£1,000 bikes

Four models which prove you can get a brilliant bike at this price point

What

Bike brands are fully aware that a lot of people want to keep their bike spend to three figures — whether that’s because they have a cycle-to-work voucher or they just don’t think they’ll get four figures through the home accounts — so it’s a competitive price point. That’s always good news for the customer.

The first thing to note is that the price of carbon-fibre frames has come down while the technology has advanced. Whereas in the past we might have advised going for a decent aluminium frame with a higher spec than a low-end carbon one with a low-end spec, now it’s worth taking the time to evaluate each bike individually.

That’s why we’ve got two aluminium bikes in this test from two of the biggest names — Specialized and Canyon — up against two carbon models from Boardman and Ribble.

Almost ubiquitous at this price point is 105, Shimano’s third-tier groupset. However, what’s not so clear-cut is how much of it you’ll actually get. To keep the price down brands will often swap out the chainset and/or brakes. Likewise, a budget wheelset will almost certainly be specced. On the subject of wheels, we’ve stuck with rim-brake bikes as they offer the best performance for your money at this price point.

Why

Canyon’s Endurace alu range has an excellent reputation. We gave the Endurace AL 7.0 Disc (£1,499) a perfect 10 last year. Can the rim-braking version supply a repeat performance? Specialized’s Allez is one of the best respected and longest running range of alu bikes. The redesigned E5 is a perennial favourite.

The Boardman Road Team Carbon has made the £1,000 price point its own for a full 10 years with a race-orientated frame and hard-to-beat spec. Preston’s Ribble Cycles, with its online Bikebuilder program, can rival and even undercut the big brands for range and value. The R872 has the look and feel of a much more expensive bike.

How

We’ve put these bikes through their paces for the last year. We’ll take you through the frame and spec details before assessing their ride quality and value.