If you're looking for the best road bikes, there are more and more options available at every price point.
Road bike prices have seen a lot of inflation over the last few years and the top end models now often retail for over $10,000 / £10,000. We've divided this guide up into bikes priced at under $2,000 / £2,000, those priced under $5,000 / £5,000 and money no object options. But if you find those price tags hard to swallow, check out our guide to the best cheap road bikes which we've ridden.
The road bike sector is more nuanced than it's ever been, with frame materials, aero features, wheel construction and tyre width all offering loads of choice. The rise of the gravel bike offers a machine that you can ride on the road but that you can also take on tracks and trails, giving you more choice in where you ride.
Fortunately we've tested hundreds of road bikes at Cycling Weekly, enabling us to better help you navigate an increasingly busy and competitive marketplace, and ultimately find the road bike of your dreams.
Here are our picks of the best road bikes at a variety of different price points.
Best road bikes we’ve tested at Cycling Weekly
Best road bikes under $2,000 / £2,000
Specialized’s budget road bike has a lightweight frame and all-carbon fork, with cables routed internally. The geometry was designed using Specialized's huge bike fit database, for a fairly upright ride position and a fit that's comfortable for many riders. There's room for mudguards and a rack, so we reckon it has the versatility to serve duty as either a first road bike, a winter bike or even a bike for commuting.
The Axis Sport wheels are on the heavy side though and the Tektro rim brakes aren’t the most effective, but nevertheless the ride quality and sporty feel are up there with much pricier bikes. The weight does hold you back a bit on the climbs though, despite the range down to less than 1:1 offered by the Shimano Claris 8-speed groupset, which shares a lot of the ergonomics of Shimano's top spec Dura-Ace. That range spread over eight speeds does result in some quite large jumps between gear ratios though.
A wheelset upgrade would significantly improve performance, while the bike would also benefit from an upgrade as well. But all in all it's an impressive package for the price, making the Allez very competitive against the other best cheap road bikes we've reviewed.
Read more: Specialized Allez full review
For £1,100 the Boardman SLR 8.9 delivers a lot of bike for the money. You get an aero carbon frame and forks that have been wind tunnel tested, as well as Shimano's reliable 11-speed 105 groupset (albeit with a FSA crankset). The result is a bike that's lighter than its rivals. On test our size small weighed 8.75kg.
The ride is exceptional; responsive with just enough compliance. It's also a frame that's worthy of a few upgrades over time, making the SLR 8.9 a bike that can grow with you. The bike is available in men's and women's variants, with the difference being in the contact points fitted to the same frame. In all but the wettest conditions, the rim brakes work well and they're a worth trade-off on a bike at this price that boasts a carbon aero frame.
Read more: Boardman SLR 8.9 full review
Sharing features of Giant’s more expensive bikes, the Contend has a compact alloy frame with a sloping top tube. The D-Fuse seatpost and carbon fork are designed to add compliance at the rear and the front end respectively. Along with the endurance frame geometry this gives great comfort and handling, letting you ride for longer and inspiring confidence.
There’s bags of low gearing, down to 1:1, to tackle uphills and Shimano 105 gives you quality shifting, although the rather heavy weight doesn’t make for sprightly performance. It's a good value proposition for its price though.
Read more: Full review of the Giant Contend
Decathlon’s in-house Van Rysel brand offers great value in the Shimano 105-equipped Ultra CF. You get a carbon frameset with aero flourishes and decent alloy wheels that give stable handling and good braking from the in-series rim brakes - it's one of the few bikes that still uses rim stoppers, although Decathlon is progressively equipping its range with disc brakes. It’s not particularly light, although a wheel upgrade would definitely up performance and lower weight.
The Ultra CF is available with a range of groupset options from both Shimano and Campagnolo, so you can pick a spec to match your budget and there are men's and women's versions.
Read more: Full review of the Van Rysel Ultra CF
Best road bikes under $5,000 / £5,000
Cannondale has long been a master of performance alloy frames and the CAAD13 follows in that vein. It's got long and low geometry based on that of the pro-level carbon SuperSix, with aero tube profiles leading to handling which is second to none. Priced low enough to be a first bike it's a frame that you won't outgrow.
At this price point, you get a Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset with a RS510 crank set. The wheels have had a slight upgrade for 2022, so you're now getting DT Swiss R470 rims with the Formula hubs. The only thing that we found fault with was the rather high front end stack. It's easy to rectify but means you'll have to have your head tube cut down to avoid an ugly stack of spacers above the stem.
Read more: Full review of the Cannondale CAAD13 Disc here
The Liv Langma Advanced Pro 1 Disc has received significant upgrades for 2022. The women-specific, race-ready frameset now has a stiffer front end thanks to the upgraded SL fork. There's also room for 32mm tyres making it pretty future proof too as tyres continue to get wider. Incredibly for a bike costing under £4,000, you also get a power meter courtesy of the Giant PowerPro crankset.
