Performance road bikes
Best for riding fast on tarmac
This style is all about riding on surfaced roads, often with speed being key. They’ve got lightweight frames and narrow tyres designed to help you achieve a consistent, high level of speed with minimum effort. They tend to have dropped handlebars (the type that loops down and backwards) which allows you to get into an efficient and aerodynamic riding position. Performance road bikes are designed to be ridden in drier conditions and don’t have mudguard or luggage-carrying capacity.
Endurance road bikes
Best for riding over long distances
Just like a performance road bike, they tend to have dropped handlebars but have a more relaxed geometry to give you an upright riding position. This makes it more comfortable to ride, particularly over longer periods of time. The frames are also tuned to dampen vibrations from the road. They’ll let you embark on big-mile rides with friends and lend themselves very well to commuting thanks to their ability to cover ground quickly. They have semi-aerodynamic position placing you alittle more upright on the bike allowing you to see more traffic and road users.
Gravel/Adventure bikes
Best for fast riding on rougher surfaces, hard packed gravel and rollingmud terrain.
Overlapping with the touring category, gravel bikes — which you might also see referred to as adventure bikes, all-road bikes, and bike-packing bikes — are becoming very popular. It is a newer category within cycling and this is why you may see these bikes called different names. Bike-packing is not strictly a type of bike, but rather an activity you can do with your bike, and we have a lexicon (link) of words to help understand the different phrases used in cycling.
Gravel bikes combine road bike geometry, looks and speed with plenty of clearance for fitting big, knobbly tyres that can be 35mm wide or more to get you across almost any terrain, including terrible tarmac, gloopy mud, bridleways, and gravel paths.
Many will include eyelets for fitting mudguards and pannier racks. Bikes are equipped with disc brakes for better and more consistent braking in wet conditions. The frames are engineered to handle riding on poor surfaces, so may not be as lightweight as performance or endurance models.
They’re also a great bet for road riding in winter, but as the tyres are wider and the gearing tends to be adjusted for rough terrain, you’ll find you may not be as fast as an endurance bike.
Touring bikes
Best for long distance, multi-day journeys when speed is not a priority
A touring bike is designed to take on everything from a commute to a continent-crossing adventure.They tend to have the same size wheels as road and hybrid bikes but with medium width tyres that allow you to take on a mixture of terrain in comfort.
Touring bikes are designed for heavy loads with fixings on the front and back for racks. Touring bikes are made of steel because the ride quality of the material suits long distance. The bikes have a relaxed riding position because you’ll likely be in the saddle from dawn to dusk. Shape of the frame is such that it is stable even when fitted with heavy bags.
Single Speed bikes
Best for efficient and economical travel in towns and cities
Singlespeed bikes are great if your riding tends to be mostly on flat surfaces because it keeps maintenance to a minimum because there is only the one gear and therefore fewer components. They are also an ideal choice if you want to keep your budget down and plan to commute or run errands in an urban area.
A single speed bike can be set up fixed (you may see these referred to as ‘fixie’ or ‘fixed-gear’) or freewheel. A fixed setup means that you have to pedal all the time to keep moving, and it can also be slowed down by resisting pedal motion. It is the ultimate in simplicity and many feel completely connected to and in control of the bike. Fixed-gear setups aren’t always the most beginner-friendly. A freewheel setup provides more of a familiar feel with the advantages of a single gear.
Track Bikes
Best for racing in a velodrome or fixie-crits
Track bikes have no brakes. They are designed to help you go as fast as possible and the rider sits in a very aerodynamic position. A track bike is designed to be ridden on a banked velodrome and the frame is designed to ensure your pedals won’t strike the banked track. Track bikes are fixed, riders slow themselves down by controlling and resisting the pedals turning.
