Bicicleta de carretera Boardman - Team Carbon

From 1986 to 2000, Chris Boardman was one of the world's fastest men in timed events. He was also among the first to compete on a carbon bike, piloting a Lotus 108 to Olympic 4,000-meter gold in 1992. His attention to detail earned him the nickname The Professor as his legs brought him a world TT championship, three Tour de France stage wins, and several hour records.

Upon retiring Boardman started his own bike company, where he is now director of research and development. The results speak volumes: A frame nearly identical to the Team Carbon's delivered Nicole Cooke to an Olympic gold medal and world championship title in 2008.

The Team Carbon's world-class lineage is apparent from the first pedal stroke. The frame is stiff in all the right places: The BB30 bottom-bracket shell melds into stout, square chainstays. The down tube is teardrop-shaped, but, unlike many bikes with aero shapes, is still stiff. All that rigidity translates into snappy acceleration. It also makes for responsive and predictable handling that feels more stable than quick.

Bikes in this category typically require some compromise, and the Team Carbon's Achilles' heel is its harsh ride. Gently curved seatstays don't do enough to ease road feedback, and the combination of Mavic Aksium Race wheels and Vittoria Zaffiro tires are heavy and does little to soften the ride.

To match the racy frame, the bike puts you in an aggressive position. The 120mm stem on our size large test bike is a centimeter longer than that of most bikes of a similar size, the semianatomic-bend handlebar has a long reach and deep drop, and the carbon seatpost has the type of aggressive, 25mm setback favored by those with lengthy femurs. We appreciated the reliability of Shimano's 105 drivetrain paired with an FSA Gossamer crank. We did encounter one problem: Our test bike's down-tube bottle bosses weren't centered, and a carbon cage leaned to the right. We used a stainless-steel cage and bent it straight. The company told us that such problems are unusual and are covered under the bike's warranty.

The Carbon Team is an outstanding value and a great bike. It's ideal for a budding racer or performance-oriented rider who wants to put a beatdown on the group ride. There are plenty of bikes in this price range that are more comfortable, but few are capable of performing at this level.—Ron Koch

Buy it: If you want a bike that's big on speed and value

Pocket-lint recently undertook a fairly meaty 175km cycle with our bum firmly planted on its fairly comfortable seat. The Boardman Team Carbon was so good, we figured we'd give it a review.

So what do you get with a £1499 bike? In most cases, more than any amateur cyclist will ever need. Boardman, however, has gone that little bit further, creating a package so good that virtually no other bike at this price range can compete.

Parts-a-plenty

First up on the parts list is a full-carbon Boardman-designed frame. We personally didn't like the previous iteration of this bike, it felt very stiff and fairly dead in the corners. Not a particularly exciting ride. This has all changed with the 2012 model, which features an oversized downtube and bottom bracket. The result is a decent power transfer from pedal to wheel and plenty of torque in the lower gears. Perfect for long rides.

The frame also provides plenty of feedback to the rider and is exciting in the turns and when ridden at speed. Downhill, there was very little flex and uphill the bike steamed along nicely, staying stiff as anything, but comfortable all the same.

This emphasis on comfort and speed is helped along by the likes of a Fizik Arione saddle, something normally included in slightly more expensive bikes. Mavic Aksium rims also add to an already impressive parts package and remove the need to upgrade wheels later should your cycling get more serious.

Shimano 105 brakes stop the bike nicely and a FSA gossamer crankset with BB30 bearings keeps pedalling smooth, while not adding too much weight. The own-brand Boardman bars and seat post would be the first thing to go, should you think about any possible upgrading, but for most they won't pose any problems.

Bikes around this price point form the core of all entry level "serious" cycling. Most will be looking at this Boardman as well as the likes of Focus, Bianchi, Felt and others as a possible commuter and weekend ride bike. Having ridden most of its competitors, we have to say, it's the best of the bunch by quite a way.

Nice ride

The whole thing is finished nicely and just feels slightly more high-quality than its opposition. It also gives you a ride with a bit more finesse than others. Quick in the turns, yet confident on the straight, a very balanced ride indeed. It is a frame that might lose out when racing against some of the stiffer and sharper cycles from competition, but for those considering sportives and the like, it is absolutely perfect.

In fact the only disappointment of the Boardman is that, for its cost, it just doesn't turn any heads. Dishing out this kind of money on a cycle, you want it to feel special. The need for branding all over the frame and the decision to opt for white bar tape and saddle as opposed to yellow seems and odd one to us. It breaks up the look of the thing and takes some of the wow factor out of what is a nicely designed carbon frame.

Still though, a brilliant cycle at a fairly affordable price. Those not so keen on carbon or without the budget could always look at the non-"pro" model. It comes with virtually the same parts and frame geometry and we are told, rides nearly just as well.

