tension gives me the sticky lever depicted in the youtube video, and that a significant amount of tension (probably more than is recommended by TRP!) is required before both levers will respond when pulled.
These brakes have recently failed and I have a warranty claim in with Boardman and Competitive Cyclist. While I (grudgingly) have become accustomed to the constant adjustments, the rubbing had gotten progressively worse in the last few weeks. Last week, I caved and took the bike into my LBS. Their diagnosis is that the “springs are shot” and are no longer able to provide tension. I had noticed that the springs had been beginning to “bow” when tension was applied to the bolt, and the LBS suggested that the failure may be due to over-tensioning the springs. While this makes sense (mea culpa), I feel like this is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. In order to prevent constant rub and have brakes that actually respond (relatively poorly) when pulled, you need to exceed the torque recommendations of the manufacturer. However, if you do so, there’s a good chance that the brakes will fail in <1 year!!!
These may be non-issues for a more seasoned (and patient) mechanic. I fully admit that I am neither. I’ve built multiple bikes, but don’t enjoy the process like a true grease monkey; I build bikes to ride. I take good care of my bikes (I religiously lube before every ride, clean the chain ~150 miles, and replace cables/housing as needed) and I expect my bikes to stay on the road. For me, the regular brake adjustments and replacements necessary to support this bike are too much – particularly because springs for this “custom” front brake are very difficult to find.
Because of these brakes, I cannot recommend this bike – not only do the front brakes fail to “bite” on a fast descent, they are extremely sensitive and ultimately unreliable. I have had to re-adjust the front brake every 2-4 rides, every time I change the tire, and every time I ship the bike; as noted above, these brakes are a pain in the @ss to adjust. I worry every time I bump the fork, and I find myself worrying about adjustment even while riding – if I brake too hard, will I have to deal with rub for the rest of the ride?!? (This happened once when I was descending Mt Hamilton; I couldn’t get the brake to stop rubbing road-side, and had to pull the lever and limp home.) At this point, I simply do not trust this front brake. And that is a big problem.
But isn't she a beaut?
