What’s The Best Bike For $1000? | GCN Tech Show 327

What would you look for in a $1000 bike? 💵🕵

A word about bike shops (in Enland).
My adult son snapped a shifter cable on his town bike, and took it to the big bike chain shop he bought it from to get it fixed. They quoted 100 quid for parts and labour.
Total rip off. All the cable routing is external!
He went down the road to a smaller local shop, which did the job for 15 quid - a fiver for the cable and a tenner for the work.

"That is horrific... should we buy one?" 😂

For a new rider, I would recommend buying their first bike from a proper bike store. This way, you will not have to spend any money right away on maintenance and consumerable components. Plus, many if not most bike stores will also throw a few servicings for free.
For a new rider, having to spend hundreds more, right after splashing out on a used bike, might put them off riding.
If I had a budget of £1,000 for a new bike, I'd look for a quality rim brake frame sporting a Shimano Sora or Tiagra groupset. I might have some money left over for my pedals and other accessories.

A caution on older and rim brake bikes…tire size may be limited so that you may miss out on some comfort or potentially rolling resistance

1. Don’t ignore a previous year’s bike. There are some good deals out there.
2. Bias selection towards the frame. Opens door for gear upgrades when group set etc. wears out.
3. Avoid carbon wheels and rim brakes.
4. Don’t get hung up on group sets. The efficiency delta is very, very low even though subjective aspects like feel might be there.
5. If you get a killer deal on sale, consider a tire upgrade right away.
6. Win on tune. Keeping a bike clean, chain lubed, brakes adjusted, tires properly inflated and indexing perfect costs nothing for a DIY. All these things save watts and can make the difference between a slow fast bike and a fast slow bike.

For £1000 u can get a second-hand full carbon frame, hydraulic disc brakes, shimano 105, or ultegra group set in good condition bicycle

During Covid time I spent about $1000 to buy a secondhand carbon bike with a 10 speed 105 mechanical group set, unused carbon wheels and tyres, rimbrake pads therefor. It’s an old setup, but I’m totally satisfied with the purchase. Since this bike is from a minor brand (Masi) and no longer available in my country, I feel rather special!

[Ollie's impassioned defense ends]
"It's a 'nice' for me"
🤣

Triban 520 has 105 with hybrid hydraulic cable operated disc brake £900

These days, what isn’t too expensive? 😢 Food, fuel, electricity, oxygen, sunlight,etc,etc.

Get the E-moped and challenge it to destruction!
Just make sure you charge it well outside the walls of GCN towers! 😳🔥

Slight correction in your Sales Tax calculation, yes UK sales tax is 20% however it is not a straight 80:20 of the ticket price shown.
The calculation is actually (pre-tax price) + 20% = Sales price
ie. an item selling for £1200 is £1000 pre tax + £200 tax
So in the case of £1000 bike would be +/- £833 pre tax + £167 tax😉

With all this content on budget-friendly bikes lately, I'd love to see GCN do a comparison test between different levels of the same product line. The Giant online shop currently has these new bikes available for order:
2022 TCR Advanced Disc 2 Pro Compact - $1950 (Sale price) - Shimano 105 mechanical
2025 TCR Advanced 2 PC - $3,200 - Shimano 105 mechanical
2025 TCR Advanced SL 0 DA - $12,500 - Shimano Dura Ace Di2
First I'd like to see if a 2025 with 105 is appreciably faster that a 2022 model with 105. Then I'd compare the 2025 trim levels. Is the Dura Ace Di2 version significantly faster than the 105 version? Fast enough to justify costly 4 times as much as the 105 version?

For a total newbie to cycling going new for a $1K makes more sense than used. As a newbie wouldn't nesscerally know a good value bike vs a crap one.

there was also way to much plant matter between the paving stones to supernice ollies bike photo. just saying ( still a bit peeved for the rating of my peugot in ep.262 ;) thx for the videos!

I started cycling last year and my budget was 1k. I went 2nd hand and bought a 18 month old full carbon TCR/105 /discs and love it you get so much more value than buying new.

The change in the price of bikes is astounding. I bought my bike from Decathlon in 2016/17. It is steel frame, carbon forks, 105 groupset and rim brakes and it cost all of £650. It is essentially the exact same spec as your £1000 bikes now.

