15 Best Road Bikes Under £1500 2022 Buyers Guide helping you find the best bike for your money. A hugely competitive sector of the market that we have scanned and worked with our team of over 100 test associates with Trivelo to bring you the best.
Below is a list of the best bikes from £1000 to £1500 for those looking to find a long time cycling solution. Our selection of 15 of the best road bikes for under £1500 helps you compare the best currently available and where to find stock. This post was originally published in 2020 but updated for 2022 based on new models and availability. Using our supplier network this buyers guide will help you Go Faster and Spend Smarter.
What to expect from a £1500 road bike
A £1500 road bike used to be a guarantee for carbon fibre and most likely a Shimano 105 Groupset. With shifts in supply and the prices of components following the pandemic that is no longer the case. In our list an aluminium frame is much more common as is a Shimano Tiagra groupset.
That doesn’t mean you won’t find quality and lightweight fast bikes here. Some of these are weighing less than 8kg and will be perfect for Sportive or Triathlon racing.
Full List of Best Road Bikes Under £1500 2022
- Ribble R872 Disc Road Bike – TRIVELO BEST BUY AWARD
- Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon Grey
- Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc
- Specialized Allez E5 Elite 2021
- Canyon UltimateCF SL 7.0
- Bianchi Via Nerone 7 105
- Cube Nuroad Road Bike
- Fuji Sportif 2.1 Disc Road Bike
- Vitus Zenium CR 105
- Orbea Avant H40-D Road Bike
- Liv Avail AR2
- Van Rysel EDR Ultegra
- Planet X Pro Carbon Disc SRAM Rival 22 HRD
- Trek Domane AL 4 Disc
- GT Grade Expert Road Bike
Pedals are a likely consideration for any bike upgrade. But are clipless pedals worth the upgrade? We compare clipless pedals and flat pedals with the science behind differences. If you have resisted using clipless pedals to date you should read this post to help you make the right decision for you.
Best £1500 Road Bike for 2022 - WINNER
Ribble R872 Disc Road Bike
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = 10 / 10 Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
220 Triathlon = 4 / 5 Cyclist = 4.5 / 5
Trivelo – Best Buy Award
Best price we can find this at currently is £1199 direct from Ribble. Ribble don’t use any other distributors with prices on a direct from supplier basis.
Online merchant Ribble have once more delivered a beautiful road bike. The R872 is the evolution of the classic Gran Fondo that has for many years been hugely popular. An carbon frame with good looks is great and impressive to see the carbon frames still not dropped at this price point by Ribble. Common to all Ribble bikes it has a build to your own spec approach this again is a great option in this price range. While we would love the money to stretch to the Ultegra groupset realistically building up an R872 with 105 is money well spent. By building your bike with Shimano 105 and you will have a lightweight, fast and good looking bike that offers real value for money. Big fans and our best buy in this bike category.
Our Best Road Bike Under 1500 for 2021.
Full Specification:
Boardman SLR 8.9 105
Review Scores Compared:
Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
Cyclist = 4.5 / 5
Latest range of bikes with full Shimano 105 Groupset at only £1100 from Halfords
Possibly still subject to some badge snobbery. The Boardman range continues to go from strength to strength and this is certainly a quality machine and offers good value for the money. Quite an aggressive design but paired with disc brakes as an option this is well worth a look. The bikes are easily tracked down at your local Halfords or Cycle Republic without having to look too hard. Basic models with Shimano Tiagra but also possible to get a well priced carbon framed bike and Shimano 105 Groupset. A lot of bike for the money. We have had some reports that the seat stem can cause some problems and subject to slipping. Worth checking out if considering buying one. Especially relevant if you are looking at the bigger framed bikes and a taller rider.
Full Specification:
Best £1500 road bike for beginners
Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc
Review Scores Compared:
Bike Radar = 4 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1400 from Leisure Lake Bikes
No carbon frame here as Cannondale continues to mature its aluminium frame design to reduce weight and improve stiffness. This well designed frame is finished with a full Shimano 105 groupset and carbon forks. With Mavic wheels as well you could ride this one straight out of the shop without any urgency to consider upgrades. This is the best road bike for beginners with a relaxed Sportive frame that should feel comfortable, reliable Shimano 105 Groupset that means no need to upgrade components and strong resale values if you get the bug and want to trade up.
Full Specification:
Specialized Allez E5 Elite
Review Scores Compared:
Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1249 at Leisure Lake Bikes. They have limited availability and selling out fast. We’ve been trying to get our supplier network to find more of these but they are hugely popular.
