T♛he best women's road bikes don't necessarily need to be women's specific, but those that come with women's specific touchpoinᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚts and sizing options do the job brilliantly
✤There is a bewildering number of road bikes available on the market, which is a blessing and a curse as while choice is great, working outܫ what is the best option for you might not be straightforward.
The good news is that if you're looking for the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:best road bike, there are plenty of options to go around. With women-specific options from Liv Cycling to unisex bikes with women-specific contac🐬t points from several other brands, like Specialized, Scott, Canyon, and more.
Ultimately, the best women's road bikes depend on the rider. Some women will benefit from women-specific geometry and the smaller sizes on offer, while others will be more comfortable on a unisex bike. Add in the ongoing debate on whether women-specific geometry is necessary, which we discussed at length in '澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:can women ride men's bikes?' and it can get rather complicated.
Women's specific road bike frames are built around average body dimensions data and tend t⭕𒉰o have a slightly shorter top tube and slightly higher stack at the front end (head tube).
As everybody is different, we recommend checking your current setup's measurements from a comfort and fit standpoint. Use our 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:comprehensive bike size guide, or, if you're a first-time bike buyer, don't underes♋timate the value of popping into your local bike shop to be sized.&n♕bsp;
✅ You want a performance road bike: A great option for those looking for a combination of speed, aero, and light weight.
✅ You want a women-specific geometry: All Liv's bikes are made just for women.
Don't buy if
❌ You want an entry-level bike: This is a performance road bike.
❌ You are a tall rider: If you are 180cm or over, you likely will not find 🤪the M size ample enough and are better off going for a unisex bike.
The Liv Langma Advanced Pro 0 is an aggressive road racer which is made for speed. It was rid💫den by the Liv ALUla Jayco team at the Giro d'Italia Women last year, with a handful of top-ten finishes by Mavi Garcia helping to secure the overall team victory.
This is the third generation of the Liv Langma ra💯nge. The bike features truncated ellipse tube shapes, a new internal cable routing design, and up to 33mm tyre clearance ❀means it is versatile enough for UK road riding whatever the weather.
Built around Li👍v's women-specific geometry, the sizing comes up small in the same way as the Avail listed above, with XS, S and M frames on offer.
What makes the Langma Advanced Pro 0 a good choice is, it combines smalle𒁃r geometry with top-class speed and performance. With exceptional handling, high responsivꦡeness, despite being a performance bike, we reckon it would do well being ridden for hundreds of kilometres.
✅ You want an endurance road bike: A great option for those looking for a combination of speed, comfort, and light weight.
✅ You want a women-specific geometry: All Liv's bikes are made just for women.
Don't buy if
❌ You want an entry-level bike: This is a perform꧃ance road bike&🎃nbsp;with a price to match it.
If the Langma above is too aggressive and racy for you, then you might prefer the Avail range, which is Liv's endurance road bike. Featuring the same women's specific engi🀅neering, the Avail's geometry is relaxed and comfortable, making it a bike to be ridden all day long.
The Avail Advanced Pro 1 is built around Liv's Advanced-Grade Composite frame with OverDrive Aero steerer, it sports a Shimano𒁏 105 groupset and 32c tyres, with clearance for up to 38mm.
From her brief experience of riding the first version of the Avail Advanced Pro 1 in Provence back when it was launched, contributor Mildred Locke con🌞firms that it rides like a dream, with super comfortable geometry, plush vibration damping from the thicker tyres, and smooth acceleration.
Another point to mention is that the Avai🐈l does come in a size L in the UK. unlike the Langma.
Best for budget
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
3. Specialized Allez
Best budget option
Our expert review:
Reasons to buy
+
Great value for money
+
Comfortable, relaxed riding position
+
Space for 35mm tyres or 32mm with mudguards
+
Frame suited to future upgrades
Reasons to avoid
-
Upright ride position won't suit aspiring racers
-
Rather uninspiring looks
Buy if
✅ You want a robust starter bike: The Allez is still the quintessential first road bike.
