At a glance An excellently spec’d machine matched with an equivalent level of design and craftsmanship great for trail and XC riding
Tested by
Oliver Laverack
Performance
The Ride
Chris Boardman, the Chris Hoy of his era, first
stole the limelight in 1992 when he rode his iconic carbon Lotus
bike to victory at the Barcelona Olympics. Now Chris is back with
his own bike brand and it seems he's put as much effort into
developing his new bikes as he did into his pre-race training.
The MTB HT Pro, which sits at the top of the Boardman hardtail range, is no exception to the rule and has proven itself to be a great trail bike over the winter months. On my first few outings the ride was compromised by the Continental Speed King tyres which, although normally very good, offered very little grip in the wet and muddy conditions. After a quick chat with Continental they kindly sent us a much more wintery combination of a Mountain King 2.0" up front and an Edge 1.9" rear which have performed brilliantly in the most treacherous of conditions. In particular the Edge has offered excellent traction in extremely wet and slippy conditions.
With beefed up tyres and clip in pedals our large framed version weighed in at just 25.5 lbs. This combined with the wide Ritchey Pro Rizer bars make the MTB HT Pro a light and agile bike perfect for weaving up and down more technically difficult rocky and routy sections. Those same bars that allow you to really pull yourself up hills and weave your way down them also allow you to navigate corners with confidence inspiring precision. I also rarely felt as though I needed to get out of the saddle to shift my weight which meant I could keep putting the power down and fly out of corners as fast as I went into them. This bike not only climbs like a mountain goat but can also accelerate quickly and smoothly when you need it to. Although I didn't need to adjust the seatpost it would have been nice to see a quick release on the bike as I'm sure I would have used it a couple of times had it been there. The frame is complemented with some excellent components which really add to the quality feel of this bike. If you're looking for a trail bike that's also suitable for XC riding then for £1000 you're unlikely to find a better buy.
The Frame
It's easy to overlook the frame when buying a new
bike yet it's arguably the single most important part as it defines
how the bike rides. Chris Boardman and his team certainly haven't
overlooked this fact and it's quite clear the UK designed and
tested MTB HT Pro has been carefully crafted to offer the best
possible ride. Made from Ultralight super butted aluminium this
frame is not only light but also very strong making it ideal for
both XC and trail riding. The unique looking diamond shaped top
tube, oversized downtube and square chainstays all contribute to
making this frame very stiff and robust. Finishing touches include
a slightly hourglass shaped head tube, welds that are smoothed over
to create a very clean lined finish, giving the frame a much more
expensive carbon look, and also a white metallic paint
job which looks great and also shimmers slightly when you get the
bike wet. Being reasonably tall I had to raise the seat close to
it's maximum setting which suggests that if you're much taller than
6 foot 2 then you may need to consider replacing the 350mm seatpost
with a longer one.
The Specification
For a £1000 bike
the Boardman MTB HT Pro has arguably the best components you'll
find on any bike at this price. Upfront RockShox Reba Race forks
offer a 100mm of easily adjustable, plush travel with an on-the-fly
lock-out function which came in handy on flat sections. Braking
comes in the form of Avid's powerful Elixir R hydraulic discs
finished with carbon levers. The braking power is complemented with
Sram's excellent X.9 shifters and a range topping X.0 rear
mech which only becomes a problem if you break it because of the
£150 replacement cost. Finishing touches include Truvativ
Stylo GXP cranks, Ritchey Pro handlebars, stem (complete with
carbon spacers), seatpost and Ritchey WCS wheels.
Exclusively available from www.halfords.com
