Road Bikes

You’ll have seen these in the Tour de France.

Racing bikes (also known as road bikes) are designed to go as fast as possible on tarmac, everything is pared down as much as possible to save weight and improve aerodynamics.

Racing bikes have quite a lot of gears, but they are very close together so the rider can choose a gear which perfectly matches the conditions. The riding position is quite hunched over to cause less wind resistance, and the drop handlebars give a choice of riding position depending on conditions. Tyres are very thin and at very high pressure.