• With elongated tube shapes and other wind-cheating features, aero road bikes provide a small but handy speed boost.

• Sleek shapes make for a distinctive look.

• Recent aero road bikes have alleviated the harsh ride that plagued some early models, thanks to improved use of materials.

• Frame aerodynamics is still a marginal gain; if you're wearing flappy clothes an aero bike is a waste of money.

In just a few years aero road bikes have gone from The Next Big Thing to a mainstream bike option. The latest models have been tweaked to be faster than ever, according to the manufacturers, and to alleviate the harsh ride that characterised some early aero bikes.

Aero road bikes essentially draw the aerodynamic features from time trial bikes into a road frame, and balance the demands of weight and stiffness into a package that, on paper, looks to be the ideal all-round choice.

At any decent speed, most of your effort goes into overcoming air resistance, so reducing a bike's drag means you'll go faster, or ride at any given speed with a lower power output. Who doesn't like the sound of that?

Most of your air resistance comes from your body. Wearing non-flappy clothing will help, as will losing weight. But the 20% or so of air resistance from your bike is enough for engineers and designers to focus on making road frames and products more slippery in the air. In the pro peloton aero road bikes have been quickly adopted, where the margins of victory are very slim and there has been a focus on gaining ever smaller performance gains over the years.

Jos Van Emden Giant Propel - front brake

Weight, and the lack thereof, used to be the main driving force of frame development. Along with stiffness, these were the two cornerstones of bike design. These days most bikes are light, many well below the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit (which doesn’t affect non-racers anyway), and come with more stiffness than is sometimes comfortable.

All that has made aerodynamics more important for manufacturers. Specialized has built its own wind tunnel, for example, and most manufacturers are testing in wind tunnels. Nevertheless, aero road bikes haven't converged on a perfect, slippery common shape. Different engineers prioritise different ways of improving aerodynamics but there are shared design trends: skinny, aerofoil-shaped tubes, integrated brakes, and internal cable routing.

Let's take a look at the latest aero offerings.​

Colnago Concept — £3,150 (frameset)

Colnago Concept.jpg

Colnago has joined the aerodynamic arms race with the brand new Concept, a full blooded aero race bike that is a serious step forward from the Italian company's first aero road bike, the V1-r, from a couple of years ago.

The Concept has all the capability to dice with the fastest in a race situation. The Concept's stiff frame, Vision deep-section wheels and 7.2kg weight give it an insatiable appetite for speed. It's quick in all circumstances: climbs, descents, flat and undulating roads – everywhere, the bike really shines. It's an exciting bike to ride fast, and like all good aero road bikes encourages you to ride flat-out.

That firm ride, and frame and fork stiffness ensure the Concept accurately follows your inputs, whether through the handlebar or pedals. It reacts very positively to your body language, whether you're blasting up an uphill sprint finish or bombing through a curving descent.

But all-out speed isn't all the Concept is about, and it's not just a bike for racing. The Concept provides adequate composure and comfort, allowing you to tackle long distance rides at a few notches below race pace and not be dealt a hammer-blow to the lower back the moment the tyres encounter anything but a billiard-smooth surface. The front end of aero race bikes can often be overwhelmingly harsh, but the special headset and fork steerer tube that Colnago has developed mean it's smoother up front than would normally be expected on an aero road bike.

Read our review of the Colnago Concept
Find a Colnago dealer

Rose X-Lite CWX Disc — from £3,770

Rose X-LITE CW-4100 Di2.jpg

The Rose X-Lite CWX-4100 is a quick, fast-handling aero road bike with disc brakes, and although £4,700 is clearly a lot to spend, it represents good value. You really are getting a lot for your money here.

The CWX-4100 – the name sounds to us like it should belong to some sort of droid – is at its best when you're hammering. The aggressive riding position and the frame's aero features announce loud and clear that this bike is intended to be ridden fast.

Weighing in at just 7.46kg (16.4lb) – light for something with deep, aero-optimised tubes and disc brakes – and with loads of stiffness through the central section of the T40/T60 carbon-fibre frame, it feels every inch a race bike whether you're tearing along flat roads or scampering up the climbs.

Read our review of the Rose X-Lite CWX-4100 Di2 Disc

Merida Scultura 6000 2018 — £2,400

2018 Merida Scultura 6000

The Merida Scultura 6000 just feels right when you get on it. The position, the ride, the comfort… it's one of those bikes that gives you the confidence to push it as hard as you want, knowing that it isn't going to bite back. It's a bit of a bargain too when you consider the frame is being ridden in the pro peloton and weighs a claimed 750g. It's a hell of a lot of bike for the money.

For this revised version of the Scultura frameset Merida has concentrated on increasing comfort, and it's obviously paid off. The frame is handmade in Taiwan, and by tweaking the carbon layup in certain areas it has been able to bring in quite a bit of extra damping without sacrificing stiffness.

Aerodynamics was another target for Merida, using computational fluid dynamics in the design process and wind tunnel testing of various incarnations. It even used a dummy with moving legs to replicate the effect the rider's pedalling has on wind resistance.

Read our review of the Merida Scultura 6000
Find a Merida dealer

Boardman Elite Air — from £1,899.99

Boardman Elite Air 9.2 - full bike.jpg

Boardman's Elite Air 9.2 is just the ticket if you're looking for a fast bike with a good spec but you haven't got very silly money. It's a good package and the performance is impressive straight out of the box.

If you're buying an aero bike, chances are you're doing so because you want to go faster; that, or you just like the look of deep-section tubes.

Do you go faster? The anecdotal evidence suggests a yes: you go faster on this than on standard road bike. Our tester grabbed a downhill KOM on Strava, hung on longer before getting blown out the back of a crit with riders a grade above him and added 10km/h to his top speed on a favourite descent.crit with riders a grade above him and added 10km/h to his top speed on a favourite descent.

Read our review of the Boardman Elite Air 9.2
Find a Boardman dealer

Storck Aerfast Platinum — £10,949

storck-aerfast-platinum-full-bike (1).jpg

At £10,949, the Storck Aerfast Platinum is a massive outlay, but boy, oh boy do you get one hell of a return on your investment. It's a sub-6.5kg race weapon, with aerodynamics that work in the real world, and it offers comfort levels to challenge most endurance bikes.

Taking plenty of things it's learnt from its astonishingly good Aernario, Storck has pushed the design even further down the aerodynamics route, and what it has created in the Aerfast is a bike that's not only unbelievably fast, but light and stiff too.

If you're in the market for an aero bike, speed is going to be topping your list of priorities, and it's where the Aerfast truly excels. Below about 23mph the Storck feels like any other bike to ride, any other superlight bike that is, but all the same it feels like it requires some effort; you've got to work at it.

Get above that speed, though, and the aerodynamics really come into play. It feels like a permanent tailwind is nudging you along, a friendly hand on your back as you watch the numbers climb on the Garmin – with no more effort required than there was 5mph ago. It's a wonderful feeling, and one you never tire of.

Read our review of the Storck Aerfast Platinum

Find a Storck dealer

Cervelo S5 — £6,499

2018 Cervelo S5 Dura-Ace 9100.jpg

Long hailed as the fastest aero road bike by people who know a lot about aerodynamics, the Cervelo S5 received quite a makeover for the 2017 model year. It still looks like an S5 but Cervelo claims to have finessed every tube profile and found significant drag reductions. It’s also increased frame stiffness in the head tube and bottom bracket to improve handling. Another change is the shorter head tube to put the rider in a lower, and more aerodynamic, position. Cervelo has also developed its own aero handlebar which is compatible with a regular stem.

Read our coverage of the Cervelo S5 launch
Find a Cervelo dealer

Ridley Noah SL — €7,249.95

2018 Ridley Noah SL Ultegra Di2.jpg

Aero and discs? It's getting more and more common as bike makers figure out how to mount disc calipers without affecting aerodynamics too much. 

Ridley calls its collection of speed-enhancing aerodynamic features FAST. It includes the slotted F-Split fork and F-Surface Plus, a tube shape that combines an aerofoil with a groove that helps keep the air flowing smoothly over the fork, reducing drag.

As for the discs, Ridley believes they're simply a better way of stopping.

Read about Greg Henderson's Ridley Noah SL
Find a Ridley dealer

Pinarello Dogma F10 — £4,499 (frame, fork)

Pinarello Dogma F10 2017.jpeg

Developed in collaboration with Team Sky, the Dogma F10 follows on from the highly-acclaimed F8, on which Chris Froome won the Tour de france. The F10uses FlatBack tube profiles, a Kamm Tail sort of shape, with a rounded leading edge and chopped tail. Pinarello has also lowered the seat tube water bottle cage and it’s further shielded by the down tube. Meanwhile, up front the fork has been derived from the company’s Bollide time trial bike with an aerodynamic shape, and the crown closely nestles into a recess in the down tube.

Find a Pinarello dealer

Canyon Aeroad CF SLX — from £3,199

2018 Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 9.0 LTD

The second-generation Aeroad CF SLX has been inspired by the work on its futuristic Speedmax time trial bike, with razor sharp aero tube profiles and an optional one-piece handlebar and stem assembly. Much of the company’s focus with the new bike has been in reducing the frontal surface area, so along with the new handlebar there’s a narrower and hour-glass shaped head tube to help reduce drag. Other changes include the new tube profile, a variant of the Trident shape used on the Speedmax, and a seat tube that hugs the curvature of the rear wheel. Unlike some aero road bikes that integrate the brake callipers, Canyon has opted for direct-mount Shimano brakes in the regular positions.

Read our review of the Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7.0 Di2
Read our review of the Canyon Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0 Di2

Specialized S-Works Venge Disc Vias eTap — £8,500

2018 Specialized S-Works Venge Vias Disc eTap

If you're going to fly, you need to be able to rein in that speed. Disc brakes give finer modulation of speed with less effort at the lever so as you're whooping into Alpine hairpins you can brake later and waste less valuable speed.

The Venge had a radical makeover last year, with an all-new aero frame, and an aero handlebar and stem with full internal cable routing. The almost complete lack of  cables flapping in the wind, further reduces drag.

Read our review of the Specialized Venge Vias Expert Disc​
Read about Mark Cavendish's Venge at the Tour de France
Find a Specialized dealer 

Scott Foil — from £2,499

2018 SCOTT FOIL PREMIUM DISC .jpg

The Foil arguably kicked off the whole aero road bike trend, bringing aerodynamic design that was once the preserve of time trial bikes to regular road bikes. For 2018, Scott has added disc brakes, arguing along with other manufacturers that you can go faster if you can slow down better.

That's on top of the last series of updates to the Foil that saw the down tube lowered and wrapped around the fork crown, and a smaller rear triangle and internal seat clamp in the top tube. 

And don't think this is just a uncomfortable aero bike, Mathew Hayman rode over a few little bumps on his way to winning Paris-Roubaix.

Read our coverage of the 2016 Scott Foil launch
Find a Scott dealer

Trek Madone — from £3,500

2018 Trek Madone 9.0.jpg

Once an all-round lightweight race bike, the Madone has had a complete aerodynamic makeover. It features a version of the Isospeed decoupler borrowed from the Domane to provide some comfort (aero road bikes have traditionally compromised comfort in the quest for speed) and it’s wrapped up in a frame with Kamm Tail shaped tubes. Like Specialized, Trek has also developed its own brake callipers, and they’re concealed within the fork and seat stays. To keep the cable routing of the centre pull front brake nice and clean, the head tube features flaps that open and close when the fork is turned.

For 2018, prices are down out of the upper stratosphere with a new model, the Madone 9.0, above, that's a bargain at a mere £3,500.

Read our coverage of the 2016 Trek Madone launch
Find a Trek dealer

Merida Reacto — from £1,000

2018 Merida Reacto 7000 E.jpg

Merida’s Reacto features tube profiles shape in accordance with NACA airfoil principles, and using the popular Kamm tail approach of chopping off the trailing edge, tricking the air into acting as if the trailing edge were there. More than any other bike here, the Reacto looks like a time trail bike in drag. There’s an aero seat post, internal cable routing and the rear brake is positioned underneath the chain stays. The front brake, meanwhile, is found on the front of the fork.

Read our review of the Merida Reacto 300
Find a Merida dealer

Canyon Ultimate CF SLX — from £2,649

Canyon Ultimate CF SLX

Canyon has given its latest Ultimate CF SLX a light touch of aerodynamic influence. It has developed a new D-shaped down tube, seat tube and seatpost, which along with a new internal seat clamp, adds up to a claimed 10% reduction in drag compared to the previous non-aero Ultimate. It doesn’t challenge Canyon’s Aeroad CF SLX for outright slipperiness in the wind tunnel, but does point to a future where all road bikes might one day be shaped in the wind tunnel.

Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc 2018 — £8,998.99

2018 Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc.jpg

Giant has added disc brakes to the Propel Advanced lineup for 2018, claiming that the flagship model, the Propel Advanced SL Disc, has the highest stiffness-to-weight ratio of any bike in its class and a lower drag coefficient at a wider range of yaw angles than the rim brake version.

“One of the key breakthroughs is a new truncated ellipse airfoil shape – a design that lowers drag at a wider range of wind angles than traditional teardrop frame tubing,” says Giant. “Engineers also found that, with proper integration, a disc-brake design can actually improve aero performance compared to rim-brake configurations.”

As well as a stunning paint job, the top of the range Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc has a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Giant's own SLR 0 Aero Disc wheels with a 42mm deep front rim and 65mm rear.

