10 of the best sportive bikes around £1,000 for 2022

Sportive bikes and endurance road bikes, with their comfort-focused design and equipment, are the most popular style of road bikes in the UK - and you can get a lot of bike for around £1,000 these days.

Best Sportive bikes round £1,000

• Ribble Endurance AL Disc Tiagra — from £1,099
• Trek Domane AL 3 Disc 2022 — £1,100
• Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon — £1,150
• Vitus Zenium Tiagra — £1,199
• Specialized Allez 2022 — £949
• Giant Contend 1 — £699
• Cannondale Synapse Disc Tiagra 2021 — £1,099.99
• Merida Silex 200 — £1,075
• Cube Attain Pro Road Race — £1,049
• Van Rysel EDR AF 105 — £1,199.99

You can spend as much as your budget will allow on a sportive bike, with full carbon and electronic gears at the top-end, but we’re going to focus here on bikes that cost around £1,000. As this article shows, your choices are wide and varied.

For around £1,000 you can expect bikes built with aluminium frames, carbon fibre forks and predominantly Shimano groupsets, with 105, Tiagra and Sora the most common. You might get a carbon fibre frame at this price but that commonly means the components will be downgraded to account for the more costly frame. Essentially, you'll get better parts on an aluminium frame because the cost of an aluminium frame is much less than one made from carbon. Modern aluminium frames are very good, a far cry from the harsh ride they used to be known for.

Read more: road.cc Sportive and Endurance Bike of the Year

Many frames at this price share key features found higher up the price ladder so you’re getting the same focus on comfort, and in terms of geometry the same upright riding position and space for wider tyres - most bikes here feature 25mm tyres as a minimum and most will go wider if you wanted to upgrade. One advantage of disc brakes is that they more easily allow the fitting of wider tyres.

There’s a mix of rim and disc brakes as well, and both have their advantages - discs are generally better in bad weather but heavier and pricier, rim brakes are lighter and cheaper but not as good in the wet. Most manufacturers offer a choice, but on a bike for around £1,000, rim brake bikes still offer the best value for money. Those bikes with disc brakes will be mechanical disc brakes, which are good but not as powerful or reliable as hydraulic disc brakes, but you're going to have to spend more to get a sportive bike with hydraulics. Nevertheless, disc brakes are now in the majority here.

Read more: 23 of the best sportive bikes — great bikes for long, fast rides in comfort

10 excellent sportive bikes for around £1,000

Ribble Endurance AL Disc Tiagra — from £1,099

With the Endurance AL Disc, Ribble has created a bike for the masses. It's ideal for winter training, commuting, club runs, short blasts or long rides – it's even quick enough for entry-level racing. The balanced, neutral handling works for the beginner, without feeling overly relaxed for the seasoned roadie. It's a lot of bike for the money.

With the tyres pumped up hard you can feel what's going on with the road below, but the frame and fork dampen much of the harsh vibration. The contact points don't tire you out on long rides. And that's ideal because long rides are something the Endurance AL does very well.

While the Endurance AL Disc is definitely at the go-faster end of the sportive bike spectrum, the geometry is more relaxed than the majority of race machines, with a slightly shorter top tube and taller head tube for a slightly more upright position. The head angle is a touch slacker too, which takes the edge off of the steering speed, while the longer wheelbase (there to allow the frameset to accept mudguards) adds to the stability.

It still focuses on performance though, and by slamming the stem you can get a good saddle-to-bar drop when you want to get a shift on.

Read our review of the Ribble Endurance AL Disc Tiagra

Trek Domane AL 3 Disc 2022 — £1,100

Trek has dropped the latest versions of the aluminium Domane endurance bikes right into the border territory between pure road bikes and gravel bikes. Like its stablemates, the Domane AL 3 Disc has clearance for fat tyres (32mm are fitted as standard) and mudguards, and multiple mounts for bottle cages, racks and even a top-tube snack box.

This £995 edition has Shimano Sora components, through-axle tubeless-ready wheels and Tektro C550 disc brakes, all built on the same frame Alpha Aluminium frame that Trek uses for the £1,600 Domane AL 5

Read more: Trek gives new Domane AL Disc and all-road edge

Boardman SLR 8.9 Carbon — £1,150

You don't find many carbon fibre bikes in this category any more, but here's Halfords and Chris Boardman to prove it can still be done, with the 105-equipped SLR 8.9 Carbon.

Channelling his inner Arthur Shappey, tester Stu described the SLR 8.9 as "brilliant!" He added: "I did a couple of long rides – four hours or so – on the 8.9 and it's a smooth ride. There's no harshness to speak of, and I found the riding position well thought out. It's a quick and efficient bike to ride, especially as the front end geometry is on the lively side of neutral. Technical descents can be taken at speed, not only because of the planted feel, but also thanks to the stiff fork and rigid, tapered head tube and steerer.

