How Much Should You Budget for a Road Bike?
Road bike prices have increased dramatically in the last couple of years. This is partly due to new technology being introduced, but also due to general inflation and raw material costs. The price rises are most noticeable on entry level bikes. Some models have gone from £600 to £800 in the last two years without any real changes to the design or specification.
Below we’ll run you through what kind of bike you can get at each price point plus some of the hidden extras you should budget for.
£600 to £800 – Entry level aluminium frame bike with rim brakes
£800 to £1200 - good quality aluminium frame bike with mechanical disc brakes
£1400 to £2000 – good quality aluminium frame bike with hydraulic disc brakes
£2000 to £3500 – good quality carbon fibre frame with hydraulic brakes and mechanical gears
£3500 to £5500 – good quality carbon fibre frame with hydraulic brakes and electronic gears
£6000+ - premium quality carbon frame, carbon wheels, electronic gears
Frame Materials & Components
Entry level bikes tend to be aluminium and higher end bikes tend to be carbon fibre. Carbon is lighter and also gives a less harsh ride than aluminium, but is more expensive to produce. There is some cross over around the £2000 mark where high end aluminium bikes can still be lighter, and ride better, than cheaper carbon ones. Aluminium is a generally more durable as well. Bikes like the Trek Emonda ALR 5 are popular as higher end aluminium rides.
The vast majority of road bikes sold in the UK come with either Shimano or SRAM gearing. Campagnolo are another big name in road bike gears but their equipment tends to only be found on more niche Italian bikes.
More and more bikes above about £3500 are coming with electronic gearing which gives crisper and more precise shifting.
Find out more about road bike gearing
What bikes should you look at?
£600 to £800 – Entry level aluminium frame bike with rim brakes
The two bikes to look at here are theTrek Domane AL 2 Rim Brake and the Specialized Allez. Both are classic beginners road bikes and come with Shimano gearing. These bikes have ‘endurance’ geometry which makes them more stable and comfortable to ride. They also have the ability to take mudguards and racks if you want to use them for commuting.
£800 to £1200 - good quality aluminium frame bike with mechanical disc brakes
Bikes like the Trek Domane AL 2 Disc or the Cannondale Synapse 2 come with mechanical disc brakes. As well as giving slightly better stopping power than rim brakes this allows them to run wider tyres. As a result these bikes are good for commuting, use on rough country lanes or even a bit of light gravel riding.
£1400 to £2000 – good quality aluminium frame bike with hydraulic disc brakes
In this price range you get a choice between endurance bikes like the Trek Domane AL 4 Disc and Cannondale Synapse 1and lightweight race bikes like the Trek Emonda ALR 4. The Emonda comes with skinnier tyres, a lighter frame and more aggressive geometry for racing and fast club rides.
£2000 to £3500 – good quality carbon fibre frame with hydraulic brakes and mechanical gears
Carbon frame bikes are typically stronger, lighter and nicer to ride than aluminium bikes. As a result most higher end road bikes will be made from carbon fibre. At this price point you’ll get a carbon frame bike with decent quality gears such as Shimano 105. Our most popular bikes at this level are all-round bikes like the Orbea Orca M20 and M30 and the Trek Emonda SL 5 which are designed to be light and fast but comfortable enough to be ridden all-day.
£3500 to £5500 – good quality carbon fibre frame with hydraulic brakes and electronic gears
Above £3500 you can now get bikes with electronic gearing. This gives you cleaner, crisper shifting which also needs less adjustment. In this price range you’ll be able to get endurance bikes like the Trek Domane SL as well as lightweight all-rounders like the Orbea Orcas and Emonda SLs. Bikes to look at in this price range are the Trek Domane SL 6 and Orbea Orca M30i.
£6000+ - premium quality carbon frame, carbon wheels, electronic gears
Above about £6K you start to get frames made from pro quality carbon. With Trek you shift from bikes with SL to SLR, with Orbea you go from OMR to OMX. As well as being better quality they use different, and more expensive, manufacturing techniques to make the frames as strong and light as possible. On bikes at this price point you’re also likely to get carbon wheels, carbon handlebars, carbon seatposts and the latest electronic gearing. You can also customise many bikes at this price point. With Trek Project One or Orbea MyO you can fine tune the specification of your bike and have it painted the colour of your choice.
Hidden Extras
Pedals – The biggest hidden cost with road bikes is pedals. Pretty much all road bikes over £1000 will come without pedals so you will need to buy some. A basic set of flat pedals is around £20 but most road cyclists use SPD-SL or Look Keo pedals which start at around £50. You will also need a dedicated pair of shoes to use them with which start at about £80.
Pump – Due to the skinny tyres on road bikes you need to regularly check and top up the tyre pressure. You should be checking the pressure at least once a week. A track pump with a built-in gauge is the easiest way to do this and they start from about £25.
Daytime running lights – some bikes, like the Synapse RLE come with built-in running lights. If you don’t have them they will cost between £40 and £100
Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to determining how much money you should spend on a road bike—it really depends on what kind of riding experience you want and how often you plan on using the bicycle. Quality materials and components are always worth investing in if possible. Don’t forget about maintenance costs either—you need to budget for regular servicing and to replace parts like chains and tyres as they wear out. By keeping all these factors in mind you can find a bike you’ll enjoy riding while still having enough money left over for c
