Best Road Bikes Under $1,000

May 13, 2010, By 12 comments

Best Road Bikes Under $1,000

You can get a decent cruiser or mountain bike for around $500, but it won't help you do much more than pull the toddler trailer down the neighborhood bike path. If you are riding serious distances and competing with cars on bigger roads, you need a road bike, which can set you back more than $10,000 for top-of-the-line components, carbon-fiber wheels and a custom frame.

Thankfully, while the price of bikes with exotic aerospace materials keeps increasing, the entry point for a basic, high-quality road bike keeps dropping. Here are four new road bikes that cost less than $1,000. Each one fills a different biking niche, and all are good entry level rides. Cycling newbies will also benefit from our guide on how to buy a road bike. 

Trek 1.2. Trek has dropped the price for its top-rated 1.2 series below $1,000. Listed at $879, the 1.2 is an all-around winner with a light, strong aluminum frame and reliable Bontrager carbon fork and wheels. The 21-speed drivetrain and other components are from Shimano's Sora line. It's at the bottom of Shimano's hierarchy, so the parts are a little heavier than pricier Shimano options. It's only a small step below the $1,100 Trek 1.5, which Bicycling magazine has named the top entry level road bike for two years. Plus, it can't hurt your road credibility to be riding the same brand as Lance Armstrong.

GT GTR Series 3. GT gets mad props for upgrading to a full Shimano Tiagra drivetrain while keeping the price at exactly $1,000. The GTR Series 3 is another solid choice; it has nice versatility. It is shipped with a more upright frame than a racing bike, but the stem can be adjusted later for longer and more aggressive rides. If $1,000 is a little too steep, a similar GT frame is available in the Series 4 for about $750. You'll drop back into the Sora line for the rear derailleur and into lesser brands for many of the other components.

Fuji Newest 3.0. This bike is a step down from the Trek or the GT, but it also comes with a step down in price. At $780, this bike is a nice, reasonably priced way to ease from family biking into road biking. It has similar components to the Trek, but adds more gear options and additional top-mount brakes, which let you ride more upright while tooling around with the kids. The triple chain ring and extra brake levers add weight, of course, slowing the bike and hindering performance. The other main drawback is the brand. Fuji just doesn't have the respect, reputation or reviews of Trek bikes.

Felt F95 Team Issue. If you want to take your riding in the other direction — toward short racing sprints, try the Felt F95. At $849, it has a compact crank set, which reduces gear options, but they are traded for higher-end Shimano shifters and derailleur. The frame and aerodynamic wheels are designed for shorter, faster rides and more than comfortable, long-distance riding. As the name suggests, this has the same styling as the high-profile Team Garmin bikes. The attention-getting blue-and-orange graphics are a plus for some, but others see it as a garish drawback.

Comments (12):

Spydo S. Thanks for the update and advice. Despite the others' complaints, I appreciate your efforts and info. As if any of THEM ever offered me advice!? Anyhow- I tend to agree with Hugh, as a *Fuji man* myself, I really like their products. Mine is an older chromoly but she still cranks and the STIs are smooth after thousands of miles. I am considering up upgrade when my wallet is a bit fatter and the Fuji looks appealing. Roll on! S - 10/24/2011
Hugh J. What w/ the dis on Fuji? Made me realize that you don't know your bike brands! Check out Fuji. Check out the award-winning aero SST line (if you want an aero frame, they sell the SST 3.0 w/ 105 components keeping it affordable for mid-tier buyers, besides selling it w/ Ultegra and DuraAce), the Altimira line and Bicycling Magazine's award winning entry level Roubaix line. For 2012, they are releasing the Gran Fondo line to compete against Cannondale's successful Synapse line. Fuji's line is on par w/ Trek's line... Fuji is ridden by at least 2 teams in the Pro Tour. Also, Fuji is actually an AMERICAN brand! It is owned by Advanced Sports Products in Philadelphia. - 09/25/2011
C A. I think FT was missing the point. The author was talking about the brand of the bike not the componentry. I think the bigger question to ask yourself is what kind of riding are you doing. If it's a few times a week casual rides, may 30-60 minutes each, you can get away with a Wal-Mart or Target bike hybrid bike. If your doing more than that, then you are in the $1000 range or above. And then you also have to think about maintenance, repairs and things like that. If you are choosing cycling as a serious fitness regimen, then yes, you need to learn to do those things. It's simple mechanics, maybe $100 in tools and there are TONS of videos online to show you the way. The more serious you get, the more time it requires, the harder you'll work at it and the tougher it gets. - 06/04/2011
Elias M. Also no mention of any offerings from Specialized, which make some of the best consumer level bikes on the market. - 05/22/2011
Matt S. While high end derailleurs may be fun for high end bikers, sometimes the regular crap works just fine. I accidentally bought road cranks for my commute bike when what I really needed was as a 22-33-42 MTB set. Just spent over $100 to get what I needed. Build your own, it's easy. - 02/12/2011
Jack G. I think Ben is being elitist. One of my bikes is a road bike with Shimano Sora components, and can't imagine what he's talking about with respect to brakes. In my experience higher end dérailleurs shift more smoothly than Soras, but brakes are brakes. My Sora's never drag, adjust well, and the pulls have been reliable for a few thousand miles. Why would someone looking for an entry level road bike need to spend $300-$500 more? The fit of the frame is much more important that an individual component like brakes. A bike that doesn't fit the rider is a bike that doesn't get ridden. I would encourage new riders to buy the bike that fits the best in their budget range, then ride the hell out of it. - 01/16/2011
Bob L. get a yeti the best bike ever built hand assembled in Colorado the rolls royce of mtn bikes!!! - 01/13/2011
Ben S. These bikes do retail for under $1000, but I would have trouble recommending any of them to a beginner. The frames are all decent, but you don’t really start to get into quality components until you jump up to Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival. Shimano Tiagra is ok, but Sora is crap. One of the most important things a beginner needs is a good brake-set for safety and confident stopping. Unfortunately, bike makers skimp on brakes in the under $1000 category. I would encourage new riders to save up for a bike in the $1,300 to $1,500 range with quality, name-brand brakes and 105, Rival, or SRAM Apex components. - 12/21/2010
Sierra W. The US population is aging - by 2020, there'll be 22 million people older than 75 yrs, & in 2011 the 'baby boomer' generation begins retiring. It's also when the US is in the midst of it's deepest recession next to the Great Depression. So let's talk practicality here. How about worrying more about shocks, since the brunt of the road is borne by the hands/arms thus the neck? Or, the shocks for the back. Lance Armstrong & other racers train by leaning on forearm pads & having their backs level. Ordinary folk out for a ride - & this is essentially the targeted audience here in this article, supposedly - ride with backs bent at weird angles & again, their weight is on their arms. Talk shocks & frame lightness/metals, along with deraileurs, please. Old ladies have to hoist those bikes up, you know. - 12/13/2010
No W. You must have an endorsement with these companies. There are many road bikes in this range that will make these look like they are standing still. - 11/30/2010
Howard B. what about the specialized tricross model - 10/11/2010
F T. "it can't hurt your road credibility to be riding the same brand as Lance Armstrong." Do you really think Lance Armstrong is going to ride a bike with Sora plastic hardware? Who are you kidding? Dude there are walmart bikes with shimano parts, there is no glamour there. "Fuji just doesn't have the respect, reputation or reviews of Trek bikes." Ok its official you have no idea what you are talking about. Good day. - 08/24/2010

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