The best £1,000 to £1,500 road bikes

In our last guide we rounded up six of the best road bikes priced from £900 to £1,000, a seriously competitive price bracket. In this guide we’re going to up the budget a bit, and looking at bikes that cost between £1,000 and £1,500. 

As this collection of bikes shows, there’s still a huge amount of choice but one thing they all have in common is that they’re getting lighter. That extra chunk of money starts to get you lighter frames with carbon a common sight at the higher end of the price bracket, along with lighter components, wheels and groupsets.

Shimano is the dominant groupset and their 105 is the most common sight in this £500 price range. Aside from its weight, 105 offers similarly crisp shifting to that higher up the ladder. There’s a lot of own-brand kit from handlebars to wheels as companies trim costs, but we do start to see branded components like Mavic wheels. And there’s a choice of aluminium, steel and carbon fibre in this roundup. Something for everyone, then.

Boardman Road Team £999.99

Let’s dive in with the Boardman Road Team at £999.99. It’s hard to fault the Boardman range of bikes for their affordability and the Road Team features an aluminium frame with a carbon fork, tapered head tube, BB30 bottom bracket and internal cable routing. A Shimano 105 groupset and Mavic Aksium wheels complete the fine package. www.halfords.com

Moda Bicycles £1,099

Find another 100 notes and Moda Bicycles, a British brand, offer the Echo at £1,099. It’s the first carbon fibre frame and fork in this collection of bikes and uses high-modulus carbon throughout. Incorporating current design trends like BB30 and tapered head tube sees it knocking on the door of far more expensive bikes. Off it hangs a Shimano 105 groupset, FSA Omega compact chainset and Mavic CXP22 wheels. www.eurobike.uk.com

Giant Defy Composite 3 £1,249

Giant Defy Composite 3 at £1,249 gets you onto the Giant carbon platform. The Defy is the company’s sporty but comfort-orientated range, and this model has a carbon frame with Giant’s own PowerCore bottom bracket and OverDrive head tube, which contribute to a stiffer frame. It’s finished with a Shimano Tiagra groupset and compact chainset, Giant’s own RP-2 wheels, saddle, stem, bars and seatpost. www.giant-bicycles.com

Genesis Bikes Equilibrium 20 £1,299.99

At this price range your choice of frame material widens. The £1,299.99 Equilibrium 20 from Genesis Bikes shows there’s still life in steel, with a smooth Reynolds 725 frame. It’s built up with a carbon fork and Shimano 105 complete groupset and Hollowtech II bottom bracket. DT Swiss R450 rims are laced to Shimano 105 hubs and finished with Continental Ultra Sport 25mm tyres. Versatility is assured of with mudguard mounts making it a good year-round bike, and the deep metallic copper colour looks fantastic. www.genesisbikes.co.uk

Focus Cayo Evo 6.0 £1,375

At £1,375 the Focus Cayo Evo 6.0 uses a race-proven carbon fibre frame and fork packaged with a Shimano 105 groupset. A compact FSA Gossamer Focus crank makes hills easy work and Concept EX brakes and Fulcrum 6.5 wheels complete the build. www.focus-bikes.com

Merida Scultura Comp 904 £1,500

Merida is making the leap to the professional peloton next year, and the £1,500 Scultura Comp 904 offers an affordable road race package. It’s right at the top-end of our price range here so you get a full carbon fibre frame and fork (and Merida are one of the few companies that build their own bikes) finished with a Shimano 105 groupset, Mavic Aksium wheels, Vittoria Rubino Slick tyres and Merida branded finishing parts. More at www.merida-bikes.com and read our review here.