Road Bikes

There are 3 different types of road bikes available in the market - this applies to both mens road bikes and women’s road bikes.

First, is a race bike like the Giant TCR, Liv Langma (women’s) or Cannondale SuperSix which are both carbon road bikes.

Character traits of TCR, Langma and SuperSix include being extremely lightweight, fast and responsive.

They reward aggressive riders who like to play offense.

And they’re best ridden under someone who has at least a year of experience on road bikes; so some conditioning and base level fitness is required to join the TCR and SuperSix parties.

Future riders please note that Giant has 3 different types of TCRs in their range; the TCR Advanced, TCR Advanced Pro and TCR Advanced SL.

The same goes for Liv; there’s the Langma Advanced, Langma Advanced Pro and Langma Advanced SL.

And the Cannondale SuperSix has the EVO, Hi-Mod and now Lab71.

Side note:

Giant uses the word “Advanced” to indicate that this model uses a carbon frame. Don’t see Advanced? Then it’s an aluminum frame.

If you want to learn more about the TCR, click here and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Back to it:

Second, we have the Endurance road bike.

Road bikes like the Giant Defy and Cannondale Synapse are designed to dominate this category.

These bikes have character traits like modern SUVs; stable, comfortable, calm handling and super-grounded on fast descents. The polar opposite of the race bikes above.

Plus, the ergonomics (the way you sit on the bike) are different too.

The handlebars are closer to you and they’re higher up. Your torso angle is more relaxed because you sit slightly more upright.

Endurance road bikes will appeal to riders:

• Who aren’t flexible and want to be as comfortable as possible.
• Who aren’t used to the handling of a road bike and want the handling to be calm and predictable.

And lastly, there’s the aero road bike. Examples of aero bikes include the Giant Propel, Orbea Orca Aero and Cannondale SystemSix.

These bikes have a huge engineering and design focus on minimising drag. Their frame silhouettes consist of deep sections which also contribute to their slightly heavier weight.

These bikes are generally designed for experienced riders who are pushing hard on a typical ride. Aero road bikes don’t know the meaning of “relaxed”.

That’s because these aero profiles only “activate” at higher speeds - generally high 30km/h range. If you ride below this average speed, well, it becomes just a heavier road bike.

The broader and deeper frame sections also transmit more vibrations.

Unlike the slimmer sections of the race bike and endurance road bikes, coping with these extra vibrations will fatigue riders faster if you’re not conditioned.

That’s why the aero road bike is best to be your second, third or fourth bike in your journey, instead of your first.

It’s also worth noting:

There are always compromises - it’s not all rainbows and unicorns.

Race bikes are fast but require more body conditioning to maintain that aggressive riding position. Endurance bikes are comfortable but they aren’t as responsive.