If you're not loaded, the Propel disc range starts at £2,999 with the Propel Advanced Disc.

Read our review of the Giant Propel Advanced 1  
Read our coverage of the original Giant Propel launch
Find a Giant dealer​

In case the weather wasn't enough of a giveaway for you, we can now officially say that autumn is with us. Which means we can start tucking in to all of the juicy autumn sales, starting with a sale from the good folk at Boardman.

So, if you're after a new set of wheels to see you into the autumn and winter, look no further.

We've got two stunning bargains on Boardman's fantastic Endurance Disc range, alongside a whole range of other offers on everything from cyclocross bikes to titanium framed all-rounders.

What are you waiting for? Get scrolling!

20% off Boardman's SLR Endurance Disc 9.0
WAS £1999.99 | NOW £1599.99

Boardman SLR_Endurance_Disc_9.0_Gallery_II.jpg

If you're looking for a slackened, gentle bike that'll see you gently and comfortably over miles of terrain, we're slightly sad to say that the Endurance Disc 9.0 probably isn't the bike for you.

Rather than create a gentle mile-muncher Boardman has released a monster that our man Stu Kerton says "blurs the lines between endurance and race."

So, if you're lookin for something with a bit of kick that'll also comfortable eat up some serious milage, this Shimano Ultegra groupset, hydraulic disc brakes, and SLR Elite Five wheel-carrying machine should suite you down to a tee.

It's also perfect for those of you looking for a winter driver. As the set-up is specifically designed for low-maintenance cleaning in the winter months.

- Read more: road.cc's Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 review

20% off Boardman's SLR Endurance Disc 9.2
WAS £2299.99 | NOW £1839.99

Boardman BI_SLR_ED_9.2_BOTY_Value_Gallery.jpg

In the previous section we talked about the race/endurance blurred line that the Boardman SLR Endurance range treads. 

Rather than muddying the waters further, the 9.2 simply straps an even better groupset and chain to an already fantastic cycling machine.

For the extra £239 youll get Shimano's Dura-Ace groupset with an excellent SLK carbon chainset.

Bargain.

10% off Boardman's Women's SLR Endurance Disc
WAS £2049.99 | NOW £1845.00

Boardman BI_SLR_ED_Womens_Drive.jpg

With a very similar set-up to the first bike on today's list, Boardman's Endurance Womens bike is very much more of what you've already heard.

The major difference is the slight geometric tweeks that Boardman says alter the "contact points for a more considered female fit."

10% off Boardman's SLR Endurance Disc Signature
WAS £5999.99 | NOW £5399.00

Boardman SLR_Endurance_Disc_Signature_Gallery.jpg

As we've worked our way through the Endurance Disc range in today's DealCatcher, it only  makes sense for us to finish this little exploration with a glance at the top rung of the ladder.

The Endurance Disc Signature carries some top bits of kit. Covered in Enve finishing kit, the bike carries Shimano's full Dura-Ace Di2 gropuset and Zipp's fantastic deep rim Firecrest 303 Carbon clinchers all weighing in at an extraordinary 7.85kg.

10% off Boardman's SLR Race 9.8
WAS £3099.99 | NOW £2789.00

Boardman BI_SLR_R_9.8_Drive.jpg

If you're actually in the market for a racer, rather than oggling Boardman's Endurance range for the aspects of the bikes that could be considered particularly racy, why not check out the brand's bespoke Race range?

The SLR Race 9.8 featured here carries SRAM's RED 22 incredibly light groupset, Boardman's own Elite Nine Carbon clincher wheels and a Prologo Zero 2 race saddle on Boardman's SLR Race C10 Carbon frame.

All in all, it weighs in a kilogram lighter than the Endurance Signature Disc above, at 6.9kg.

10% off Boardman's CXR 9.2
WAS £1999.99 | NOW £1799.00

Boradman BI_CXR_9.2_Drive.jpg

Moving away from the road-specific bikes and towards a more seasonably appropriate set.

Cyclocross season is about to kick off in a big way, and those of you still oohing and ahhing over whether or not you should pull the trigger on that cx bike purchase better start making your minds up.

To confuse your decision making process a little more, here's a great offer from Boardman.

The CXR 9.2 is a very close brother to the 9.4 which our man Stu Kerton reviewed earlier in September.

We'll go into a little more detail in the section below about that bike, but know that it rolled away with a 8/10 and praise over its incredible ability in technical situations.

The 9.2 carries Shimano's Ultegra groupset with an ultra stiff FSA Gossamer Pro chainset, for extra security over the bumpy terrain.

It's also got a pair of Boardman's exclusively cyclocross-orientated CXR Elite Five Disc wheels aboard the CX-specific CXR C10 Carbon Frame.

10% off Boardman's CXR 9.4
WAS £2299.99 | NOW £2069.00

Boardman BI_CXR_9.4_Drive.jpg

In a similar vein to the 9.2 above, but with a much more race focussed set-up, the CXR 9.4 is a truly wonderful cx bike.

Our man Stu Kerton thought that this SRAM Force CX1-carrying racer was "a blast in the technical sections." 

He also said that the bike had "quick handling," called it a "lightweight off-road rocket," and that it was "ready to race straight out of the box."

What more are you looking for in a cx racer?

- Read more: road.cc's Boardman CXR 9.4 review

10% off Boardman's SLR Titanium 9.2
WAS £2999.99 | NOW £2699.00

Boardman BI_SLR_EDT_9.2_Drive.jpg

Our final bike of the day is Boardman's SLR Titanium 9.2.

This bike is probably a little closer to the endurance bike you might be looking for than the Endurance range above is.

The smooth handling accommodated by the titanium frame and the consistent braking of Shimano's hydraulic disc brakes, coupled with the reliable Ultegra groupset makes for an incredibly comfortable ride.

Perfect for long days in the saddle.

The Road Team Carbon continues the theme of fun and exhilarating bikes delivered by Boardman that also manage to offer excellent value for money. You can't argue with the performance or kit from this entry-level racer, and the frame is so good it'll be well worth upgrading the parts as and when you can.

Using Boardman's C7 grade carbon fibre, the Road Team Carbon (I'll just call it the Team from now on) isn't as outright stiff as the recently tested Boardman SLR Endurance Disc or the CXR 9.4, both of which use the top level C10 grade. It's only a tiny amount of difference, but anyway the little extra give in the tubes and junctions gives it a bit of zing about it, and actually makes the Team more involving to ride.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy this online here

I described the SLR Endurance Disc as having a bit of a muted ride, not really giving a whole lot of feedback to the rider, though it was quick. The Team is a different beast altogether, feeling buzzy and exciting because you are involved with everything: the feeling of the changing road surface underneath you, or the way it skips over the bumps, leaving the ground slightly under really heavy braking on a rough descent... It all adds to the feeling of being at one with or part of the bike.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - riding 2.jpg

You want to keep pushing it harder and harder, despite knowing that at some point it could go pear-shaped; you want to find that limit so you then know how far you can push it the next time.

The Team shares the same geometry as the SLR Endurance, which means the handling is quick but never feels twitchy, so should your tyres break traction slightly front or rear it's really easy to keep control. It's very reassuring, especially if you aren't the most confident of bike handlers and find yourself in a bit of trouble.

The Team isn't quite as racy as its big brother in Boardman's performance range, the Pro Carbon SLR, which was our bike of the year a couple of years back. But consider the Team as a stepping stone, something to hone your skills on before you maybe consider racing.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - riding 1.jpg

It's not all about speed, speed, speed though. As I mentioned, the Team shares the same geometry as the SLR Endurance – although that doesn't exactly put you in a sit up and beg position; the SLR Endurance models are pretty much the most racy 'sportive' bikes on the market. They and the Team have a stack to reach ratio of just 1.44 in medium. (Race bikes are 1.4 or below; endurance bikes are around 1.55.)

Boardman Road Team Carbon.jpg

The Team is a good bike to tap out a quick ride on – well, you might want to change that saddle first. I really didn't get on with its firm padding or the shape (or lack of).

Boardman Road Team Carbon - saddle.jpg

Saddle changed, I did a few three to four-hour rides on the Team and it was ideal for covering all sorts of terrain at a decent lick.

The frame uses a press-fit bottom bracket, which means the frame can be wider at this point because the bearing cups, as you have no doubt guessed, are pressed into the frame rather than screwed in with the bearings left externally.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - bottom bracket.jpg

The bottom bracket shell is larger in diameter too, to accept the cups, so this means you get a meaty old frame in this area, with large chainstays and down tube to match.

This makes for a stiff bottom half of the frame to resist pedalling forces when really going for it, either on the flat or when climbing. In fact the only thing that stops the Boardman from whipping up the hills are the heavy Mavic CXP-Elite wheels. They are pretty retro looking on a bike like this, not just because of their 28/32 spoke lacing front and rear bur also their width. While virtually every wheel rim these days has widened to at least 24mm externally, the Mavics are a mere 20mm, which gives the 25mm Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres an actual width of 24mm.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - rim.jpg

They are solid wheels though, and would make for a great training set or for winter use, plus the tyres are pretty robust and grippy as well.

Trying out the Deda Elementi SL38 carbon wheelset I was also testing on the Boardman made a massive difference to how the bike climbed and accelerated. Obviously most people aren't going to fit a £1,300 wheelset to a £1,000 bike, but it does highlight how upgradable this frame is.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - seat tube junction.jpg

The SL38s are wider at 26mm too, with the 25mm Schwalbe tyres stretching out to 27mm, which did make the clearance look a little bit tight. The Team will actually take full mudguards too, with mounts front and rear, so if you're going to fit some you'll need to take that into account when choosing new wheels/tyres.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - front brake.jpg

Steering and braking are both helped by the tapered head tube and matching fork steerer. The larger diameter lower section increases the cross-sectional area, resulting in a slightly stiffer front end, and the fork legs and crown are also increased in size to match.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - head tube.jpg

I've mentioned how the handling isn't twitchy but it is still quick enough to carve a smooth line through the bends, and while it isn't quite as sharp as the racier Pro Carbon SLR, as long as things aren't overly technical or you want to really smash it through a chicane, you won't be left wanting.

Stop and go

One thing that will stop you taking too many risks on the descents, though, are the brakes. The Tektro R540 callipers feel pretty spongy, especially when you really haul on them hard. The pads have quite a hard compound, with a very on/off feel; you don't get any sort of feedback to know whether to feather the brakes a touch or when to adjust the pressure on the lever. It certainly made me give way more thought to my stopping distances, especially in the wet.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - rear brake.jpg

Shimano's Tiagra 4700 groupset is a lovely bit of kit, basically 105 5800 missing a click, Tiagra being 10-speed rather than 11-speed. The only really noticeable difference was that the downshift on the rear mech wasn't quite as crisp as the more expensive groupsets, but that's it.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - rear mech.jpg

With a 12-28 cassette you get a decent spread of gears when matched to the 50/34 chainset up front, although spending most of my time on 11-speed I did miss the 11-tooth sprocket. The jumps between gears at the rear are two teeth for the majority of the sprockets, with only the top few having a three-tooth jump, so you never really find yourself between gears.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - front mech.jpg

It's a shame not to see a Tiagra crankset for a complete look, but Boardman has obviously gone with the FSA Gossamer because it is BB30, which means it uses a 30mm axle for added stiffness over a standard 24mm that Shimano uses. It is possible to use a Shimano crankset in BB30s by way of adaptors, but it kind of negates the claimed benefits of the larger axle.

Finishing kit

The finishing kit is all Boardman branded and it's simple and effective stuff, and alloy throughout. The bar has a compact drop allowing plenty of hand options, and when paired with the reasonably tall 160m head tube gives even the least flexible of riders the chance to get into the drops.

Boardman Road Team Carbon - bars.jpg

Boardman seems to have gone with 31.6mm seatposts throughout its range and it does make for a firm rear end, especially on a bike that is quite tight anyway. I didn't have any overall comfort issues (apart from that saddle), but if you did you could reduce the seat tube diameter with something like a USE shim and swap the seatpost for a 27.2mm one.

Value

A thousand pounds is a very competitive price point, seeing frames of varying materials. I'm a big metal fan and normally at this price point I'd take an aluminium alloy frame over cheap carbon, but Boardman has shown here that a good carbon frame can be delivered at this price point. Obvious cost savings have been made with the wheels, brakes and that saddle, but they are all things you can tweak and upgrade for minimal outlay.

> 18 of the best road bikes under £1,000

Ribble's Gran Fondo (we tested the Disc version here) could be a competitor, and with a similar build comes in at £1,145.99, although the Boardman Team has a sportier ride plus possibly wins on comfort ever so slightly.

A thorn in its side could be the Specialized Allez E5 Sport, with the 2017 model being very good indeed, even though you drop another gear going 9-speed with a Sora groupset, and it's an alloy frame, if that bothers you.

For 2018 the Spesh has had a makeover (which we are currently testing), with a new frame and a price increase by £50 to £799.99, which is still quite a bargain if you can cope with the gaps in the gearing.

Conclusion

Overall the Boardman Team is a decent build with a very good frameset at its heart. With a lighter set of wheels and probably an upgrade to those brakes you could so easily race this bike right up through the ranks.

Verdict

A decently specced semi-race bike with a very good frameset at its heart

• With elongated tube shapes and other wind-cheating features, aero road bikes provide a small but handy speed boost.

• Sleek shapes make for a distinctive look.

