Previously we’ve looked at the best bikes costing under £500, now it is time to have a close look at the bikes you can buy for between £500 and £750, and see what spending a couple of hundred pounds more really gets you. You can generally expect lighter frames, carbon fibre forks and higher quality components.
At this price range you an expect lighter aluminium frames with double and triple butted tubes - saving weight and offering improved ride performance - and carbon fibre forks (but with aluminium steerer tubes) again to save a bit of weight. Many of these frames feature a geometry that places the handlebars a little higher than a race bike along with a shorter top tube which can make them more comfortable, especially if you’re new to road cycling.
Shimano is the predominant groupset brand with Claris and Sora common on bikes costing between £500 and £750. Most bikes will feature compact chainsets - that's two chainrings in 50 and 34-tooth ratios - that should make spinning up even the steepest hills a little easier. Some bikes even have triple chainsets - three chainrings between the pedals - that will make climbing anything much easier. Shimano's excellent Tiagra groupset starts to get a look in the closer you nudge to £750 and you might just find .
Expect own-brand wheels, tyres, handlebars, stem and saddles on most of these bikes as manufacturers aim to keep the bikes within budget. Most own-brand components are of an excellent quality these days as most brands have really raised the standard over the past 10 years. That means you’re getting really well finished bikes ready to ride and race from the shop.
If this is your first road bike and you want some more useful advice for buying your first road bike, then make sure you have a read of the road.cc Buying Basics: Buying your first road bike guide. It’ll arm you with all the important advice you need to know before making a decision.
At the time of writing (early October 2015) 2016 bikes are arriving in the shops, but there are plenty of great deals around on 2015 bikes, so our selection contains both.
Mango Bikes Point R — £749.98
The Point R is a brand new road bike from British brand Mango Bikes, and it offers a smooth looking aluminium frame with internal cable routing and a carbon fork. It's available at four prices, starting from £449.99 and rising to £749.98.
The Point R has a splendid looking frame. It's made from 6061 aluminium with a shapely down tube and top tube which both combine to give the bike a sporty appearance, with the down tube flaring into a tapered head tube. The majority of the welds are smooth, giving the appearance of a more expensive carbon frame when viewed from a distance.
It's a fun bike to ride. The colourful paint job certainly helps (other colours are available) but there's just something inherently playful about the Point R. It's not a racing bike, it's not pretending to be, but it doesn't lack in performance if you're really starting to get into cycling in a big way and want a bike that can match your ambition.
Read our review of the Mango Bikes Point R
Mekk Pinerolo SE 0.2 — £650
Mekk’s British-designed road bike range includes with this Sora-equipped Pinerolo SE 0.2. It's available in six sizes, with a triple-butted aluminium frame and carbon/alloy fork. The components are mostly Shimano Sora 18-speed, and it’s finished off with Shimano R500 wheels and Schwalbe Lugano tyres.
Liv Avail 4 — £525.00
The Giant women's range, known as Liv gets going with the Avail 4. It uses Giant’s ALUXX aluminium with a shape and size designed to be comfortable to ride whether it’s for longer adventures, sportives or commuting to the office. It’s available in four sizes down to XS. It’s equipped with a Shimano Claris 16-speed groupset with FSA Tempo compact chainset and Tektro brakes.
Cube Peloton Pro — £524.99
Another 2015 bike at a bargain price, the Peloton Pro packs a smart looking frame with some good quality parts, and was decent value at £699. The frame is 6061 double-butted aluminium with a carbon fibre CSL Race fork and an oversized tapered head tube which increases the size of the fork steerer and makes for a stiffer front-end. The geometry features a taller head tube to raise the height of the handlebars, making for a more comfortable ride. It’s equipped with a Shimano Sora triple groupset and Shimano R501 wheels and 25mm Continental Ultra Sport 2 tyres.
Specialized Allez Sport — £600
Originally £750, this 2015 model is a terrific bargain at this price, and the most popular frame sizes are still available. Drawing on frame design features from the more expensive Allez models in the range, the Allez Sport is built around an E5 Premium aluminium frame with smooth welds and carbon fibre fork with a Shimano Sora groupset. Comfort is taken care of with 25mm Specialized Espoir Sport tyres with a double BlackBelt puncture protection, which should help ward off flat tyres. There are mounts for mudguards so it would make an ideal weekday commuter, and strip them off for the Sunday morning ride.
Ribble 7005 Audax — £643.94
Ribble always gets a good mention in any buyer's guide about affordable road bikes, so here's the 7005 Audax. The Ribble website features a bike builder that lets you specify your own build, from the groupset and wheels down to details like the handlebar and even the headset spacers, but Ribble also offers special edition bikes with fixed specs at great prices. This is one of them, a keenly priced bike for winter training and Audax riding.
The 7005 aluminium race frame comes with a carbon fiber fork and is hung with a Shimano 105 5800 11-speed groupset, which is almost unheard-of at this price. The wheels are Rodi Airline Evo Clinchers with Yaw Nitro tyres, there's an ITM bar and stem and Selle Italia X1 Flow saddle.
Giant Defy 3 — £649
Giant do a large range of bikes for men and women. The Avail 4 we mentioned already is is the most affordable model for women, and in the men’s range the Defy 3 is the second most affordable model. It has an aluminium frame with a carbon fibre fork, a Shimano Sora 18-speed drivetrain and comfortable 25mm tyres. There are also mounts for mudguards if you want to add some rain protection for winter riding.
Cannondale Synapse Al Sora — £699
The Synapse was completely redesigned a couple of years ago to make it an even more comfortable bike, and the carbon version has been raced successfully in races like Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders. Racing aside, all that engineering is condensed into this aluminium model with SAVE Plus tube profiles and carbon fork legs to increase comfort, along with the skinniest seatpost - 25.4mm - of any bike here. It's intended to increase comfort. The frame is topped off with a Shimano Sora groupset (an upgrade from last year's Claris at the same price) and 25mm Schwalbe Lugano tyres.
Cannondale also offer the Synapse for women. The Cannondale Synapse Al Sora Womens also costs £699 and uses a similar aluminium frame and carbon fork with many of the same design features intended to improve comfort, and with a geometry aimed at people who value comfort for longer rides. It has a Shimano Claris groupset with 25mm Schwalbe Lugano tyres.
Boardman CX Team — £749.99
If you've been thinking about dabbling in cyclo-cross, or just getting a cyclo-cross bike for its ability to take fatter tyres and so ward off the depredations of potholed roads, here's a great chance. Chris Boardman says the cyclo-cross bikes are his favourites from his range and with £150 off the already well-priced CX Team is a bargain.
B’Twin Alur 700 — £750
Decathlon’s B’Twin line of road bikes receive much attention at the budget end, with the Triban a hugely popular model, but if you have a budget of £750, the Alur 700 is a very good proposition. With an aluminium frame and carbon fibre fork and largely Shimano 105 specification, it’s a bit of a bargain. The frame features triple butted tubes, to save weight, and a relaxed geometry that places the handlebars a bit higher and closer to you so it’s more comfortable, idea for riding to work or embarking on some sportives. It looks a really good bike, probably the best specced in this guide, for not a lot of money.