10 of the Best Road Bikes for 2019

New year and the chance to begin thinking about a possible new bike to add to the N+1 currently scattered around your home.  With a clutch of gorgeous new road bikes being launched in 2019 it gives us the perfect excuse to give you a round up of the best road bikes to consider in 2019.  We have included our favourites with road bicycles to suit all budgets and hopefully something to tempt you from the sofa and out into the saddle this year.  Check out our Top 10 road bikes for 2019.

Trek Madone SLR 9 Disc

£9995 – from Sigma Sports 

Starting with the big guns and a road bicycle that is the best part of £10k and likely more than many of our cars is a beauty.  It is a truly aero road bike with a real time trial look about it.  We challenge you not to drool over the perfect paintwork.  The groupset as you would expect on a bike commanding this price tag is full Shimano Dura Ace.  For all you obsessed with tech this bike has included a flex into the seatmast and set tube to permit increased comfort from the large aero frame.  You can adjust this level of flex while riding using the IsoSpeed settings although you will have to pause and get out an allen key.  Possibly a bit gimmicky but we are excited about this tech reaching more affordable bikes in the future.  At under 8kg for a 56cm frame this bike is light.  Fast.  And stops incredibly well given the hydraulic disc brakes.  Put it on the lottery winning wish list.

Trek Madone SLR 9 Disc

Canyon Aeroad CF SL 7.0

£2449 to £4249 – www.canyon.com

At a quarter of the price of the table topping Trek Madone this is still no cheap machine which we recognise will need some negotiating for a budget of £2.5k.  We’ve picked the SL model here rather than the top of the range SLX to give some breadth in costs to our round up of road bikes for 2019.  Being a canyon you can customise the build to suit your needs and budget.  Our inclusion in this list assumes we pick out the lower spec bike. The Aeroad CF SL 7.0 comes with a Shimano 105 groupset and full carbon Reynolds AR 58 C wheels.  Admittedly this is hugely lower spec to the Trek but this is a fast bike and the 105 groupset permits upgrades as you can afford them should you wish to step up through the Dura Ace set up.  Weight is very comparable with the Trek so difference are marginal.

Canyon Aeroad CF SL 7.0

Cube Attain Race Disc 2019

£949 – www.tredz.co.uk

Creeping under the £1000 puts this Cube road bike squarely in focus for those buying a bike using the bike to work scheme which currently has a £1000 ceiling limit.  The Cube is a good looking beast in bumble bee black and yellow.  The first aluminium framed bike in our line up but this is no heavyweight over the carbon peers in this list.  A Shimano Tiagra groupset is no real surprise at this price point.  You are getting disc brakes for this price point and plenty of more expensive bike legacy from the Cube stable.

Cube Attain Race Disc 2019

Cannondale Synapse Disc Tiagra 2019

£999 – from Sigma Sports

We love a Cannondale at Trivelo bikes so always have a soft spot for anything new from their design team.  Its a decent looking bike but in fairness slightly old school in design.  The Synapse is a real Sportive specialist with some concession for comfort over speed permitting a more upright riding position through a well established frame geometry.  This bike won’t let you down and will much up with miles without any trauma. Shimano Tiagra groupset again so this goes head to head with the Cube that has a slightly more aggressive set-up.  We’d like to see Cannondale shake it up a bit on the styling but if you are planning Ride London this year and want a reliable steed you could do a lot worse than the Cannondale Synapse Tiagra 2019.

Cannondale Synapse Disc Tiagra 2019

Specialized Allez 2019

£1050 -from Sigma Sports 

The Specialized Allez is the cheapest bike in our line up but another prime contender for your bike to work scheme money.  This is the classic first real road bike so impossible for us to leave it out of any list of road bikes to consider in 2019.  A tried and tested formula from Specialized and a bike you will see in every Sportive and Triathlon rack across the land as they find many homes throughout the season.  Another aluminium framed carbon fork set up coupled with the basic Shimano Claris groupset.  For many this is the bike that whets the appetite for cycling and prompts either a series of upgrades on the bike or a complete upgrade to a more pricier future bike.  If you buy one and haven’t owned a “real” bike before you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Specialized Allez 2019

Cannondale SystemSix Carbon Ultegra 2019

£3499 – from Sigma Sports

Back up the foodchain with a beauty from Cannondale and their gorgeous aero inspired SystemSix.  There are numerous variations on this bike but we have picked the Ultegra flavoured version for this line up giving you something to salivate over should you have £3.5k burning a whole in your pocket.  A lightweight fast bike from a real pedigree brand.  The only weak part of the set up is the set of Fulcrum rims so you are likely to want to consider an upgrade in the near future as the wheels don’t really marry with this bikes aspirations and capability.

