5 of the Best Womens Road Bikes 2020
For women looking for a road bike this often means buying a men’s bike in a smaller size. But what about women’s road bikes tailor made for them? Check our list of the best womens road bikes 2020 with full specification information and our star ratings against each of the bikes.
How did we select the bikes?
At Trivelo we are super lucky to have a number of amazing female athletes who really know their bikes. We canvassed their expertise to come up with our short list of women’s road bikes. The bikes selected below are based on their experience and views on current road bikes for women.
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List of our Best Womens Road Bikes 2024
- Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro Womens Carbon Road Bike – TRIVELO BEST BUY AWARD
- Boardman SLR 9.2 Wome
- Cube Axial WS GTC SLX
- Scott Contessa Addict 25 2024 – Road Bike
- Cannondale Systemsix Ultegra Di2 Women’s Road Bike
Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro
Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro Specifications
Frame Advanced-Grade Composite, disc
Fork Advanced-Grade Composite, full-composite OverDrive 2 steerer, disc
Handlebar Liv Contact SLR Aero
Stem Giant Contact SL Aero
Seatpost Giant Vector, composite
Saddle Liv Contact SL
Shifters SRAM Force eTap AXS
Front Derailleur SRAM Force eTap AXS
Rear Derailleur SRAM Force eTap AXS
Bottom Bracket SRAM DUB, press fit
Brakes SRAM Force AXS hydraulic disc
Brake Levers SRAM Force AXS hydraulic
Cassette SRAM XG-1270, 10×28
Chain SRAM Force D1
Crankset SRAM Force eTap AXS, 35/48, Quarq power meter
Rims Giant SLR 1 Aero 42/65 Disc Composite WheelSystem
Hubs Giant SLR 1 Aero 42/65 Disc WheelSystem
Tyres CADEX Race 25 700×25, folding, tubeless
Weight 7.2kg
Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro was the most popular bike from our panel when asked which bike they would choose. The Liv range of bikes from Giant were universally popular but the Enviliv Advanced Pro was the stand out. With a beautifully crafted aero frame and integrated cockpit design the bike is a real looker. Weighing at only 7.2kg there are few bikes lighter on the market for men or women.
Trivelo Best Buy Winner
Buy the Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro for £6699 from Liv.
Boardman SLR 9.2 Womens
Boardman SLR 9.2 Womens Bike Specifications
Frame Boardman SLR – C10 Carbon
Fork Boardman SLR – C10 Carbon
Handlebar Boardman Elite Alloy
Stem Boardman Elite Alloy
Seatpost Boardman SLR Carbon 0-20mm adjustable offset
Saddle Fizik Luce
Shifters Shimano Ultegra R8000 2×11
Front Derailleur Shimano Ultegra R8000
Rear Derailleur Shimano Ultegra R8000 SS
Bottom Bracket FSA PF30 with 24mm adapter
Brakes Shimano Ultegra R8000
Brake Levers Shimano Ultegra R8000
Cassette Shimano 105 11-28
Chain Shimano CN-HG701
Crankset Shimano Ultegra R8000
Rims Boardman SLR Elite Seven
Hubs Boardman SLR Elite Seven
Tyres Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ 25mm
Weight 7.7kg
All of the bikes in this line up are highly recommended and worth consideration. Compared to the Liv the Boardman struggles to compete but that is not to say the Boardman is any slouch. Weighing only 7.7kg and fitted allround with Shimano Ultegra this is a lot of full carbon bike for the money. With womens specific geometry and the Fizik Luce saddle this is firmly designed with women in mind. The wheelset is the only real area that the bike is let down and an early target for an upgrade. With current discounts the bike is available for a very reasonable £1549 that is more than 20% off original list price of £2000.
Buy the Boardman SLR 8.9 for £1000 from Halfords
Cube Axial WS GTC SLX 2024 - Road Bike
Cube Axial WS GTC SLX 2024 Specifications
Frame Gtc monocoque twin mold technology
Fork Cube csl race disc, full carbon
Handlebar Newmen evolution wing bar
Stem Newmen evolution
Seatpost Newmen evolution
Saddle Natural fit venec lite ws
Shifters Shimano 105 di2
Front Derailleur Shimano 105 di2
Rear Derailleur Shimano 105 di2
Bottom Bracket Sealed
Brakes Shimano 105 br-r7170
Brake Levers Shimano 105
Cassette Shimano 105 cs-r7100, 11-34t
Chain Shimano cn-m7100
Crankset Shimano fc-rs520, 50x34t
Rims Fulcrum racing 77 db
Hubs Fulcrum racing
Tyres Conti grand sport race sl
Weight 10.5kg
The Cube Axial WS GTC SLX is designed specifically for comen cyclists. It uses an oversize main frame tubes for efficiency through the wind and precise steering. The full carbon fork and slim seatstays keep both the weight down and also make for a more smooth ride. The Road Comfort Geometry places you in an ideal position for extended performance, resulting in a light, precise, and comfortable frame ready for rapid road adventures.
