The Boardman Bikes 2021 ADV range has received an update, including new specs and colourways for both the women's and the men's bikes. There's three bikes to choose from and all are under £1,000, making the brand a very competitive option for those looking to dip their toe in the gravel and adventure bike pool. 

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From the ADV gravel and adventure bike range there are three bikes to choose from, the ADV 8.9, the ADV 8.6 and the ADV 8.6 Women's. Boardman say all these bikes are build to tackle anything from two paths to bridleways to forest roads and, we suspect, a commute to two. If its the new 2021 Boardman SLR road bikes that you want to know about then, click here to head offer road.cc and reads the news there. 

2021 sees the top ADV 8.9 carbon fork used get a thru axle for increased stiffness and more precise handling, plus it's now bolt through at the rear too. The headangle has been slackened to 71 to 71.5 ° (size dependant) and there's more bottom bracket drop compared with last year's bikes which the brand says will inspire more confines as it will increase stability off-road. The wheelbase has been lengthened too, adding to that stability, plus the brand are now using taller headtubes and shorter stems across the range which they say keeps the handling sharp whilst giving a more comfortable position over longer distances. 

There are mudguard and pannier rack mounting points plus two sets of bottle bosses.

2021 Boardman ADV 8.9
£1,000

The 2021 bike gets a 2x10 Shimano GRX drivetrain with an FSA chainset and hydraulic GRX brakes too. That means you benefit from a clutch derailleur to prevent chainslap and effective brakes too. The bike is fitted with 700c Boardman ADV wheels with Formula hubs and Schwalbe 38c G-One All Round tubeless ready tyres. Elsewhere there's a bar with 120mm drop and a 6 degree flare making up an all Boardman cockpit.

2021 Boardman ADV 8.6 (men's and women's)
£650

The entry level bike gets QR axles and dropouts rather than the bolt through of the more expensive frame and fork but keeps all the other new features, including the frame itself and a carbon fork, still benefiting from the geometry updates. 

The bike gets a 2x9 speed drivetrain in the form of Shimano Sora, Tektro mechanical disc brakes and the same Schwalbe G-One All Round 38mm tyres on the same wheelset. There's the same cockpit, with mostly Boardman own brand components. 

The women's bike (below) gets different geometry with shorter top tubes and seat tubes size for size. The size small women's bike is also smaller than any bike in the men's range, giving shorter riders another option. The ladies version of the bike is the same price as the men's ADV 8.6 and gets all the same specs too aside from a 70mm stem (rather than 80mm) and narrower bars across the range. 

The bikes are all on sale mid August with news of new mountain bikes coming out by the end of July.

• www.boardmanbikes.com

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