Cross Oli when his bike vault picture was mocked, properly made me chuckle. Thanks for that, you lovely people.

Id still go for disc, you got an addition option if you want to go gravel. Decathlon has good deals. And also aliexpress

Just bought a new bike from AlterCycles, Reflex 500. Al frame w/ Carbon fork, Tiagra 2 x 10, hyd disc brakes, and 38mm tires. It is flat bar bike and the price had been marked down to $1100.
Now I am just waiting for the weather to cooperate.
But in my heart I agree with you guys that there are great deals in used bikes.
But since I already own 6 older bikes, I thought that a new one might be fun.

Now ollie knows how it feels if he give our bikes a nice and is nit picking every little detail about a picture. 😂

As someone fortunate enough to live in the UK with a reasonably decent wage then the money saved on cycle scheme with the large saving and interest free payments this gives, makes me lean much more towards new bikes. Every used bike I buy I end up spending a lot of money getting it to the point I'm totally happy with it.

Shopping for rim brake is great advice. And alloy brake tracks with solid calipers have all the power you could need.
Shop used while bike industry is in turmoil.
I just bought a lightly used 2021 rim brake TCR with 105 for $700.
After swapping in my ultegra group and my own lighter wheels it weighs 16.4 lbs.

"do you want to see my helmet" lol 😅😂

My parents used to buy always new cars being afraid of buying something with hidden malfunctions or a post-crash vehicle. I inherited this approach from them and it translates to bikes for me too.

My first road bike was an alloy rim brake 105. Solid as a rock and just about right on $1000.

I'm glad to see the Marvel 50V show up in this video, I just received my 60V and set them up tubeless yesterday. I'm just waiting for a couple days of rain to clear the salt of the asphalt before my maiden ride

Im a sucker for the wavey design on wheels and Ive ordered a set of the Drive Helix D's.
Also, they are a 60t ratchet system so they are going to be some rudebois in a group ride.

I picked up a Look 675 light with ultegra di2 and Zipp wheels and absolutely love it. Weight about 7.4kg, some aero nods and super comfortable. Much better than a 105 equipped new alloy bike that will be 1-2kg heavier, less aero, no electronic shifting and less cool looking

Suggestion for a €1000 do-it-all bike: Cube Nuroad FE. Fully Equipped for commuting gravel bike: dynamo, mounted front and back light, stand, mudguards, minimalist bike rack for panniers, carbon fork, mech. disk, tiagra group and 40mm schwalbe g-one tires. Bit heavy, true, but has everything you need if you're on a budget and can only have one practical yet sporty bike .

Picked up a used caad 12 with hydraulic 105 11 speed for about a 1000. A few years old, but few kms. Spent another 1000 on used lighter wheels, 38cm bars, carbon seat post, carbon seat, and gp 5000 30mm tyres + tubolito tubes to get the weight down to 8kg. It's not quite as nice as my more expensive race bike, but not far off. Great alu frame. Super happy

Ollie's Pinarello, NICE! It's missing a second bottle cage.

for normal use, rim brake bikes are totally fine for most of situation. And I quite like the judgement on Ollie's new bike 😅

Love the value bike talk! It's really important to grow the sport. Personally, I'd take a hydraulic (or cable hydraulic) disc brake bike with Tiagra over a rim brake 105, but I came from MTBs, so I haven't trusted rim brakes since the early 2000s. But if you go used you can get it all!

I started off with an $800 used bike (Cannondale CAAD7), and then spent a few years slowly gathering parts for a separate custom race bike build. Wouldn't have even attempted the process for the race bike build (or even stayed in the sport at all) had it not been for the entry level bike that got me hooked in the first place.

I tend to think you •can• get more for your money on the used market but that’s •if• the seller is realistic about their asking price. I’ve seen way too many bikes being offered at delusional asking prices, particularly bikes that were bought during the peak of the pandemic when new prices were out of control. They understandably want to not lose their ass on the sale but when you’re selling a used bike that’s barely under what I can get at retail, I’d just rather pay a little more and have a warranty.

