If you’re looking for the fastest way to get about on two wheels - without the help of a motor - then you need to get yourself a road bike. Road bikes prioritise speed to cover serious distances efficiently. But while most road bikes look similar, subtle differences in the components and geometry help tailor them for specific roles and riders. Whether you’re looking to ride for sport, leisure or the daily commute, our guide will help you find the best one for you.
Which features should I look out for?
All road bikes are light - and the lighter the better, as this helps you accelerate and get up hills. Even the cheapest are now made of low-weight aluminium; spend more and you’ll start to see carbon fibre too, first in the fork, and then making up the frame. This material has a near monopoly on the top of the market, as it’s light and can be worked into complex shapes to make it stiff or flexible as needed. You will however still find the odd high-end bike made from steel, on account of its durability and unique ride characteristics.
Most road bikes have a wide range of gears to ease your progress. Expensive bikes tend to have more individual gears, meaning the jumps between are smaller and it’s easier to find one exactly matching the terrain.
Disc brakes are a recent addition. These use the hub as the braking surface, rather than the wheel rim, and provide more powerful and consistent deceleration than traditional calipers, particularly in the wet. The downside is added cost and weight.
A final feature worth looking out for is tubeless tyres. These can be filled with sealant to easily heal minor punctures before the tyre goes flat.
How much do I need to spend?
A bike doesn’t need to be expensive. The cheapest model on our list below is £299, and it will get you to all the same places as a much more expensive ride. It’s just slightly heavier and clunkier, and requires a little bit more effort to keep rolling.
If you’re looking for a competitive advantage, £500-800 will get you a lighter aluminium bike sporting a couple more gears. With features and looks aping more expensive machines, durability will also be seriously improved. Around the thousand-pound mark, you’ll start to see carbon frames, which means weight drops significantly. Alternatively, you can stick with aluminium and spend the money on better quality components. From around £1,500 everything will be carbon; beyond this point, refinements to the frame and components become less pronounced.
B'twin Triban 500 SE road bike: Best value road bike
Price when reviewed: £299
Sold out of Decathlon’s sports superstores, Triban is Europe’s biggest brand when it comes to budget road bikes. It’s easy to see why: at the core of the 500 SE is a quality aluminium frame with a carbon fork - a great feature at this price, cutting weight and boosting comfort.
All the components are of decent quality too. Microshift might not be a household name, but the 24-gear system works well, and the Shimano Claris crankset is robust and durable. The geometry also ensures the handling echoes that of a more expensive bike, and the overall low weight makes it feel rewarding to accelerate and climb up inclines.
The rest of the modest budget is just as well spent, with the brakes and contact points all giving good performances. Obviously, it’s still not a premium bike: the wheels are relatively heavy, the shifters feel clunky, and while the quick Hutchinson Equinox tyres add grip, we’d prefer a wider size to better soak up bumps in the road. Still, for the price the Triban really is an excellent bike.
Key specs: Frame material: Aluminium; Fork: Carbon/alloy steerer; Gearing: Microshift 3 x 8-speed; Wheels: Unbranded 32 spoke; Brakes: Unbranded caliper, replaceable insert pads; Additional features: Includes pedals and lights
Trek Domane AL 3: A mid-price bike that’s tough enough for long days and rough terrain
Price when reviewed: £750
The Domane is an endurance machine. Its long wheelbase, high front end and relaxed head angle make for a comfortable ride and composed handling - yet the aluminium frame is light enough to fly along like a proper racer, with the carbon fork helping to dampen impacts from the road. The quality Bontrager wheelset is tubeless-ready, an unexpected treat at this price, and comes with wide 28c tyres, increasing the bike’s ability over testing terrain. There’s space for wider tyres to tackle the roughest ground too, and hidden fixings give you the option of fitting mudguards and a rear rack. The finishing kit is good too, with the generously padded saddle likely to prove a hit with the backsides of both beginner and hardened cyclists.
We’re less taken with the unbranded brakes - they work fine, but lack the bite of pricier rivals. And the external cables don’t look as neat as internally routed designs, though they’re easier to adjust and replace. Still, Shimano’s budget Sora gears make a great impression: the shifters are lovely, and although you only get nine cogs at the rear, the range is wide enough to take you up and over serious climbs.
Key specs: Frame material: Aluminium; Fork: Carbon/alloy steerer; Gearing: Shimano Sora 2 x 9-speed; Wheels: Bontrager tubeless-ready; Brakes: Unbranded caliper; Additional features: Hidden rack and mudguard mounts
Ribble R872: The perfect customisable road bike
Price when reviewed: From £1,099
Ribble’s online configuration tool means it’s possible to customise every aspect of the R872, upgrading as you see fit - but even in its basic form this bike is a belter. Its geometry tends towards speed, with a low front end and a frame and fork made of the sort of high-modulus carbon fibre seen on much swankier bikes. Combined with a stout tapered headtube, the result is excellent stiffness at a low weight, which makes for purposeful acceleration and handling. How much the aerodynamic-looking integration between frame and fork helps reduce drag is hard to know, but it certainly looks cool. This high-end aesthetic is furthered by neat cable routing and subtle graphics.
The components are just as impressive. The Shimano Tiagra gear set isn’t a top of the line choice, but it looks and feels great, only lacking the eleventh gear of more expensive option. You also get excellent Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels, Continental tyres, and Deda finishing kit. There is one thing we would suggest tweaking, though: in the interests of weight and comfort, consider splashing another £20 and get a carbon seatpost.
