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Road bikes can be expensive, with some superbikes costing over $10,000. Are these high prices worth it?
I’ve analyzed data from more than 600 road bikes made by popular manufacturers to answer this and many more questions.
So…
How much do road bikes cost?
The average price of a road bike in 2023 is 5,982 USD, and the median price is 5,200 USD. This data is based on data from 647 mass-produced road bikes. This is about a 22% increase compared to 2021.
How much do road bikes weigh?
The average road bike weighs 8.32 kg (18.34 lbs) in 2023. This weight is based on data from 268 mass-produced road bikes. It’s important to note that many manufacturers don’t provide weight information for their bikes.
Keep reading to learn more about the diminishing returns of high-end road bikes, the declining popularity of rim brakes, the increasing popularity of electronic shifting, and much more.
IMPORTANT NOTES
- This research includes bikes from the following brands:
Argon 18*, BH*, Bianchi*, Boardman, BMC, Cannondale*, Canyon, Cervélo*, Colnago*, Corratec*, Cube, De Rosa, Factor*, Felt, Focus, Fuji*, Giant*, KTM, Lapierre, Look*, Merida, MMR*, Orbea*, Radon, Ribble, Ridley, Scott, Specialized*, Trek, Triban, Vitus, and Wilier*.
Brands marked with * do not publish weights online. Therefore, they were excluded from statistics that included weights.
(Pinarello road bikes were not included because they do not publish prices and weights online). - Prices, weights, and other technical details were taken from each product’s official website.
- Data were collected in July and August 2023.
- Every bike is included once (same bike in different colors = one bike). This does not apply to bikes with different groupsets (the same bike with Shimano Ultegra or Ultegra Di2 = two bikes).
- Some prices had to be converted from GBP, EUR, or CZK to USD.
How Much Do Road Bikes Cost?
| Type of road bike | Price range |
|---|---|
| Department store road bikes | up to $500 |
| Entry-level road bikes | $500Â –Â $2,000 |
| Mid-range road bikes | $2,000Â –Â $5,000 |
| High-end road bikes | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| ‘Super’ road bikes | $10,000+ |
I divided the following section into three subsections. The first one includes all bikes, the second carbon road bikes, and the third aluminum road bikes.
The chart below shows the total number of road bikes by material.
NOTE: Due to the low number of titanium and steel road bikes, I do not examine them separately as carbon and aluminum road bikes.
Road Bikes Prices (All Materials Included)
This section details the prices of 647 bikes. Most are made from carbon (84.5%) and aluminum (13.6%). Steel and titanium (1.9%) bikes are rare among mainstream brands.
So, how much do road bikes cost?
The cheapest road bike is the Triban RC100. It still has rim brakes and costs only 300 USD.
The most expensive road bike is the COLNAGO C68 with Campagnolo Super Record WRL groupset. It costs 18,241 USD. This price is based on the conversion from the price in Czech distribution.
The average road bike price is 5,982 USD. The median price is 5,200 USD.
The following chart shows the average, minimum, and maximum price of road bikes based on the frame material.
Carbon road bikes are 4.5 times more expensive on average than aluminum road bikes.
Carbon Road Bike Prices
547 of 647 bikes are made of carbon. This accounts for 84.5% of all road bikes.
The cheapest carbon road bike is the Boardman SLR 8.9 CARBON. It costs 1080 GBP (~1360 USD).
The most expensive carbon road bike is the COLNAGO C68 with Campagnolo Super Record WRL groupset. It costs 18,241 USD. This price is based on the conversion from the price in Czech distribution.
The average carbon road bike price is 6,744 USD.
TIP: Browse these road bikes under $5,000 or the most expensive road bikes.
Aluminum Road Bike Prices
88 of the total 647 bikes were made from aluminum. This accounts for 13.6%.
The cheapest aluminum road bike is the Triban RC100. It costs 300 USD.
The most expensive aluminum road bike is the BMC Teammachine ALR ONE. It costs 3,499 USD.
The average aluminum road bike price is 1,510 USD.
You might also be interested in the prices of Tour de France bikes and the weights of Tour de France bikes.