• Recent aero road bikes have alleviated the harsh ride that plagued some early models, thanks to improved use of materials.

• Frame aerodynamics is still a marginal gain; if you're wearing flappy clothes an aero bike is a waste of money.

In just a few years aero road bikes have gone from The Next Big Thing to a mainstream bike option. The latest models have been tweaked to be faster than ever, according to the manufacturers, and to alleviate the harsh ride that characterised some early aero bikes.

Aero road bikes essentially draw aerodynamic features from time trial bikes into a road frame, and balance the demands of weight and stiffness into a package that, on paper, looks to be the ideal all-round choice.

At any decent speed, most of your effort goes into overcoming air resistance, so reducing a bike's drag means you'll go faster, or ride at any given speed with a lower power output. Who doesn't like the sound of that?

Most of your air resistance comes from your body rather than your bike. Wearing non-flappy clothing will help, as will losing weight. But the 20% or so of air resistance from your bike is enough for engineers and designers to focus on making road frames and products more slippery through the air. In the pro peloton aero road bikes have been quickly adopted, where the margins of victory are very slim and there has been a focus on gaining ever smaller performance gains over the years.

Weight, or the lack of it, used to be the main driving force of frame development. Along with stiffness, it was a cornerstones of bike design. These days most bikes are light, many well below the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit (which doesn’t affect non-racers anyway), and come with more stiffness than is sometimes comfortable.

All that has made aerodynamics more important. Specialized has built its own wind tunnel, for example, and most manufacturers are testing in other facilities. Nevertheless, aero road bikes haven't converged on a perfect, slippery shape. Different engineers prioritise different ways of improving aerodynamics but there are shared design trends: skinny, aerofoil-shaped tubes, integrated brakes, and internal cable routing.

Let's take a look at the latest aero offerings.​

Colnago Concept — £3,150 (frameset)

COLNAGO-CONCEPT (1).jpg

Colnago has joined the aerodynamic arms race with the Concept, a full blooded aero race bike that is a serious step forward from the Italian company's first aero road bike, the V1-r.

The Concept has all the capability to dice with the fastest in a race situation. Its stiff frame, deep-section wheels and lightweight give it an insatiable appetite for speed. It's quick in all circumstances: climbs, descents, flat and undulating roads – the bike shines everywhere. This is an exciting bike to ride fast, and like all good aero road bikes it encourages you to ride flat-out.

That firm ride, and frame and fork stiffness ensure the Concept accurately follows your inputs, whether through the handlebar or pedals. It reacts positively whether you're blasting an uphill sprint finish or bombing through a curving descent.

The Concept isn't just for racing. It provides adequate composure and comfort, allowing you to tackle long distance rides at a few notches below race pace and not be dealt a hammer-blow to the lower back the moment the tyres encounter anything but a super-smooth surface. The front end of an aero race bike can often be overwhelmingly harsh, but the special headset and fork steerer tube that Colnago has developed mean the Concept is smoother up front than would normally be expected on an aero road bike.

Read our review of the Colnago Concept
Find a Colnago dealer

Merida Reacto — £1,250-£9,500

Merida has updated its Reacto to be, it says, lighter, more comfortable and more aerodynamically efficient than before. It has done this by slimming down the tube shapes and introducing a lower seatstay connection with the seat tube, among other things.

Merida – a Taiwanese brand although much of its engineering is undertaken in Germany – says that the new Reacto is more aerodynamically efficient than the previous version by about eight watts at 45km/h. That equates to around 5%.

Comfort has been increased through redesigning the seatstays and giving the S-Flex seatpost a slimmer cross section and a bigger ‘window’ – a notch that’s cutaway to allow more downward movement.

For 2018, Merida is offering disc brake versions of the Reacto for the first time.

Read more on the updated Merida Reacto here.
Find a Merida dealer

Boardman Elite Air — from £1,900-£6,000

Boardman Elite Air 9.2 - full bike.jpg

Boardman's Elite Air 9.2 (£2,299.99) is just the ticket if you're looking for a fast bike with a good spec. It's a great package and the performance is impressive.

Some aero bikes can be a handful, but thankfully the Air 9.2 is a neutral ride most of the time. Considering the amount of side profile, it's really not that much of a handful in the wind. Okay, our reviewer had a couple of interesting moments getting hit by a 30mph sidewind on one ride, but it's generally pretty predictable.

It's fast, it's firm but not uncomfortable, and it responds well under power. There are a few minor niggles – the brakes aren't the best, and some of the components are worth an upgrade to get the best out of the frame – but if you're looking for a fast bike for racing, triathlon or even time trialling then it's very much one to consider.

Read our review of the Boardman Elite Air 9.2
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Storck Aerfast Platinum — £10,949

Storck Aerfast_Platinum.jpg

Buying the Storck Aerfast Platinum is a massive outlay, but boy, oh boy do you get one hell of a return on your investment. It's a sub-6.5kg race weapon, with aerodynamics that work in the real world, and it offers comfort levels to challenge most endurance bikes.

Taking plenty of things it has learnt from its astonishingly good Aernario, Storck has pushed the design even further down the aerodynamics route, and what it has created in the Aerfast is a bike that's not only unbelievably fast, but light and stiff too.

If you're in the market for an aero bike, speed is going to be topping your list of priorities, and that's where the Aerfast truly excels. At lower speeds the Storck feels like any other bike to ride, any other superlight bike that is, but as you ride faster it feels like a permanent tailwind is nudging you along, a friendly hand on your back as you watch the numbers climb on the Garmin – with little more effort required than there was 5mph ago. It's a wonderful feeling, and one of which you never tire.

Read our review of the Storck Aerfast Platinum
Find a Storck dealer

Cervelo S3 Disc— TBC

Cervelo S3 Disc - riding 3.jpg

Cervélo has redesigned the S3 Disc to smooth out any penalties that might occur from adding disc brakes. The result is a frame that it claims is 9% stiffer, a touch more aerodynamically efficient, and lighter by 40g compared with the regular rim brake model. 

There's a lot to like about the Cervélo S3 Disc. If you want pure speed with the reassurance of hydraulic disc brakes, it's a very good option: it's extremely fast and the handling is lively and direct – just what you want from a race bike – but its composure on rough roads falls some way short of its key rivals. If you're willing to overlook its lack of comfort, it's an explosive bike.

Read our review of the Cervelo S3 Disc Ultegra Di2
Find a Cervelo dealer

Ridley Noah SL — £4,000-£6,400

2018 Ridley Noah SL Ultegra Di2.jpg

Aero and discs? It's getting more common as bike makers figure out how to mount disc callipers without adversely affecting aerodynamics. 

Ridley calls its collection of speed-enhancing aerodynamic features FAST. It includes the slotted F-Split fork with a gap running down the centre and F-Surface Plus, a tube shape that combines an aerofoil profile with a groove that helps keep the air flowing smoothly over the surface to reduce drag.

As for the discs, Ridley believes they're simply a better way of stopping.

Read about Greg Henderson's Ridley Noah SL
Find a Ridley dealer

Pinarello Dogma F10 — £4,499 (frame & fork)

Pinarello Dogma F10 2017.jpeg

Developed in collaboration with Team Sky, the Dogma F10 is the bike upon which Chris Froome won the 2017 Tour de France. The F10 uses FlatBack tube profiles – a Kamm tail sort of shape with a rounded leading edge and chopped off tail, and Pinarello has shaped the down tube so that you can mount a water bottle without ruining the aerodynamic performance. Up front the fork is derived from the company’s Bolide time trial bike with aerodynamically shaped legs and a crown that's integrated into a recessed down tube.

Find a Pinarello dealer

Canyon Aeroad CF SLX — £3,199-£6,349

2018 Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 9.0 LTD

The second-generation Aeroad CF SLX has been inspired by the work that Canyon did on its futuristic Speedmax time trial bike, with razor sharp aero tube profiles and an optional one-piece handlebar and stem. Much of the company’s focus was on reducing the Aeroad's frontal surface area, so along with the new cockpit there’s a narrower hour-glass shaped head tube to help reduce drag. Other changes include a variant of the Trident tube shape used on the Speedmax, and a seat tube that hugs the leading edge of the rear wheel.

The Aeroad CF SLX is available in both rim brake and disc brake models. 

Read our review of the Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7.0 Di2
Read our review of the Canyon Aeroad CF SLX Disc 8.0 Di2
Check out our complete guide to Canyon's road bikes

Specialized S-Works Venge Disc Vias eTap — £8,500

2018 Specialized S-Works Venge Vias Disc eTap

If you're going to fly, you need to be able to rein in that speed. Disc brakes give finer modulation of speed with less effort at the lever so as you're whooping into Alpine hairpins you can brake later and waste less valuable speed.

As well as its aero frame, the Venge Vias has an aero handlebar and stem. The almost complete lack of external cables further reduces drag.

Read our review of the Specialized Venge Vias Expert Disc​
Read about Mark Cavendish's Venge at the Tour de France
Find a Specialized dealer 

Scott Foil — £2,499-£10,999

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The Foil arguably kicked off the whole aero road bike trend, bringing aerodynamic design that was once the preserve of time trial bikes to regular road bikes. For 2018, Scott has added disc brakes, arguing along with other manufacturers that you can go faster if you can slow down better. That's on top of the last series of updates to the Foil that saw the down tube lowered and wrapped around the fork crown, and a smaller rear triangle and internal seat clamp in the top tube. 

Don't make the mistake of thinking this is an uncomfortable aero bike. Mathew Hayman rode over a few little bumps on his way to winning Paris-Roubaix in 2016.

Read our coverage of the 2016 Scott Foil launch
Find a Scott dealer

Trek Madone 9 Series — £3,500-£9,500

2018 Trek Madone 9.0.jpg

Once an all-round lightweight race bike, the Madone has had a complete aerodynamic makeover. It features a version of the Isospeed decoupler borrowed from the Domane to provide some comfort and it’s wrapped up in a frame with Kamm tail shaped tubes. Like Specialized, Trek has also developed its own brake callipers that are designed to integrate with the fork and seatstays. The head tube features flaps that open and close to accommodate the movement of the brake when the fork is turned.

For 2018, prices are down out of the upper stratosphere with a new model, the Madone 9.0 (above) that's priced at £3,500.

Read our coverage of the 2016 Trek Madone launch
Find a Trek dealer

Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc — £8,999

2018 Giant Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc.jpg

Giant has added disc brakes to the Propel Advanced lineup for 2018, claiming that the flagship model, the Propel Advanced SL Disc, has the highest stiffness-to-weight ratio of any bike in its class and a lower drag coefficient at a wider range of yaw angles than the rim brake version.

“One of the key breakthroughs is a new truncated ellipse airfoil shape – a design that lowers drag at a wider range of wind angles than traditional teardrop frame tubing,” says Giant. “Engineers also found that, with proper integration, a disc-brake design can actually improve aero performance compared to rim-brake configurations.”

As well as a stunning paint job, the top of the range Propel Advanced SL 0 Disc has a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Giant's own SLR 0 Aero Disc wheels with a 42mm deep front rim and 65mm rear.

The Propel disc range starts at £2,999 with the Propel Advanced Disc.

Read our review of the Giant Propel Advanced 1  
Read our coverage of the original Giant Propel launch
Find a Giant dealer​

Lapierre Aircode SL – £2,899-£6,999

lapierre aircode sl 4.jpg

French brand Lapierre has given its Aircode a major update for 2018. The frame profiles have been refined, and are now shaped using a combination of NACA and Kamm tail profiles. The down tube, for example, transitions from one to the other to keep drag low while increasing lateral stiffness at the bottom bracket. Other changes include a revised geometry, shorter chainstays and fork rake that has been reduced to bring it closer to the Xelius SL. There's also a new aero seatpost, direct mount brakes and 'TrapDoor technology' whereby the Di2 battery is housed in the down tube for better weight distribution.

Lapierre has integrated the fork crown into the down tube to bring the front wheel closer to the frame. It’s also using a direct mount brake calliper which allows the fork crown height to be lower than with a standard brake.

Read our coverage of the launch of the Lapierre Aircode SL
Find a Lapierre dealer

Bianchi Oltre XR3 – £2,800-£4,600

Bianchi Oltre XR3 - riding 1.jpg

Bianchi took the Oltre XR2 as its starting point for the XR3's design and then altered many of the tubes and features, resulting in a very different bike. The head tube is new, for example, the aero design fairly similar to that of the XR4, and the seat tube is new too, although it is still cut away around the leading edge of the rear wheel.

The Oltre XR3 features Bianchi's Countervail technology, Countervail being "a patented viscoelastic carbon material with a unique fibre architecture that cancels up to 80% of vibrations while increasing the stiffness and strength of carbon frames and forks", according to Bianchi.

The Oltre XR3 is nimble and sharp handling, and it offers a ride that's smooth by aero road bike standards.

Read our Bianchi Oltre XR3 review
Find a Bianchi dealer

[This article was last updated on November 21, 2017]

If you have £1,000 to £1,500 to spend on a road bike, you really do get a lot for you money. A benefit of spending this sort of money is that the bikes start to get much lighter than those costing half as much, which will have a significant impact on the ride quality and performance, and your times up your local hills.

Shimano 105 and Tiagra are the dominant groupsets in this price range. While there is a lot of own-brand kit for parts like wheels, handlebars and saddles, which is no bad thing (manufacturers have really raised their game with own label components), there is a lot more branded kit from the likes of Mavic and Fizik.

