road bike

What is a road bike? The basics explained The anatomy of a road bicycle Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Email to a friend Giant TCR Advanced Pro 2 Disc 2021 By Matthew Loveridge Published: April 21, 2021 at 6:00 am Road bikes are bicycles designed to take you as far and as fast as your legs can manage on paved surfaces. The road bike gets its name from the terrain it is designed to be used on – the road. At first glance, the road bike hasn’t changed a great deal over the years. Compared to a complex full-suspension mountain bike, it’s a traditional bicycle with a near-identical silhouette to those raced 50 years ago. Of course, there’s nothing traditional about the carbon fibre frames and electronic 24-speed drivetrains we see now on high-end machines. Modern bikes are faster, more comfortable and more technologically sophisticated than ever before. ADVERTISEMENT While the tech has improved, the most important thing is still how the bike fits you. If you get that right at the start, everything else will be simple. Read on for a full rundown of the fundamental components that make up a road bike. Best bike: our buyer’s guide to which bicycle type you should buy Road bike buyer’s guide: how to choose the right one for you The best cheap road bikes Frame and fork (the frameset) The vast majority of road bike frames use the traditional two-triangle design. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media The frame is the heart of any bike, and road bike frames are usually aluminium or carbon, with steel and titanium used in more niche models. Traditional road frames use a flat top-tube and a shorter seatpost, but compact geometry is now most common, with a sloping top tube to make a smaller, lighter frame and also improve the standover height. It’s very important that you buy the right size and shape frame for you and the type of riding you’ll be doing. The forks on more expensive bikes are typically made from carbon, while cheaper models may use a combination of carbon and aluminium, aluminium only or steel. Road bicycle frames and forks are typically designed as an all-in-one system, and the combination of the two is commonly referred to as a ‘frameset’. Wheels and tyres A low-profile rim brake front wheel. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Road bike wheels don’t have to be as robust as those of mountain bikes, so they tend to have fewer spokes and lighter rims. Aerodynamics are important, so the rims are sometimes deeper (depth refers to the height of the rim cross-section when viewed from the side of the bike). Article continues below advert Traditionally, road rims were very narrow, but in recent years they’ve been getting wider as research shows this is more aerodynamic, increases tyre volume for a smoother ride and potentially leads to fewer flat tyres. Road bike tyres are also skinny, but not as skinny as they used to be because wider tyres are comfier and often faster in the real world. 25mm is a typical width for race-focused bikes, while more endurance-oriented machines might come with 28mm or 30mm tyres. In the past, 23s were common and some riders went as narrow as 18mm. To minimise rolling resistance, road tyres usually have a slick or near-slick tread and run at high pressures of around 4.8 to 8 bar / 70 to 120psi. Best road bike tyres Crankset (or chainset) The crankset is the unit comprising pedal arms and chainrings. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Road bikes usually use two chainrings, with most bikes coming equipped with ‘compact’ 50/34t cranks or ‘semi-compact’ 52/36t gearing where “t” is the number of teeth. The traditional ‘standard double’ had 53/39t rings, but that’s becoming less and less common. Bikes with SRAM’s latest 12-speed AXS groupsets get 50/37t, 48/35t and 46/33t options to match the brand’s cassettes that start with a 10t cog rather than the more common 11t. (Remember: the gear gets harder as you increase the number of chainring teeth or decrease the number of cassette teeth.) The complete guide to bike gears | Bicycle transmissions explained Triple (i.e. three-chainring) chainsets are still fitted to some cheaper bikes and give lots of range. These are becoming less common, with the lighter and simpler compact taking over and, thanks to the explosion in popularity of gravel and adventure bikes, there are now various ‘super-compact’ crank options on the market, with lower ratios such as 46/30t and 48/31t. Article continues below advert A further option is the simple 1× (pronounced “one-by”) crank with a single chainring. These are relatively rare on pure road bikes, but are a much more practical option than they used to be thanks to the ever-wider-range cassettes offered by component manufacturers. Cranks also come in different lengths to accommodate differences in leg length. Road bike groupsets: everything you need to know Cassette The cassette is the assembly of sprockets mounted to the rear wheel. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Road bikes use gears that are more tightly packed together to help you pedal at the ideal speed (pedal revolutions-per-minute is referred to as cadence). Mid-range and high-end road bikes typically have 11 or 12 sprockets (referred to as 11- or 12-speed) while more affordable ones might have eight, nine or 10. The range of sprockets on a road cassette is typically something like 11-28t or 11-30t. Derailleurs The rear derailleur is mounted at the rear dropout of the frame. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Derailleurs are the mechanisms that change gear, pushing the chain across the cassette sprockets and from one chainring to the other, controlled by the shifters. Apart from those unusual road bikes with 1× gearing, most have front and rear derailleurs. The vast majority are moved via physical cables connected to the shifters, but electronic derailleurs are also available, with the major component makers (Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo) all offering their own systems. The front derailleur shifts the chain from one chainring to the other. Jack Luke / Immediate Media Handlebars and levers Road levers combine shifting and braking into one and are designed to fit drop bars only. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Drop handlebars mark out a road bike and offer a number of positions. The tops, with your hands on either side of the stem, are used for steep climbs or cruising. The hoods are the brake lever covers, and these provide a comfortable cruising position and good leverage for climbing out of the saddle. The drops are the lower parts of the bar, used for a lower position at speed and greater control when descending. Various bar widths and shapes are available to suit different tastes. The handlebar is attached to the top section of the fork (the steerer) by the stem. Road levers combine shifting and braking controls into a single unit. While brake levers all operate on more or less the same principle (pull the lever, bike stops), shifting arrangements differ between component manufacturers. How to adjust your handlebar height Saddle and seatpost The seatpost is raised or lowered to suit different rider leg lengths. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media As you would expect, these parts have a big impact on the comfort of your ride. For road bikes especially, comfort is more dependent on correct set up than it is on having lots of padding. Article continues below advert Road saddles are generally narrow and sparsely padded. They look very uncomfortable, and do take some getting used to, but are actually better than soft saddles for long rides because they support you where you need it most, and don’t compress nerves and delicate soft tissues. Saddles come in a variety of shapes, with no single design working for everyone. Some models are available in multiple widths to suit a range of sit bone widths. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our in-depth guide on how to choose the right bike saddle for you. Best road bike saddles Women’s bike saddle buyer’s guide Brakes Rim brakes are still widely used on road bikes and can provide excellent performance. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media Road bikes use either rim brakes (dual-pivot calipers) that clamp the wheel rims, or disc brakes that grab disc rotors mounted to the hubs. Road disc brakes are generally considered superior, particularly in wet weather, but a good set of rim brakes is perfectly adequate for most riding. Disc brakes offer more consistent performance in wet weather, but are heavier and more expensive. Matthew Loveridge / Immediate Media I want a road bike, so what now? Road bikes are enormous fun to ride – you’re in for a treat if you’ve never tried one before. Russell Burton A decent entry-level road bike is a joy to ride and need not be eye-wateringly expensive. Head over to our road bike buyer’s guide for everything you need to know when it comes to choosing your first road bike, and if you want to geek out about components, our complete guide to road bike groupsets is the place to be.