Road Bikes

Road Bikes for Sale

If you’ve been a casual cyclist, but are looking to up the intensity of your workouts, road bikes are perfect for you. You can push yourself to your limits and compete in serious races- all without damaging your knees like you would with another sport. Even if you’re not a cyclist at all, you can get some serious enjoyment and value out of a road bike with a little training. No matter who you are, road biking has an appeal that is hard to ignore!

BikeExchange has all the road bikes, flat bar road bikes, hybrid bikes, bike wheels, and bike accessories that you’re looking for. Read more about road bikes and find the one that fits you best right here at BikeExchange.

What is a road bike?

Road bikes, in their purest form, are highly specialised bikes designed for competing in road races. They’re used on smooth concrete and need to travel with great efficiency and speed. This means that a good road bike will be light, narrow, and aerodynamic. Compare this to the bulky, heavier frames and knobby tyres that you find on mountain bikes or gravel bikes and the differences become clear.

Road bike frames are usually made from ultralight materials such as aluminium, carbon fibre, or titanium. These materials are lighter and usually more durable than steel (a common material for frames on other bicycle styles), making them perfect for road races. The gears and brakes found on road bikes, too, are designed to be effective without taking up too much space or adding weight to the bike. Everything about the design of a road bike is targeted at increasing efficiency and speed.

Road bike wheels are very impactful too, often, one of the most important factors in choosing a road bike is the wheels. The wheels need to be very narrow, decreasing the amount of friction between the bike and the road. Because they’re narrow, they also have to have a high ratio of strength- aluminium, carbon, and titanium work just as well here as they do with road bike frames.

Finally, road bikes have a specific type of handlebar called dropdown handlebars. These handlebars force the rider into a more forward, aggressive position; this position makes the rider more aerodynamic and helps them focus in race situations. For casual riding, however, dropdown handlebars can be pretty uncomfortable, which is why some people opt for flat bar road bikes. These bikes have flat handlebars that more closely resemble those you’d find on commuter bikes and family bikes, but they’re still plenty light and fast enough for everything but a true road biking race.

These bikes are built for competition in serious road races. Though most people won’t be buying a bike to use in the Tour de France, that level of competition is what road bike manufacturers have in mind. This means that getting your own road bike gives you an incredible amount of potential for enjoyable and beneficial exercise. You can ride them for fun, to get in shape, or even compete in amateur and pro-am races near you.

What to look for when buying a road bike?

Though all road bikes may seem the same, several subcategories can help you determine whether or not a certain bike is a fit for your needs. There are six different types of road bikes: aero, lightweight, adventure, touring, endurance, and time trial. Each category of a road bike will have slightly different specs that you should pay attention to.

Aero road bikes are built for speed above all else; they have deep-rimmed wheels and a very slim design- these are the bikes you’ll often see in world-class races. Lightweight bikes, on the other hand, are also very fast but prioritise cutting weight more than reaching top speeds. Adventure bikes have knobbier tyres and aren’t quite as fast, but they are perfect for taking off the pavement from time to time for dirt, sand, and very light mountain biking. Commonly, you’ll find these bikes listed as gravel bikes, since off-road adventure biking has grown in popularity.

Touring bikes are similar to adventure/gravel bikes but are still meant to be used on roads only. They’re heavier and more comfortable than racing bikes; they also typically have a gear rack that you can use to attach bags/supplies for long trips. Endurance road bikes are made for riding long distances, exercise, and general road biking purposes; they’re also the most affordable road bike and perfect for beginners. Finally, time trial bikes are designed to win races, plain and simple. They aren’t the most comfortable, nor are they suited for beginners- but if you’re a true speedster, this is what you’re looking for.

The best way to settle on a road bike is to first establish your budget and then figure out what type of cycling you’ll be doing. Road bikes are some of the most expensive in the cycling world- if you’re a world-class racer, you can easily spend more than AUD$10K on a road bike. The least expensive road bikes are still several hundred dollars- this is why it’s important to establish a budget beforehand. A lower budget will likely restrict your options to endurance, touring, and lightweight road bikes.

Once you’ve settled on a budget, consider where and how you’ll be riding. If you’re riding on flat roads purely for exercise and enjoyment, a flat bar road bike, hybrid bike, or endurance bike is ideal. If you’re going to be tackling longer distances and hills, opt for a lightweight bike that maximises efficiency for hill climbing. If you’re going to be trying to beat the clock (or another cyclist), it’s best to go with an aero or time trial model!

By picking a budget and considering your needs, you’ll be able to narrow down your choices to the few that truly work for you. Check out different models so that you know what features, sizes, and shapes feel right. This will en, you can buy a bike online with confidence that you’ll love what you got!

BikeExchange has a massive catalogue of over 600,000 products from the world’s top brands. You can shop for new and used road bikes on BikeExchange from thousands of bike shops and private sellers to find the best bike at the best price. We’re the go-to website for people in Australia to get road bikes, cycling shoes, cycling accessories, and more- or just to learn more about the world of cycling. We know you’ll find what you need at BikeExchange because we’re passionate about cycling ourselves. BikeExchange is where the world rides- no matter what you ride, or how you ride it!