Giant Contend SL Disc 1 2018 — £1,198.99

2018 Giant Contend SL 1 Disc Charcoal.jpg

Giant has two families of endurance bikes, the Defy series with carbon fibre frames and disk brakes throughout the range, and the Contend bikes with aluminium frames and a choice of discs or rim brakes. This is the top model in the six-bike Contend family. It has Shimano's excellent-value Shimano 105 11-speed transmission, and Giant's own hydraulic disc brakes. We liked the rim-braked 2017 version, but though it could use better brakes.

Read our review of the Giant Contend SL1
Find a Giant dealer

Ribble CGR — £1,438.99

Ribble CGR.jpg

Cross, Gravel, Road, that's what the CGR initials stand for on Ribble's latest all-rounder. A disc brake-equipped, mudguard-shod 'do a bit of everything' machine that makes a lot of sense for the rider who doesn't always want to stick to the tarmac. Thankfully, this jack of all trades is no master of none.

Thanks to Ribble's online bike builder, you can have any spec you like. The CGR starts from £799 with Shimano Sora; the price here is for the option with Shimano 105 and hydraulic brakes, which gives a good combination of slick shifting and powerful stopping.

Read our review of the Ribble CGR

Fuji Roubaix 1.3 — £899

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Fuji characterises its Roubaix as a race bike and has completely reworked the frame for 2017, putting it firmly in the category of Very Light Aluminium at a claimed weight of 1,100g.

The fork is all-carbon, as befits a lightweight bike, and there are Shiano 105 gears and brakes to make it stop and go. The Oval Concepts finishing kit includes a chainset with Praxis rings. It looks like an excellent package for the money if you're in the marker for a fast, light traditional road race bike.

Boardman Road Pro Carbon — £1,350

Boardman Road Pro Carbon.jpg

Boardman is making some great bikes this year – both in terms of performance and value – and the Road Pro Carbon is no exception. If you're after a disc brake road bike that's engaging to ride, you should certainly take a look at this. If you're looking for a more versatile all-rounder, it's not such a good fit.

Given that this bike comes from an endurance mould you might expect the ride to be more forgiving than it actually is. The Boardman doesn't have the surface-taming characteristics of something like a Cannondale Synapse or a Trek Domane, it's much more of a road bike feel. It's not uncomfortable, but it is firm. It's well balanced in that the front and the back give about the same level of feedback from the road.

Certainly the frame and fork are a package that's worthy of some upgrades here: it's a very well-balanced bike that responds well to pretty much every kind of road riding. The steering is very predictable and never nervous, and I had no issues with any wobbles, vagueness or lift-off descending at speed.

Find a Boardman dealer

Read our review of the Boardman Road Pro Carbon

Cannondale CAAD12 105 2018 — £1,149

2018 Cannondale CAAD12 105.jpg

When it was launched the CAAD12 set a new benchmark for all-aluminium frames; it still puts a lot of carbon bikes to shame. With a frame weight under 1,100g for the disc brake and regular versions, it's not much heavier than carbon either. Cannondale package the frame with a full Shimano 105 groupset, carbon fibre fork with tapered steerer tube, 52/36 crank, Mavic Aksium wheels and a Selle Royal Seta S1 saddle. You can also have it with disc brakes for an extra £300.

Read our report from the CAAD12 launch
Find a Cannondale dealer

Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7.0 — £1,449

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German company Canyon has made quite an impression in the UK with its direct-to-consumer business model meaning big savings for those prepared to bypass the bike shop for their next bike purchase. The Ultimate CF SL is produced using the same mould as that the Ultimate CF SLX we tested a while ago, it's just using a cheaper carbon fibre. That keeps the price lower. Although the weight does go up a bit, it's still light at a claimed 940g. This is the entry-level model built with a full Shimano 105 groupset, Mavic Aksium wheels, Continental GP 4000 25mm tyres, Canyon's own bars and stem and a Fizik Antares saddle.

Focus Paralane 105 2018 — £1,499

2018 Focus Paralane 105.jpg

Focus' Paralane range of go-anywhere endurance/gravel bikes includes this Shimano 105-equipped bike with a hydro-formed aluminium frame. Like other disc-equipped Focus bikes it has the German company's clever RAT quick release axles as well as plenty of tyre clearance and easily-fitted Curana mudguards. We loved the carbon fibre Paralane Ultegra when we tested the 2017 version; this bike brings Paralane versatility to those who don't have three grand to spare.

Find a Focus dealer
Read our review of the Focus Paralane Ultegra

Trek Émonda SL 4 2018 — £1,500

2018 Trek Emonda SL 4.jpg

With a lightweight carbon fibre frame and Shimano Tiagra group, this speedster from Trek's racing range is a good deal.

The Emonda line is Trek's take on making the lightest road bikes it can produce for a given price, which means the frame here is worth upgrading as the parts wear out; it wouldn't be shamed by a Shimano Ultegra group.

Find a Trek dealer

Vitus Bikes Zenium SL Pro Disc - Superlight Ultegra — £1185.49-£1316.99

Vitus Bikes Zenium SL Pro Disc - Superlight Ultegra.jpeg

Recent price increases mean getting a full Shimano Ultegra group with disc brakes on any bike under £1,500 is unusual, making the offering from Chain Reaction's house brand excellent value with Ultegra spec on an aluminium frame. It comes with Michelin's fast Pro 4 tyres in 25mm width and there's room in the frame to go up to 28mm for versatility.

The frame is the same as the 2016 Zenium SL Disc, which our Stu Kerton really liked when he reviewed it. The SL tames the previous Zenium's harshness a bit, but this is still a fast bike. "I like it," Stu wrote. "It feels purposeful, a kind of 'this is what I am, deal with it' type of thing. With a lot of bikes these days trying to be a bit of an 'everything' option, it's good to get on board something that can just be smashed about a bit and ridden hard."

Read our review of the Vitus Zenium SL

Rose Pro SL Disc 105 — £1,213.26

Rose Pro SL Disc 105.jpg

German direct-sales operation Rose has some very keenly priced bikes, like this disc-braked sportive/endurance model that boasts and aluminium frame with room for 28mm tyres, and a full Shimano 105 groupset with hydraulic brakes. When he reviewed the next bike up in the range, the Ultegra-equipped Rose Pro SL Disc 3000, Stu Kerton said "Thanks to its neutral handling and impressive build spec, the Pro SL is the ideal steed for a day in the saddle with no surprises."

Read our review of the Rose Pro SL Disc 3000 Hydraulic

You'll need to take the Boardman SLR Endurance Disc 9.0's name with a pinch of salt as this is no slackened off race bike for those who want a comfortable and relaxed ride. Sharing virtually the same geometry as the SLR Race models, the Endurance Disc absolutely flies – although if going long is your thing you might find the frame a little punishing.

Ride

Last year we chose the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR as our bike of the year thanks to the way it handled and its all-round ability to get on with the job.

> Find your nearest dealer here

 The SLR Endurance shares a lot of that DNA which means it gives you that little grin on your face when you ride it hard or string together a couple of bends on a high-speed technical descent, although because of the slightly higher front end and longer chainstays to accommodate the wider dropout width required for disc brakes (135mm over 130mm), and therefore a longer wheelbase, the Endurance is a little less direct in its handling and the speed with which it changes direction.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - rear.jpg

The SLR Endurance is also carrying a little bit of extra weight compared with the Pro Carbon SLR, which just blunts the acceleration and climbing a touch but it is so, so close that these things are easily forgiven, especially considering the less aggressive intent of the SLR Endurance.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - riding 2.jpg

That said, against its more direct rivals – endurance-style machines such as the Ribble Gran Fondo Disc or the Rose Pro SL Disc 3000 Disc– the Boardman has a much more race-orientated ride.

The head tube on the Endurance Disc is 160mm long on this medium model, which is still quite low so you can get yourself down into a reasonable tuck for tapping out the miles on the flat and tick the miles off at a rapid pace.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - head tube badge.jpg

Weirdly, the Boardman doesn't always feel that fast; it's not one of those bikes that bombards you with feedback from the road, though neither is it mute. You get the basic information, if you know what I mean.

The numbers on the Garmin tell a different story, though, with the average pace I could knock out right up there with the lighter, much more expensive Simplon Pavo Granfondo Disc.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - riding 3.jpg

When it comes to the handling, the SLR Endurance has the same tube angles as the SLR Race, 73.5 degrees at the seat and 73 degrees at the head, so things are pretty tight through the corners. The steering is quick without ever getting anywhere near twitchy, which gives the Boardman a certain level of predictability regardless of the conditions, and gives you, the rider, confidence that you aren't all of sudden going to find yourself out of control.

Frame and fork

Boardman names its frames according to the grades of carbon used. The Pro Carbon SLR was a C8, for instance, the SLR Endurance is C10, its highest grade and a mix of high modulus carbon fibres according to Boardman.

It is a very stiff frame, especially at the bottom bracket area thanks to the oversized down tube and chunky chainstays to resist the pedalling forces. The tapered head tube, 1 1/8 to 1 1/2in diameters, tightens up the front end a little under steering and helps resist heavy braking forces from the discs.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - bottom bracket.jpg

For comfort Boardman has slimmed down the seatstays to promote some give, taking out the worst of the road buzz, and it works to a degree. The SLR Endurance doesn't bang and crash through road imperfections, but if you want a cossetting ride you might find it a little on the harsh side.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - seat tube.jpg

With such high levels of stiffness this bike is one of the most firm and unforgiving I have ridden of its style. Endurance bikes are normally aimed at those who want something a little softer and less aggressive than a race bike, and the Boardman really blurs the lines.

Of course you can play about with tyre pressures, bar tape and the like to enhance the comfort should you so wish, and the SLR Endurance certainly has clearance for up to 28mm tyres.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - tyre 2.jpg

The bike is available in a rim-braked version too, but the Disc has had a few upgrades to deal with the added stresses of slowing down. Boardman took design cues from its mountain bike and cyclo-cross frames and claims that by making small structural changes to where the brake callipers mount and where the tubes join, it could accommodate the added stiffness without a huge increase in weight.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0.jpg

The fork legs, for example, are much beefier on the disc brake version, although it is still much slimmer than that found on its cyclo-cross bikes. Boardman, like many others, has adopted thru-axles for use with the discs although while many are going 12mm front and rear, Boardman has chosen 15mm for the fork and 12mm on the frame at the rear.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - fork.jpg

As with most carbon frames these days, the SLR Endurance has full internal cabling and hoses for a clean and uncluttered look. Thankfully, the cables seem to have been kept away from the tube walls as you don't get any rattling when riding on rough surfaces.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - head tube.jpg

On the whole the frame looks and feels to be very well built, with a decent finish. If you wanted to build it up yourself, it's also available to buy as a frameset (frame, fork and headset) for £1,149.99.

Finishing kit

The entire Elite SLR Endurance range uses the same frameset with just the number, 9.0 in this case, denoting where it lives in the pecking order. This is actually the entry level option at £1,999.99, specced with a mostly Shimano Ultegra groupset and hydraulic disc brakes – a pretty decent build for the money. The Giant Defy Advanced 3, a very similar bike we've recently tested, costs the same for an Ultegra/hydro build, while the earlier mentioned Ribble Gran Fondo Disc would come in at £1,696 plus delivery.

The highlight of the Boardman is the hydraulic disc brakes. I'm a big fan of the Shimano ST-RS685 levers paired with RS785 callipers, and while the overall braking power might not exceed that of Ultegra dual-pivot callipers, the discs offer you so much more reliability in all weather conditions and are beautifully progressive and easy to modulate.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - front disc brake.jpg

As I mentioned, though, there is an Ultegra rim brake option for £1,699.99 if you aren't a fan of discs.

Gearing-wise, the cassette is 11-speed with an 11-28t range of sprockets, and while it has been 'down-specced' to Shimano 105, there is no effect on shifting performance.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - rear mech.jpg

Paired with this is a 50/34t compact chainset, provided by FSA rather than Shimano. We used to see this a lot as a way to cut costs, but the Gossamer does look a very nice chainset indeed, and the shifting, although marginally not quite as crisp as Ultegra, still performs pretty impressively.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - front mech.jpg

The wheels are Boardman's own SLR Elite Fives. These are strong, arrived true and remained so throughout the test period. They have a 28mm-deep disc-specific rim, with 28 spokes front and rear.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - rim.jpg

They roll pretty well too, but while they aren't as heavy as the Mavic Aksiums we see on a lot of bikes at this price, they still are a little on the weighty side. If you really want the Boardman to fly then a nice lightweight set would really unleash the bike's acceleration and climbing potential.

> Buyer's Guide: 23 of the hottest disc-brake road bikes

The tyres, Vittoria Rubino Pros in a 25mm width, are pretty good performers. Rolling resistance is okay as are the grip levels, but I'd definitely change them for something lighter and stickier from the likes of Schwalbe to give a bit more excitement in the bends. I did suffer my first puncture of the year on them too.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - tyre.jpg

Apart from the Prologo Naga saddle, which I liked very much indeed, Boardman provides its own finishing kit: a carbon fibre seatpost that was easy to adjust and didn't slip in the frame, plus the aluminium alloy stem and handlebar. Both function as well as you need, and with subtle Boardman logos they actually look pretty smart too. The compact-style bar gives plenty of opportunities for moving your hands around as well.