Canyon Endurace 7 Al Rim brake has been phenomenal. Full 105, under 8.5kg and able to take 28mm tyres 🎉

I had a Mongoose Supergoose with an unpadded saddle. I had completely forgotten about that. Thanks for that memory. 😁😁😁😁😁😁

Boardman slr 8.9 is a shout. Full carbon frame and forks. 105 derailleurs. Cheap enough to upgrade chainset and brake calipers

So I chose a Trek Al2 as my first road bike for returning to the hobby after too many years.
Over time I simply upgraded the parts to Shimano 105 12 speed mechanical with scribe carbon wheels with gp5000 tyres.
Also redshift stem and seat post and some aero handlebars.
It's now a different beast all together.
Personally I've really enjoyed building it up myself rather than just buying a better specked bike as I've done it all myself and have had a great refresher course of bike building and maintenance.
However I will add the al 2 stock was pretty damned good to be honest as it was........

I'm currently building up a Trek Domane SLR (ex demo frame from a LBS), SRAM Force AXS (unused when the owner replaced the groupset with SRAM Red AXS), and it's coming out at just over £2k. Chain, tyres (GP5000 with TPU tubes), rotors, and bar tape are all brand new.

In addition to price, I feel age of the bike is also very important. I recently saw a Kestrel 4000 for sale. No mention of age given but by the pic, 1st Gen DA shifter.brake levers. Advertised as DuraAce, carbon fiber aero bike. All true, but could be 30+ years old. Listed at $900 US.
A new rider may focus on those key words only. A better question may be best price based on year.
As always, great show.

My current #1 bike, I bought the frameset used on eBay - 3 years old, perfect condition and ~1/3 retail ($1100 vs $3500 retail) - once upon a time, the depreciation on bikes was insane - don’t know if that’s still the case, but I would never buy new when I could get a good used for a fraction of the price

I bought a sensa aquila in 2019. All carbon, Full ultegra 8000 rim brakes. brand new.cost £1300.
Even today, it's an awesome bike. I doubt that anything can beat it today!!!
Today, £1600 but 105.

Hi Alex. Love helmet, definitely agree with you, the green at the back does make it more appealing

For short people looking to buy used, there's a group on a certain social media platform that is a gathering of shorties selling bikes for short people. When you ride a 49 ish cm bike, finding used in budget can be quite difficult. I ended up buying my main bike new. I looked for about 6 more months and finally found a budget friendly used back up bike in my size.
So, to all my fellow shorties -- don't give up hope on finding a good used bike in your size! They're out there, but they do require more work to find.

Ribble currently have the R872 full carbon fibre bike on sale from £1599, with 10 speed Tiagra groupset down to £999, looks a great bike for the money (Teal only, Anthracite grey is still full price).

For folk living in the UK, Halfords are currently offering the Boardman SLR 8.9 for £900, reduced from £1,200.

i dont think theres anything wrong with mechanical discs or rim brakes for people on a budget that arent racing etc, when i started cycling i ran mechanical disc brakes on my first bike after a while riding and working on my own bike i learned how to adjust and set the brakes up to perform more efficiently (single side tektro) granted the Trp spyre twin sided would be better, i think mechanical disc/rim brakes are so easy to work on and maintain they are underrated in the beginner category 👍🏼

I bought a giant defy advanced 2 for $600. Used of course. 105 mechanical with alloy ultra light rims. I love it and I think it was a heck of a deal.

Tiagra Hydraulic? I feel like GCN glosses over this excellent groupset. It’s always 105 or “low tier” groups. Tiagra is basically 105, 10 speed. GRX400 is also amazing.

I got a 2021 Specialized Tarmac SL6 zero miles of marketplace for $1300. Tiagra hydraulic groupset.

The GTC lusso is a family hatchback for some…
Bought a 2013 Defy 1 with 105 parts for less than 500. Feels almost new as now many miles has been out on it. It costed over 1k new.
Run brake will live on even if they die off completely on new bikes. Shimano still ships consumable parts for Ultegra 6700.

I got a full carbon, 105, rim brakes £900 bike on cycle to work scheme.
Slr 8.9 Boardman at halfords.