✅ You want modern specs: The latest iteration offers wide clearance and disc brak✤es.
Don't buy if
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You want a racier position: The Allez geometry is quite upright.
The Specialised Allez is a favourite first 'proper' drop 🏅bar bike for new road riders for good reason, it offers modern specs for a good price.
Having evolved since its inception in 2023, the latest model features an alloy frameset with disc brakes and clearance to fit 35mm tyres. Along with mudguard mounts, which reduce to 32mm the space for tyres, and ♐internal cable routing, it's a modern spec, although maintenance costs should be kept down by the straightforward design.
The Allez range stretches only to the e﷽ntry-level bike fitted with Shimano Claris 8-speed and mechanꩵical disc brakes and the Allez Sport which has 10-speed Shimano Tiagra and hydraulic disc brakes. The Allez Sprint is a more racy bike with a different frameset.
Despite not having women-specific geometry, the Allez comes in a wide range of sizes, which should suit all heights of riders. For a first 🐽road bike, you can't go far wrong with the Allez range.
✅ You want to experiment with bar width: If you want to try a narrower bar width, changing is free with the Endurace.
✅ You want frame storage: Canyon'sꦑ i꧒nternal storage allows you to keep your pockets free of tools.
Don't buy if
❌ You want mudguards: Canyon doesn't provide mudguard mounting points on the Endurace.
❌ You want more tyre clearance: The 35mm clearance isn't g🐠reat for a modern enduranc💮e bike.
Hitting the top spec endurance mark with great adjustabil💖ity is the Canyon CFR, the brand's endurance road bike.
It offers neat handling, low weight at 7.3kg, 32mm tyr🌃e clearance, and top spec components with Shimano Dura-Ace electronic shifting with a power meter.
But where it could really stand out for women is in its adjustability. The Endurace CFR shares the adjustable width handlebars with hidden hose routing of the Aeroad♛ and Ultimate, allowing you to alter bar width by 40mm, allowing you to make the bike fit you, rather than the other way around. Handlebar width is a key area where women riders often have to make chang🥃es compared to men as, typically, our shoulders aren't as wide.
Also new is the tool roll packed i💝nto a cavity in the top tube, so you don't have to fill your jerไsey pockets with gear to fix a flat or mechanical, an added bonus.
Great ride and good value, with the durability and charm of steel
Reasons to buy
+
Brilliant ride
+
Excellent spec
+
Easily tuneable to fit your body
+
Easy to live with
Reasons to avoid
-
A little heavier than a carbon bike
-
High demand and waiting list
Buy if
✅ You are a taller rider: The Strael will confidently suit taller women.
✅ You want a durable bike: The steel frame is easy to maintain and upgrade.
Don't buy if
❌ You are a shorter rider: The sizing does not cater to smaller riders.
❌ You want it now: Fairlight's build-to-order🍎 model means a wait for y👍our bike.
A steel bike is a thing of beauty, not least because of its looks and ride quality, but it also should last forever and for me that is a huge plus point wꦦhen investing in a bike.
In the case of the Fairlight Strael, which is made from Reynolds 853 steel, the bike offers classic road bike looks and geometry. There's a wide range of frame sizes and you can choose a Tall frame if your dimensions require, but I should say this is not a꧒ bike for smaller riders. I'm over 180cm, so selfishly I can glide along with glee on this bike.
Fairlight builds the Strael to order, which allows you to choose your spec, choices including four different Shimano groupsets, a wide range of wheels and tyres and different cockpit dimensions. T꧟his is particularly good for women so you don't get stuck with stock handlebars, which in my experience are regularly to🐬o wide.
With the demand for the Strael,🔥 this does mean a delay in getting your bike after ordering though.
Despite the fairly modest price, reviewer Will reckoned that the Strael was the best bike he'd ridden, with sublime handling, sharp cornering and stiffness that enജcourages long seated efforts. There's huge upgrade potential and the Strael should be easy to maintain for years to come.
