Value Road Bikes
Road bikes are undeniably expensive, however, there are brands out which do put bang for buck right at the heart of their ethos. So, if you're looking for the latest and greatest road bike from brands who do try to offer you more than more value than premium manufacturers, then, watch this video as Sam Gupta lists all the road bike manufacturers which he believes will be updating their ranges in 2024.
Transcript
00:00 A couple of weeks ago I published a video which went into detail about some of the bikes that I
00:04 would love to see be released in 2024. But, rightly so, some of the viewers thought I'd
00:10 missed out some of the better value brands. So I went back into the archives to dig out
00:15 six bang for buck road bikes which I would love to see get an update in 2024.
00:25 First up we have the German brand Cube. Currently it sponsors the world tour team
00:30 Intermarché Wontego Bair and they are running the brands Lightning Aero and Air. The former,
00:36 as the name suggests, is Cube's aero bike and the latter is its lightweight climbing bike.
00:41 It was only in 2022 that Cube launched the Air, so I don't believe that a new version of the bike
00:47 will be coming next year. And that's just as well because it doesn't actually really need updating.
00:53 It boasts a claimed weight of 6.6 kilos and features most of the latest mod cons meaning
00:59 it looks right at home racing up the side of a mountain amongst the other bikes in the peloton.
01:04 However, it's when we turn our attention to the Lightning Aero that some of the tech
01:08 starts to look a little bit outdated since it was last updated in 2019, so is well overdue some TLC.
01:16 For starters, the claimed weight of the frame is a pretty hefty 980 grams. Of course,
01:23 it's not terrible and since this is an aero bike it will always be a little bit heavier,
01:29 but I believe that the brand has the opportunity to save at least 100 grams from the frame
01:35 while also refining some of the tube shapes. Some parts of the frame are undoubtedly good looking,
01:41 like the head tube and the top tube and the fork and actually the down tube too. However,
01:46 it's when we turn our attention to the seat tube cluster that things start to look a little bit
01:51 dogged. The seat post also looks like it was a bit of an afterthought, so perhaps if this were to be
01:58 slightly more integrated with the overall frame shape, the bike could start to look even more
02:03 attractive front to back. The Californian bike brand, Felt, is one which has left me a little
02:14 disappointed in recent times. In the past, it felt like they had a bit of a heyday but haven't yet
02:21 returned to those same heights. When I look at its range of bikes, I can start to see why, which is a
02:28 real shame because it is a brand which I think has some great innovation behind it and has the
02:34 potential to offer so much more. Currently, both the AR and FR look pretty dated and even the specs
02:41 of those bikes reflect that as many of them are still wearing 11 speed Shimano group sets. But
02:47 I do like how on the top models, Felt has opted to fit third party wheels like the Zipp 353 NSWs
02:53 or the Reynolds AR58s lower down in the range. If the brand could give both range of bikes a
03:00 complete refresh so that they can compete with the likes of the Tarmac SL8 and the Cannondale
03:05 Super 6 Evo, it could be on to a real winner. Felt always used to deliver a really good level
03:11 of bang for buck and it always felt like you were getting something which should have cost at least
03:15 a thousand or so more. So if it can get back to that and release a new aero and climbing bike
03:21 which delivers some superb value, then I cannot see why it won't return to being one of the go-to
03:27 choices for consumers. You cannot speak about bang for buck bikes without speaking about Van Riesel.
03:38 Back in spring of this year, it released an entirely new range of bikes and there is one
03:43 which I'm particularly excited for, that being the RCR. Soon to be the official ride of Team
03:49 AG2R Citroen, the bike looks to be a do-it-all racing machine. The reason why I'm particularly
03:56 excited about this bike is because pairing the good value of a Van Riesel with world tour
04:01 performance could create an irresistible combination for consumers. Van Riesel says
04:07 that it's the perfect balance between lightness, stiffness and aerodynamics and looking at the bike,
04:13 it's easy to see where it's coming from. The sculpted tube shapes and claimed frame weights
04:18 of around 800 grams could be a recipe for success. Only time will tell how it fares when we get it
04:24 in for testing, but I am happy to take a small amount of confidence in it becoming AG2R's new
04:30 bike. The team wouldn't just accept anything, so it must have conducted some internal testing on
04:35 the bike along with Van Riesel itself. So I'm hoping that the cross collaboration will have
04:41 resulted in one of the best bang for buck race bikes out on the market.