Cannondale SystemSix Carbon Ultegra 2019

BMC Timemachine SLR02 Disc Three 2019

£2800 – www.evanscycles.com

The BMC is a Tour De France wannabe and wouldn’t look out of place in the peloton likely better than many machine used in years gone by.  At the £2800 price point this bike has lots of competition for your money.  It is well worth a look for a quality reliable machine that you probably don’t have to go too far to take a look as most Evans Cycles on your high street will have one of these beauties on display.  Only running Shimano 105 on a bike that nearly tips £3k is a bit light but you are paying for the investment BMC have put in the frame.

BMC Time Machine SLR02 Disc Three

Boardman SLR 8.9c Tiagra 2019

£1000 – available from www.cyclerepublic.com

Our final bike to work scheme candidate is the Boardman SLR 8.9c road bike and we will be honest this one would be on everyone’s shopping list around the Trivelo Offices.

The Boardman SLR 8.9 c comes complete with a gorgeous carbon frame.  The “c” in the name is the giveaway for this.  This is amazing for under £1000 and some achievement by Boardman bikes. The frame has a quality matt grey and black colour scheme that is unlikely to offend many people.  The frame design is arguably an aero style with much of it being inherited from the more expensive Boardman SLR 9.8.  Forks are also carbon fibre as you could expect providing further weight saving.

The aero design goes as far as including an integrated seat clamp.  Popular in a number of bikes but the only concern we have with the Boardman SLR 8.9C.  There are a number of owners of the bike who have experienced problems with the seat dropping from this.  The Boardman tubeless wheels are a great starter set but an obvious candidate for future upgrades.

The Boardman SLR 8.9 carbon road bike uses the full Shimano Tiagra groupset which is comparable against the other sub £1000 bikes in our line up.  Offering 20 gears with a double on the front and 10 rings on the cassette.  It has plenty of range for most Sportive riders and those using in triathlons.

Our verdict on the Boardman SLR 8.9C Tiagra 2019 Road Bike.  If you can overlook the badge snobbery on a brand borne out from an association with Halfords this could be a real winner.   Take one for a test spin and see what you think if in the market for a new bike this season.

Boardman SLR 8.9c Tiagra 2019

Giant TCR Advanced 1 2019

£1619.10 – www.stows.co.uk

Giant represent a pretty bomb proof option for any prospective buyer of a new road bike.  A huge history of building bikes and legacy of desirable machines.  The Giant TCR advanced 1 delivers a lightweight and fast machine albeit without some of the style or charisma of some of the other brands competing at this price point.  You do get a lot for the money here.  A quality carbon fibre frame and amazingly the Shimano Ultegra groupset that is impressive for this price point.  You won’t go far wrong with this set up.  Even the PR2 wheels that come as standard are a reasonable set of rims.

Giant TCR Advanced 1 2019

Bianchi Sempre Pro 105 2019

£1800 – from Sigma Sports 

Any round up of the latest road bikes available for 2019 would be lacking without some of the passion that Bianchi bikes brings to the party.  The Bianchi Sempre Pro 105 is very much a comparable bike to the Giant. Main noticeable difference of the Bianchi using the Shimano 105 group set. The Bianchi maintains the classic look they have maintained over many decades which makes them easy to pick out in a line up at any sportive. So it represents a solid and quality machine from an established manufacturer.

Bianchi Sempre Pro 105 2019

Full List of 10 of the Best Road bikes for 2019

1. Trek Madone SLR 9 Disc
2. Canyon Aeroad CF SL 7.0
3. Cube Attain Race Disc 2019
4. Cannondale Synapse Disc Tiagra 2019
5. Specialized Allez 2019
6. Cannondale SystemSix CarbonUltegra 2019
7. BMC TimeMachine SLR02 Disc Three 2019
8. Boardman SLR 8.9c Tiagra 2019
9. Giant TCR Advanced 1 2019
10. Bianchi Sempre Pro 105 2019

If some of our Top 10 breaks your budget check our list of 19 of the best road bikes to buy for under £1000.