For reference 1000 British pounds is $1710 CDN. Big difference from trying to buy a bike for $1000 CDN.

A year ago I bought an ex-Welsh team bike. It was a 2021 Dolan Rebus, ultegra 8000 Durace shifters. Rotor 53 39 crankset with inspider powermeter, Alpina 35 ml deep section wheels and a selle italia san marco short fit saddle. It cost me £387.50 on an auction site. I have ridden it every week since it's awesome. I'll upload a pic to the bike vault if I can work out how 😂

Pinarello didn't used to be quite that exclusive.
I still have my Pinarello FP2 2011, 105 10spd, full carbon frame that cost me £1500 in 2012. Still going strong.
They've become more exclusive over time...

VAT of 20% does not mean £200 of a £1000 gross price is tax, so a £1000 bike is not £800 net. Otherwise that would be 25% VAT. The true net price is £833.33 On a £1200 (gross) bike, the tax would indeed be £200.
It's still a hefty chunk of change though, and when you factor in things like Business Rates, Employer's NI and the like, not to mention PAYE and tax on any profits, the actual taxation is more like 35%

Ollie's Pinarello's a thing of beauty but as you said Alexei it's leant against a wall ! Buy him a shadow stand.

The Peugeot is on a ramp hence the confusing brick work and the stick at the back :D
Thanks for the Super nice 🔔🔔

I got a 2012 specialized tarmac elite ultegra group set (rim brake) for £300. Rides like a dream

Went used, got a Canondale super six evo with 11speed ultegra and a power meter. $1500 nzd. Needed chain, cassette and a tire.

Fantastic opening topic for someone like me who is still relatively new to the world of cycling, and has to keep to a fairly low end budget. Expertly delivered by the 105 of presenters too 😁 Dont worry Ollie, your bike got a super nice from me.

Getting a mechanical disc bike allows for upgrading to hydraulic in the future.
I would take hydraulic Tiagra over mechanical 105 easily. I would also take a mechanical disc Claris over rim brakes.
Alloy frame, carbon fork, sealed cartridge bearings in the hubs and headset and rack/fender mounting points.

I bought an Allez Sport, with 9 speed Sora & rim brakes brand new for £699 in July last year.........I already had a carbon stem. & seatpost to put on it - and Cero AR30 wheelset. Currently have 32mm GravelKings on it.......

Friend of mine just brought a cannondale synapse carbon frame ,hydraulic disc 105 group , 850pound , bike is like brand new , guy said he had done 400 miles on it 🤯 second hand all the way , so many good deals

As a New Yorker, the ebike/moped free-for-all has been complete mayhem, adding a great deal of extra high-speed chaos to our already-chaotic streets. Having guys constantly zipping around you at 28mph on a throttle ebike has really changed the mood and tempo of riding in bike lanes, and made them much less inviting for newer bikers to try bike commuting. These more powerful bikes have made higher-speed travel instantly easy for less-skilled riders and it's causing more collisions, and more damaging ones as the bikes involved are bigger and heavier. In theory I love anything that gets more people riding, and a lot of the riders are deliveristas who depend on that motor-assist to do their jobs. But these bikes feel too powerful to play well with others on our streets, and if regulating them means I can't get food delivered from Harlem to Brooklyn (a ridiculous distance) I am OK with that!

I always recommend reaching out to cycling friends or Facebook groups because I've found lots of amazing people who acknowledge how expensive cycling is and pay it forward by giving away superb bikes to new riders/racers for way less than they would command on the open market.

we here in irish land have a cycle to work incentive which is €1000 euro of which you only pay back half thru tax in your wages over a year, so feels like its free!! Also you can get €1500 toward an electric bike,some use it to get new good wheels on their bike etc, you are entitled to this every 3 years!! So a €1000 bike is pretty popular here! Take care, Slante!!

Twitter R12 Pro (aero carbon frame, inner-cables, hydraulic disk brakes, 13s cassete, with wireless derailleurs) is just around 1000€

Last year I managed to buy a second hand 2017 Sensa Giulia for a 1000 euro. It is full carbon, has Ultegra Di2, carbon wheels and a powermeter included. Incredible deal imho, only trade off is rim brakes. After the corona bike buying madness, this is the perfect time to buy second hand bikes.

