You'll want the comfort for long rides too. Expect tuned aerodynamics for more speed on the flat, paired with a light enough ride for efficient climbing and handling that's race-ready while still being predictable enough for all-day riding. Best all-round race bikesĪ race bike should give you something of everything. Ride comfort has improved too and you can now fit tyres up to 30mm wide in place of the stock 25mm Vittoria Rubino Pros with which this spec is shod.Ĭannondale fits a good selection of its own brand kit to the SuperSix, including HollowGram 35 aero carbon wheels, complete with Cannondale's own wheel sensor, and HollowGram chainset with 52/36t chainrings paired to an 11-30t cassette and manual Shimano Ultegra 11-speed shifting. That's made it more of an all-rounder that's fast wherever you're riding, not just a bike that's great for climbing. When the Cannondale SuperSix EVO had a makeover a couple of years ago, it evolved from a highly competent lightweight bike into one with aero tube profiles and an integrated cockpit, while still retaining its edge in handling and performance. You should also find quality, deeper section carbon wheels with tubeless-ready rims and tyres. Many bikes at this price will include a 12-speed electronic groupset, although don't discount mechanical options. You'll invariably get a carbon frame and fork, often with higher grade carbon fibre to help keep weight down. Spend this much money on the best road bike and you can expect a quality, performance machine. There's a huge range of frame sizes available, with the Émonda coming in nine sizes from 47cm up to 64cm. Other kit includes Bontrager bars and a Bontrager stem that's compatible with its Blendr system, so you can bolt on lights, computers and other kit. There are tubeless-ready Bontrager alloy wheels, although the 28mm wire bead tyres would need a swap-out if you want to set up tubeless. This spec of the Émonda ALR headlines with Shimano Tiagra 10-speed shifting and with Tiagra hydraulic disc brakes for great shifting and stopping power. It's also lighter than many carbon framesets at this price point, and even ones that are in the next price band above. The frameset of the alloy Émonda has a quality look with smooth welds that make it appear to be carbon at first sight. Don't think that carbon is essential though as quality alloy frames on the best budget bikes can be lighter and ride better than a lower priced carbon number. You'll still usually find an alloy frame, although carbon fibre will sometimes make an appearance. Spending twice as much cash as the bikes above will get you some significant upgrades - usually a more sophisticated frame, often hydraulic disc brakes and better components. There's lots of versatility built into the Allez, with rack and mudguard mounts, so you can use it for the commute as well as faster recreational rides. Groupset-wise the Shimano Claris 8-speed gives you a cassette with 11-32 tooth range and a compact 50/34t chainset, so you can keep going when you hit the hills but still have plenty of top-end speed. Specialized fits its own Axis Sport wheels with 26mm tyres. The range of Specialized components is designed for comfort, like its Body Geometry Bridge saddle and shallow drop bars. Specialized's stalwart entry level alloy road bike comes with a pedigree that stretches back for years and it gets some trickle-down tech from the brand's high end road bikes like an all-carbon fork and a frame with butted tubing to save weight, smooth welds, dropped seat stays and internal cable routing. Add in the best electric road bikes and you've got a huge amount of choice from the leading brands. This merging across categories means that some brands have given up on differentiating their offerings, so there's a class of all-rounder race bikes. That helps increase comfort, so that even the toughest races like Paris-Roubaix have been won on aero machines. And all the best road bikes have increased tyre clearance over their predecessors, often close to that of the best gravel bikes. The best endurance road bikes may ostensibly be built for comfort, but they often add aero flourishes. Likewise, those aero bikes can now be light enough that the pros will be happy to ride them even on hilly races for their performance gains, particularly on downhill sections.Įndurance bikes are another category that now overlaps significantly with other bikes. So whereas the best lightweight road bikes typically came with round tubing and shallow wheels a few years ago, now they'll typically sport similar tube profiles to the best aero road bikes.
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