31.03.2023 | Reading time - 21 min(s)

Best Road Bike Style: Aero, Endurance or Race?

Written by Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative

Posted in: Customer Services, Road Cycling

Road bikes have come in all sorts of shapes and sizes over the past 100-plus years so finding the best road bike for you might seem overwhelming. Gone are the days where only the most flexible and resilient individuals can ride them and now you can choose whether to prioritise speed, comfort, handling or the perfect blend of each.

There are two broad categories of road bicycles - 'Race' and 'Endurance' but within the 'Race' category are climbers race road bikes and the aero race bike. Here, we take a look at three categories of road bike - Climbers race bike, Endurance bike and Aero bike and the benefits and trade-offs of each style to potentially help you choose the best new bike for you.

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Endurance Bikes
Endurance Bikes Strengths
Endurance Bike Trade-offs
Top Endurance Road Bikes
Aero Road Bikes
Aero Bikes Strengths
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Top Aero Road Bikes
Climbers Race Road Bikes
Climbers Road Bikes Strengths
Climbers Road Bikes Trade-offs
Top Climbers Road Bikes
What is the Best Road Bike for Me?
Gravel & Cyclocross

See all Women's and Men's road bikes

Giant Propel Aero Road Bike - one of the best aero road bikes

ENDURANCE BIKES (AKA SPORTIVE BIKE)

Lightweight frame, skinny tyres, drop handlebars… To the untutored eye, the endurance road bike looks just like a classic road bike. Named 'endurance road' due to its ability to do longer distances in relative comfort.

Most endurance bikes are aimed at giving the majority of riders a more comfortable ride from a more upright sitting position and a frame that is designed to smooth out rough tarmac surfaces - also ideal for long rides. The majority of endurance road bikes are now coming with hydraulic disc brakes.

Modern road bikes will usually take some of the technology from the other styles and it is not uncommon to see endurance road bikes with more aero tube shapes for some added aero efficiency.

Strengths

A higher front and shorter reach make for a more accessible bike to most.
A more comfortable ride due to a more upright riding position.
Longer distances possible due to less stress on the body
Wider tyres fitted to reduce fatigue through 'road buzz' increasing the ride quality.
Lower gearing for easier uphills
More straight line stability
Mudguard compatibilty on some models

Trade-offs

For people concerned with being as fast as possible, efficiency is sacrificed in terms of a less aero body position
A more stable bike will come at the expense of super-responsive downhill handling
Endurance road bikes will sometimes weigh more

It’s little wonder that endurance road bikes appeal to more people and have been our best selling road bike type for over 10 years.

Our top Endurance Road Bikes

Merida Scultura Endurance 4000 2023 Road Bike

If you are looking for a super comfortable road bike that can easily deal with rougher road surfaces and make long road outings less strenuous, then look no further. A higher front end for a more upright siting position, wider tyres and excellent carbon frame and forks, lead to a bike that is built for comfort and long distances.

All Merida Road Bikes

Liv Avail Advanced 2 2022 Women's Road Bike

Designed specifically for women is the Liv Avail Advanced range. A super-comfortable carbon frame, shorter reach and higher front end give an upright and comfortable sitting position while maintaining efficiency for all day rides and days out with the group.

All Liv Road Bikes

Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 2022

The best of all worlds. Lightweight, comfortable and efficient. Carbon frame, forks and wheelset significantly dulls road vibration and gives you effortless speed in a more upright position so you can be comfortable and fast.

All Giant Road Bikes

AERO BIKES

When you get into road bikes, speed becomes addictive. So can competitiveness. You want to keep up with your riding partners, or outpace them. You ponder the question, how can I get faster? The answer might be that an aero bike is the best road bike for you. Why? Because nothing slows you down on the bike more than wind resistance – especially when you exceed 15 miles an hour.

Hence the aero road bike, optimised to minimise air turbulence (with many hours of wind tunnel research). The best and latest aero bikes are becoming lighter and lighter and the handling being improved with many aero bikes copying technology from their race road bike equivalent.

Liv Enviliv Advanced 2 Womens Road Bike

STrengths

A full on aero bike will have exceptional straight line speed
Aero tube profiles and deep section wheels reduce drag and add speed
If you opt for deep section carbon wheels, they reduce weight and drag even further.
Stiff frame for maximum energy transfer
Similar to the climbers road race bike, the position is lower for less wind resistance and more efficiency.

Trade-offs

A more agressive riding position will not suit everyone
A stiffer frame due to the frame shape (usually teardrop) will allow more road buzz and potentially more fatigue
You'll be going very fast and it won't feel that fast until you check your PB's at the end of the ride (that's how good these bikes hold speed in straight lines)
As with endurance, downhill handling is lessened with more straight line speed
a heavier frame due to the frame shapes and wheel depths

Check Out our new Giant and Liv specific store in Stockbridge, Edinburgh

A caveat should be added for all of the above - that road bike technology is moving forward so fast that they, remarkably, are blurring the lines between all of the different styles so each year we are, for example, seeing more all rounder race bikes, faster endurance bikes and lighter aero bikes that handle corners better and better.