Props on the work @09:52

The pity ring. ROFL LOL 🤣

Thank you SO MUCH for the wahoo update reminder. I'm a fair weather cyclists (I run the rest of the time, not just lazy) but I have a ride planned in and was about to be hit by a HUGE update delaying my ride.

Wow suddenly they suggest rim brakes when sponsored by a rim brake wheel maker! Rim brakes have always been great.

The new Helixes with gold decals look exquisite! Definitely on my radar for distant future upgrade.

Wow. I’m impressed that the CEO of Precision Fuel & Hydration was so helpful, and not just plugging his products.

Considering how much GCN talk about tyre clearance, cable actuated discs are perfectly fine for most riders

Hey @gcntech would you please do a review of the DMT KM0 shoes you are wearing for gravel? Sweet looking - wondering about comfort and performance.

I agree with the first bike you mentioned, the Specialized Allez, Shimano 105 or better. If you can't find a new one in your budget, go used

Maths Ollie ! The VAT free price of a £1000 bike is (approx) £833 not £800. (I love a bit of pedantry).

Wish this was available before I've bought the orbea avant 2022.. a massive tank, heavy, bulky, and slow.. spokes constantly need tighten as they get loose after every ride..
Never spend money on orbea.. specialized allez is a killer, light and comfy, fast and affordable. If you can go with rim break, you win in all other fields.

Hello GCN dudes
I think I got a good used deal, I bought a bike from a used bike dealer locally, its a Cube Attain, Ali frame,Hyd Disc, all tiagra 4700 groupset, fulcrum 77 wheels,looks like new, although I think its a 2013 model ? I paid £500, it certainly does for a 63 yo newish road rider, one thing I have noticed is that the non power side crank arm is an Ultegra and not Tiagra like the crank side? Any idea why.
Regards John

Used carbon bikes 7-10 years ago with 7900 6700 or 5800. Is the best bang for your buck under 1k usd. Use the remeaining money on a premium low resistance tires and get latex or tpu inner tubes.

Decathlon triban RC520… alloy frame, carbon fork, 105s…. DISK brakes

I’d go new, as the discount on new bikes is bringing them into second hand price range (for bikes a couple of years old) and go with hydraulic brakes for two reasons; I’m a heavier rider and need the stopping power and I love the comfort of wider wheels on longer rides

I’d be too worried about stolen bikes on the used market.

Did you consider in your study the bike frime previous year discounted that good except they don’t have the last paint job in general not a big issue?

Ferrari makes a very sensible-looking family hatchback, the GTC4Lusso 2:58

I got the bottom end Canyon Endurace CF for $2k. While I love the bike and am having a great time riding it, if I were to do it again, I would buy the aluminum version. Save the money and/or potentially upgrade the wheels and tires with the savings. The fork flex in the low end CF is annoying. The cheaper, stiffer AL would be better, even with the weight penalty over CF.

Poor Ollie! 🤣 You just knew that he was going to be given grief for his new bike, it does without saying

that is SO egg nog on the back of that helmet--in fact, 'Egg Nog' would be the perfect name for that helmet as it protects your noggin and it's 'natural white'

If disc brakes and wide fork that can fit gravel tires, then the Giant Contend AR4 has excellent geometry and shimano Claris - for newbies I'd consider this as a better option than anything with caliper brakes and narrow forks

I was looking for something for my kid, and I found a whole bunch of things that looked like that that under CA law either qualified for E-Bikes or "Mopeds".

Bonus points if your rim brake bike has mounts for disc calipers

Everybody should at least "look" at a PREVIOUSLY RACED PRO BIKE. They are out there, maybe not $1000, but still not breaking the bank. Just picked up a mint 2023 TREK BOONE 6, di2 Ultegra, carbon everything with Paradigm training wheels and new rubber - $2500.

Ollie complaining about e-bikes sounds like car drivers complaining about road cyclists. :D

"That is the worst thing I have ever seen, we should buy one!"

#askgcntech What is the weight differential between Schimano 105 mechanical and Claris? On an entry-level bike, are you truly focused on weight? Thanks.