How Much Should You Spend On A New Road Bike in 2026?

A new road bike in 2025 can cost anything from a beginner road bike at £400 to a pro cycling super bike at £10,000+. But what price road bike offers the best performance for it’s price. We discuss 2026 road bike pricing and see what road bike features you can expect at each price point.

For more details about any of the road bikes featured in this video head to: www.decathlon.com

Van Rysel NCR CF Tiagra: https://bit.ly/4pcc7ZF
Van Rysel NCR CF Sram Rival AXS: https://bit.ly/4nWtQDo
Van Rysel RCR-R 105 Di2: https://bit.ly/43xpuLX
Van Rysel RCR-F 105 Di2: https://bit.ly/4nTbjYH
Van Rysel RCR-F Pro Team: https://bit.ly/49iZAzd

This video contains paid promotion on behalf of Decathlon UK.

0:00 Intro
0:45 Budget Road Bike
1:58 Road Bike Under £1,000 / $1000

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One of the questions that we get asked literally all of the time is how much should I spend on a new bike? Well, obviously that is going to be influenced a lot by your personal budget. But is there a sweet spot of price versus performance? Should you perhaps stretch to get that bike that’s a little bit more expensive? or should you actually save some of your bike budget to spend on things like kit or a holiday or less important things like families or something like that? To find out, we’re here in London at the Decathlon store and behind me I have a selection of bikes from a variety of price points. So, make sure you’re subscribed and let’s get into it. Right, I think we found it. This is the cheapest drop bar bike currently in the Decathlon store. This is the Triban RC120. It’s got an alloy frame. It does have a carbon fiber fork, which is quite a nice bonus for a bike of this price. So, if you’re looking for a bike that’s sub 500, then something like this is probably the way to go. It’s nice and versatile. It’s got decent tire clearances. It’s got nice robust tires on it that aren’t going to puncture as soon as you take it outside. And this one actually has disc brakes as well. It’s also got a 2x8speed group set on it. Now, I think that’s a really good choice for anyone just getting into cycling. It’s got plenty of gears to get you up some steep hills and plenty of gears for powering along on the flats as well. This is definitely a bike that’s going to have no problems getting you from A to B. And it’s got loads of rack mounts. Uh you can fit a set of mud guards to it. It’s got no proprietary parts on it, so easy to swap out if you did ever want to upgrade it. Now, obviously, this is a bike towards the lower end of the range. And what that means is it’s going to be a bit weightier than the ones that we’re going to see in a minute. So, with that in mind, let’s move up a price point and have a look at something a bit more premium. [Music] Right. So, representing the £500 to £1,000 category, we have this Triben RC520. Now, this is a bike that has won all sorts of awards for its value for money. But what sort of features can you expect from a bike under £1,000? Well, I think the main difference between this bike and the bike we just saw is that you’ll notice that this has Shimano branded group set components. Now, Shimano is a huge brand. Stram is a huge brand. Um, there’s nothing wrong with the with the ones on the other on the other bike, but when it says Shimano on it, you know you’re getting some quality stuff really. So, like the bike we just saw, it’s got a double crank set at the front. But then, if you come back here, look at all these. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. It’s got a 2 by1 11 speed group set. So, as you spend more, you can generally expect to have more gears to play with at the back. that is um you don’t necessarily want more at the front, but more at the back is tends to be a good thing cuz it closes up those gaps. So, if you, for example, wanted to go on a group ride, I think you’d be a lot more comfortable on a 2×11 speed group set because you can find a comfortable cadence. It’s less of a problem if you’re going on solo rides because then you’re dictating your own pace. But if you’re riding with someone and they want to ride at one pace, then this is going to be a good way of finding a comfortable cadence. So, another difference between this bike and the one we saw a minute ago is that it’s got these drop seat stays. Now, we’re going to see this become a bit of recurring theme on the bikes that we’re going to see in a minute as well, but basically drop seat stays can add to the compliance of the frame. You’ve got more area that can flex. Um, and that means that when you’re going over some bumpy roads, you’re going to get a bit more compliance from all those bumps. We’ve still got external cables, aluminium frame, carbon fiber fork, still got all those mounting points. Um, again, a really versatile frame with some really quite generous tire clearances, and you can fit your racks or mud guards on this. So, yeah, if you’re looking to spend under £1,000 on a bike, then the features that you can expect, I’d still be going for disc brakes. The rim brake bikes, they’re just getting fewer and far between. And I know this we said a minute ago is a controversial topic, but disc brake bikes, so this bit here, it basically means that you’ll wear this bit out and not the rim of the wheel. So you can keep using it through all conditions. They often offer a bit more modulation, especially in wet weather as well. And this really is a bike that you’ll be very happy on whether you want to ride big distances, potentially commute on it, or even join your local group ride. Right, moving on up and we’ve got this, our first Van Rezel, the NCR CF Thiagra. Now, I know what you might be thinking. Thiagra is lower than Shimano 105. And yes, it is. This is only a 2×10 speed group set, in fact. But actually, I don’t think that matters too much. I think 2×10 is more than enough gears. And there’s plenty of other features on this bike that more than make up for that. So, what are those features? as well. I’ll try and rattle through them as fast as possible. First up, we’ve got a full carbon fiber frame, and that is going to shed a lot of weight off of the total build. So, again, got a carbon fiber fork. You’ll also notice that these are hydraulic disc brakes, so they are actuated by hydraulic fluid rather than cables, and that