Buy the Cube Axial WS GTC SLX 2024 for £2499 from Tredz
Scott Contessa Addict 25 2024 - Road Bike
Scott Contessa Addict 25 Womens Bike Specifications
Frame Fenix SLA Disc, Tripple Butted Hydroformed Superlight 6005-601 Alloy
Fork Fenix SLA Disc, Full Carbon
Handlebar Forza Stratos
Stem Forza Stratos
Seatpost Forza Stratos
Saddle Forza Stratos
Shifters Shimano 105 Dual Control , 11-speed
Front Derailleur Shimano 105
Rear Derailleur Shimano 105
Bottom Bracket Sealed
Brakes Shimano 105
Brake Levers Shimano 105
Cassette Shimano 105, 11-30T
Chain KMC X11 with MissingLink
Crankset FSA Gossamer Pro 50/34T
Rims Shimano RS
Hubs Shimano RS
Tyres Vittoria Zaffiro Pro, 700 x 25c
Weight 9.2kg
List price of the Ridley Liz SLA was the cheapest in this round up of the Best Women’s road bikes until Boardman discounted so heavily. It is worth noting when considering the materials and components included in the price. The only bike in this line up with a aluminium frame but not the heaviest making the most of new tech in alloy frames. Frame geometry and design is fairly conventional but includes full Shimano 105 disc brakes for extra stopping power. The rest of the Groupset like the Fuji uses the Shimano 105 components with Ridley dipping into the Shimano parts bin for wheels as well with the Shimano RS171 wheelset.
Buy the Scott Contessa Addict 25 Women’s road bike for £2299 direct from Tredz
Cannondale SystemSix Ultegra Di2 2020 Women's Road Bike
Cannondale SystemSix Ultegra Di2 Womens Bike Specifications
Frame BallisTec Carbon, integrated cable routing
Fork BallisTec Carbon
Handlebar HollowGram SystemBar KNØT, alloy
Stem HollowGram SystemBar KNØT, alloy
Seatpost HollowGram 60 KNØT Carbon
Saddle Prologo Dimension Space
Shifters Shimano Ultegra Di2 hydro disc, 2×11
Front Derailleur Shimano Ultegra Di2
Rear Derailleur Shimano Ultegra Di2
Bottom Bracket Cannondale Alloy PressFit30
Brakes Shimano Ultegra Di2 hydro disc, 160/140mm
Brake Levers Shimano Ultegra Di2 hydro disc
Cassette Shimano Ultegra, 11-30, 11-speed
Chain Shimano HG701, 11-speed
Crankset HollowGram, BB30a w/ OPI SpideRing, 52/36
Rims HollowGram 64 SL KNØT, Carbon
Hubs HollowGram KNØT
Tyres Vittoria Rubino Pro Speed, 700 x 26mm
Weight 8.06kg
The Cannondale SystemSix was a close second with our panel of their dream bike choice. With a very comparable frame and component set up to the Liv Enviliv Advanced Pro 0 Disc the Cannondale is built for speed. Weighing only 8.06kg the SystemSix is a featherweight road bike and comes with the digital Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset. When we asked our panel to describe Di2 the response was simply “it is something that until you have it you would not know how much you need it”. Great battery life and fantastic software for gearing adjustments. Cannondale have used their depth of resources to build heir own HollowGram components that are comparable with the best and similar to the approach both Giant and Boardman have taken to providing aero wheels. If you are looking at the Liv we would advise you also consider the Cannondale. If you can find one. Supply at the moment is incredibly scarce.
Buy the Cannondale SystemSix Ultegra Di2 2020 Womens Bike for £5500 direct from LeisureLake Bikes.
Women's Road Bikes FAQ's
Are women’s bikes just men’s frames with a different paint job?
Big brands like Liv start each bike from scratch. The design is specifically for women’s physiology to maximise power delivery. The frame is the main area of consideration engineered to consider positioning of women on a bike.
Can’t a woman ride a men’s bike?
A number of the women in Trivelo do ride men’s road bikes and love them. Bike manufacturers are tending to develop more women’s specific bikes rather than unisex based on the anatomical and physiological differences.
Do women’s bikes always put the rider in a more upright position?
No. In short. Frame design on women’s bikes seeks to create the ideal position for road cycling achieving the same posture as a men’s frame design would seek.
Are women’s-specific bikes less strong than men’s bikes and do they have lower quality components?
Historically there was a limited number of women’s road bikes but that is all changing and there are an increasing number. As you can see from our short list with full carbon frames, digital groupsets and overall weight of under 8kg they are not lower quality.
What makes a women’s road bike female specific?
In the way that all bikes are different so are manufacturers approaches to women’s road bike design. This makes it hard to give a simple answer. All the women’s road bikes we have selected are designed from the ground up as female specific bikes. For some this does mean a shorter top tube and taller head tube but it is not universal. The shorter top tube can be to aid a shorter reach but with many women 5ft 10in and taller this is not necessarily the same for everyone. Handlebars, saddles and cranks are often not universal with the pure women’s road bikes using female specific components.
Does a women’s road bike just have a different saddle?
Certainly all the bikes in our line up use female saddles but it would be inaccurate to state this was the only unique difference as we have outlined above. Women saddles provide more support to the back of their saddle where they can put more weight through the “tail” bone.
Read Natalies review of her Giant Envie Advanced Pro women’s road bike for more detailed information on female specific road bikes.
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.
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