The topic of the best road bikes used to be a relatively simple one; but where once round, steel tubes dominated and most road bikes were made purely for racing and fast riding on the road, there's now there’s a huge variety to suit every budget and every need.

Best all-rounder for racing: Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8 Di2 2023

The most affordable road.cc-recommended road bike: Triban 100 Road Bike

Best road bike under £1,000: Boardman SLR 8.8

Best money-no-object road bike for racing: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 Dura-Ace Di2 2021

Best road bike for affordable comfort: Merida Scultura 300

Best steel road bike: Fairlight Strael 3.0

Best aluminium road bike: Mason Definition

Best value titanium road bike: Van Nicholas Ventus

Best road bike around £3,000: Scott Addict 10

Best carbon road bike for ride quality: Moda Finale

Best value fully integrated road bike: Trek Émonda SL 5 Disc

Best road bike for all-round practicality: Kinesis R2 2021

Best aluminium road bike for fast handling: Specialized Allez Sprint Comp
Off the top of our slightly sweaty post-ride heads, on road.cc alone there’s the best endurance road bikes, best aero road bikes, best sportive bikes, best carbon road bikes… the list is endless!
The bad news is that inflation has seen road bike prices rise over the past couple of years.. but the good news is that they’ll still save you huge money over an automobile, are better for the planet and will improve your health.
The road bike market is a confusing one, with frame materials, geometry and components all influencing road bike design. Whereas the endurance road bikes might have a more relaxed geometry for many comfortable miles in the saddle, the best aero road bikes will have a greater focus on cutting drag and boosting speed by using aero tubing, and will often come with deeper wheels for more aero gains.
You need to ask yourself many questions on your road bike buying journey. The biggest one, of course, is what’s your budget? Then it’s questions like: what will I be using my road bike for? Commuting, long Sunday morning rides, the occasional shorter midweek sojourn with friends? Is weight important? Do you need disc brakes? Is a carbon frame a need or a must?
We're under no illusions that crowning the 'best road bike' is pretty much impossible, because as we've explained already, the road bike genre is a very broad one. If you're just dipping your toe into cycling, then consider this guide as a useful introduction to road bikes with a wide selection of top picks from our bulging reviews archive, plus some handy advice under our selections. Some might be wildly out of your price range, others you may not like the look of... but whatever you're after, we're hoping there should be something here for you. Then, if your budget is, say, around three grand but you want to see a wider selection, you can refine your search and check out our guide to the best road bikes under £3,000.
Capiche? Check out our choices and hopefully, the perfect road bike for you is amongst them!
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3 comments
Having owned a Strael I'd love to ride some of these bikes back to back. Maybe the Strael, the Definition/Resolution and the Kinesis and my Gradient in place of the Van Nicolas. Not the fugly Specialised though. Those welds only a mother could love.
I ordered a Strael 3.0 with 12 speed Ultegra di2 a few months back, having been convinced by all the rave reviews across the board. I received the bike a few weeks ago and have to say after a few hundred miles of riding, it's an awesome bike and (enhanced by the GBP/USD exchange) a fantastic value. Coming from carbon bikes (S-Works Roubaix, Boardman SLS 9.2) and only having experience with much lower end steel previously, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.
If it gives up anything in outright performance, it's very minimal. Power transfer is super solid, even in an all out sprint. It's stable while still being very nimble and able to dive into corners. As a non-racer who doesn't need the smallest of marginal gains from a carbon race machine, this bike really gets so many things just right and makes me want to ride. It's beautifully designed and built with everything from the CNC parts to the paint quality being beautifully done. I find it compares very favorable against top carbon endurance bikes, and worthy of praise beyond just the steel category.
Mine arrived recently too. Have to say it's the most comfortable bike I've ever owned - it just feels so right mile after mile. Perfect amount of feedback form the road, and I never feel like I don't know what it's doing. Not as light as my carbon summer bike but don't seem to notice and it rides with so much character. Early days but quietly excited it might be the best bike I've ever owned.