Boardman Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 - bar and shifter.jpg

Conclusion

On the whole I found the Elite SLR Endurance Disc 9.0 a very nice bike to ride. My initial impressions were that it was too stiff for the endurance moniker, but the more I rode it, the more I 'got' the way it covers that grey area between a race machine and a relaxed sportive style ride.

Verdict

Impressive bike that blurs the lines between endurance and race

[This article was last updated on March 6, 2018]

If you're keen to get into road cycling, for the fun of zooming round the lanes, for fitness or as a quick and cheap way to get to work, it is possible to buy a road bike for under £500. In fact, we've found a few bargains starting from just under £200, proving you really don't need to spend a fortune to get a good road bike these days.

It’s quite likely that if you’re reading this you’re looking at buying your first road bike. You’ll probably have a lot of questions. A good place to start is always a well stocked bike shop where you can view the bikes in your budget and get a good idea of what is offered.

Merlin PR7 - riding 1

Road bikes priced under £500 often feature light and stiff aluminium or steel frames with good quality gears and brakes. Japanese firm Shimano is the predominant component choice at this end of the market, and the good news is that a lot of the technology seen higher up the ladder eventually trickles down to the entry level.

BTwin Triban - fork

Weight is the main area where entry-level bikes suffer. However, with compact or triple chainsets, and the wider range of gears they offer, getting up steep hills is made easier. As a general rule, the more you spend the lighter the bike will be. Closer to £500 and you can expect a carbon fibre fork which saves weight and offers improved performance over the steel and aluminium forks on cheaper bikes.

£200-£300

You can get bikes cheaper than this, but they are — frankly — not very good. If your budget is so tight this is beyond your range then should seriously consider looking for a second hand bargain  (head over to eBay or our own classifieds for a look), but if it has to be new you might find something if you shop around for discount bargains during the winter.

Spend just a bit more and you get a whole lot more bike. Lighter, better equipped, and we're willing to bet nicer to ride too. This is a price point where the big specialist retailers are really able to flex their buying muscle for your benefit, and combine it with design knowledge to deliver the maximum bang for your buck.

It's no coincidence that both Decathlon and Halfords in-house brands figure strongly here. This is also a price point at which you can pick up a really good discount bargain at the right time of the year, something we've reflected in our pick of bikes here.

B'Twin Triban 100 — £249

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A new model for 2017 from French-based sports superstore chain Decathlon, the B'Twin Triban 100 has an aluminium frame and seven-speed gears with 32mm tyres so it can tackle the odd dirt track or towpath without any fuss. It'll take mudguards and a rack so will make a serviceable commuter that can take you pootling round the lanes at the weekend. 

Wiggle Road Bike — £250

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Wiggle's own-brand range of basic cycling gear includes this entry-level road bike, which looks pretty decent, on paper at least. It has an aluminium alloy frame with 14-speed Shimano gearing and combined brake/gear levers for easy shifting.

It's nominally available in five sizes, but Wiggle has only had a couple available for a while now; the next bike is probably why.

Brand-X road bike — £250

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If this isn't the Wiggle road bike with different decals I'll eat my cycling cap. The spec is the same and so is the price, as long as you get the Brand-X from Chain Reactio and not Wiggle. (Does anyone ever shop at just one without checking the price at the other?)

It's available in five sizes, so you should be able to get one that fits well unless you're very tall or short.

Carrera Zelos — £275

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There are plenty of bikes costing under £500 at Halfords, and pick of the bunch is this Carrera Zelos. It features an aluminium frame built up with a 14-speed Shimano groupset and Tektro dual pivot brakes. There's a women's version too.

The price of the Zelos varies quite a bit from its £275 RRP. We've seen it as low as £220; anything under £250 is a good deal.

£300 to £500

Step up to this price bracket and the choice suddenly increases, with some of the bigger manufacturers now coming into contention, especially the more you approach the £500 mark. Most of the bikes at this price, though not all, will feature an aluminium frame, which makes for a lighter bike. Get closer to £500 and you can expect to see the fork upgraded to carbon fibre, saving weight and improving the ride.

B'Twin Triban 500 — £349

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B'Twin's Triban bikes are deservedly popular as first road bikes and as commuting bikes that you won't feel too bad about exposing to road crud and winter salt and grime. The Triban 500 has a triple chainset for a wide gear range, a carbon-legged fork and plenty of clearance for mudguards. 

Verenti Technique Claris — £374.99

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We haven't ridden it, but on paper this  sportive bike from Wiggle house brand Verenti looks excellent. You get an aluminium frame with tapered head tube and — unusually at this price — a full-carbon fork. Shimano's Claris group makes it go and it rolls on 28mm Continental tyres which should make for comfort on potholed rural roads. 

Pinnacle Laterite 1 Women's — £420

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For this price you might expect a women's bike to be the men's frame with a shorter stem and a woman's saddle. That's not the case here. There's a female-specific frame at the heart of this version of the Laterite 1, with a shorter reach for any given size, and a size range that goes down further too.

Boardman Road Sport — £450

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It's fair to say the Boardman Road Sport is a bike that impressed us a great deal when we reviewed it. Enough in fact that it was our Budget Bike of the Year 2013-14 and came third in the overall Bike of the Year Awards. You get a 7005 double-butted aluminium frame with Shimano Claris gears and FSA Tempo compact chainset.

The Road Sport comes in a slightly more relaxed, sportive-friendly geometry than a full-on race bike; the top tube is a little shorter and the head tube is a little longer — not massively but enough to add extra comfort without sacrificing too much efficiency. You get mounts for mudguards too so it's very versatile. This is a seriously impressive bike for the money — not just a good bike for £500 but a good bike full stop.

Vitus Bikes Razor — £500

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With Shimano Claris components on a 6016 aluminium frame, the latest version of the entry-level bike in Chain Reaction's Vitus range looks like excellent value for money. There's a carbon-legged fork too, and plenty of space in the frame for mudguards, plus the necessary eyelets in the frame. You can fit a rack too, making the Razor a sharp commuter.

Pinnacle Laterite 2 — £500

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A new model from Evans Cycles house brand Pinnacle, the Laterite 2 has a frame made from double-butted 6061 aluminium and a fork with carbon fibre legs. Shimano brings its Sora 9-speed gears to the party and there's plenty of room under the Tektro brakes for mudguards even with tyres fatter than the 25mm Schwalbe Luganos fitted.​

• With 700C wheels, wide-range gears, flat bars and cantilever or disc brakes, hybrids are midway between road and mountain bikes. They're the UK's most common and best-selling bike type.

• The upright riding position makes them great for traffic, and for leisurely rides in the country — slow down and sniff the flowers.

• Oddly few hybrids come with practicalities like mudguards and rack. Budget £50-100 for them and get them fitted when you buy the bike. You'll be glad you did.

• These bikes are inexpensive transport par excellence, paying for themselves in just a few months if you live in a major city.

The most popular bike style in the UK, hybrids are practical and comfortable, and their upright riding position makes them ideal for the office run or leisurely cruising the lanes.

As the name suggests, hybrids have aspects of road bikes and mountain bikes. From the road comes a lightweight frame and fast-rolling 700C wheels, while mountain bikes contribute flat bars, disc or V-brakes and wide-range gears. The tyres are usually an intermediate width and tread to provide enough cushioning and grip that rough surfaces like forest roads and tow paths are no obstacle,

There are many variations under the hybrid umbrella. At one end, flat-bar road bikes are great for zipping around the lanes and even some light touring, but with skinny tyres might not be as much fun on potholed city streets. At the other end of the range are fully-equipped European-style city bikes, with mudguards, rack and even built-in dynamo lights or a rear-wheel lock.

Hybrids make great urban transport for potholed streets or towpaths (CC BY-NC 2.0 Tom Blackwell:Flickr)

Hybrids are great transport. You can pick one up for less than a hundred quid, and by the time you get up the price range to £300-600 there are some really very nice bikes. That's where we've started with this selection. If that blows your budget take a look at our guide to the best cheap hybrid bikes.

Oddly, fully-equipped bikes are less common at higher prices. Manufacturers perhaps think buyers with more money to spend will want to choose their own mudguards, rack and so on, but we see lots of people riding nice quality hybrids without mudguards and just getting wet bums. Seems a bit daft.

It's not unusual for designers of hybrid bikes to specify alternatives to the ubiquitous rear derailleur and you'll find a couple of examples in our recommendations below. Hub gears are less unusual than on sportier bikes, and can pick up flat-bar singlespeeders very inexpensively because they's so simple.

Hybrids are great cheap transport. Bung even a £500 bike on Cycle To Work Scheme and you'll barely notice the payments disappearing from your pay packet. In fact, in many cities, you'll be better off. Compared to a London Zone 1-3 Travelcard at £148.70 per month, a £154.00 Bristol City peak travelcard or a Cambridge Megarider Plus bus ticket for £96, the repayments for a hybrid are trivial.

Let's take a look at some of your best choices in flat-bar bikes.

B'Twin Hoprider 500 — £399

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The B'Twin Hoprider 500 comes with everything you need to pootle round town, to the office or the shops or just round the park for exercise. It's not the lightest hybrid ever, but it's very well specced for the money.

Off the peg, the Hoprider 500 comes with hub-powered lighting front and rear, mudguards, rack and kickstand. That's a great set of accessories for a hybrid (too often they're just a bare bike) and really makes this bike an excellent choice for commuting and other practical riding.

If you want something a bit more upmarket, the £459 Hoprider 700 has disc brakes, Shimano Deore gears and a built-in Axa Defender lock.

Read our review of the B'Twin Hoprider 520
Find a Decathlon store

Trek FX 1 2018 — £375

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Trek's best-selling city bike has a light aluminium frame, very wide-range 21-speed gears that'll get you up any hills you're likely to find in the UK, and convenient Shimano trigger shifters.

You don't get extras like a rack or mudguards, but the frame has all the necessary fittings for them, and will even take a Dutch-style frame/wheel lock like the AXA Defender so you can't forget your lock.

Find a Trek dealer

Reid Blacktop — £410

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Looking for a no-frills city bike? At £430 the Reid Blacktop isn't going to break the bank, and it isn't going to break itself either: it's a well-built and easy-to-ride city bike with durable components and an engaging ride. I like it.

The Blacktop has an aluminium alloy frame and fork. The welds are smoothed and the bike is finished in a matt/gloss black paintjob that's very understated and urban. There are a few chips in the paint now but generally it's holding up very well. The alloy fork is painted to match.

To that frame is attached some very sensible and durable city kit. The transmission is a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub with a grip shifter and a Prowheel 44T chainset. With the 20T sprocket on the hub that gives you 43in, 60in and 81in gears (approximately). That's a nice spread for getting yourself up the hills and still being able to push on along the flats.

Read our review of the Reid Blacktop
Find a Reid dealer

B'Twin Triban 520 Flat Bar — £429

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B'Twin's Triban 520 promises road bike zip with the more upright position of a flat bar so you can sit up and admire the view or keep an eye out for random taxis.

The Triban 520 strikes a balance between speed and practicality. On the speed side, well, at heart it's a road bike. Skinny tyres, narrow saddle, seat a bit higher than the bars. On the other hand, it's got a flat bar, with gears controlled by mountain bike-style triggers so you never need move your hands away from the brakes.

The frame has fittings for rack and guards so it can be practical too and the Shimano Sora components make it a bargain for this price.

Read our first look at the very similar Triban 540

Giant Escape 2 City Disc — £548.99

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A dry bum, a place to carry stuff and a kickstand so you don't have to lean it against a lamppost or railing to park it. There's also a triple chainset for a huge gear range, so if you head for the hills at the weekend you need fear no climb, however steep. Hydraulic disc brakes bring it to a halt and there are nice wide puncture -resistant tyres to keep you rolling.

Find a Giant dealer

Raleigh Strada 5 — £575

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Now, this is interesting. The Strada 5 uses 650B wheels, a size that's smaller than the usual 700C wheels used on road bikes and most hybrids, but bigger than the 26-inch wheels that used to be standard for mountain bikes. With fat tyres, like the 50mm Clement Stradas here, the wheel ends up with the same rolling size as a skinny 700C, but with lots of cushioning and grip, so it's comfy and sure-footed on potholed urban roads.

Picking up on another emerging trend, Raleigh have gone for a simple single-chainring gear system with a wide-range set of sprockets so you've got plenty of low gears for the hills. Stopping power comes from Shimano hydraulic discs.

Find a Raleigh dealer

Whyte Victoria women's urban bike — £799

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Hybrids intended for women tend to have a shorter top tube than their male equivalents, and have female friendly components like a woman's saddle, as here. With hydraulic disc brakes and nippy 28mm tyres, the Victoria is at the sportier end of hybrids; when you need to get a move on it's noticeably quick.

Read our review of the Whyte Victoria
Find a Whyte dealer

Boardman HYB 8.9 — £1,000

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Boardman is another brand that's ubiquitous on the city streets and main man Chris Boardman is similarly ubiquitous in the media advocating for cycling rights.

Boardman somehow finds time to design nice hybrids too, like this aluminium-framed, round-town speedster. It has hydraulic disc brakes for confident stopping and carbon fibre forks, which helps take the sting out of potholes, and wide-range SRAM Apex gearing with just a single chainring to keep things simple.

Find a Halfords branch

Cannondale Quick Carbon 1 2018 — £1,599

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The late, sadly missed bike reviewer Steve Worland described this luxury hybrid as: "Quick like a road bike, comfy like a mountain bike, with disc brake confidence; a thoroughbred mongrel of an all-rounder". A hybrid with a carbon fibre frame will seem over the top until the first time you have to carry it up several flights of stairs, at which point it suddenly makes perfect, shoulder-friendly sense.