Key specs: Frame material: Carbon; Fork: Carbon; Gearing: Shimano Tiagra 2 x 10-speed; Wheels: Fulcrum Racing Sport; Brakes: Tiagra caliper; Additional features: Customisable spec
The Light Blue Wolfson 105: A rock-solid ride that won’t let you down
Price when reviewed: £1,500
Steel might seem like a hopelessly quaint material to make a bike from, but its impact-absorbing properties make for a lively, comfortable ride that’s hard to find elsewhere. The Wolfson is surprisingly light too, made of slender tubes of Reynolds 853 steel, so it’s nippier than you might expect.
Injecting further pace are the excellent Halo Evaura wheels: lighter and faster to engage that you’d expect at this price, they also mitigate the weight of the frame. Clipped into their broad rims are wide 25c Schwalbe Durano tyres, which are tough yet quick rolling. The Shimano 105 groupset works flawlessly, providing eleven well chosen gears to help you mince up hills. The Tektro Quartz brakes aren’t quite as great as the gears, but they do the job. The finishing kit is solid too, from the robust twin-bolt seatpost, to the excellently shaped bar and saddle. Hidden away on the carbon fork, and tucked into the frame’s dropouts, neat bosses allow the fitting of mudguards and a rack to add versatility. In all it’s a sturdy yet speedy bike that, with a little bit of care, should genuinely last a lifetime.
Key specs: Frame material: Reynolds 853 steel; Fork: Carbon; Gearing: Shimano 105 2 x 11-speed; Wheels: Halo Evaura; Brakes: Tektro caliper; Additional features: Hidden rack and mudguard mounts
Cannondale SuperSix Evo 105: A fast racing bike for a medium amount of money
Price when reviewed: £1,800
The SuperSix Evo’s selling point is its frame: though deceptively classic looking, it features several acronyms’ worth of clever technology. The result is a ride that’s very fast, very light, and surprisingly comfy.
Component-wise the Cannondale doesn’t put a foot wrong either. Functionally, Shimano’s 105 groupset is all but identical to much more expensive racing gears, albeit a gram or two heavier. The shifters are svelte and crisp in function, and the derailleurs render up each of the eleven sprockets instantly. Cannondale has swapped in its own Si crankset in place of the Shimano model, but it’s pretty much as good. Just note that its “pro compact” combination of large 52t and 36t chainrings and a narrow cassette is designed towards going fast; you might want to swap it if you’re heading into the hills.
The Mavic Aksium wheels that complete the formula are light and very stiff. While perhaps not the absolute fastest, they’re bombproof, with matching tyres in a sensible 25c size. In all, for a head-down, tongue-out racing bike the SuperSix is hard to beat.
Key specs: Frame material: Carbon; Fork: Carbon; Gearing: Shimano 105 2 x 11-speed; Wheels: Mavic Aksium WTS; Brakes: Shimano 105 caliper; Additional features: None
Giant TCR Advanced 1 Disc: A formidable bike that’ll eat up race tracks and mountain ranges alike
Price when reviewed: £1,999
Giant’s sporty TCR provides an excellent frame, top-tier Ultegra parts, and hydraulic braking - all at a price that should make its competitors blush. The unusually long and low geometry puts the rider into a stretched, race-ready position, while the smoothly integrated aerodynamic carbon seatpost extends high above the frame, allowing it to flex and add comfort.
The ultra-rigid headtube and downtube resist twisting, and handling is kept tight by the robust through-axle system that secures the wheels and braces the chassis. Shimano’s 105 hydraulic disc brakes are easily worth the extra weight, outperforming conventional calipers, especially in the wet. Giant’s house-brand wheels feature a semi-aero profile and wide rims to support robust tyres (which can be set up tubeless if required).
The TCR is ready to explore the mountains too, thanks to Shimano’s superb Ultegra derailleurs and crankset. Our only grumble is the 105-level shifters, which are slightly clunky and unattractively bulbous.
Key specs: Frame material: Carbon; Fork: Carbon; Gearing: Shimano Ultegra 2 x 11-speed; Wheels: Giant PR 2 tubeless-ready; Brakes: Shimano 105 disc; Additional features: Through-axle wheel fixing
Specialized Tarmac SL5 Comp Disc: The ultimate road bike for uncompromising riders
Price when reviewed: £2,800
The ultra-racey Tarmac will go as fast as you like, thanks to a light and aggressive frame. And it slows down just as forcefully, thanks to powerful hydraulic disc brakes. Using the same geometry that’s won multiple Grand Tours, the tight back end ensures there’s little give, with short chainstays helping it to cut close around corners. The lowish front end requires some flexibility to get to grips with, but doesn't push the point too far.
Despite a race-winning pedigree the Tarmac does a good job of insulating the average rider from the worst road chatter, thanks partly to the tall and thin carbon seatpost. At the same time, DT’s reliable wheels do nothing to sandbag the bike’s progress, and the light, if fragile, S-Works Turbo tyres give a superlative ride. The Ultegra pro-compact chainset is light and stiff, and combines with the matching derailleurs to provide the high gears needed on a bike this quick. And then there’s those disc brakes: using high-end Ultegra calipers and levers, they do little to compromise the look or weight of the bike.
Like most bikes, the Tarmac is available in a selection of sizes - but unusually each frameset is proportionally identical, rather than simply being put together with shorter tubes, so whichever size you choose, performance should be impeccable. All frames also come with a red-to-black fade paint job that looks very, very cool.
Key specs: Frame material: Carbon; Fork: Carbon; Gearing: Shimano Ultegra 2 x 11-speed; Wheels: DT R470; Brakes: Shimano Ultegra disc; Additional features: None