As for the ride, it's stiff yet compliant and the Liv both climbs and descends with confidence. On test our gripes were minor: big jumps between gears thanks to the 11-30 cassette and rims that lacked some depth. However, both of these are subjective.
Read more: Full review of the Liv Langma Advanced Pro 1 Disc
The sub-8kg (17.6lbs) weight is impressive for an aluminium disc brake bike at this price, better than many carbon bikes, while Trek’s Invisible Weld Technology makes for smooth welds that look like carbon too. The bike rides more like a carbon bike than alloy as well.
The lightweight Emonda gives you great braking from its Shimano 105 disc brake groupset and plenty of comfort, thanks to its 28mm tyres, carbon seatpost and comfort-oriented ride position.
It's available in a really wide range of sizes, from 47cm all the way up to 64cm. There are some great colours too.
Read more: Trek Emonda ALR 5 full review
As a direct to consumer brand Ribble is able to deliver great value for money. The Endurance SL R Disc is the perfect example of this, with our Red eTap AXS-equipped model costing just a little over £6,500. However, as with all Ribble framesets you can use its bike builder to create the machine of your dreams - and, importantly, your budget.
The Endurance SL R Disc is a great all-rounder, benefiting from a few aero tweaks and an integrated cockpit while still being agile and compliant. On test it proved to be quick but still capable of delivering all-day comfort. The only downside, perhaps, is the weight when compared to some of its rivals.
Read more: Full review of the Ribble Endurance SL R Disc
Best road bikes over $5,000 / £5,000
Coming from the oldest bike shop in the world - established in 1860 - the Pearson HammerAndTongs is nevertheless an endurance bike that's bang up to date, with an aero frame design and plenty of tyre clearance for 32mm wide tyres and more.
As with most endurance bikes, the front end is a little higher than you'll find on racier models, but otherwise the geometry is designed for fast riding, with a short wheelbase and steep seat tube angle. We liked the front end integration and the narrow aero carbon bars.
The HammerAndTongs was a fast ride too, although we found the wheelset a little twitchy in a strongish crosswind. It's an impressive performance from a small bike brand.
Read more: Full review of the Pearson HammerAndTongs
The Merida Scultura Team road bike has seen a few updates for 2022. Now in it's fifth generation it's adopted some aerodynamic properties from the brand's Reacto aero bike, including boxy tubing, dropped seatstays and a fully integrated cockpit. The result, Merida claims, is a few watts saved.
However, this being a high-end all-rounder it's perfectly comfortable too, with tyre clearance now at 30mm. And as a bike that began life as a climbing machine it's still lightweight - in fact it's a little lighter than the previous model by just under 50 grams.
On test we found it to be a fun ride. With the benefits of both an aero bike and a lightweight climbing bike it balances speed and agility to create a bike that's responsive and assured. The new Dura-Ace is worthy of mention too, with improved braking to go alongside the reliability and performance you'd expect from this top-tier electronic groupset.
Read more: Full review of the Merida Scultura Team
The R5 is Cervélo's race-ready climbing bike. In fact it's the bike that helped Primoz Roglic to his third straight Vuelta title in 2021. As you'd expect then it's lightweight and climbs like a dream. But it also offers a supreme balance of stiffness and compliance, making it quick, agile yet perfectly comfortable too. For a bike that's built to go uphill, it descends incredibly well, providing plenty of confidence at speed.
The R5 comes in a number of high-end build options including those featuring Shimano and SRAM's top-tier electronic groupsets, Dura-Ace Di2 and Red eTap AXS respectively.
Read more: Full review of the Cervélo R5 Disc
Cannondale’s aero race bike gives you top-notch aero features and aggressive looks. It’s still comfortable enough for the usual mixed bag of road surfaces though. That’s in part due to the extra-wide Knot 64 aero carbon wheels, which increase tyre width of the 23mm tyres fitted up to 26mm. As for the tyres, the bike comes fitted with Vittoria Rubino Pro in a 25mm width and an upgrade should help add a little more plushness to the ride.
At 7.6kg (16.8lbs), the SystemSix is adequately light, although not class-leading.
Read more: Full review of the Cannondale SystemSix Carbon Ultegra Di2
We've tested the Foil in various specs and with rim brakes (now discontinued) and disc brakes and always come away impressed with its quality and out-and-out speed. In its premium spec, the Foil ticks all the aero boxes in a superb-looking design, with well-integrated cabling and a quality set of Syncros aero wheels, along with 28mm tyres, for a bit more smoothing of the edgy ride.
There’s top-spec Dura-Ace Di2 shifting, although we’d have liked to see a power meter as part of the deal. Other options see the Foil offered with Shimano Ultegra in both its electronic and mechanical offerings as well as SRAM's Rival AXS groupset.
Read more: Full review of the Scott Foil Premium
