Road Bikes Reviews

Best Road Bikes Reviews: (out of 7)
Men’s Journal, Bicycling Magazine, Consumer Guide.com

Best Road Bikes: (out of 50)
Giant Sport OCR 2, Schwinn Fastback Sport 24, Marin San Rafael

Fast Answers - Best Road Bikes

Top Rated	What the Research Says
• Giant Sport OCR 2 (*est. $850) >> Where to buy	Budget road bike. Reviews say the Giant Sport OCR 2 strikes a terrific balance between performance and reliability. The Giant has a pretty basic aluminum frame, coupled with a higher-end carbon-fiber fork, which helps dampen vibration and soften the ride compared to all-aluminum bikes like the Schwinn Fastback. Reliable, middle-range Shimano Tiagra derailleurs and shifters complete the package. The Giant is a good choice if you want a little of everything -- something that works for commuting, weekend touring and the occasional race.
• Schwinn Fastback Sport 24 (*est. $600) >> Where to buy	Starter road bike. Reviews say the Schwinn is a good choice for novices. It has an all-aluminum frame with carbon-fiber blades. You get mainly Shimano components, but they're from Shimano's lower-end line of derailleurs and shifters. In particular, reviewers prefer the Shimano Tiagra shifters on the Giant over the Shimano Sora shifters included here. We read a few comments that shifting could be smoother, and most say you'll want a better seat, but review agree that the Schwinn outperforms its low price, especially for first-time buyers. (compare prices)
• Marin San Rafael (*est. $475) >> Where to buy	Commuter bicycle. The Marin San Rafael isn't a true road bike. It's actually a hybrid bike, borrowing the more upright seating position and suspension fork from mountain bikes, coupled with road-bike tires. As a result, the Marin isn't built for speed -- it's all about comfort. Instead of the dropped handlebars you'll find on road bicycles, the Marin has flat bars like you'd find on a mountain bike. While the Marin bike couldn't be expected to be fast on a course, reviews say it's a great budget choice for commuting to work or taking weekend leisure trips.
• Specialized Roubaix Comp (*est. $2,200) >> Where to buy	Lightweight touring bike. When you graduate to this price level, you get all-carbon frames rather than steel or aluminum. Carbon frames are lighter and more supple than aluminum or steel, which makes a huge difference on long rides. The Specialized bike further dampens vibration with its Zertz inserts -- small rubber shock absorbers in the fork and seat post. Components include a mix of higher-end Shimano and 105 and Ultegra derailleurs, shifters, brakes and rims. If you're into weekend century rides, reviews say the Roubaix is smooth and responsive. It weighs about 18-pounds -- five to ten pounds lighter than steel or aluminum bikes.
• Kona King Zing (*est. $5,500) >> Where to buy	Luxury road bike. The Kona King Zing represents one of the latest developments in carbon framing. Kona (which is better known for mountain bikes) developed a new way to mold carbon tubing into frames, without using bracket junctions. The Italian-made Kona road bike weighs a hair over 16 pounds, with top-of-the-line Shimano Dura-Ace components, which are built for efficiency and speed. If you can afford the steep sticker price, this is one of the lightest road bikes currently available.
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What the experts say, our analysis, and more...

Updated April 2006

Thanks in no small part to the inspirational displays of skill by Lance Armstrong, a dizzying array of lightweight, skinny-tire, dropped-handlebar road bicycles exist on the market today. The most comprehensive coverage of them appears annually in Bicycling magazine's April print issue. The write-ups are then eventually compiled into their online database. Although bike aficionados suggest that bicycle magazine reviews are in direct proportion to ads by their manufacturers, we don't see evidence of this here -- rather, we found plenty of helpful info along with pros and cons of dozens of bikes. Outside magazine's annual buyer's guide is also a helpful review source, written by cycling experts.

Consumer Reports magazine does a reasonable job of differentiating between bikes, but we're only told that the magazine's "engineers" examined bikes. It is not revealed whether or not these testers have any specialized knowledge of road bikes. We found a more recent roundup of 2006 road bikes in Men's Journal, where veteran reviewer Ben Hewitt covers six new road bicycles.

Within our second tier of review sources, Consumer Guide.com appears knowledgeable about what to look for when considering a road bicycle, although the reviewers themselves remain anonymous. RoadBikeReview.com is a good source for owner-written reviews, although it’s wise to take into account that owner enthusiasm sometimes results an inflated view of the model discussed.

Bicycling magazine's online "Bike Finder" helps buyers choose a bike based on price, but with several hundred road bikes listed, results may be too broad until you have narrowed your choices. However, emphasis seems to have shifted to include previously ignored American brands such as Trek and Specialized. In addition, Bicycling magazine's Web site has expanded to include several dozen road bicycle reviews and summaries throughout their gear section.

Reviews say there are some good values out there as technology trickles down to lower-priced bikes. The high-end of the market consists of bicycles made from the most lightweight frame materials (nano-carbon, carbon fiber, titanium, and scandium), but reviews say less expensive aluminum-based road bikes have also improved. In addition, retailers such as REI offer their own brands that are highly regarded among budget road bicycles. Aside from the top-rated (*est. $750) in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers, other brands considered good buys are KHS, Marin and Raleigh, according to reviews. However, experts caution a potential buyer to stay away from what Bicycling magazine refers to as "department store cheapies" due to inferior material selection and compromised reliability.

In addition to avoiding cheap bicycles, it is important to mention that some more expensive road bikes receive demerits in reviews due to their overall weight in relation to cost. Examples of this include the 26-pound Kona Dr. Dew (*est. $1,000), which weighs a lot more than other bikes in its price range. Budget road bicycles these days sometimes include a couple of key components made of carbon fiber -- typically the front fork and/or seat post, which helps soften the harsher ride that results from a less costly steel or aluminum frame. The Fuji Newest (*est. $825) goes with an all-aluminum frame, while the Schwinn Fastback costs less and includes a carbon-fiber fork. ... Continued

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Consensus Report

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model	Details from Amazon.com
4	Giant OCR 1 (*est. $1,000)	-
3	Schwinn Fastback (*est. $750)	details
3	Bianchi Veloce (*est. $1,600)	-
3	Bianchi Eros (*est. $1,100)	-
3	Trek 5200 WSD (*est. $2,500)	-
3	LeMond Tourmalet (*est. $1,100)	-
3	KHS Flight 500 (*est. $1,000)	-
3	Fuji Newest (*est. $825)	-
2	Specialized Roubaix Comp (*est. $2,200)	-
2	Kona King Zing (*est. $6,000)	-
2	Fuji Ace (discontinued)	-
2	Jamis Satellite (*est. $700)	-
1 each	Giant OCR Elite, Giant OCR 2, Giant OCR Touring, Cannondale R2000, Marin San Rafael

The most often recommended bikes in reviews are in the $1,000 price range. Reviews say this is the 'sweet spot' for most cyclists. Enthusiasts and racers will want to browse higher, while first-time or budget buyers can find good options starting at about $700.

If you want a city bike or commuter bike instead of a true road bike, the Marin San Rafael has a more upright riding position, flat handlebars and suspension. Hyrid bikes like the Marin are less expensive than even entry-level road bicycles.

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