It makes sense on the road too. Its instantly most obvious and endearing characteristic is its casual speed, while the handling far more sprightly than most hybrid type bikes.

The latest version of the Quick 1 has wide-range Shimano 105 gears and hydraulic disc brakes, and fast-rolling 28mm Schwalbe tyres. There are fittings for racks and mudguards too, it can be practical as well as quick.

Find a Cannondale dealer

Read our review of the very similar 2014 Cannondale Quick Carbon 2

With the ADV 8.8, Boardman has continued its theme of offering great performing bikes at a sensible price. Well made, well specced and fun to ride, this latest adventure machine covers plenty of bases, from blasting the local gravel byways to year-round commuting. It's a lot of bike for not a lot of money.

• Pros: Lighter and cheaper than many rivals, excellent tyres as standard
• Cons: Braking power could be better, quite a gap between larger sprockets

ADV stands for adventure, and this is exactly what Boardman has aimed the 8.8 at, a little bit of everything.

> Find your nearest dealer here

As Boardman points out, we don't have thousands of miles of unsurfaced gravel roads so the company hasn't gone down that route specifically, instead taking the fast-rolling features of a road bike with slightly more forgiving geometry for multi-terrain use.

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Compared with its SLR Endurance Disc model, for instance, the ADV has a much more relaxed head angle at 70.5 degrees compared to 73 degrees, and a slightly bigger bottom bracket drop of 70mm to lower the centre of gravity and aid stability.

The ride

The slacker front end means the ADV 8.8 never feels twitchy on loose surfaces, with similar steering and handling off-road to the SLR Endurance on tarmac, which is confidence-inspiring, especially if you dart between the two terrains mid-ride.

On the road the ADV loses some of its steering sharpness but it never really feels ponderous through the bends. If you commute in all weathers this slower steering benefits in dodgy weather conditions like heavy rain or greasy, salt-covered winter roads.

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With a tapered head tube up front and full carbon fork, stiffness is impressive which also helps in the bends.

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The gravel tracks I have near me are mainly wide and flowing, covering hundreds of miles as they criss-cross Salisbury Plain, and the Boardman really was fun to ride in this type of surroundings. It was being tested at the same time as the Canyon Grail, which is a much faster, more aggressive gravel machine, but I never thought of the Boardman as the softer option; a more relaxed ride maybe, but never dull.

Fast, rocky descents took a little more concentration to get the perfect line, and away from the Plain where the gravel tracks and twisty hardpack trails are a little more technical a more methodical and calculated approach was required, but ride the ADV 8.8 in isolation and you'll find it a fun and solid performer.

As standard, the Boardman comes with Schwalbe's G-One Allround tyres and they are very good, both on and off-road.

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If you are going to spend a lot of time on the tarmac, though, as a commuter for instance, then a switch to some slicks will make for a better ride. I tried the 8.8 with both a set of 28mm road tyres I had knocking about and the 30mm-wide inverse treaded Ritchey Alpine JBs, and that really made for a fun cruising machine for the likes of commuting or day trips.

The bike rolls well, so you can cover some decent distance, and its all-in weight of 10.57kg never really feels like a hinderance under acceleration or when climbing. Boardman has specced a 48/32t chainset option plus an 11-32t cassette so you have plenty of low gears to get you up the steep stuff anyway.

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Like a lot of other bikes at this price point, the ADV 8.8 is fitted with a set of mechanical TRP Spyre-C brake callipers and while they are one of the better ones, braking performance can be... how can I put it?... challenging.

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You really need to pull them on hard if you need to stop from speed and there can be a few heart-stopping moments if you aren't planning ahead. There isn't a huge amount of feel or modulation and in the dry you aren't really benefiting over a good set of dual pivot rim brakes, though you are obviously reaping the benefits in the wet.

You're also experiencing less wheel wear if you ride and commute year-round: it's much cheaper to replace a rotor than a wheel rim.

Frame and fork

Boardman has created the frame from 7005 aluminium alloy and it looks and feels to be well made, with a smooth finish to the welds and a tough paintjob.

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The graphics look pretty cool, too, to my mind making the 8.8 look a more expensive bike than it actually is.

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As I mentioned above, the head tube is tapered, which is standard fare these days but still good to see at the lower end of the market. It goes from 1 1/8in at the top to 1 1/2in at the bottom for maximum stiffness under braking and steering. It also allows for a larger crown diameter on the full carbon fork fitted to complete the package.

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All the tubing is on the larger side when it comes to diameters, although very few of them are actually round. It offers a firm ride, but like a lot of alloy bikes these days, it isn't harsh.

The top tube tapers down as it gets near to the seatpost for added comfort, and the larger diameter seat tube (it takes a 31.6mm seatpost) paired with the down tube and chunky chainstays work in the opposite direction, to create a stiff bottom end for power transfer.

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Those who aren't fans of creaks will be glad to see that Boardman has gone down the threaded bottom bracket route.

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One thing we have seen trickling down through the price range is the adoption of thru-axles front and rear, but Boardman has stuck with traditional quick releases here for both the rear dropouts and the fork.

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Thru-axles, if you don't know, are tubes that pass through the frame and fork one side and are screwed into a threaded part on the opposing side, locking them into the bike. It adds a level of security over QR skewers, as in the wheels can't drop out even if the thru-axle was to loosen, plus there are some benefits at the fork as it helps resist twisting forces under braking on account of the rotor only being attached to one side of the wheel.

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Quick releases aren't redundant, though, and they worked fine throughout the test period, especially as the brakes here don't have the amount of power that a hydraulic setup has.

The frame and fork are set up for flat mount callipers for a smoother look than post mount options.

I mentioned earlier about using the ADV 8.8 for commuting, and to make this more pleasurable it comes with a full complement of mounting eyes for mudguards and a rear pannier rack. You also get two sets of bottle cage mounts.

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It's getting quite rare to see a frame that still has external cable routing but the 8.8 does use various guides to keep everything looking neat and tidy as it passes underneath the down tube.

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Wheels and tyres

Speccing Schwalbe's awesome G-Ones as standard is a bit of a masterstroke by Boardman, as they are great all-rounders perfect for the 'bit of everything' style of the ADV. They are fast on the road and grippy too, and take most things in their stride away from it; they're especially suited to hardpacked gravel and firm, dry forest trails.

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The trade-off is that they can be a little fragile, which I have found through testing them on various other bikes, but I had no issues here.

Boardman provides its own wheelset, made up of ADV tubeless ready rims mated to Formula hubs. It's not a massively exciting package but it works well and the wheels feel very solid, taking plenty of abuse on the trails. Both the front and rear use 32 spokes set up in a two-cross pattern for strength.

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The bearings feel smooth and the pick-up from the freehub pawls is quick enough so I'd be happy to leave these fitted to the ADV without worrying about an upgrade – not something I often say when it comes to bikes below a grand.

Finishing kit

Shimano provides the majority of the drivetrain by way of its 9-speed Sora groupset. It's great kit and good to see here as the shifting is positive and the gear/brake STI levers are a joy to use.

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As they mimic the design of the 105 5800 shifters and those of the next level up Tiagra model, there is very little to separate them other than the fact that those two get an extra sprocket or two.

> Your complete guide to Shimano groupsets

The cassette we have here ranges from 11 to 32 teeth (11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32), which as you can see has pretty close jumps at the bottom of the sprockets but they get larger towards the bigger ones. A jump of four teeth is quite noticeable but as they are predominantly for the bailout gears, I could live with it.

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FSA has supplied the chainset, primarily because Shimano doesn't offer a 48/32t chainset option in Sora. The FSA shifts across chainrings fine, and even though it looks a little dated with its cartridge bottom bracket setup, there is no need to rush out and upgrade.

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TRP Spyre-C mechanical brakes are starting to become the norm on bikes of this price, but as I said above they aren't the most powerful, even when paired with the 160mm diameter rotors. I ride a lot of disc-equipped bikes and most of them have hydraulics so I probably notice the difference between them and the Spyres more so than someone coming from cable-operated rim brakes, but just don't be expecting anything amazing in terms of a performance upgrade.

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Unlike a lot of mechanical disc options, the Spyre-Cs do move both pads onto the rotor so you get equal pressure applied. A lot of others on the market have just the one side that moves, pushing the rotor across to the stationary pad, so the Spyres do have a benefit there.

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The rest of the finishing kit comes from Boardman's own box of bits.

The aluminium alloy stem does the job, and like most adventure bikes you get a shorter length fitted than you would to the equivalent road machine: just 80mm here on the ADV 8.8.

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I'm a big fan of a flared handlebar on bikes designed for off-road use, as it gives a bit more stability when you are flying along in the drops. At the hoods it measures 440mm across but that increases by quite a bit by the time you get to the bottom.

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The bar is again an alloy offering but it is stiff enough for hauling up hills or when you load it up when cornering hard or braking.

On all its bikes, Boardman seems to favour a 31.6mm seatpost over a narrower 27.2mm option. It is a minimal difference but going for the smaller option promotes a little more flex for comfort, especially if you swap out the standard alloy one for a carbon fibre post.

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One thing that I wasn't totally enamoured with was the Boardman Road by Velo saddle; I just didn't really get on with the shape or its firmness. It's a personal thing, though, and swapping to a trusted favourite isn't a major hassle.

Value

We've had quite a few of this style of bike in lately and at first glance the ADV 8.8 is one of the cheapest at £750, and it comes in a women's version too. If you want hydraulic braking there is an 8.9 model with 10-speed Tiagra hydraulic shifters, mechs and an upgraded FSA chainset for £1,000.

The closest in price to the 8.8 is Raleigh's Mustang Sport, a similar beast with an alloy frame and carbon fork, but it only gets 8-speed Claris and it weighs 11.38kg compared to the Boardman's 10.57kg.

> Buyer's Guide: 19 of the best gravel and adventure bikes

A bike that I really enjoyed riding was the Kona Rove DL, which comes with a very similar setup for its £899 but it does get a Sora chainset. It has an aluminium fork instead of carbon and weighs a heady 12.17kg, although as I said in my review, it never felt heavy when being ridden.

Then there is the Bianchi Via Nirone All Road– not quite as off-road inspired as the Boardman, and it costs £1,000 for very similar kit and weight.

Conclusion

On paper, it's hard to discount the ADV 8.8. It's relatively light against the opposition, and quite a bit cheaper. In the real world that doesn't change either: it's a fun bike to ride, has loads of versatility and really is a bargain.

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Verdict

Boardman's adventure bike has an impressive ride on and off the road, at a very competitive price

The Boardman ASR, or "all season road", is a really good value package that offers a relaxed ride with the classic looks and feel of steel, the modern convenience of hydraulic discs brakes, and clearance for wide tyres. Some of the components might not be to your liking, but otherwise the ASR 8.9 serves its purpose well as an all-weather commuter.

• Pros: Smooth and comfortable frame, excellent value, mudguards included
• Cons: Bulbous 105 hydraulic levers are divisive

The ASR launched in late 2017, and my test bike is the top-specced version with Reynolds 725 steel tubing, a full Shimano 105 groupset with hydraulic disc brakes, and Boardman's own bar and wheels. The cheaper 8.8 (£849) has 9-speed Sora components, a '4130 CroMo Steel' frame and mechanical disc brakes, so for the extra £400 you're getting lighter and arguably better tubing, extra gears and hydraulic discs.

> Buy this online here

The 8.9 arrives ready for winter, with mudguards fitted to the frame, 28mm Vittoria tyres, plus reflective frame details ticking all the boxes for commuting through the rough British weather. Remove the mudguards and the bike easily has clearance for wider tyres, so it also fits the bill for summer towpath pootling and brief gravel forays.

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I can see the ASR appealing to an audience who appreciate style just as much as value and function. It's Reynolds 725 steel which has been proven the world over to provide a highly comfortable ride, the joins are smooth, and it generally doesn't have the look or feel of a mass-produced bike.

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Add in the threaded bottom bracket and you have a very aesthetically pleasing frameset, with the addition of a chunky carbon fork taking care of damping vibrations up front.

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Boardman has gone for a relaxed geometry inspired by its hybrid and mountain bikes, with a 72-degree head angle, 16cm head tube and an unusually long 56.5cm top tube on my size medium test bike. The head tube is also a centimetre or so longer than many endurance road bikes, and I was initially sceptical about how this bike would ride. Boardman says the slacker angles are intentional to keep the handling stable, and it's balanced out that long top tube with a shorter 90mm stem to keep the steering lively.

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While it's pretty slim at the rear, with thin seatstays and chainstays, the ride feels robust and there isn't any noticeable flex in this area. Riding over rough stuff on my cycle path commute was generally a breeze, and the only real 'problem' I had with it was manoeuvrability. While the stem is shortened in an attempt to make the steering springier, I did find the ASR a bit sluggish when trying to corner quickly, which I'll put down to the relaxed angles of the frame and longer top tube making the bike quite slow to respond.

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It does make for really stable handling, though, and it's not really designed to be aggressively chucked around; it's more about finesse than fast and furious. Eating up long, steady miles in comfort is what the ASR does best, and as someone who's prone to head out for a run or carry on riding if the weather's okay when I get home, it was ideal for a period of building base fitness in early spring.