✅ You want great value: Whether you're spending £2,500/$3,000 or four times that, the Ultimate range has great specs.
✅ You want versatility: With 32mm tyre cleara꧃nce and aero features, thꦗe Ultimate can be an all-road or a race bike.
Don't buy if
❌ You want more stable handling: The Ultimate isn't the easiest to pilot downhill.
❌ You want a dedicated aero bike: The Canyon Aeroad is also great value, ha💙s the same geometry but is mor🦄e aero.
While Canyon is phasing out its WMN range, it is still putting a lot of effort into including huge size ranges and va🐈riable contact points on its unisex bikes so that there's something for everyone.
The Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7 is a classic carbon road race bike at a great price. It's highly spe▨cced, a great climber, thanks to the low weight༒ and stiff frame, and rides nicely on the flat too.
The si🃏ze range goes all the way down to XXS, and up to XXL, so anyone who sits on either extreme of the heig🐎ht spectrum should be able to get a model to fit them properly.
It's worth looking at the whole Ultimate range too as Canyon builds the Ultimate in three different frame grades: CF SL, CF SLX and the pro level CFR and a current range of 14 specs, so there's a depth of choice with prices that start at £2,500/$3,000 and top out at £9,750✱/$10,500.
✅ You want great value: The Synapse offers a great budget road bike in a neat package.
✅ You want versatility and comfort: With 32mm tyre clearance and aero features, the Synapse can work for plenty of t🐻errain𝐆s.
Don't buy if
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You want a racier position: The Synapse geometry is quite upright.
The Cannondale aluminium Synapꦬse is an impressively versatile bike with mudဣguard mounting points and 32mm tyre clearance.
Of note is the impressive❀ range of sizes from 44-61cm which should cater for all sizes. This is the sort of bike you might start with and help you fall in love with cycling, as that's exactly what it did for a great friend of mine.
A nice touch is that the Synapse benefits from special endcaps to make it compatible with wheel-on turbo trainers. A well-tꦿhought-out feature to make this low-budget bike work with less expensive trai💃ning accessories.
That said, this isn't a fancy performance bike as the spec is slightly limited with only the older mechanical Shimano option available, and overall weight is heavier. For better performance, you might want to look at the Synapse Carbon range bu෴t this comes in a limited size range of 51-58cm, so it might not fit all.
However, for a disc brake bike that comes in a huge range of sizes to fit any rider, tꦯhis is a good value bike that is suitable for a lot of different riders and 🔯riding types.
Best aero
(Image credit: Trek)
8. Trek Madone SLR 9 Gen 8
Top spec aero bike with a price to match
Specifications
Frame: 900 Series OCLV Carbon
Groupset: Sram Red AXS
Brakes: Disc
Weight: 7kg
Sizes available: XS-XL
Reasons to buy
+
Fast and comfortable
+
Aerodynamic
+
Low weight
+
Fun colourways
Reasons to avoid
-
Smallest size frame is XS rather than XXS
-
Expensive
Buy if
✅ You want a racy and aero bike: The Madone prioritises speed.
✅ You want top performance:&n꧅bsp;This is a highly specced, top-level bike for serious riders.
Don't buy if
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You are new to cycling: You'd be better off with the entry-level bikes listed in this 🐷guide.
A seriously impressive aero bike💙, the Trek Madone SLR 9 ꦗAXS Gen 8 is Trek's top spec bike in its Madone range. Ridden by WorldTour Lidl-Trek team riders, including top sprinter Elisa Balsame, the Madone Gen 8 is made for riding fast.
With a hefty price tag, it's certainly an investment, but when it com💦es to a beautiful combination of lightweight and aerodynamic speed, this is a bike which has rea🌌lly nailed it.
At 7kg, it's just above UCI weight limit, and features a ton of aero features incꦫluding a Trek Aero RSL one-piece carbon bar/stem, and RSL Aero Bottles and Cages for more drag reduction.
