Bike shopping today: What are the best gear options for a road bike? When choosing a new road bike it’s important that you think about the gears it comes equipped with. Fortunately if you’ve already matched your potential bike to the kind of riding you plan on doing, there’s a good chance that the gear choice will also be well-suited. An out-and-out race bike may come with a more traditional gearing set-up, for example 53/39 tooth chainset paired with an 11-30 tooth cassette. However road bikes that fall into the endurance or sportive categories are likely to have a compact chainset, most likely a 50/34, and a cassette that will have 30, 32, 34 or even 36 teeth as the largest option. The lower gears will help you to both tackle steep hills with more ease and generally pedal with a higher cadence. However, this can mean larger gaps between gear ratios. There are other options out there too. SRAM, for example, now offers its eTap AXS groupsets with 48/35, 46/33 and 43/30t chainsets. Paired with its cassettes starting at 10 teeth, these give similar highest gear ratios to traditional gearing starting at 11 teeth, but greater low-end gear range for easier climbing and less need to shift between chainrings on undulating roads. Find even more details at bicycle repair.
Ride longer, farther, and with more confidence on this mid-range carbon do-it-all road bike. The carbon frame and wheels make the bike more aerodynamic when you’re riding serious mileage. It’s designed to fit wider, 35-millimeter tires, for more varied terrain, which is important for endurance rides that may venture off the beaten path, explains Judd Rench, multiple Ironman finisher/podium placer/World Championship qualifier. The bike is made out of carbon, which is extremely lightweight — but pricier than other materials. It features electronic shifting, which can be helpful on rides that involve climbing (especially combined with the featherlight weight of the bike). “The geometry of this type of bike allows the rider to be in an aerodynamic position for endurance rides but also, it’s not so aggressive that it could only be ridden for short distances at high speeds,” says Dr. Metzl. “Carbon is more costly to manufacture, hence the higher pricing compared to alloy.”
The Cervélo S5 garnered top spot in our Race Bike of the Year awards in 2023. We rated its straight line speed, but also its cornering ability and superb ride quality. It’s the handling that sets it apart from other fast aero bikes though: fast to respond to a change of line but not twitchy. We rated with Reserve wheels, with their internal width helping to add comfort to the tires and progression when cornering. It’s not the lightest bike, tipping the scales at over 8kg, but you don’t feel that when riding. If you want some validation of the bike’s qualities, how about 2022 Tour de France yellow and green jerseys and a slew of one day race wins?
The Domane+ SLR stands out as the best performance e-road bike we tested this year for two reasons: its 28 mile-per-hour max speed meant we could actually keep pace with our fittest friends on group rides, and the TQ HPR-50 mid-drive motor is a cut above the competition. The majority of e-road and e-gravel bikes in the United States are Class-1 machines that top out at 20 miles-per-hour. If you mostly ride solo, this may be plenty fast for your needs, but many of our testers noted that they wanted a bit more speed so they could keep up with the pack on group rides, which frequently average 25-30 miles-per-hour on flat stretches of road. “Maxing out at 20 feels like leaving a party right when it’s getting started—except I’m the one getting left behind,” said one tester.
Sharing features of Giant’s more expensive bikes, the Contend has a compact alloy frame with a sloping top tube. The D-Fuse seatpost and carbon fork are designed to add compliance at the rear and the front end respectively. Along with the endurance frame geometry this gives great comfort and handling, letting you ride for longer and inspiring confidence. There’s bags of low gearing, down to 1:1, to tackle uphills and Shimano 105 gives you quality shifting, although the rather heavy weight doesn’t make for sprightly performance. It’s a good value proposition for its price though. Read extra information at https://www.capitolcyclery.com/.
Perhaps more important to everyday riders is how the Propel feels when going fast—it’s a glorious bike to ride. It’s tangibly light and stiff—not just for an aero bike, but for a good road bike, period. The Propel is a wonderful partner on long climbing days and when you feel inspired to attack steep pitches. Sharp stabs at the pedals are rewarded with quick bursts of speed with no hint of delay or hesitation. The handling is equally precise and responsive. It feels somewhat buzzy and electric, but without being harsh or unwelcoming like many other aero road bikes. It’s a veritable eager puppy, always up for another go and brimming with more energy than you.