"On the whole, the SLR 8.9 is a fun bike to ride as hard and as fast as you like."

This version gets 11-speed Shimano 105 shifting and Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Graphene 2.0 tyres, an upgrade over the previous Vittoria Rubinos.

Read our review of the 2021 Boardman SLR 8.9

Vitus Zenium Tiagra — £1,199.99 (currently out of stock)

If you prefer disc brakes on your carbon-fibre sportive bike, take a look at the Tiagra-equipped Vitus Zenium, available at Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle. 

The Zenium is designed as an all-rounder that can act as everything from a winter workhorse to a nippy sportive bike. The frame and fork are both made from T700 HM-UD carbon fibre, and they're thoroughly modern with through-axle dropouts and clearance for up to 30mm tyres.

If you want one you'll have to wait and sign up for news on when more of these will land, as all sizes are currently out of stock. 

Specialized Allez 2022 — £949.00

Specialized made the Allez a slightly gentler bike in 2018, changing it from the previous eyeballs-out race bike to something more suitable for long rides. It's still quick, but its previous razor-sharp handling has been calmed a touch, and the new version even has eyelets for mudguards and a rack in acknowledgement of the Allez's status as a popular fast commuter for Cycle To Work Scheme buyers.

Nevertheless, the Allez still feels tight under hard cornering and braking and that it hasn't come at the cost of comfort. The entire frame manages to take out the worst of the road buzz and tester Stu never once felt like he'd taken a battering.

Read our review of the Specialized Allez Elite

Giant Contend 1 2021 — now £699.00

Giant’s Contend models are what the company terms road all-rounders and that makes them perfect all-day bikes. The Contend 1 features a frame made using Giant’s own ALUXX aluminium with shared features like an OverDrive headtube and PowerCore bottom bracket to provide a stiff frame, but most importantly the D-Fuse seatpost is borrowed from the Defy to keep the ride smooth and comfortable. A Shimano Sora groupset with a compact chainset and Giant’s own tubeless-ready wheels, tyres and finishing kit complete the package.

Read our review of the Giant Contend SL 1

Cannondale Synapse Disc Tiagra 2021 — £1,099.00

The Synapse has been a popular choice for cyclists seeking comfort for long distance rides for a good few years. The frame is designed to smooth rough roads and it's a comfortable ride thanks to a skinny 25.4mm seatpost and a geometry that places you in a more upright position. This aluminium version is equipped with Promax Render R mechanical disc brakes and a Shimano Tiagra/FSA groupset. Tyres are Vittoria Zaffiro in a 30mm width and the disc brakes offer better braking in all conditions.

You're currently looking at September to pre-order 2022 alloy Synapse models, but some 2021 models are still in stock. 

Read our review of the 2022 Cannondale Synapse 2 RL with SmartSense tech

Merida Silex 200 — £1,075

Merida's previous Ride endurance bikes are no more, replaced by new Silex platform, a more versatile design intended for everything from sportives to exploring dirt roads and easier trails. The range opens with the £1,000 Silex 200 (above) which is built up with a 9-speed Shimano Sora groupset and Promax Decode R mechanical disc brakes. You get some very low gears via the 48/32-tooth chainset and 11-32 cassette.

While the Sora components aren't quite as nice as the Tiagra you often find in this category, the 6066 aluminium frame and full carbon fork offer loads of upgrade potential down the line. Merida uses the same Silex Lite aluminium frame for the £2,100 Shimano Ultegra-equipped Silex 700.

Read our review of the Merida Silex 200

Cube Attain Pro Road Race 2022 — £1,049.00

Cube’s Attain combines an aluminium frame with a relaxed and upright riding position and disc brakes. It’s packed with modern details like internal cable routing, a carbon fork, thru-axles and mounts for mudguards, increasing its versatility if you want to use it for commuting as well as weekend sportives. A Shimano Tiagra groupset with 28mm wide Continental tyres are equipment highlights.

Van Rysel EDR AF 105 — £1,199.99

Decathlon’s Van Rysel EDR AF 105 is a popular road bike because you get a really good parts package for the price, backed up with a decent frame that offers a fine ride. This model features a complete Shimano 105 groupset including chainset, and Fulcrum Racing 6 wheels with 25mm Michelin Lithion 2 tyres. Those parts are all hanging off an aluminium frame with a claimed weight of 1,460g in a size M and carbon fibre fork.

Explore the complete archive of reviews of bikes on road.cc