How Much Do Road Bikes Weigh?
| Type of road bike | Weight range |
|---|---|
| Lightweight road bikes | Under 6.8Â kg |
| Aero road bikes | 6.8 – 8.5Â kg |
| Heavy road bikes | 8.5Â kg and more |
Disc brake road bikes are about 0.5Â –Â 1 kg heavier on average than similarly specced rim brake road bikes.
Let’s start with the weight distribution of road bikes. As you can see from the following chart, the road bike weight ranges from 6 to 11.5 kg.
The following two charts are one of the most important ones if you want to get the best price/weight ratio for your money. I calculated the price per gram for each bicycle with stated weight.
The price per gram starts increasing exponentially at around 0.9 USD/gram, which means that you will pay a premium from this point onwards.
After merging both graphs into one, we get the following graph. It shows that heavy road bikes are relatively cheap and light bikes are cost premium (even 2.0 USD/gram). It also shows the diminishing returns of high-end bikes as their price increases exponentially.
The average weight of a road bike is 8.32 kg (of 647 bikes).
The average weight of a carbon road bike is 8.03 kg (of 547 bikes).
The average weight of an aluminum bike is 9.8 kg (of 89 bikes).
The breaking point of the diminishing returns accelerates at around 0.9 USD per gram. To get the best price/weight ratio, I recommend you purchase a bike that costs less than 1 USD per gram (ideally around 0.5 USD/g).
The average price per gram of a road bike is 0.698 USD (of 647 bikes).
The average price per gram of a carbon road bike is 0.801 USD (of 547 bikes).
The average price per gram of an aluminum road bike is 0.155 USD (of 89 bikes). This is five times lower than a carbon road bike’s average price per gram.
If you are interested in your bike’s price-to-weight ratio, you can easily calculate it using the following calculator.
CALCULATE THE PRICE/WEIGHT RATIO OF YOUR BIKE
Rim vs. Disc Brakes Usage: Are Rim Brakes Dead?
Not yet, but they (probably) will be. Take a look at the road bike brake type chart below.
Of 647 road bikes, 94% come with disc brakes and only 6% with rim brakes. For comparison, when I did this research in 2021, 17% of bikes used rim brakes.
This chart shows how many bikes come with disc or rim brakes based on type. Endurance road bikes have the highest rim brake ratio (15.7%). Notice that all aero road bikes use disc brakes.
It’s probably no surprise that most rim brake road bikes cost below 2000 USD, but there are a few higher-end road bikes with rim brakes as well.
Due to the small number of samples (especially in higher price ranges), it is impossible to quantify exactly how much heavier the disc brakes road bikes are. However, 0.5 to 1 kg would be a good estimate.
Performance, Aero, vs. Endurance: Does it Matter?
I was also interested in the price and weight differences of performance, aero, and endurance road bikes.
Before we dive in, let me briefly explain these road bike types:
- Aero – aggressive geometry, aero optimized (thicker tubes, deep section wheels, etc.).
- Performance (also called racing, lightweight bikes) – aggressive, racing geometry, not as aero optimized as aero road bikes.
- Endurance – less aggressive and more comfortable geometry (usually longer head tube) than performance road bikes, not as aero-optimized.
Learn more: How to Choose a Road Bike?
Endurance and performance road bikes are still the most common (85.6%). Aero bikes are more niche (and also more expensive on average). They account for 14.4% of total bikes.
Prices of Road Bikes Depending on Their Type
The following chart shows road bikes’ average, maximum, and minimum prices based on their type.
The average price of an aero road bike (8,369 USD) is twice as high as the average price of an endurance road bike (3,826 USD). The average price of a performance road bike is 7,439 USD.
The cheapest aero road bike (Merida REACTO 4000) costs 2,825 USD*, while the cheapest endurance road bike (Triban RC100) is 300 USD. The cheapest performance road bike (Felt FR 30) costs 1,999 USD.
*This price was converted from 62,990 CZK (the price in USD was not available).
The most expensive aero road bike (BIANCHI OLTRE RC TOUR DE FRANCE LIMITED EDITION) costs 16,777 USD, while the most expensive performance road bike (COLNAGO C68) is 18,241 USD. The most expensive endurance road bike (COLNAGO C68 Allroad) costs 16,599 USD.