> Choosing a steel, aluminium, titanium or carbon road bike

The comfort and easy gearing make up for the extra weight over a carbon frame, and when you're up to cruising speed you wouldn't know you're riding a bike that weighs over 10kg. For a steel framed bike with disc brakes it's not bad anyway: the £2k Bombrack Audax Stu tested recently was 10.7kg, and the ASR holds its own against similar priced aluminium framed bikes too, such as the 10.54kg Focus Paralane.

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The wheelset is Boardman's own tubeless-ready alloy Road 5s, dressed with Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ clincher tyres. You can't buy these wheels separately and they seem to only appear on Boardman's ASR bikes, but from my thousand or so miles of riding them they've provided a sturdy option and are still running true.

Boardman ASR 8.9 - front hub.jpg

I suffered no punctures on the Rubino Pro G+ tyres, so from my test riding I can recommend them, but the option to run tubeless is always going to be a positive for some extra peace of mind.

Full-length mudguards offer enough weather protection, and fit fine over the 28mm tyres supplied with no rubbing apparent.

Boardman ASR 8.9 - rear mudguard 2.jpg

Elsewhere, Boardman has provided a 42mm alloy bar, bar grip, stem and seatpost, and the headset is an FSA no.42 (watch out for the slightly confusing system, which requires a small hex key to loosen/tighten inside and a larger one to tighten the top cap; well, it confused me anyway).

Boardman ASR 8.9 - stem.jpg

With the exception of a KMC chain, the groupset is full Shimano 105 5800 with hydraulic disc brakes. The gearing is suitably low with 50/34 chainrings and a wide-ranging 11-32 cassette – more than enough for spinning up the steep stuff for most of us.

Boardman ASR 8.9 - drive train.jpg

While I've no problem with the 105 mechanism or durability, the ergonomics and looks of the disc brakes are a bit of a letdown; it seems a shame to pair the handsome 725 frame with those bulbous levers, and I always seem to catch my fingers on the undersides. The new 105 R7000 groupset with its far smaller and neater levers can't come soon enough. Boardman's bikes usually have two-year model cycles, but the company does make running changes, so hopefully you won't have to wait until 2019 to get your hands on an ASR with the new 105 levers.

Boardman ASR 8.9 - bar and shifter.jpg

I didn't get on with Prologo's Nago Evo saddle, which is too long and narrow for me. While I appreciate every rear end is unique, and others will find it comfortable (Stu tested the Nago Evo CPC back in 2013 and liked it) this is the first time I've had to change saddles on a test bike after the first ride, so I'd be buying in-store and swapping it straight out if I were to purchase this bike.

Boardman ASR 8.9 - saddle.jpg

In terms of value, there isn't much out there that ticks as many boxes as the ASR at this price point to compare it with, and as sold it's quite a package. Condor's Fratello Disc frameset with Columbus tubing came in at £1,400 with mudguards and SRAM Apex, as reviewed by Dave Arthur back in 2015, and for a Genesis Equilibrium with 725 tubing and 105 groupset but no mudguards, you're looking at a shade under two grand.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best bikes for commuting

If we consider alloy frames too, there are all-weather packages that will do the job for cheaper: Ribble's Audax 7005 with full mudguards and a 105 rim brake groupset has an RRP of £949, and it's even less at the moment.

Conclusion

For a brand that makes thousands of aluminium bikes for Halfords, the ASR is a bold move and something a bit different to the norm with its smooth steel tubing. It looks and feels a bit special, and for those who prioritise comfort and classic looks over a couple of kilos' weight saving for long commutes and training rides, it's a really decent option.

boardman_asr_8.9_-_riding_5.jpg

Personally, I would wait for a version with the new 105 so I don't have to suffer with those beastly levers, but otherwise the ASR 8.9 is ready to roll whatever the weather and offers really good value for money.

Verdict

Good value, comfortable and sturdy steel commuter that's nice and smooth and set up for year-round riding

You’ve an abundance of riches in the £1,500 to £2,000 price band, with bikes that are light, well-equipped and great value for money.

You also have a big range of choices. Carbon fibre frame, or the latest ultra-sophisticated aluminium? Caliper brakes or discs? Racing geometry, more upright for comfort or something in between? How about taking the the byways and bridleways on a gravel bike? Whatever type of riding you have in mind, there’s a bike in this price range that’ll suit you perfectly.

Genesis Datum 10 — £1,999.99

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The Genesis Datum 10 will take pretty much whatever you can throw at it, on or off-road. The spec represents excellent value and the ability to jump between town and country use positions it as a sound contender for an 'only bike' that you won't be sheepish about getting muddy on, while being worthy of a shine-up for the Sunday morning group ride.

At launch two years ago, Dave rated the Di2 11-speed Datum 30 at 4.5/5, finding it a 'hugely capable bike that is loads of fun over all sorts of terrain'. Later that year it won our Sportive Bike of The Year Award, with only the Shimano Di2-influenced price holding it back from taking overall honours. At £3,200 in 2015 money, the Di2 version was a hefty price to pay, so this time around it's the base model £1,899 10-speed Tiagra model on test. Again, for this spec it's not a class-leadingly cheap bike, but the overall package is worthy of inclusion on anyone's to-be-considered list.

Read our review of the Genesis Datum 10
Find a Genesis dealer

Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 7.0 — £1,799

Canyon Endurace CF SL Disc 7

It's always worth checking out what Canyon has to offer, and this combination of the light, quick but comfortable Endurace CF SL frame and Shimano 105 components is decent value, and — if the women's equivalent is any guide — a superb all-day mile-eater.

Read our review of the Canyon Endurace WMN CF SL Disc 8.0

Merlin Nitro Aero Ultegra Di2 2018 — £2,020

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Merlin Cycles has been offering its own brand of bikes for a while, and the Nitro Aero Di2 is an excellent addition thanks to its combination of a quick, stiff aero frame and Shimano's slick electronic shifting. The price has just gone up slightly, but it seems churlish to quibble about £20.

Read our review of the Merlin Nitro SL

Merida Silex 600 — £1,700

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Merida's dramatic take on the gravel bike genre is as close as a bike gets to being a mountain bike without becoming the bailiwick of our sister site off.road.cc. It has the long head tube and top tube that's a feature of many contemporary mountain bikes, and single-chainring gearing. It keeps its feet on the Tarmac with 35mm tyres, but if you wanted to get adventurous there's room to go plenty bigger.

Read our review of the Silex 600's carbon fibre big brother, the Merida Silex 9000
Find a Merida dealer

Raleigh Mustang Comp — £1,500

2017 Raleigh Mustang Comp.jpeg

With Raleigh's aluminium-framed Mustangs, carbon Rokers and steel Mavericks the Big Heron jumped into gravel bikes with both boots a couple of years ago. Raleigh's folks say they started revamping their endurance road range, then realised that for a lot of British riding a bike with a long wheelbase and fat tyres was better able to cope with back roads trashed by the combination of bad winters and hacked road maintenance budgets. The Mustang Comp has SRAM hydraulic brakes and 11 speed SRAM Apex 1 gears.

Find a Raleigh dealer

Cannondale CAAD12 105 Disc 2018 — £1,700

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Proving that composites don't quite reign supreme, Cannondale's meticulously engineered CAAD12 frame wrings every last gram of performance potential out of aluminium. Cannondale combines that frame with Shimano 105 shifting, its own HollowGram Si chainset and Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brakes for a thoroughly modern fast road bike.

Find a Cannondale dealer

Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR — £1,500

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If you want to put that race licence to good use, smash those Strava KOMs or just want a fast, comfortable, easy-to-ride road bike, then the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR needs to be on your shortlist. With a full-carbon frameset, SRAM Force groupset, Mavic Ksyrium wheels and weighing in at just 7kg (15.5lb), the SLR is a real contender even before you take the price into account – and that challenges even the direct-to-consumer specialists.

The Road Pro is a stunning bike to look at. That mirror effect silver paintjob makes it stand out, especially in the sunshine; you're going to get noticed for sure.

That beauty isn't just skin deep, though. In a cycling world where bikes are starting to cross as many disciplines as possible, the Boardman knows exactly what it is: a proper race bike that just begs to be ridden hard. It likes being on the tarmac, getting chucked downhill on the ragged edge of the tyre's grip, or being sprinted hard up that 20 per cent climb without the slightest hint of flex from the frame.

Read our review of the Boardman Road Pro Carbon SLR

Giant Defy Advanced 2 2018 —  £1,359.19

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Giant's Defy line is one of the most popular bikes in the endurance and sportive sector, and is the company's best-selling model, combining smart geometry with a full range of competitively priced builds. It was completely revamped for 2015 with a whole new frame design providing enhanced comfort and, for the carbon frames, disc brakes only. From 2017 Defy bikes are all carbon fibre, as the Contend range replaces the previous aluminium Defys.

We're just starting to see price reductions on 2018 Giants, as retailers clear the floor for incoming 2019 models. The Defy Advanced 2 was previously £1,700 and you can now pick up the 2018 Giant Defy Advanced 1 for £1,479.19 instead of £1,848.99.

Read our review of the Giant Defy Advanced SL
Read our review of the Giant Defy Advanced 3
Find a Giant dealer

Specialized Tarmac SL4 Elite 2018 — £2,000

2018 specialized tarmac sl4 elite

Specialized's £2,000 Tarmac Elite is a smart looking and well packaged bike that offers the sort of fast and engaging ride that will suit budding racers, along with sportive cyclists who favour a less upright position than is provided by the company's Roubaix model.

Read our review of the (very similar) Specialized Tarmac Comp
Find a Specialized dealer

Trek Émonda SL5 2018 — £1,800

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Part of Trek's line of Émonda lightweight race bikes, the SL5 demonstrates one of two approaches to speccing up a bike in this range. Trek takes the second-lightest of its Émonda frames and equips it with Shimano's midrange 105 group for a bike that doesn't cost the earth but has plenty of upgrade potential.

Read our review of the Trek Emonda SL5
Find a Trek dealer

Specialized Ruby — £1,900

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There are some superb women's bikes in this category, of which Specialized's Ruby is a great example. It has the same shock-damping steerer as Specialized's Roubaix (the men's equivalent) and the same spec as the Roubaix at the same price.

Find a Specialized dealer

Rose Team GF 4 Disc 105 — £1,907.04

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Rose claims an impressive 7.9kg for the Team GF 4 Disc 105 and given that its predecessor the Xeon CDX-4400 comes in at 7.5kg (16.6lb), we believe it. The ride is quick, easy to live with and delivers a lot of fun miles. It's a cracker of a machine ready to be ridden flat out or cruising the lanes.

Read our review of the Rose Xeon CDX-4400

If you have £1,000 to £1,500 to spend on a road bike, you really do get a lot for you money. A benefit of spending this sort of money is that the bikes start to get much lighter than those costing half as much, which will have a significant impact on the ride quality and performance, and your times up your local hills.

Shimano 105 and Tiagra are the dominant groupsets in this price range. While there is a lot of own-brand kit for parts like wheels, handlebars and saddles, which is no bad thing (manufacturers have really raised their game with own label components), there is a lot more branded kit from the likes of Mavic and Fizik.

You'll typically find yourself making a decision between an aluminium frame (which range between very good and superb in this price range) with a groupset such as Shimano 105 or a carbon frame with Shimano Tiagra. Which you go for will depend, among other things, on whether you're a parts upgrader or a bike replacer when it comes to future developments.

We're also starting to see some intriguing, innovative thinking in this price range, like the fat-tyred, single chainring Road Plus Whyte Glencoe, if you fancy something more than a bit different.

Whyte Glencoe — £1299

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Whyte's new Glencoe is a 650B-wheeled Road Plus bike that brings together a lot of the emerging trends in the road bike market into a really compelling package that will appeal to anyone wanting a smooth, comfortable, stable and confidence-inspiring road bike.

The Glencoe combines an aluminium frame and fork rolling on wide profile WTB tubeless-ready rims and WTB Horizon 47mm tyres, and the stop and start are taken care of by an SRAM Apex 1x11 groupset, with an 11-42t cassette and 44T chainring, and TRP HyRd hydraulic disc brakes with 160mm rotors. The finishing kit is all Whyte branded, including the 50cm wide handlebar that is unique to the Glencoe. Yes at 11.56kg (25.48lb) it’s heavy, but weight isn’t everything.

Read our first look at the Whyte Glencoe
Find a Whyte dealer

Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc — £1,300

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The Vitus Zenium SL is a long-standing road.cc favourite. Last year's edition was a big orange bundle of fun: quick on the flat, grin-inducingly swoopy on twisty descents, and civilised on climbs. This more subdued-looking 2018 version gets a few tweaks that should make it an even better all-day ride, and it'll now take mudguards.

Read our review of the 2017 Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc

Fuji Roubaix 1.5 2018 — £1,150

2018 Fuji Roubaix 1.5.jpg

Fuji characterises its Roubaix as a race bike and completely reworked the frame for 2017, putting it firmly in the category of Very Light Aluminium at a claimed weight of 1,090g.

The fork is all-carbon, as befits a lightweight bike, and there are Shimano Tiagra gears and brakes to make it stop and go. The Oval Concepts finishing kit includes a chainset with Praxis rings. It looks like an excellent package for the money if you're in the marker for a fast, light traditional road race bike, and that light frame is a perfect platform for future upgrading as cashflow allows

Giant Contend SL Disc 1 2018 — £1,199

2018 Giant Contend SL 1 Disc Charcoal.jpg

Giant has two families of endurance bikes, the Defy series with carbon fibre frames and disk brakes throughout the range, and the Contend bikes with aluminium frames and a choice of discs or rim brakes. This is the top model in the six-bike Contend family. It has Shimano's excellent-value Shimano 105 11-speed transmission, and Giant's own hydraulic disc brakes. We liked the rim-braked 2017 version, but though it could use better brakes.