Our Top Aero Road Bikes

Giant Propel Advanced 2 2023 Road Bike

Completely redisigned for 2023 to be lighter and offer more responsive handling, the Giant Propel remains one of the best aero road bikes on the market. A superb quality carbon frame and forks designed to give aero gains while offering comfort for longer days in the saddle. For unparralled straight line speed without the trade-offs of old (i.e, weight and handling)

Liv Enviliv Advanced 1 2023 Women's Road Bike

Liv Enviliv takes the same technology as the Giant Propel aero road bike and puts this in a women specific geometry with a higher front end and a shorter reach. For those that want to be as fast as possible with now even less trade off in terms of weight and handling thanks to Giant's redesign of the frame and forks.

See all Womens Road Bikes

Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1 2023 Road Bike

Taking the newly redesigned Giant Propel 2023 frame and adding carbon wheels for the ultimate in road cycling speed. Super-fast with improved handling and weight so you can have all the speed with much less trade-off.

CLimbers RACE ROAD BIKE

Characterised by a light weight frame and a lower and longer geometry, this is the style of race bikes you'll see most pros riding mountain stages of the Tour de France on. It's also the first choice of most keen cycle club members.

Road bikes designed to fly uphill due to the lighter weight and added efficiency and to drop like a stone on the other side with light and sensitive handling and excellent brake modulation (especially with hydraulic disc brakes but you can still find some rim brakes if you prefer).

As with all the other types of road bikes, climbers road bikes have come a long way by borrowing technology from the endurance style road bikes and are able to offer incredible ride quality (in terms of road feel) through excellent frame materials and frame design. You are also likely to see some of the tech from aero road bikes in the tube shaping for some added aero gains.

Giant TCR Climbers race road bike

Strengths

A more aerodynamic position for increased efficiency.
An extremely lightweight bike and even more so with carbon frame and carbon fork.
Quick, responsive handling
Stiffer frame for more energy transfer (increased efficiency)

Trade-offs

A position that requires more flexibility and core strength (due to body position)
Even for the most flexible, this can be a tough position to maintain for long distances
The quick and responsive handling means this is not as stable in straight lines as an endurance or aero road bike

The Giant TCR is the perfect example of a climbers race bike - long and low, quick responsive handling for the downhills and very lightweight. See all Giant Road Bikes UK here

Best Road Cycling Race Bikes

Giant TCR Advanced 1 Disc 2023 Road Bike

The Giant TCR is an exceptional road race bicycle or "climbers race bike" named for the fact that they are super-light and efficient for climbing and have incredible, responsive handling for when you come down the other side of the mountain. TCR has long been a leader in the climbers road bike category.

Liv Langma Advanced Pro 1 Disc 2022 Women's Road Bike

All of the technology of the Giant TCR but in a women's frame with a shorter reach and a higher front end. Race up hills and down the other side with ease. Giant/Liv bikes offer amazing value for money making them one of the best road racing bikes.

Specialized S-Works Aethos DI2 2022 Road Bike

We will include this one for a bit of geeking out to. At £13,000, the Specialized S-Works Aethos is the lightest production road bike frame with all the efficiency you would expect at this price point. High end carbon Roval wheels and top-of-the-line Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting make this the ultimate package. (I have this on my 'maybe-pile'... if i win the lottery - Editor)

WHICH IS THE BEST ROAD BIKE FOR ME?

As with any type of bike, this depends on where you ride it. The example of pro cyclists who have the luxury of switching bikes is illuminating.

On a stage race such as the Tour de France, most of the peloton will be on aero road bikes on the long flat stages.

Once the gradient gets steeper than 5% for a club rider or 8% for a pro, gravity slows you down more than wind drag so light weight and a more comfortable climbing position become more important than aerodynamics. Most riders therefore switch to the lighter weight classic road bike on hilly and mountain stages.

On less smooth roads, the riders will likely switch to endurance road bikes whose more stable, cushioned ride enables them to ride faster over cobbled secteurs. Hence Specialized's smoother is faster strapline for their multi Paris-Roubaix-winning endurance bikes, the Roubaix.

The other governing factor when choosing a bike is how you prefer to sit on it. If you can't comfortably ride with your back lower than a 45˚ angle, you're not going to get on too well with an aero road bike whose bars are sometimes 10cm lower than the saddle.

To help you chose what suits you best, we can offer you short test rides before you decide.

As always, please get in touch and we can help you find your ideal road bike.

Gravel bikes & Cyclocross bike

It is worth mentioning very quickly that these similar principles apply to gravel riding and cyclocross bikes but between only two categories - the race and endurance bike. While some gravel or cyclocross bikes will have aero credentials, they are not classed as "aero bikes". The prime example here would be between the Specialized Crux, designed as a full on race bike in a more aggressive position compared cyclocross bikes by Giant which is designed for more off-road cross country or longer distances (as well as commuting and bike packing).

READ: FIVE REASONS TO BUY YOUR ROAD BIKE FROM US

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Best Road Bike Style: Aero, Endurance or Race?

ENDURANCE BIKES (AKA SPORTIVE BIKE)

Strengths

Trade-offs

Our top Endurance Road Bikes

AERO BIKES

STrengths

Trade-offs

Our Top Aero Road Bikes

CLimbers RACE ROAD BIKE

Strengths

Trade-offs

Best Road Cycling Race Bikes

WHICH IS THE BEST ROAD BIKE FOR ME?

Gravel bikes & Cyclocross bike