The Best CHEAP Road Bike In 2024

What's your bike of choice for under £1k or $1200? 👇

1K for cable discs and 8 speed, all using mature technology...The price gouge is real.

You guys definitely missed the Decathlon range.

I have an Emonda SL and I'd definitely buy a Domane AL 4 as my backup/wet weather bike. 10 speed, fender mounts, and hydraulic disc brakes. IMO it's the best value of the AL Domanes.

I'm here after my reintroduction to bikes since my childhood (43 now),since I got my 1st proper mtb last week (a 2023 Specialized Rockhopper Comp). I have so much fun, that'm already searching to also get a road bike!!

He was a good dog, indeed 😊

That Domane really doesn't seem that much worse than my €7500 Domane SLR 6 😭

I have the trek, the same color he has. Mine now weighs 17.5 pounds. I put scram rival axs and some cheap carbon upgrades. I could make it lighter, but it's just a spare bike. As someone who owns an SL8 and a Pinarello F5 both weighing 6.8kg. The difference is really just in the acceleration. I feel the weight, but once it gets going it's good. Also of course the bike isn't really aero. F5 wins hands down. But if your cheap or just don't want to pay silly money the trek Domane AL is the way to go. It's a great project bike that could easily weigh 16 lbs. I had spare parts so I only spent probably 100 dollars on upgrades

headset routing "slightly trickier" ? sounds like an euphemism when you check the invoice differences when servicing

Even though I'm riding a Tarmac sl6 these days, I would jump on an Allez with no issue. I don't have one anymore but I've ridden one in the store parking lot just to try it... And yeah like you said it's more of an endurance geometry, but you could definitely jump in a crit with that thing especially if you get the uprated sport version 🙂.

Look at the Rose Blend (if youre in Europe)! 1200€, Shimano Tiagra, hydraulic discs, sub 10 kilos, internal cable routing, 40mm tire clearance, relaxed geometry and really neat frame welding. Hard to beat!

I wonder how the introduction of cues into road bikes will change the market. Like why would trek make a AL2 (claris) and an AL3 (Sora) and AL4 (Tiagra) when cues provides more interchangeably I had an AL2 and quickly got tired of the 8spd gearing. Tough to keep a cadence to get comfortable. Super relaxed geometry and super comfortable for long rides. Only other gripe would be the tire clearance, my gen 3 had 35mm clearance and now the gen 4s have 38mm. Should've made it 40mm to open up a slew of more tire choices.

Nice comparo! Just a random musing: what size frames were on test? The presenter looks like he towers over that Domane AL2. Id be curious to know the heights and frame size(s) chosen.

Van Rysel EDR AF105

Better off going second hand at this point

I'd want at least Sora for £1,000.....however, both would be a decent winter road bike.

Ola😊

For $600 more you can get a full carbon giant TCR advanced 2 with Shimano 105 weighing in at 8.5kg. I think that would be $600 well spent even if you have to take out a bit of debt to get it. The Pinnacle would be my choice of these three. Mainly because over time you could turn it into a 17lb bike with minimal effort / budget with a Used r8000 group, trp brake upgrade, and rim brake wheels can be had for $500 in the 1500 gram range. But people who don’t ride much (or know much) are going to think rim brakes will explode. So they will likely go with one of the other two options. As someone who’s been riding over a decade and has more money in bikes than I do cars, I’d even consider going with the Pinnacle as a cheap bike to keep at my vacation home. It’s a sharp looking frame.

`one thing they do in MTB review comparisons is to setup all bike with control tires. maybe you should do the same so we would have a better comparison

The most expensive laterite is £300 atm