No list would be complete without a Specialized in it as they seem to have a model at almost every price point and bike type. The range of colours continues to evolve ditching the very conservative whites and reds of 5 years ago for more bold offerings. While no s-works this is a high quality machine and you can trust that it will be built to a quality finish and you are unlikely to be disappointed. We’re not big Specialized lovers at Trivelo with just too many of them on the roads but this is a nice bike, maybe lacking a little soul?
Specialized have been crippled by COVID in terms of supply so there are limited numbers of these bikes available for sale.
Full Specification:
Canyon Endurance 7
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = 8 / 10 Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
Cyclist = 4.5 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1199 from Canyon contact us for latest discount codes to get money off
German engineering is vomited all over the Canyon and have updated their line for 2021 with this new model. Getting this in a sale might be more of a challenge as they operate a direct online business model. In spite using an Aluminium frame this is no heavyweight. Weighing only 8.5kg this is a very light bike. It comes fully specced with Shimano 105 groupset and Fulcrum wheels. Looks and feels the business. We like.
Full Specification:
Bianchi Via Nerone 7 105 2022
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = 8 / 10 Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1599 from Tredz contact us for latest discount codes to get money off. 2022 model creeps above £1500 without any discounts!
If a badge is important to you on those chain gang rides and you want to be holding your head high in the car park you can’t argue with the Bianchi. The frame here is an endurance sportive geometry more upright than the Boardman listed above. Shimano 105 groupset coupled with a very effective frame suited as an endurance road bike. A few other corners cut to make the price point but a beautiful looking machine as you would expect from such a well respected name. We had to include it in our list!
Full Specification:
Cube Nuroad FE Road Bike 2022
Review Scores Compared:
Cyclist = 4 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1099 for from Wiggle. We have the latest deals with Wiggle as well as other brands so contact us for the latest codes.
With an aluminium frame and all round tyres you could argue this Cube bike is more of a gravel bike. We all need another excuse to get another bike after all and if we don’t have a gravel bike sounds a good reason to get one! Boasting Shimano’s latest GRX groupset you can be the envy of the Sunday morning ride with the first with kit. Disc brakes and a very robust build make this a potential all year round bike option.
Full Specification:
Fuji Sportif 2.1 Disc Road Bike 2022
Review Scores Compared:
Bike Radar = 4 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £899.99 from Wiggle – currently showing good stock levels in most sizes.
Fuji rocking a tried and tested formula with alloy frame and carbon forks although at the top end of our budget shame not to see carbon. Thankfully with Shimano 105 groupset on offer the Fuji recovers some ground in this highly competitive market. Finishing kit on the Fuji not bad and the bike is certainly no ugly duckling. Built for Sportive’s as an endurance bike with Disc brakes and 30c tyres this is a solid bet for any rider.
New for 2022 and just released.
Full Specification:
Vitus Zenium CR Road Bike
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly 4/5 Bike Radar = 4.5 / 5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1499 from Wiggle – currently showing good stock levels in most sizes.
Vitus have smashed out this latest 2021 model with a supremely lightweight road bike. Weighing only 8.96kg this isn’t the lightest road bike here but well placed for anyone who is watching the scales. Full carbon frame at this price was standard a few years ago but now is a rarity and Vitus achieve this with a near aero style frame. Dripping top to toe with Shimano no corners have been cut including full Shimano brake set.
Full Specification:
Orbea Avant H40-D Road Bike
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly n/a Bike Radar = n/a
Best price we can find this at currently is £1199 from Leisure Lake Bikes – we had to hunt hard to find availability anywhere for these
Available in speed silver or the more rare military green comes the Orbea Avant H40-D. Perfectly mid priced in our round up of the 15 best road bikes under £1500. Lovely looking but compared to others in our line up somewhat underspecced road bike. Aluminium frame coupled with Shimano Tiagra Groupset and Tektro brakes isn’t going to be lighting many fires. Expect to want to make some upgrades in the first year if you go for this one.
Full Specification:
Alternatively if a road bike is too fragile for your needs check our round up of 15 of the Best Gravel bikes on the market. Find out more about this exciting new genre of bikes as an alternative to a road bike.
