The Best Road Bikes

Our highly experienced reviewers perform extensive field tests and score products on objective Check this post criteria to determine the best bikes in five different categories.

We divided our bike reviews into entry-level road bikes under $1,200; mid- to high-end bikes, for more expensive bikes that offer the rider more speed, impossibly light weights, greater comfort, or an advantage against the wind; cyclocross bikes, more rugged rigs made to tackle both grass and dirt; the cyclocross bike’s country cousin, the gravel/adventure bike, designed for all road conditions, including dirt and gravel; and time trial bikes, the most aerodynamic of bicycles and a favorite among triathletes (but cyclists shouldn’t hold that against them).

How to Select the Best Road Bike for You
Decades ago, this would have been a pretty straightforward answer. Road bikes were designed for going as fast as you could on paved streets. Frames were steel, then aluminum. The skinnier the tires, the better.

But ever-changing technology and product categories now make choosing a new bike as daunting a task as climbing France’s Ventoux. Do you plan to race, or at least challenge for every Strava KOM in your zip code? Is a triathlon in your future? Maybe long, meandering rides sound more up your alley? Why not add some gravel to the mix as well? Once you have an idea of where you want to go and how you want to ride there, there are the more specific questions to guide your bike selection.

What’s Your Budget?
We all wish we had an unlimited amount to spend on bikes, but with very few exceptions, we need to stay within a set budget. Luckily, you can get a lot of bike for – relatively speaking – for not a lot of cash.

For casual 10- or 20-mile rides with friends on the weekends, there’s no reason to spend big. For right around a $1,000, the frame will likely be aluminum, with a carbon fork as a higher-end option within this price range. Expect it to weigh 20 or more pounds. Components will likely be SRAM Rival or Shimano’s two budget gruppos: Tiagra or 105. Solid groupsets for sure, but heavier and the shifting won’t be as crisp as their more expensive counterparts. You’ll roll on alloy hoops that, once again, will be heavier and slower to engage than their counterparts on a more expensive bike.

As the price ticks up beyond $1,200, so do the options. Wheelsets will have upgraded hubs and either stronger or more aero rims. Component choices will range from SRAM Force and Red, Shimano Ultegra and Dura-Ace, or, the coveted Campagnolo Record or Super Record. You can even choose between mechanical or electronic shifting.

At this price carbon fiber is a realistic option, but beware; not all carbon is created equal. Each manufacturer has different levels and layups of carbon; each of which affects the weight and characteristics of the bike. For example, Trek mostly uses its lightest, highest-grade 700 Series OCLV carbon to build their top-of-the-line climbing bike the Emonda, but the stiffer 600 Series OCLV for their highest-end Madone and Domane bikes. The layups will be distinctive as well, with various types of carbon used to reinforced different sections, depending on the bike’s purpose.

But as the price drops from the highest-priced bikes, so does the quality of carbon, going down to its 300 Series OCLV for its “lower-end” carbon bicycles. Lower-end is in quotation marks because the rider is still getting a great bike for the cost – consider the price difference between the $1,700 Trek Emonda S5 and the $11,000 Emonda SLR 9.