Team bike: UnitedHealthcare's Boardman Air aero road bike

The UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis team will ride Boardman bicycles for the 2011 season. The famous British time trialist Chris Boardman will provide the team with his AiR Time Trial, SLR round-tube road bike and the AiR aero road bike. We’re taking a look at team sprinter Robert Forster’s aero road bike today.

Boardman is a master in all matters aerodynamic and his input on the AiR road bike is obvious. The frame and fork use slippery shapes to maximize efficiency. Unlike many aero road bikes, performance doesn’t come at the expense of ease of build and maintenance.

Permanent internal cable guides between the cable housing stops make initial assembly and subsequent cable changes easy. It is also possible to use a fully sealed cable system on the AiR frame, so those changes won’t be necessary very often.

Other design elements include a BB30 and a tapered head tube, something Forster will appreciate as he tries for bunch sprint wins.

UHC will continue to build its team bikes with SRAM Red and Speedplay pedals. Ritchey is back as well, providing bars, stems, seatposts (on the SLR road bikes) and for the first time, saddles. The team will roll on Enve carbon clincher rims laced with Sapim spokes to mango-colored Chris King hubs. Maxxis will provide Cormet clinchers. K-Edge will help make sure that chains stay where they should. Arundel will handle water bottle cages.

As UHC steps up to Pro Continental status, Boardman bikes certainly won’t be holding them back.

Related: More pro bikes on VeloNews.com