BOARDMAN CXR9.2 WINTER ROAD EDITION £1,849.99

Like Canyon, Boardman has chosen its cyclo-cross bike as an ideal platform for a winter road machine. The CXR9.2 Winter Edition uses Boardman’s premium C10 carbon cyclocross frameset, but decks it out with a road-going spec.

So you get Boardman’s rugged CXR Elite Five Disc wheels, as used in Boardman’s premium cyclo-cross bikes, but fitted with winter road-going Vittoria Rubino Pro Control tyres. They come in 28mm width, taking advantage of the CXR frame’s wide clearance. The Rubino Pro is Vittoria’s strongest tyre for the worst road conditions, using its graphene compound for grip, durability, speed and wear resistance. Boardman also fits quality SKS mudguards, using the mounts built discretely into the CXR9.2 frame and fork.

The groupset is smoothshifting Shimano Ultegra, with a 50/34 compact chainset and 11-32t cassette. Boardman fits an FSA Gossamer Pro chainset, which runs on wide BB386 Evo bearings. You also get Shimano’s high spec RS785 hydraulic disc brakes and levers for all-weather stopping reliability. The fully internal cable routing, with the front mech cable routed through the top tube helps avoid contamination and helps keep shifting sweet.

For a comfortable ride, Boardman finishes off the CXR9.2 Winter Edition with a Prologo Nago Evo saddle and its own carbon seatpost, which together add some compliance over uneven surfaces. The bars and stem are alloy and from Boardman too.

Kitting out its cyclo-cross bike for road use means that the CXR9.2 Winter Road Edition inherits the stable geometry needed for off-road use, with a long wheelbase and low fork angle, which provide a lot of confidence to ride fast over wet, dirty road surfaces. You still get the lively handling which cyclo-cross riders need to negotiate tricky off-road courses too. And with its cyclo-cross underpinnings, there’s the option to fit knobbly tyres and take to the hills on the CXR9.2 too.