Boardman ASR 8.9

The Boardman ASR, or "all season road", is a really good value package that offers a relaxed ride with the classic looks and feel of steel, the modern convenience of hydraulic discs brakes, and clearance for wide tyres. Some of the components might not be to your liking, but otherwise the ASR 8.9 serves its purpose well as an all-weather commuter.

• Pros: Smooth and comfortable frame, excellent value, mudguards included
• Cons: Bulbous 105 hydraulic levers are divisive

The ASR launched in late 2017, and my test bike is the top-specced version with Reynolds 725 steel tubing, a full Shimano 105 groupset with hydraulic disc brakes, and Boardman's own bar and wheels. The cheaper 8.8 (£849) has 9-speed Sora components, a '4130 CroMo Steel' frame and mechanical disc brakes, so for the extra £400 you're getting lighter and arguably better tubing, extra gears and hydraulic discs.

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The 8.9 arrives ready for winter, with mudguards fitted to the frame, 28mm Vittoria tyres, plus reflective frame details ticking all the boxes for commuting through the rough British weather. Remove the mudguards and the bike easily has clearance for wider tyres, so it also fits the bill for summer towpath pootling and brief gravel forays.

I can see the ASR appealing to an audience who appreciate style just as much as value and function. It's Reynolds 725 steel which has been proven the world over to provide a highly comfortable ride, the joins are smooth, and it generally doesn't have the look or feel of a mass-produced bike.

Add in the threaded bottom bracket and you have a very aesthetically pleasing frameset, with the addition of a chunky carbon fork taking care of damping vibrations up front.

Boardman has gone for a relaxed geometry inspired by its hybrid and mountain bikes, with a 72-degree head angle, 16cm head tube and an unusually long 56.5cm top tube on my size medium test bike. The head tube is also a centimetre or so longer than many endurance road bikes, and I was initially sceptical about how this bike would ride. Boardman says the slacker angles are intentional to keep the handling stable, and it's balanced out that long top tube with a shorter 90mm stem to keep the steering lively.

While it's pretty slim at the rear, with thin seatstays and chainstays, the ride feels robust and there isn't any noticeable flex in this area. Riding over rough stuff on my cycle path commute was generally a breeze, and the only real 'problem' I had with it was manoeuvrability. While the stem is shortened in an attempt to make the steering springier, I did find the ASR a bit sluggish when trying to corner quickly, which I'll put down to the relaxed angles of the frame and longer top tube making the bike quite slow to respond.

It does make for really stable handling, though, and it's not really designed to be aggressively chucked around; it's more about finesse than fast and furious. Eating up long, steady miles in comfort is what the ASR does best, and as someone who's prone to head out for a run or carry on riding if the weather's okay when I get home, it was ideal for a period of building base fitness in early spring.

> Choosing a steel, aluminium, titanium or carbon road bike

The comfort and easy gearing make up for the extra weight over a carbon frame, and when you're up to cruising speed you wouldn't know you're riding a bike that weighs over 10kg. For a steel framed bike with disc brakes it's not bad anyway: the £2k Bombrack Audax Stu tested recently was 10.7kg, and the ASR holds its own against similar priced aluminium framed bikes too, such as the 10.54kg Focus Paralane.

The wheelset is Boardman's own tubeless-ready alloy Road 5s, dressed with Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ clincher tyres. You can't buy these wheels separately and they seem to only appear on Boardman's ASR bikes, but from my thousand or so miles of riding them they've provided a sturdy option and are still running true.

I suffered no punctures on the Rubino Pro G+ tyres, so from my test riding I can recommend them, but the option to run tubeless is always going to be a positive for some extra peace of mind.

Full-length mudguards offer enough weather protection, and fit fine over the 28mm tyres supplied with no rubbing apparent.

Elsewhere, Boardman has provided a 42mm alloy bar, bar grip, stem and seatpost, and the headset is an FSA no.42 (watch out for the slightly confusing system, which requires a small hex key to loosen/tighten inside and a larger one to tighten the top cap; well, it confused me anyway).

With the exception of a KMC chain, the groupset is full Shimano 105 5800 with hydraulic disc brakes. The gearing is suitably low with 50/34 chainrings and a wide-ranging 11-32 cassette – more than enough for spinning up the steep stuff for most of us.

While I've no problem with the 105 mechanism or durability, the ergonomics and looks of the disc brakes are a bit of a letdown; it seems a shame to pair the handsome 725 frame with those bulbous levers, and I always seem to catch my fingers on the undersides. The new 105 R7000 groupset with its far smaller and neater levers can't come soon enough. Boardman's bikes usually have two-year model cycles, but the company does make running changes, so hopefully you won't have to wait until 2019 to get your hands on an ASR with the new 105 levers.

I didn't get on with Prologo's Nago Evo saddle, which is too long and narrow for me. While I appreciate every rear end is unique, and others will find it comfortable (Stu tested the Nago Evo CPC back in 2013 and liked it) this is the first time I've had to change saddles on a test bike after the first ride, so I'd be buying in-store and swapping it straight out if I were to purchase this bike.

In terms of value, there isn't much out there that ticks as many boxes as the ASR at this price point to compare it with, and as sold it's quite a package. Condor's Fratello Disc frameset with Columbus tubing came in at £1,400 with mudguards and SRAM Apex, as reviewed by Dave Arthur back in 2015, and for a Genesis Equilibrium with 725 tubing and 105 groupset but no mudguards, you're looking at a shade under two grand.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best bikes for commuting

If we consider alloy frames too, there are all-weather packages that will do the job for cheaper: Ribble's Audax 7005 with full mudguards and a 105 rim brake groupset has an RRP of £949, and it's even less at the moment.

Conclusion

For a brand that makes thousands of aluminium bikes for Halfords, the ASR is a bold move and something a bit different to the norm with its smooth steel tubing. It looks and feels a bit special, and for those who prioritise comfort and classic looks over a couple of kilos' weight saving for long commutes and training rides, it's a really decent option.

Personally, I would wait for a version with the new 105 so I don't have to suffer with those beastly levers, but otherwise the ASR 8.9 is ready to roll whatever the weather and offers really good value for money.

Verdict

Good value, comfortable and sturdy steel commuter that's nice and smooth and set up for year-round riding