Boardman's new £5,500 road bike with SRAM Red AXS might be the best value on offer in 2025

Boardman has unveiled its long-awaited update to the SLR – designed to be a new performance bike for British conditions.

That means a heady combination of race-bike pace, endurance-bike comfort and practical touches to keep you riding all-year round and in all weather.

The new SLR frameset has been designed with the help of both CFD (computational fluid dynamics) and wind-tunnel proving.

The spec list is aimed squarely at modern UK riding. That means generous 36mm tyre clearances, mudguard mounts, a third set of bottle cage bosses, a UDH rear dropout, and hard-wearing components for adverse conditions.

Boardman's aim is for the new SLR to be a bike that’s fast in all four seasons.

David Radcliffe, Boardman’s head of product, tells us: "We wanted the aerodynamic advantages of a fully integrated front end. But it needs to also be practical, so rather than a one-piece bar and stem, which gives the rider limited choices in bar width and stem length… we’ve stuck with a standard bar and stem mated to fully internal routing, giving more choices here."

Boardman says other stem-length and bar-width options will be available at the point of purchase. The 90, 100, 110 & 120mm stems will retail for £48.

"We’ve also used a high-grade headset from Acros with the highest level of seals. We want to ensure that we don’t compromise longevity at the expense of gaining watts in efficiency. 

"It’s a very similar story at the rear end too. With the dedicated aero-D-shaped seatpost having a two-position clamp, you can effectively run the saddle position with zero offset (inline) or with 15mm of setback, allowing finer tuning to get your ideal fit."

The two-position carbon post comes as standard on models 9.0 and above. It’s also available separately from Halfords and retails for £80.

The seat clamp can also be used with a clamp insert that converts the frame to allow for a standard 27.2mm-diameter seatpost in place of the dedicated aero post. That opens up rider choice should you want to fit a more compliant post, such as Canyon’s VCLS, or even a suspension post such as the Redshift ShockStop.

Plenty of room for big tyres and mudguards

The frame and fork both have generous tyre clearances of up to 36mm, or if you use mudguards that drops to a still-generous 32mm. Bikes will ship as stock with 30mm-wide tyres.

Boardman has worked closely with Kinesis to offer a dedicated mudguard kit from Fend Off.

Unusually for a road bike, the SLR gets a third set of bottle bosses on the underside of the down tube.

Radcliffe explains: “We wanted to add practical features, and I’ve always liked a set of underside bosses on gravel and adventure bikes. I’m a big fan of the tool-can approach to riding with spares rather than a saddle pack.

"They are much easier to transfer between bikes, though you do lose a bottle position. This is the ideal solution, plus that extra weight is carried low down – much better for the balance of the bike."

Improved aerodynamics

Even with the extra practical touches and increased emphasis on aerodynamics, Boardman has kept the weight of the frame respectably low. A medium-sized finished C10 carbon frame is claimed to weigh 995g and the matching fork 450g. The frame is designed with a BB386EVO bottom bracket shell.

The aerodynamic design improves upon the previous SLR design. When tested back-to-back in the wind tunnel, it resulted in an average 5.7W saving across a full YAW sweep (-15 to +15) at 50kph.

The rear dropout is now the Universal Derailleur Hanger standard, future-proofing the SLR frameset. As previously, the SLR is backed with a lifetime warranty for the original owner.

SLR geometry evolved

The SLR’s geometry hasn’t changed radically from the previous generation. It retains the low front end, although on a size large (effectively a 57cm bike), the stack is down a few millimeters to 577mm from 584mm, and the reach has elongated a little to 394mm from 391mm.

The 72.5-degree head angle is half a degree slacker, while the standard 73-degree seat angle remains the same.

The women’s model gets its own geometry, with a lower stack and shorter reach than the equivalent men’s sizes, alongside adjusted bar widths and stem lengths to suit.

Better value than ever

Boardman has always been big on value, but the new SLR range takes it to a new level.

There are two tiers of frame and fork, with high-grade C10 carbon on the 9.8, 9.6, and 9.2 and a medium-grade C7 for the 9.0 and 8.9.

There's a wide range of options on the SLR – from £1,200 for the Tiagra-equipped 8.9 to £5,500 for the superbike-level specification of SRAM Red AXS and Zipp 404 wheels.

Compared to similar-spec bikes such as Specialized's Red-AXS equipped S-Works Roubaix (£12,000) or Trek Domane SLR 9 AXS Gen4 (£11,270), the Boardman looks like incredible value.

It follows a very welcome emerging trend for dropping prices from the likes of Cube's 2025 offerings, Van Rysel and direct-to-consumer brands such as Ribble, Canyon and State.

The range

Boardman has covered off major price points and equipment levels from the C7 carbon-framed, Tiagra drivetrain 8.9 to the 9.0, 9.2, 9.6 and range-topping 9.8. Interestingly, there’s no 9.4 announced today to replace our 2021 Bike of the Year winner. That bike came equipped with SRAM’s then-new Rival AXS 12-speed wireless groupset. Could the omission of the 9.4 indicate that something new from SRAM is on the horizon?

The range has a couple of standout models, including the £2,500, 105 Di2-equipped 9.2, which we’ve got an exclusive first look at.

Alongside this is the 9.6, with a specification that includes Shimano’s impeccable Ultegra Di2 and rolls on a fine combination of Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless tyres and Zipp’s impressive 303s wheelset, all for the impressive price of £3,500.