Read our review of the Giant Contend SL1
Find a Giant dealer

Pinnacle Arkose 3 2018 — £1,250

Pinnacle Arkose Three.jpg

The Pinnacle Arkose 3 is a great option if you're looking for a versatile aluminium adventure, commuter or winter bike (or indeed all three at once) that is well specced for the price.

Pinnacle has been making the Arkose for a number of years. It was originally created off the back of a cyclo-cross design, and has become more of an adventure/gravel bike over time. The frame was redesigned in 2017 and the version I've been testing is the third tier of the bunch, sitting above the Arkose X and below the Arkose 4 and Arkose LTD.

Read our review of the Pinnacle Arkose 3

Ribble CGR — £1,469

Ribble CGR.jpg

Cross, Gravel, Road, that's what the CGR initials stand for on Ribble's latest all-rounder. A disc brake-equipped, mudguard-shod 'do a bit of everything' machine that makes a lot of sense for the rider who doesn't always want to stick to the tarmac. Thankfully, this jack of all trades is no master of none.

Thanks to Ribble's online bike builder, you can have any spec you like. The CGR starts from £799 with Shimano Sora; the price here is for the option with Shimano 105 and hydraulic brakes, which gives a good combination of slick shifting and powerful stopping.

Read our review of the Ribble CGR

Boardman Road Pro Carbon — £1,300

Boardman Road Pro Carbon.jpg

Boardman is making some great bikes this year – both in terms of performance and value – and the Road Pro Carbon is no exception. If you're after a disc brake road bike that's engaging to ride, you should certainly take a look at this. If you're looking for a more versatile all-rounder, it's not such a good fit.

Given that this bike comes from an endurance mould you might expect the ride to be more forgiving than it actually is. The Boardman doesn't have the surface-taming characteristics of something like a Cannondale Synapse or a Trek Domane, it's much more of a road bike feel. It's not uncomfortable, but it is firm. It's well balanced in that the front and the back give about the same level of feedback from the road.

Certainly the frame and fork are a package that's worthy of some upgrades here: it's a very well-balanced bike that responds well to pretty much every kind of road riding. The steering is very predictable and never nervous, and I had no issues with any wobbles, vagueness or lift-off descending at speed.

Find a Boardman dealer

Read our review of the Boardman Road Pro Carbon

Cannondale CAAD12 105 2018 — £1,400

2018 Cannondale CAAD12 105.jpg

When it was launched the CAAD12 set a new benchmark for all-aluminium frames; it still puts a lot of carbon bikes to shame. With a frame weight under 1,100g for the disc brake and regular versions, it's not much heavier than carbon either. Cannondale package the frame with a full Shimano 105 groupset, carbon fibre fork with tapered steerer tube, 52/36 crank, Mavic Aksium wheels and a Selle Royal Seta S1 saddle. You can also have it with disc brakes for an extra £300.

Read our report from the CAAD12 launch
Find a Cannondale dealer

Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7.0 — £1,449

Canyon ultimate-cf-sl-7.png

German company Canyon has made quite an impression in the UK with its direct-to-consumer business model meaning big savings for those prepared to bypass the bike shop for their next bike purchase. The Ultimate CF SL is produced using the same mould as that the Ultimate CF SLX we tested a while ago, it's just using a cheaper carbon fibre. That keeps the price lower. Although the weight does go up a bit, it's still light at a claimed 940g. This is the entry-level model built with a full Shimano 105 groupset, Mavic Aksium wheels, Continental GP 4000 25mm tyres, Canyon's own bars and stem and a Fizik Antares saddle.

Focus Paralane 105 2018 — £1,499

2018 Focus Paralane 105.jpg

Focus' Paralane range of go-anywhere endurance/gravel bikes includes this Shimano 105-equipped bike with a hydro-formed aluminium frame. Like other disc-equipped Focus bikes it has the German company's clever RAT quick release axles as well as plenty of tyre clearance and easily-fitted Curana mudguards. We loved the carbon fibre Paralane Ultegra when we tested the 2017 version; this bike brings Paralane versatility to those who don't have three grand to spare.

Find a Focus dealer
Read our review of the Focus Paralane Ultegra

Trek Émonda SL 4 2018 — £1,500

2018 Trek Emonda SL 4.jpg

With a lightweight carbon fibre frame and Shimano Tiagra group, this speedster from Trek's racing range is a good deal.

The Emonda line is Trek's take on making the lightest road bikes it can produce for a given price, which means the frame here is worth upgrading as the parts wear out; it wouldn't be shamed by a Shimano Ultegra group.

Find a Trek dealer

Rose Pro SL Disc 105 — £1,213.26

Rose Pro SL Disc 105.jpg

German direct-sales operation Rose has some very keenly priced bikes, like this disc-braked sportive/endurance model that boasts and aluminium frame with room for 28mm tyres, and a full Shimano 105 groupset with hydraulic brakes. When he reviewed the next bike up in the range, the Ultegra-equipped Rose Pro SL Disc 3000, Stu Kerton said "Thanks to its neutral handling and impressive build spec, the Pro SL is the ideal steed for a day in the saddle with no surprises."

Read our review of the Rose Pro SL Disc 3000 Hydraulic

• With 700C wheels, wide-range gears, flat bars and cantilever or disc brakes, hybrids are midway between road and mountain bikes. They're the UK's most common and best-selling bike type.

• The upright riding position makes them great for traffic, and for leisurely rides in the country — slow down and sniff the flowers.

• Oddly few hybrids come with practicalities like mudguards and rack. Budget £50-100 for them and get them fitted when you buy the bike. You'll be glad you did.

• These bikes are inexpensive transport par excellence, paying for themselves in just a few months if you live in a major city.

The most popular bike style in the UK, hybrids are practical and comfortable, and their upright riding position makes them ideal for the office run or leisurely cruising the lanes.

As the name suggests, hybrids have aspects of road bikes and mountain bikes. From the road comes a lightweight frame and fast-rolling 700C wheels, while mountain bikes contribute flat bars, disc or V-brakes and wide-range gears. The tyres are usually an intermediate width and tread to provide enough cushioning and grip that rough surfaces like forest roads and tow paths are no obstacle,

There are many variations under the hybrid umbrella. At one end, flat-bar road bikes are great for zipping around the lanes and even some light touring, but with skinny tyres might not be as much fun on potholed city streets. At the other end of the range are fully-equipped European-style city bikes, with mudguards, rack and even built-in dynamo lights or a rear-wheel lock.

Hybrids make great urban transport for potholed streets or towpaths (CC BY-NC 2.0 Tom Blackwell:Flickr)

Hybrids are great transport. You can pick one up for less than a hundred quid, and by the time you get up the price range to £300-600 there are some really very nice bikes. That's where we've started with this selection. If that blows your budget take a look at our guide to the best cheap hybrid bikes.

Oddly, fully-equipped bikes are less common at higher prices. Manufacturers perhaps think buyers with more money to spend will want to choose their own mudguards, rack and so on, but we see lots of people riding nice quality hybrids without mudguards and just getting wet bums. Seems a bit daft.

It's not unusual for designers of hybrid bikes to specify alternatives to the ubiquitous rear derailleur and you'll find a couple of examples in our recommendations below. Hub gears are less unusual than on sportier bikes, and can pick up flat-bar singlespeeders very inexpensively because they's so simple.

Hybrids are great cheap transport. Bung even a £500 bike on Cycle To Work Scheme and you'll barely notice the payments disappearing from your pay packet. In fact, in many cities, you'll be better off. Compared to a London Zone 1-3 Travelcard at £148.70 per month, a £154.00 Bristol City peak travelcard or a Cambridge Megarider Plus bus ticket for £96, the repayments for a hybrid are trivial.

Let's take a look at some of your best choices in flat-bar bikes.

B'Twin Hoprider 500 — £399

2018 B'Twin Hoprider 500.jpg

The B'Twin Hoprider 500 comes with everything you need to pootle round town, to the office or the shops or just round the park for exercise. It's not the lightest hybrid ever, but it's very well specced for the money.

Off the peg, the Hoprider 500 comes with hub-powered lighting front and rear, mudguards, rack and kickstand. That's a great set of accessories for a hybrid (too often they're just a bare bike) and really makes this bike an excellent choice for commuting and other practical riding.

If you want something a bit more upmarket, the £459 Hoprider 700 has disc brakes, Shimano Deore gears and a built-in Axa Defender lock.

Read our review of the B'Twin Hoprider 520
Find a Decathlon store

Trek FX 1 2018 — £375

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Trek's best-selling city bike has a light aluminium frame, very wide-range 21-speed gears that'll get you up any hills you're likely to find in the UK, and convenient Shimano trigger shifters.

You don't get extras like a rack or mudguards, but the frame has all the necessary fittings for them, and will even take a Dutch-style frame/wheel lock like the AXA Defender so you can't forget your lock.

Find a Trek dealer

Reid Blacktop — £410

Reid Blacktop.jpg

Looking for a no-frills city bike? At £430 the Reid Blacktop isn't going to break the bank, and it isn't going to break itself either: it's a well-built and easy-to-ride city bike with durable components and an engaging ride. I like it.

The Blacktop has an aluminium alloy frame and fork. The welds are smoothed and the bike is finished in a matt/gloss black paintjob that's very understated and urban. There are a few chips in the paint now but generally it's holding up very well. The alloy fork is painted to match.

To that frame is attached some very sensible and durable city kit. The transmission is a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub with a grip shifter and a Prowheel 44T chainset. With the 20T sprocket on the hub that gives you 43in, 60in and 81in gears (approximately). That's a nice spread for getting yourself up the hills and still being able to push on along the flats.

Read our review of the Reid Blacktop
Find a Reid dealer

B'Twin Triban 520 Flat Bar — £429

B'Twin Triban 520 Flat Bar.jpg

B'Twin's Triban 520 promises road bike zip with the more upright position of a flat bar so you can sit up and admire the view or keep an eye out for random taxis.

The Triban 520 strikes a balance between speed and practicality. On the speed side, well, at heart it's a road bike. Skinny tyres, narrow saddle, seat a bit higher than the bars. On the other hand, it's got a flat bar, with gears controlled by mountain bike-style triggers so you never need move your hands away from the brakes.

The frame has fittings for rack and guards so it can be practical too and the Shimano Sora components make it a bargain for this price.

Read our first look at the very similar Triban 540

Giant Escape 2 City Disc — £548.99

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A dry bum, a place to carry stuff and a kickstand so you don't have to lean it against a lamppost or railing to park it. There's also a triple chainset for a huge gear range, so if you head for the hills at the weekend you need fear no climb, however steep. Hydraulic disc brakes bring it to a halt and there are nice wide puncture -resistant tyres to keep you rolling.

Find a Giant dealer

Raleigh Strada 5 — £575

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Now, this is interesting. The Strada 5 uses 650B wheels, a size that's smaller than the usual 700C wheels used on road bikes and most hybrids, but bigger than the 26-inch wheels that used to be standard for mountain bikes. With fat tyres, like the 50mm Clement Stradas here, the wheel ends up with the same rolling size as a skinny 700C, but with lots of cushioning and grip, so it's comfy and sure-footed on potholed urban roads.

Picking up on another emerging trend, Raleigh have gone for a simple single-chainring gear system with a wide-range set of sprockets so you've got plenty of low gears for the hills. Stopping power comes from Shimano hydraulic discs.

Find a Raleigh dealer

Whyte Victoria women's urban bike — £799

2018 Whyte Victoria.jpg

Hybrids intended for women tend to have a shorter top tube than their male equivalents, and have female friendly components like a woman's saddle, as here. With hydraulic disc brakes and nippy 28mm tyres, the Victoria is at the sportier end of hybrids; when you need to get a move on it's noticeably quick.

Read our review of the Whyte Victoria
Find a Whyte dealer

Boardman HYB 8.9 — £1,000

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Boardman is another brand that's ubiquitous on the city streets and main man Chris Boardman is similarly ubiquitous in the media advocating for cycling rights.

Boardman somehow finds time to design nice hybrids too, like this aluminium-framed, round-town speedster. It has hydraulic disc brakes for confident stopping and carbon fibre forks, which helps take the sting out of potholes, and wide-range SRAM Apex gearing with just a single chainring to keep things simple.

Find a Halfords branch

Cannondale Quick Carbon 1 2018 — £1,599

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The late, sadly missed bike reviewer Steve Worland described this luxury hybrid as: "Quick like a road bike, comfy like a mountain bike, with disc brake confidence; a thoroughbred mongrel of an all-rounder". A hybrid with a carbon fibre frame will seem over the top until the first time you have to carry it up several flights of stairs, at which point it suddenly makes perfect, shoulder-friendly sense.

It makes sense on the road too. Its instantly most obvious and endearing characteristic is its casual speed, while the handling far more sprightly than most hybrid type bikes.

The latest version of the Quick 1 has wide-range Shimano 105 gears and hydraulic disc brakes, and fast-rolling 28mm Schwalbe tyres. There are fittings for racks and mudguards too, it can be practical as well as quick.

Find a Cannondale dealer

Read our review of the very similar 2014 Cannondale Quick Carbon 2