Written by Menswear Style in Health & Fitness on the 5th September 2016

If you’re an avid cycler, then you’ll understand how difficult it can be to select your perfect bike – especially when there’s literally tons out there. So if you’re new to cycling, looking for a cost-effective means of commuting to work, or you’re simply just looking for a new whip to leisurely coast around on; you should look to educate yourself on the best road bicycle available for your budget. However, before this step it’s important to know which brands to look for, which is why we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 bike brands for men’s road bikes.

Boardman 

Founded by legendary professional cyclist, Chris Boardman, Boardman bikes are continually setting the pace for intermediate to expert cyclists. With top of the line build specs for their respective price points, the Boardman range consists of three levels; Pro, Team, and Comp. Although Boardman is often associated with being pricey, that’s not exactly true. It’s more a case of you’re able to get more ‘bang for your buck’ when you’re shopping with a larger budget, as many of their models are built with carbon fibre and alloy frame designs.

Trek 

Founded in 1976 and popularised by the likes of Lance Armstrong and Jens Voigt, Trek is one of the leading road bike brands and has been for a number of years. Their range of road bikes are excellent for riders of all abilities, as their build specifications are competitive for all price points and generally provide riders with the perfect platform for them to customise or upgrade their bike. It is, therefore, to no surprise that Trek is such a commercialised brand with around 1,700 dealers across North America, subsidiaries in Europe and Asia, as well as distributors in over 90 countries worldwide.

B-Twin  

As a subsidiary brand of massive online retailer, Decathlon, the rise in popularity of B’Twin bikes has been exponential over the past 10 years or so. With B’Twin being manufactured and distributed through Decathlon, their range of road bikes offer incredible value for money with quality build specs for various price points. Experienced riders can benefit from highly competitive prices on top of the range carbon fibre road bikes, whereas intermediate and beginner bikes are offered the perfect companion for their daily travels – without the need to break the bank.

Specialized  

With a wealth of top professional riders in the world today sponsored by Specialized, they have truly cemented as a household name in the cycling world particularly with the likes of Ellen van Dijk and Team Gerolsteiner signed up to their ranks. Despite nearly going bankrupt in 1996, Specialized was bought by Merida Bikes of Taiwan and has grown to become one of the biggest cycle brands in the US. Similar to the Boardman range, Specialized’s range of road bikes are geared towards greater budgets simply because the build specs for their top of the line road bikes are astounding.

Canyon  

Canyon epitomise the power of German engineering and are continually stretching the boundaries of road cycling, with their immense build specifications and top of the range components. These road bikes are built to last, and they’re fairly inexpensive too when considering value for money. Similar to B’Twin, Canyon’s range of bikes are sold direct from the manufacturer so there’s no hefty mark-ups for more well-known retail distributors. This means that the price: component ratio is much more beneficial for riders that know exactly what they want. Canyon’s range of road bikes ooze superiority when it comes to riders of all ages and experience levels, so it’s most definitely one to consider. The only downfall, however, is that all Canyon bikes are delivered unassembled so you may have to pay for someone to build it if you cannot do it yourself.

We feature Boardman, Trek, B-Twin, Canyon and Specialized in our guide to 5 of The Best Road Bike Brands for Men 2016.