The bike also 💧comes fitted with a top-level SRAM RED AXS drivetrain with a power meter and Bontrager Aeolus RSL 50 carbon wheels, aimed at keeping weight down and speed up.
A downside is it only comes in sizeꦜs XS to XL which means i♉f you sit outside of those brackets, it may not work for you.
If you are after a lightning-fast descent-♉crushing bike, tꦬhis could be a great option.
How to choose the best women's road bike
There are a few things to think about w🌳hen choosing the best women's road bike for your needs. Here, we'll run through some key considerations.
Many brands have moved away from gendered frames, and are instead offering more size ranges and multiple options for contact points, like adding one of the 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:best women's road bike saddles.
Cycling is, at a performance level, a power to weight game, and for petite riders th🐷e bike makes up a greater proportion of system weight than it does for a larger rider. For a 50kg rider for instance the difference between having a 10kg bike over an 8kg bike is an increase✨ of 3 per cent - not insignificant, but also not the be all and end all. Unless every ounce of performance needs to be wrung out we'd go for comfort over lightweignt.
For taller women, some of the women's specifi💝c frames will simply be too small, as many come in limited size runs, ⛄and recommend the men's or unisex version for taller women. If you are buying in person at a shop and fall into this category, work with the shop staff to swap out the finishing kit (handlebars, stem, saddle) for women's versions, and don't be scared to barter.
What size bike do I need?
Much like ༒when you buy clothes, when it comes to sizing, it can be a minefield navigating the differences between bike brands. A 49cm in one brand can be the equ💮ivalent of a 51cm or a 47cm in another.
This is because the measurement is based on the size of the seat tube, and the angle is not homogeneous across the brands. So a 50cm seat tube which is truly vertical on one bike is not the same as a 50cm seat tube at a five-degree angle. ꧅;
Some br꧅ands provide height recommendations and customer service departments are always there to help with size queries. If you have a bike already, check the stack and reach figures of your current model and use these as the all-important reference point on the geometry chart of your next bike.
How can I make sure a unisex bike fits me properly?
If you're buying a unisex bike, you can make tweaks to suit your individual body dimensions. When it comes to opting for the finishing touchpoints, you want your bars to roughly be your shoulder width andᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ your saddle should be matched to the width of your sit bones ღ- which can be measured in most bike shops.
When looki🐬ng at different saddle pricing, often the prices go up based 🌃on weight (carbon elements, etc.) over the fit, so we recommend if you are trying a new saddle it might be wise to go entry-level first, to make sure it's comfortable before you invest in the more expensive model.
Another less discussed finishing point is the crank arm length. Generally, cranks come in 165, 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths, and a shorter crank arm means the circumference of the circle of the pedal stroke is smalleღr. If you are on an XS or S sized frame, a 165mm crank is probably best, and likewise, for a 58cm frame or larger you probab🍒ly want a 175mm crank.
How we test
🍬You'll see fro🐷m the above and from our detailed reviews that we'll call in bikes and expect to ride them over a variety of terrain and in all weather, usually over several months, to get a clear understanding of their capabilities and limits.
We'll keep a detailed score sheet for each bike across a number of factors, as documented in more detail in our guide to 澳洲幸运5开奖官网在线查询开奖结果:how we test.
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Mildred joined as Reviews Writer for Cyclingnews and BikePerfect in December 2020. She loves all forms of cycling from long-distance audax to daily errand-runni๊ng by bike, and does almost everything on two wheels, including moving house, and started out her cycling career working in a bike shop. For the past five years she's volunteered at The Bristol Bike Project as a mechanic and session coordinator, and now sits on its board of directors.
Since then she's gone on to write for a muꦜltitude of cycling publications, including Bikeradar, Cycling Plus, Singletrack, Red Bull, Cycling UK and Total Women's Cycling. She's dedicated to providing more coverage of women's specific cycling tech, elevating🔜 under-represented voices in the sport, and making cycling more accessible overall.
