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.
The Verdict
An excellently spec’d machine matched with an equivalent level of design and craftsmanship great for trail and XC riding - 9/10