Price per Gram
The average price per gram for an aero road bike is 0.890 USD.
The average price per gram for an endurance road bike is 0.359 USD.
The average price per gram for a performance road bike is 0.723 USD.
The minimum price per gram for an aero road bike is 0.466 USD (Felt AR Advanced | 105).
The minimum price per gram for an endurance road bike is 0.074 USD (Boardman SLR 8.6).
The minimum price per gram for a performance road bike is 0.223 USD (Cube AXIAL WS RACE).
The maximum price per gram for an aero road bike is 2.216 USD (Scott FOIL RC ULTIMATE).
The maximum price per gram for an endurance road bike is 1.501 USD (Canyon Ultimate CFR eTap).
The maximum price per gram for a performance road bike is 2.388 USD (Scott ADDICT RC ULTIMATE).
Weights of Road Bikes Depending on Their Type
The following chart shows the average, maximum, and minimum weights of road bikes based on their type.
The average weight of an aero road bike is 7.81 kg
The average weight of an endurance road bike is 8.90 kg.
The average weight of a performance road bike is 7.64 kg.
The heaviest aero road bike weighs 8.91 kg (Felt AR Advanced | 105).
The heaviest endurance road bike weighs 11.28 kg (Scott Speedster 50).
The heaviest performance road bike weighs 9.60 kg (Cube AXIAL WS RACE).
The lightest aero road bike weighs 7.1 kg (Trek Madone SLR 9 Gen 7).
The lightest endurance road bike weighs 6.88 kg (Canyon Endurace CF SLX 9 Di2).
The lightest performance road bike weighs 6.16 kg (Canyon Ultimate CFR Disc Di2).
Groupset Stats: Shimano and SRAM vs. Everybody Else
Unsurprisingly, Shimano and SRAM dominate the groupset market. But what does this dominance look like in numbers? They supply groupsets for 96.3% of analyzed road bikes!
Bikes with Campagnolo were usually from Italian brands like Bianchi, Wilier, or Colnago.
I was also curious about which road groupsets are the most popular. The mechanical 105 won by a landslide, followed by the 12spd Shimano Ultegra Di2 and 12spd 105 Di2.
The following statistic was one of the most surprising for me. Electronic groupsets are more popular than the mechanical ones (66.3 vs. 33.7%).
TIP: Check out these benefits and disadvantages of electronic vs. mechanical groupsets.
Summary
Here are the key findings of my research:
- 547 of 647 bikes are made of carbon. This accounts for 84.5% of all road bikes.
- Of 647 road bikes, 94% come with disc brakes and only 6% with rim brakes. For comparison, when I did this research in 2021, 17% of bikes used rim brakes.
- Diminishing returns accelerate at around 0.9 USD per gram (see the chart).
- The average price per gram of an aluminum road bike is 0.155 USD. This is five times lower than the average price per gram of 0.801 USD for a carbon road bike.
- The average price of an aero road bike (8,369 USD) is twice as high as the average price of an endurance road bike (3,826 USD). The average price of a performance road bike is 7,439 USD.
- The average weight of an aero road bike is 7.81 kg, while the average weight of a performance bike is 7.64 kg. Endurance bikes average 8.90 kg.
- Electronic groupsets are more popular than the mechanical ones (66.3 vs. 33.7%).
I hope you enjoyed these statistics and that they provide a useful source of information that will help you decide which road bike to purchase.
We spent more than 40 hours with my brother working on this research. Therefore, we would be happy if you could share it further. Thank you!
Road Bike Prices & Weight FAQ
Sources
argon18.com
bhbikes.com
bianchi.com
boardmanbikes.com
bmc-switzerland.com
cannondale.com
canyon.com
cervelo.com
colnago.com
corratec.com
cube.eu
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This is great, been looking for something like this. Are the bicycle weights without pedals?
Hi Josh,
Thank you. You can imagine how long it took me to gather all the data. 😀
Yes, of course. All weights are without pedals and accessories like bottle cages. 🙂
– Petr
incrediable stats presented in a readable and digestible fashion…
appreciate this info..
can not imagine how long this took..
Hi,
Thank you. It took a lot of time. Updated stats based on 2023 data should be out soon too. 🙂
– Petr