Racing bikes, or road bikes, are meant to go fast. They incorporate dropped handlebars, light construction, narrow tyres and gear ratios suited to long stretches of paved roads without significant climbs.
If you’d rather go off-road, consider a gravel bike. For uphill work, there are bikes more suited to climbing, which prioritise weight (or a lack of it) over comfort, but these lightweight machines can become extremely expensive, and can hardly be called entry-level.
That’s not to say an entry-level road bike will be cheap. The very best models can cost well over £10,000, so a more basic bike is still going to put a dent in your wallet, and you need to budget for things like extra tyres, cycling clothing, water bottles, phone holders and other accessories too.
What should you look for in an entry-level racing bike?
Things to look out for include the material used to make the frame - carbon fibre is light, but aluminium is cheaper, and various alloys are available that can strike a good balance. Disc brakes will (usually) stop you more quickly than rim brakes, but can add cost and weight, and while electronic gear shifting is nice, it might be out of reach for those who don’t want to drop the price of a small second-hand car on their bike.
For a road bike in this category, it’s a good idea to identify what’s important to you and purchase a machine that’s tailored to that need rather than attempting to buy an all-rounder that may not satisfy you. Buying an entry-level road bike doesn’t mean getting something that will need replacing after a few months of use (your inherent need to upgrade will probably take care of that) and some of them can last for a long time, clocking up many miles of happy use. Here are some of the best.
Best entry-level racing bikes at a glance:
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Triban RC120 Disc
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Best for: a fast, comfortable ride
There is a version of this bike with rim brakes, but the extra stopping power, lower maintenance requirements and better weather resistance of discs make them a tempting prospect. They look kind of cool too, though require bedding in for optimum performance.
For the price, you’ll struggle to find anything better, as with its carbon fork and aluminium frame the RC120 is light, stiff and versatile, and weighs just 11kg. The eight-speed groupset combines components from Shimano and Microshift, with an 11-34 cassette and 50-34 at the front crank. The tyres could be narrower, but offer plenty of comfort and are tubeless-ready, which is a nice touch at this price point.
Buy now £500.00, Decathlon
Trek Domane AL 2
Best for: versatility
The aluminium frame with a carbon fork combo makes another appearance on this bike from Trek, which also puts its chain through an eight-speed Shimano groupset. This is an endurance bike for all kinds of road conditions, with 28mm Bontrager tyres and rim brakes, and offers an extremely smooth ride in most conditions, with an 11-32 cassette and 50-34 on the front.
The wheels can be converted to tubeless, and there are mounts for mudguards and a rear rack if you’re hoping to use it for commuting in the wet, though you’ll have to drop down to 25mm tyres if you want to add the guards.
Buy now £750.00, Trek
Cannondale CAAD Optimo 2
Best for: pure performance
This entry-level racer from Cannondale offers a Shimano Tiagra drivetrain with the popular aluminium frame/carbon fork combo. It’s a ten-speed cassette at the back, with an 11-32 spread that offers more in the way of middle gears than the eight-speeders, with the front crank offering a hefty jump from 50 to 34.
The aluminium frame offers a firm ride, and at just under 11kg it’s a lightweight machine that pares off a bit of weight with rim brakes and aluminium handlebars. The Optimo 2’s appeal comes from the Cannondale name, stable handling and paved surface performance - you can get bikes with apparently better specs for less, but this machine would make an excellent entry point into the sport.
Buy now £999.00, Sigma Sports
Specialized Allez Sport
Best for: lightweight riding
At just 9.3kg in its stock configuration, the Allez Sport undercuts a lot of other bikes on this list. The Allez Sport is actually the central bike in a trio, with the Allez Sprint taking the top spot and the plain old Allez at the bottom. The Sport’s middle ground offers a good balance of performance and quality at a very reasonable price, however, and comes with disc brakes and clearance for 28mm tyres.
The weight makes it a good choice for climbing, but it will do just fine on the flat too, with a geometry that supports a range of riding positions and integrated rack and fender mounts in case you need to carry some bags.
Buy now £1600.00, Sigma Sports
Ribble R872 Tiagra
Best for: budget carbon
Aluminium is fine, but if you want the lightest, most comfortable road bike - and the greatest bragging rights - you’ll be looking for a carbon fibre frame. The R872 weighs in at 8.6kg in stock configuration, but you can use Ribble’s Bike Builder online tool to spec one up to your precise needs, perhaps adding disc brakes or upgrading the 2x10 speed chainset to Shimano’s 12-speed variant.
The frame offers enough tyre clearance for a 32mm to fit through if you decide to swap them over depending on the season, and with internal cable routing it’s a clean and sleek-looking machine ideally suited to smooth roads and gentle climbs, and offering excellent value.
Buy now £1199.00, Ribble
Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon
Best for: a frame with heritage
More carbon, this time with alloy bars, tubeless-ready wheels, and a 2x11-speed Shimano chainset. The SLR’s heritage reaches back to the firm’s medal-winning Team Carbon bike, and it’s an excellent entry-level option weighing 8.9kg. Cable routing is mostly internal, but they emerge from the top of the tubes to give a little slack as they head up to the bars, and the rim brakes use long-armed callipers to keep them effective in the era of discs.
Tyres are limited to 28mm clearance, and with a high bottom bracket offering slightly less stability than lower designs, the SLR is a fast and fun ride that’s perfect for long rides and will be able to take some upgrades as your needs change.
Buy now £1400.00, Tredz
Giant Contend 2
Best for: tall riders
An aluminium road bike that weighs just 9.5kg, this is a lot of bike for the money. It also comes in a particularly striking blue colour called Gloss Cobalt and is sure to attract some admiring glances as you speed along.
Giant has engineered this bike as a balanced all-rounder, and with an eight-speed chainset and hefty 50/34 crank onboard, you’ll have plenty of options for flats and climbs. The max tyre clearance of 28mm doesn’t leave much room for running softer or wider in poor weather, but there is a fender mount for fitting bags if you want to use it for commuting on the roads.
Riders over six feet tall will also appreciate the XL-size bike, which Giant claims can fit riders up to 199cm in height.
Buy now £720.00, Tredz
Mango OG 2x8
Best for: incredible value
Speccing this bike with drop handlebars adds £60 to the price, but as entry-level road bikes go even that puts it in a very low price category. The frame on this one is steel, with rim brakes and externally routed cables, and this puts it up in the 11kg weight bracket. This is still low compared to mountain bikes and hybrids, but it’s more metal for your legs to carry up hills.
Steel is naturally springier than aluminium or carbon fibre, and this leads to a livelier ride that’s ideally suited to riding for fun or to get to work on time - mudguard and rack mounts allow you to add carrying capacity so you don’t need to worry about a backpack, too.
Buy now £529.99, Mango
Verdict
When the time comes to head beyond the hybrid and get yourself a road bike for fast, long rides on the tarmac, it can be easy to lose heart once you see the incredible prices the top-end bikes go for. These entry-level bikes can all be found for £1,200 or less, sometimes markedly less, and offer a distinct step up in riding speed and control with their lightweight frames and thin tyres.
The Triban RC120 Disc is an excellent example of this, available at a low price but offering features you might expect of much more expensive machines.
