Guide To Road Bike Gears

If you are buying a road bike one of the big differences between models will be which gears they use. Most manufacturers will make the same bike, using the same frame but putting different gears and wheels on it. So for instance you can buy a Trek Domane AL 2 Disc with Shimano Claris gearing for £975 or get the Trek Domane AL 4 Disc with Tiagra gearing for £1625. They are fundamentally the same bike. One comes with the Shimano Tiagra gears and the other comes with Shimano Claris gears.

In most cases, the bottom of the range gears and top of the range gears will basically work in the same way. The big differences are in the quality of material used and the weight. Top of the range gears will be lighter and smoother to use.

One thing to watch out for when comparing bikes is whether the full groupset is being used. If you are buying a bike that has Shimano 105 gears on it. Shimano makes 105 brakes, gear levers, front and rear derailleurs, cranks, chainrings and bottom brackets. So basically all of the running gear on the bike. Some bike manufacturers will fit the full groupset, others will fit Shimano 105 front and rear derailleurs but use their own brakes and cranks to save a few pounds. So if you are comparing bikes be sure to check how much of the groupset the bike actually uses.

Read our Guide to Road Bike Gears

Road Bike Buying Guide

Nothing beats the feeling of effortless speed you get on a road bike. There are lots of reasons to ride a road bike, from the simple joy of it, to racing, long distance challenges, or café rides with friends. Whatever you want to do there will be road bike out there for you.

Men’s and Women’s road bikes

Nearly all manufacturers have stopped making dedicated men’s and women’s bikes. They are now all unisex. What you will see is that on smaller bikes, brands will often fit a wider saddle (generally more female friendly). On larger bikes they will often fit a narrower one (generally more male friendly).

Disc or rim brakes

It is getting increasingly hard to buy new bikes with rim brakes as the industry has almost exclusively switched to discs. The reasons for this are pretty simple. Disc brakes are much, much, more powerful than old rim brake systems so you can stop a lot more easily and safely. Disc brakes also allow much bigger tyres to be fitted which is more comfortable. Older disc brake systems did often suffer from rubbing and squeaking. While this hasn’t been completely fixed yet it is much less common on modern bikes with hydraulic brakes. Mechanical disc brakes can still take a bit of fettling to get them right so go for hydraulic if you can.

Read our full road bike buying guide

Cannondale are not keen on rules. Cannondale think outside the box and it has led to some of the most innovative bikes ever made. They were one of the pioneers of aluminium and carbon bike frames and were one of the first brand to introduce these materials into both professional racing and production bikes. Leading to their famous 'Legalize My Cannondale' ad campaigns after their innovations took their bikes below the official weight limit for pro racing.

Cannondale have led the development of technology in mountain bike suspension for years and have unique suspension designs, such as the Lefty, which only they use. Cannondale‘s commitment to innovation means they do things their own way. When you buy a Cannondale bike you will be getting something a little bit special and different from everyone else.

Cannondale have won awards for the 2020 CAAD13 and SuperSix Evo Road Bikes. Despite the alloy frame, the CAAD13 competes with a carbon road bike on every level but the price. SuperSix EVO is an evolution of Cannondale’s classic race machine. Adding more aero profiling, and a system integrated design to reduce drag.

Cycles UK is one of the leading Cannondale dealers in Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire and London. We stock a wide range of Cannondale road, mountain and electric bikes online and in our stores.

Please note: Manufacturers can sometimes change the specification of the products from time to time.