04:48 British brand Ribble is also one to watch in 2024. It has fully established itself as a brand which
04:58 delivers value above pretty much all else. However, the Ribble Ultra SLR has also tested pretty fast
05:06 in the wind tunnel too. Launched back in 2021, the bike landed like a bit of a space rocket.
05:12 The deeply sculpted frame and radical handlebar design set it apart from pretty much all other
05:18 bikes on the market. But now, as we approach 2024, there is a small chance we could see
05:24 something new and updated from the brand. I'd imagine it would come in late 2024,
05:30 if it comes at all. But if and when it does come, I'll be expecting something pretty exciting
05:35 and otherworldly, and likely something that not many people could even imagine up.
05:40 One bike in the Ribble range which I believe is crying out for updating is the Endurance model.
05:47 I would love it if Ribble could spend some more time making the frame set just a little bit
05:53 lighter. If Ribble could reduce the overall weight by about 10-20%, that bike would quickly become
06:00 a lot more playful and a lot more fun to ride. The other area of improvement I'd like Ribble
06:05 to focus on would be its own in-house wheels. These need to be wider and they need to be lighter.
06:11 If it can sort these issues out, the Endurance would make really big steps forward in its appeal,
06:16 performance and ride feel. This year, Vetus launched a new gravel and/or road bike,
06:27 the Venon. We loved the bike and how you could buy it as a full gravel setup or in a more road-going
06:33 Endurance build. There's one bike in the Vetus line-up which in the past we have also shown a
06:38 lot of love to, that being the Vitesse Evo. In 2021, we gave it our Editor's Choice Award.
06:45 Thanks to the bike's fantastic build options paired with how the bike performed out on the road,
06:49 it all came together as the ideal choice for riders looking for a great value road bike that
06:54 performed like others, but cost much, much more. This is why I'd love to see Vetus give this bike
07:00 a refresh next year. It's fair to assume it may only be an incremental improvement from the
07:06 current generation, but since what Vetus currently has is so good, anything it can do to make the
07:12 Vitesse even a bit better is only a win in our eyes. It's not often that you can buy a bike with
07:18 a full SRAM Red AXS groupset for around the $6,000 mark, so for the next generation, I would
07:25 love to see more Shimano builds offered at a similar level of value. And also, more frameset
07:31 availability and colour options really wouldn't go amiss for those that want to build one up
07:35 themselves. Last on this list is the Focus Izalco. It's not a bike which puts bang for
07:46 buck right at the heart of its ethos, as it does cost quite a lot to get onto the platform,
07:52 and has some fierce rivals which a number of people I believe would prefer to go for,
07:58 but the Izalco does still retain a loyal fanbase. This loyalty can be attributed to the bike's
08:04 stiff frame, but one which still allows you to hammer out the miles, and owners also rave about
08:10 how the bike handles and performs when the road gets twisty. It really does embody the do-it-all
08:15 race bike mantra. However, in the UK, you have to spend over £5,000 to get a bike with electronic
08:21 gears, and even then, you're only getting SRAM Rival AXS. The only price point which slightly
08:28 redeems the Izalco is right at the top end, as the Dura-Ace build mercifully tops out just shy
08:34 of the £10,000 mark. This is where other brands could probably be charging another couple of
08:39 thousand on top, but Focus does hold back here, probably out of recognition of its place in the
08:45 market. So, if we are to see a new model launched in 2024, I would hope Focus retains a lot of what
08:52 its loyal fanbase loves so much, because all it really needs are a few tweaks to the frame shape
08:57 and a small reduction in the full build weights. Let me know down below, which bang for buck bike
09:03 would you love to see be updated in 2024? If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like,
09:09 subscribe to the channel for more content, and I will see you again very soon.