£1,000 ROAD BIKE HEAD TO HEAD

Four entry-level builds, contesting the most competitive price point, get put through their paces by Michelle Arthurs-Brennan and Simon Smythe

- Michelle Arthurs-Brennan and Simon Smythe

The £1,000 road bike competition is the heavyweight championships of bicycle manufacturing. This is the price point that not only sees the most sales, but also represents an opportunity to hook a lifelong customer. When price hikes need to happen, most brands will apply them at the upper end of the ladder just to keep this number round. Arguably, therefore, this monetary milestone represents the best value for money with margins often kept tight in a bid to beat the competition.

What exactly you get for your money at £1,000 varies rather dramatically. Our test includes four options, one with a carbon frame, three opting for aluminium. Groupsets range from Shimano Claris, to Tiagra, right up to 105, and whilst three bikes use cable-actuated disc brakes, one forgoes these for the more traditional rim. All of these factors affect the weight - with these ranging from 8.75 kilograms to 10.85kg.

Like nearly everything that’s happened in 2020 and 2021, our test was influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, or more accurately, the chasm it has created between supply and demand.

There were other bikes we would have liked to include, but not only was there no stock for us to test, but there’s none for you to buy. Helpfully, equilibrium is returning in some brand houses, and one of our models is brand new to the market – meaning there should be bikes aplenty – until those desperate to buy get wind of their availability.

How to conduct our tests

To ensure these tests are as fair as possible, we’ve made sure to put some controls in place.

Firstly, we test all of the bikes with the tyres specced as standard, since that’s the rubber most consumers will use for the first year or so, as well as a control tyre.