means a lot less maintenance and a lot more stopping power as well. Another thing is you’ll notice that this one looks a bit cleaner because it’s got integrated cabling. So the the brake hoses and the gear cables are rooted through the frame. Now that adds a bit of complexity to it, but it certainly looks cleaner and is supposedly a little bit more aerodynamic, but shouldn’t worry about that too much. So at this 1,00 to1,500 price point, you begin to see that you get a lot more branded components. So for example, this has got Shimano series components throughout. So everything says Shimano on it, even the brake calipers. It’s also got Mavic wheels. Again, they’re a they’re a quality brand. At this price point, you can expect a full bike build to be under 10 kilos as well. And actually, thanks to the carbon fiber frame, this one is just over 9. I think the key distinction between this bike and the previous two that we’ve just seen is this is really for people who are looking to for that extra bit of performance. So whether you want to dip your toe into racing your mates on a local group ride, then this carbon fiber frame is going to reward that. Between 1,500 and 2500, things don’t initially seem to change that much. In fact, this is exactly the same frame as the one that we just saw. It’s still got a carbon fiber frame. It’s still got internal rooted cables, although you might notice that there’s a few missing. Now, that’s because this is the first price point that we’re introduced to electronic shifting. So, what that means is that well, there’s little batteries in the shifters up there and they wirelessly control the front mech and the rear mech. Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love electronic shifting, but it is a luxury rather than a necessity. And that’s why I think at this price point I would either save a bit of cash and go for the price point below or I would try and get all my coins together and stretch a bit further for a bike like the next one we’re going to see. So this is it. the Van Rezel RCRR and this is the same frame shape as the ones that you’ll find team Dathlon A2R riding around in the World Tour in Pro Races. Now, what makes this bike stand out to me? Well, quite a few features actually. First of all, it’s still got an electronic group set. Still got full carbon fiber frame and fork. It’s also got this frame that’s tailored, well, it’s kind of sculpted by the wind. It’s been it’s had some wind tunnel time is what it’s had. And that means that you are gonna have a bit of an advantage, especially on flat roads. It’s also really quite lightweight, so you’re not going to be held back on the hills. And at this price point, we’ve got a set of carbon wheels for the first time. Now, they’re going to be lighter, they’re going to be stiffer, and they’re going to be more aerodynamic than their aluminum shallow counterparts. So, what that means is out on a group ride or a solo ride, you’re not going to have any excuses. The other good thing about this price point is there’s not actually anything that I’d want to change on it in a hurry. So, it’s got actually really good tires. These are Continental GP5000 STRs. Now, that’s not always the case at this price point, but if you search around, you can find bikes that come with really nice tires, and they’re worth a bobble or two, too. Also, at this price point, for the first time, we’ve got a power meter. Now again, that is a luxury item, but if you’re serious about your training and going fast, then this might just help take your cycling to the next level. Um, we’ve also got some really nice clean lines. Like this is all it’s still semi-integrated, but they’re quite neatly tucked under the under the stem and then they run down through the frame. So, just looks clean. What I think we’ve found here then is the sweet spot of price versus performance. For under £4,000, I think you can have a bike that put the right rider on it and I think it could win the tour to France. I think that beyond this point, you really get diminishing returns when it comes to performance. Right then, things are getting spicy now. For in between 4,000 and £6,000, you can get something along the lines of this. So, this is the Van Rezel RCRF. And at this price point, you can get some really sort of specialist tools, including some really funky aero bikes like this one. So, this is the same frame layout as the one that you’ll find the pros racing around on. You also get again electronic shifting, all of that malarkey. You get some really deep wheels, deep carbon wheels sort of begin to become a thing at this price point. And yeah, just specialist tech. So again, power meters, fully internal routing. Whoever you take your bike to to work on it or if you do your own workshop maintenance might not thank you for fully integrated bikes, but they do look really clean and you might save a few fractions of a watt if you’re traveling really fast. This one even comes with a really fancy Aero tire. How about that? But there is one more price bracket to go. [Music] Right here is the most expensive bike in the shop. This one will set you back about £10,000 and it’s representing our £6,000 plus category. And for this price point, what you can expect is the best of the best. Money, no object. Is it a sensible bike? No, probably not. But I think this is one of the really good things about cycling. You can buy exactly the same bike that the pros are riding. This has got everything that the pro team are riding. It’s even the same color. So, it’s got the same layup frame just like the last one. It’s got full durace Shimano Durace componentry. It’s got a double-sided power meter. It’s even got a carbon rail saddle. These uh Swiss side wheels have ceramic bearings in. This really is it’s a dream build is what it is. Would I recommend buying it though? No. Not if it was my own money. Um, you get such marginal gains over the the previous bikes which are so much better value, like basically half the price of this or less. So, my own money would be going on probably a bike in between £3,000 £5,000. Let me know which of these bikes you’d most like in your garage down below, and we’ll pop links to all of them down in the description. If you like this kind of content, then please give it a like, hike the video, and subscribe to the channel for lots more bike stuff. We’ll see you next time.