A similar-specification bike such as Cervélo’s Soloist, with Ultegra Di2 and Reserve wheels, would set you back £6,800. Even Canyon’s similarly sporty Endurace CF SLX8 is more expensive at £4,999.

Boardman SLR 8.9 Women’s

• Frame: Boardman C7 Carbon, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C7 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman Alloy
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Alloy
• Saddle: Boardman SLR Road
• Brakes: Shimano Tiagra BR-4770 hydraulic disc
• Shifters: Shimano Tiagra ST-4720
• Front derailleur: Shimano FD-4700 brazed-on 10-speed
• Rear derailleur: Shimano RD-4700 10-speed
• Chain: KMC X10 10-speed
• Crankset: Shimano FC-4700 50x34-tooth
• Bottom bracket: BB386EVO
• Cassette: Shimano CS-HG500 11-34-tooth, 10-speed
• Wheelset: Boardman RD Alloy SLR, tubeless-compatible
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle Sport 700x30mm
• Sizes: SM, MD, LG

Boardman SLR 8.9 

• Frame: Boardman C7 Carbon, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C7 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman Alloy
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Alloy
• Saddle: Boardman SLR Road
• Brakes: Shimano Tiagra BR-4770 hydraulic disc
• Shifters: Shimano Tiagra ST-4720
• Front derailleur: Shimano FD-4700 brazed-on 10-speed
• Rear derailleur: Shimano RD-4700 10-speed
• Chain: KMC X10 10-speed
• Crankset: Shimano FC-4700 50x34-tooth
• Bottom bracket: BB386EVO
• Cassette: Shimano CS-HG500 11-34-tooth, 10-speed
• Wheelset: Boardman RD Alloy SLR, tubeless-compatible
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle Sport 700x30mm
• Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL

Boardman SLR 9.0

• Frame: Boardman C7 Carbon, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C10 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman SLR ICR
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Aero D-Shaped Carbon
• Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 PAS Steel
• Brakes: Shimano 105 BR7170 hydraulic disc
• Shifters: Shimano 105 R7170
• Front derailleur: Shimano 105 FD-R7100 12-speed
• Rear derailleur: Shimano 105 RD-R7101 12-speed
• Chain: Shimano KCNM6100 12-speed
• Crankset: Shimano FC-RS520, 50-34-tooth
• Bottom bracket: BB386EVO
• Cassette: Shimano CS-R7101, 11-34-tooth, 12-speed
• Wheelset: Alex Alloy Road 30mm, tubeless ready
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle tubeless ready 700x30mm
• Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL

Boardman SLR 9.2 

• Frame: Boardman C10 Carbon, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C10 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman SLR ICR
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Aero D-Shaped Carbon
• Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 PAS Steel
• Brakes: Shimano 105 BR7170 hydraulic disc
• Shifters: Shimano 105 R7170 Di2 12-speed
• Front derailleur: Shimano 105 FD-R7150 Di2 12-speed
• Rear derailleur: Shimano 105 RD-R7150 Di2 12-speed
• Chain: Shimano CN-M6100 12-speed
• Crankset: Shimano FCR-7100 50-34-tooth
• Cassette: Shimano CSR-7101, 11-34 Tooth, 12-speed
• Bottom bracket: BB386EVO
• Wheelset: Alex Alloy Road 30mm, tubeless ready
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle tubeless ready 700x30mm
• Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL

Boardman SLR 9.6 

• Frame: Boardman C10 Carbon, Internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C10 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman SLR ICR
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Aero D-Shaped Carbon
• Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 PAS Tirox
• Brakes: Shimano Ultegra ST-R8170 hydraulic disc
• Shifters: Shimano Ultegra ST-R8170 Di2 12-speed
• Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra ST-R8170 Di2 12-speed
• Rear derailleur: Shimano Ultegra ST-R8170 Di2 12-speed
• Chain: Shimano CN-M8100 12-speed
• Crankset: Shimano FC-R8100 50/34-tooth, 12-speed
• Cassette: Shimano CD-R7101 11-34T
• Bottom bracket: BB386EVO
• Wheelset: Zipp 303 S Carbon tubeless ready
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle F1 R, tubeless ready 700x30mm
• Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL

Boardman SLR 9.8 

• Frame: Boardman C10 Carbon, internal cable routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, UDH
• Fork: Boardman C10 Carbon 12x100mm thru-axle, hidden mudguard mounts
• Headset: ACROS 1.5in
• Stem: Boardman SLR ICR
• Handlebar: Boardman Aero Alloy
• Tape: Boardman Textured
• Seatpost: Boardman Aero D-Shaped Carbon
• Saddle: Prologo Scratch M5 PAS Tirox
• Brakes: SRAM Red AXS E1 hydraulic
• Shifters: SRAM Red AXS E1
• Front derailleur: SRAM Red AXS E1 12-speed
• Rear derailleur: SRAM Red AXS E1 12-speed
• Chain: SRAM Force 12-speed
• Crankset: SRAM Red AXS E1 46/33-tooth
• Cassette: SRAM Force D1 XG-1270, 10-33-tooth, 12-speed
• Bottom bracket: SRAM DUB BB386, 86.5mm
• Wheelset: Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon tubeless
• Tyres: Goodyear Eagle F1 R, tubeless ready 700x30mm
• Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG, XL