Best Womens £1500 Road Bike
Liv Avail AR2 2021
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly 4/5 Bike Radar = 4/5
Best price we can find this at currently is £1348.99 from Rutland Cycles – Limited sizes but currently they have some stock
All the bikes in the round up of the best £1500 road bikes suit men and women but the Liv Avail AR2 is a women specific road bike. Highly rated among our female review test associates the Liv brand have continued to deilver in 2021 with the Avail AR2. The spec is relatively modest and Giant (parent company of Liv) supply many of the parts. Coupled with Shimano Tiagra and an alumnium frame it is a reliable road bike that will cope with heavy mileage with ease.
Full Specification:
Lightest £1500 Road Bike
Van Rysel EDR AF Ultegra
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly 4.5/5 Road.cc = 8/10
Best price we can find this at currently is £1499 from Decathlon. Limited sizes but currently they have some stock
If you can get beyond the lack of Tour de France pedigree Decathlon has a lot to offer with road bikes. Not just a one stop supermarket for outdoor goods the Van Rysel is a pucker carbon fibre road bike. The lightest £1500 in our line up and no surprise when you see it comes with Full carbon frame and forks with quality Mavic Aksium wheels as standard. Shimano 105 Groupset all around as well and you get a lot for your money.
Full Specification:
Best SRAM Groupset £1500 Road Bike
Planet X Pro Carbon Disc SRAM Rival 22
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = n/a Road.cc = n/a
Best price we can find this at currently is £1499 direct from Planet X.
Planet X are one of the longest established on-line bike manufacturers in the UK creating value for money high spec bikes for over 30 years. For under £1500 they offer a full SRAM Rival groupset and lightweight carbon frame. Not the lightest £1500 road bike in our line up but very close. If you love your SRAM a great choice. Also components seem to be more readily available than some Shimano parts.
Full Specification:
Trek Domane AL 4 Disc 2021
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = n/a Road.cc = n/a
Best price we can find this at currently is £1625 from Leisure Lake Bikes who have limited stock of some sizes. The price for 2022 has gone up by £150 taking over the target under £1500 road bike.
Trek are the second largest bike manufacturer in the world so no surprises to find one of their bikes in our £1000 to £1500 road bikes list. The Trek Domane AL 4 is an aluminium framed road bike as the “AL” in the title hints at. It is their 2nd most expensive model featuring Shimano Tiagra all round and partner supplier parts. Result is a great looking if somewhat heavy road bike.
Full Specification:
GT Grade Expert Road Bike
Review Scores Compared:
Cycling Weekly = n/a Road.cc = n/a
Best price we can find this at currently is £1450 from CycleStore Bikes who have limited stock of some sizes
The final bike in our line up of the best 15 road bikes under £1500 is the GT Grade Expert. This is their aluminium framed version of what is essentially a soft gravel bike sitting somewhere between road and gravel. Weighing under 10.5kg though it gives you much of the strength of a gravel bike with the lightweight dynamics of a road bike. 37mm tyres should help also if you are not confident on a conventional road bike.
Full Specification:
If your budget won’t stretch to £1500 check out our list of the Top 19 Road bikes for Under £1000.
10 Comments
Ed Wilts · 19/04/2020 at 8:25 am
Nice set of bikes. Any discounts on these always welcome.
Chris Young · 01/04/2020 at 8:50 am
Boardman is a great buy. Genuinely a lot of bike for the money.
Simon Sharp · 31/03/2020 at 4:54 pm
Love the Canyon.
Kevin Howard · 31/03/2020 at 12:15 am
So many other bikes could add to the list and so hard to choose!!!
Henry Stewart · 30/03/2020 at 8:43 am
Nice set of bikes. Shame they are over my budget of £1000 but will keep a look out for discounts.
Stuart Howell · 26/03/2020 at 11:44 pm
Good set of bikes and useful comparison information.
Cycling Nutrition FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions about cycling nutrition - Trivelo · 21/07/2021 at 2:36 pm
[…] >>> 15 Best £1500 Road Bikes – 2021 Buyers Guide […]
Best Womens road bikes 2020 - REAL Athletes - TRUSTED Reviews · 07/08/2020 at 1:57 pm
[…] If your still not convinced and want to consider a unisex road bike check out our guide to the best road bikes for under £1500. […]
19 of the Best Road Bikes for under £1000 - REAL Athletes - TRUSTED Reviews · 03/08/2020 at 10:19 am
[…] If you can stretch to a budget of £1500 read our Best Buy Guide for road bikes under £1500. […]
Limar AirSpeed Bike Helmet Review - REAL Athletes - TRUSTED Reviews · 24/07/2020 at 6:11 am
[…] out our round up of the best road bikes for under £1500 for the perfect bike to use with the Limar […]