Boardman MHT 8.9 2020 review

Boardman’s MHT 8.9 offers a lot of bike for the money in a good looking package that’ll appeal to cross-country riders and others who value speed and efficiency over getting rad. More play-focused riders are likely to find the tyres a touch sketchy and the shape a bit short and steep, however.

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The MHT 8.9 sits at the top of Boardman’s high-value hardtail pile and while all share the same basic layout of 29″ wheels, 120mm fork and an aluminium frame, the top dog gets a few choice upgrades over the cheaper machines, with a stiffer, more secure through-axle rear end with Boost spacing and a stiffer, tapered steerer fork.

The frame does a fine job of looking like a much more expensive machine than it is; all the visible welds have been flattened off and along with the squared-off tubing, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a carbon composite frame. Even though it isn’t the weight is impressive, coming in at a very reasonable 12.8kg for the large.

Boardman has managed to deliver pretty impressive value for money, with a 12-speed SRAM SX Eagle single-ring drivetrain offering a huge 11-50T spread at the back with a 32T ring up front, meaning you should be able to get up pretty much any hill without spinning out too often on flat sections. 

SRAM provides the stopping power with their Level T brakes. They might be basic, but they’ve got a great lever shape, offer good feel and the power is more than sufficient with a 180mm rotor at the front and 160mm item out at the back. 

Fast-rolling rubber, but lacking cornering bite

The limiting factor when it comes to stopping – and cornering – is very much the Vittoria Barza 2.25″ tyres. They’re a good shape on the 25mm wide own-brand rims and it’s all ready to be used tubeless with the addition of valves and sealant, but it’s very much a cross-country tyre and a dry weather one at that.

The low profile tread really lacks cornering and braking bite – especially at the front – and the hard compound rubber is pretty sketchy on wet roots. If you mostly intend to stick to hard-packed trail centre surfaces then they’re passable, but for loose or wet dirt, they’re under gunned. That said, they do roll very quickly, so die-hard cross-country speedsters will feel right at home.

While the 120mm fork, relatively short 50mm stem and 740mm wide low-rise bars might lead you to think this the MHT 8.9 has pretensions as a trail bike, the geometry is still pretty conservative. The reach for the large-sized frame isn’t hugely generous at 441mm and with only three sizes there’s no XL for riders to size up to, either.

However, the main issue when it comes to handling is the head angle. At 68°, it’s a full degree and a half steeper than the 130mm travel Vitus Sentier 29, which means the front end of the bike wants to tuck under on steep turns and chatter about on rough ground. Keep the gradient a little less extreme or the surface more even and it’s fine – it’ll weave through Star Wars speeder singletrack with the best of them – but I had my work cut out to keep the front end where I wanted on natural trails.

The RockShox Reba RL fork does do a pretty decent job of taming the bumps, though there’s a fair bit of wriggle in the chassis if you start trying to wrestle it across cambers or out of ruts. The lockout-equipped damping is basic but works well enough and the adjustable air spring and proper 15mm through-axle are welcome inclusions. 

While the bike doesn’t come with a dropper post – something most riders should prioritise as an upgrade after the front tyre – it does have a dropper friendly 31.6mm diameter and there’s provision for internal routing. Though there’s decent insertion depth for the quick-release fixed post, the own-brand saddle has a bizarrely long tail, which I found could sometimes get in the way if you’re trying to get over the back of the bike.

While we’re on cables, it’s rather surprising to see that the gear cable doesn’t use a continuous run of outer sheath, which means it’s much more likely to get gunked up with dirt and degrade shifting performance. There’s no real way around this either, save for zip-tying a complete outer to the frame, which seems like an oversight on a UK designed bike. 

Rivals

Competition is stiff around the £1,000 mark, with bikes like the aforementioned Vitus Sentier 29 VR offering more trail focused performance and a similar spec, plus a dropper post for £100 more. It’s got much more aggressive rubber and a stiffer fork too.

A more cross-country focused rival could be found in Canyon’s recently revamped Grand Canyon AL SL 7, which now sports a 120mm fork plus marginally longer and slacker geometry than the MHT 8.9, though it rolls on similarly fast tyres.

If you fancy springs at both ends, Calibre’s hugely impressive Bossnut V3 gets you that for £1,100, though that increased technical terrain performance comes at the expense of weight and pedalling efficiency, making it less attractive for the more distance focused rider.

In summary

The MHT 8.9 is a good looking bike that offers good value to anyone that’s after a dependable cross-country machine. It might lack the planted confidence of more trail-riding focused rivals, but it’s ready and willing to demolish big distances and flowing trail centre singletracks all day long. 

All the kit is functional and it’s a smart-looking, aspirational bike, even down to those smooth welds and the neat rim decals. There’s plenty of upgrade potential – dropper post and front tyre being foremost for anyone that wants to hit techy trails – but even as it is, there’s a lot to like, despite the odd detail letting it down.

• www.boardmanbikes.com

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