A GREAT WAY TO START

Performance, design and quality are the values of Boardman bikes whose research and development director is Chris Boardman, Olympic medallist famous for the podium gained in Barcelona, 1992. Boardman is hailed as a legend of British cycling thanks to him having over thirty records and victories. The Boardman Team Carbon, top of the entry-level ‘Performance’ series, fully represents the company ethos. The frame is a UD finish full carbon monocoque with a BB30 bottom bracket. Components are entry level but from reliable brands and they withstand the standards expected from a road bike. The overall perception is that this is an inexpensive but doubtlessly quality bike. Outside of the UK, Boardman bikes are only available on Wiggle (www.wiggle.co.uk), online retailer specialised in sport equipment for tri-sports.

Frame and Fork

Frame, fork and dropouts are full carbon monocoque, including an external layer in unidirectional carbon. A distinctive feature of the frame is the aerodynamic teardrop-shaped down tube. Its height is more or less uniform, progressively increasing in width as it gets closer to the generously wide bottom bracket shell. The seat tube is round-shaped, whereas the top tube has a standard section. The internal cable routing goes from inside the head tube to the down tube, where cable guides are riveted to the down tube. The frame is designed for a band-on derailleur and two bottle cages; cables are all externally routed, except the one for the rear brake. Classic wishbone seatstays (with concavity facing the rear) are slightly curved, their section is triangular with inward vertex. Chainstays are box-sectioned and tapered; dropout levers are replaceable, in carbon. The monocoque fork features a tapered pivot with 1.5” lower bearing and a traditional 1.8” top bearing. The carbon fork dropouts are protected by two aluminium plates. The fork is beefy but classy, with slightly curved blades. Size S, the one we tested, comes with a 54 cm length top tube, which usually equals a size M of other brands. Its head tube is 130 mm, an average size among the most common ones, which allows a race posture. Regarding other details of the frame, we will just give a few words about the internal cable routing from the head tube: in order to load the bike in the car, the cyclist needs to turn the handlebar by 90°, enhancing the risk of snapping the cables. Though thumbs up for the transparent chain protector that comes with the bike.

Components

Shimano is in charge of the transmission: this bike is equipped with Shimano 105 groupset, exception made for the FSA Gossamer BB30 50/34 chainset in forged aluminium. Two great choices considering that on bikes of this level we would normally see a Tiagra or â€" best case scenario â€" a mix between Tiagra and 105. The wheels are Mavic Aksyum, entry level from the French manufacturer, paired up with Vittoria Zaffiro 23 mm tyres. The saddle is Fi’z:k Arione with manganese rails, headset is FSA integrated. The finishing kit is Boardman-branded. Stem, handlebar, seatpost with carbon tube and aluminium two-bolt head all come with the CBoardman pro logo.

Please bear in mind that the front brake is on the right lever. The only real downside is the pedals: the bike comes with flat ones with clips and straps. We would expect them on a city bike, not on a precious, entry level road bike.

The Test

Our test starts with..unpacking the box! Not a minor thing with online purchases, although we must say that packaging was extremely well-thought through. When assembling, we noticed that the front brake is activated by the right lever, unlike Italian custom. No operations are needed apart from turning the handlebar, fitting the pedals (flat type ones) and the bike is ready to use. Riding the Team Carbon is a pleasure. Overall, except for the weight, we also thought it is quite efficient.

If you are not after lightweight bikes, even a cheaper frame can be stiffened up by adding extra thickness to the materials used. Comfort-wise, this bike works well in shock-absorbing although it feels a bit less stable on rougher passages. The rider did not experience any particular back pain after riding up to 3 hours.

Conclusion

The Team Carbon is a bike with no frills. In its price range, it stands out for the choice of high level components. This seems to us to be such a key observation that we would recommend it to beginner cyclists. This bike is certainly a very good purchase for entry-level. Not everyone trusts on-line retailers, but we can’t have everything!

Summary

Standard geometry
The tubes have a slightly sloping geometry. The bike comes in 5 sizes â€" from XS (top tube length: 52,5cm centre-centre, for riders 155-163cm tall) to XL (57cm, for riders over 183cm). Stability and comfort are prioritised, with a comfy seat tube (73°) and fork with rake of 45mm.

Finishing

Extremely refined details: beautiful (and perfect) matt black UD carbon finish. The manufacturer specifies that small differences in colour can be detected between frame and forks. Very pretty the yellow internal lines applied to forks and chainstays.

Assembly

Not giving the possibility of custom choice components seems to be the only possible way to keep the price down. Nevertheless, the results are still noticeable in this bike. Another noticeable aspect â€" indicative of a quality product â€" is the variation of crank arms/stem length and handlebar width according to the size of the frame.

Price-quality

Definitely good, especially if bought with the 15% discount currently offered.

Double personality

After the test, two observations can be made. The first one: the aerodynamic shape of the tubes does not always pay off in terms of bottom bracket shell stiffness. The over 7mm of deflection is not a bad result, however, we would have expected something more from a "medium" weight bike. The braking power, on the other hand, has the standard of much higher quality (pricey) carbon frames. The second one: if you read the chart after checking the bike price, the impression can be nothing but positive.