Best endurance bikes 2024: a buying guide

The best endurance bikes are designed so you can just keep riding, with comfort and stability top attributes. Heading out with just a few provisions in your pockets and exploring known and unknown roads always feels a lot like freedom. For many of us, it's why we began cycling in the first place. 

Of course adventurous road rides can be experienced on any bicycle. But they're far more enjoyable if undertaken on one of the best endurance bikes.

These are road bikes designed for long days in the saddle; drop bar machines that are less concerned with speed, rather on delivering bags of comfort over demanding terrain. If you're planning on tackling a sportive or gran fondo or training to ride 100 miles, then these are the bikes best suited to the challenge ahead.

So what do the best endurance bikes have in common?

The frame's geometry will certainly be more relaxed than that of a race bike, with a more upright riding position and a shorter reach to the handlebars. This more upright riding position is likely to be accompanied by a frame design that places a premium on compliance - including in most cases room for wider tyres. Often you'll get other comfort features like microsuspension built into the frame too, helping to smooth out the constant vibration from uneven road surfaces. 

The idea of comfort extends into the bike's gearing, with a wide range commonplace, offering you a low gear for the steepest climbs as well as helping to preserve your energy, while still allowing you to ride quickly on flatter roads. Other features you should expect to see include disc brakes and mounts for mudguards.

The endurance sector is well-established meaning there's plenty of choice but also many decisions to make when choosing the best road bike for you.

We've ridden and reviewed a wide range of endurance bikes, so here's our pick of the best endurance bikes, after which we'll help to answer questions about what features you should look out for when searching for a bike in this category.

The Best Endurance Bikes

The Endurace AL 7 has had a recent update.  It's still designed for all-day riding adventures, with geometry racy enough to provide a fast and fun ride. However it now has clearance for 35mm tyres and comes specced with 32mm (as opposed the 28mm on our review bike). There are also mounts for a tube tube box, further adding to its all-day riding credentials.

Elsewhere it still uses Shimano's ever-reliable 105 groupset - the 11-34 cassette provides plenty of range - and Fulcrum Racing 900 wheels. It's also still available in some markets with a rim-brake option.

Read our full review of the older model Canyon Endurace AL 7.

With a relaxed position and stable ride, those long miles will be eaten with ease aboard any of the Defy models.

Giant tweaked its best selling bike in 2020. It has taken its D-Fuse seatpost concept and applied it to the handlebars. Now both the seatpost and handlebar will dampen the bumps on the road. The brand has also lengthened the wheelbase slightly to add a comfortable level of stability. The tubes have also been re-shaped.

The Overdrive 2 steerer promises excellent handling and front end stiffness thanks to oversized headset bearings. 

The reviewed model comes with a Shimano Ultegra drivetrain. However for 2023 the 11-speed mechanical Ultegra groupset is now offered on the Defy Advanced Pro 2, which features Giant's SLR-2 carbon wheelset, while the Advanced Pro 1 is offered with both 12-speed Shimano Ultegra Di2 and SRAM Force eTap AXS. The top-tier Advanced Pro 0 uses SRAM Red eTap AXS while the Advanced Pro 3 is equipped with Shimano 105.

The Giant Defy Advanced range starts with a model equipped with a Shimano Tiagra groupset (not available in the US). The Advanced 2 features Shimano 105 while the Advanced 1 boasts an Ultegra groupset. There's also an Advanced 0 which utilises SRAM's Rival eTap AXS electronic groupset. 

We have a full explainer of all the bikes in the Giant Defy range or you can read our full review of the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 1 here.

With aerodynamically optimized tube shapes and a 2x11 hydraulic disc brake groupset, this offering from Ribble represents extremely good value. The quality of the frame does not disappoint, with the carbon doing a lot to absorb the road buzz. With discrete eyelets for mudguards and confidence-inspiring handling, long winter miles aren’t a problem for this bike.

The Mavic Aksium wheels our bike came with are not the lightest, nor the most aerodynamic. While they are certainly dependable and robust, in pure performance terms they do hold back the bike a little from its full potential.

Fortunately, Ribble allows you to swap out components with its Bikebuilder app. There are a wide range of wheelset options, heading up to some very expensive raceworthy hoops and you can choose the groupset spec that suits your budget, including the new Shimano Ultegra Di2 12-speed. 

You can read more about the Ribble Endurance SL Disc here.

The Specialized Roubaix saw a major overhaul in 2017 with the addition of the 'Future Shock' front suspension, and 2019 saw another update, with adjustable suspension added to the top models. 

The suspension built into the steerer tube provides 20mm of damping between the Hover handlebars, with their slight raise, and the frame. The Future Shock suspension does a great job of improving comfort on really rough surfaces, and also helps to improve handling, as the tyre spends more time in contact with the tarmac around bumpy surfaces. The bar shape does mean that there's less room to mount lights and other accessories though.

At the rear the carbon S-Works Pave seatpost is clamped below the top of the frame, adding some extra flex and compliance and there's clearance for 33mm tyres, although no mudguard mounts. There's a good quality range of finishing kit, although we found the Praxis Alba chainset didn't shift as smoothly as an in-series Shimano 105 unit.

The 2023 Roubaix comes in a number of models with wide ranging specs. The entry level Roubaix Sport comes with a Shimano 105 hydraulic groupset (with a Praxis chainset), while the Comp model is offered with  an electronic SRAM Rival eTap AXS groupset (£5,000). There are also Expert and Pro builds as well as the top-tier S-Works bike that comes with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 12-speed and has an RRP of £12,600.

We reckon that the higher specced models of the Roubaix are a better bet than the entry-level Sport spec, as they give you features like a lockable Future Shock, which helps if you're riding hard. Take a look at our reviews of the Specialized Roubaix Comp.

For more info, read our explainer of the Specialized bike range or our full review of the Specialized Roubaix Sport.

The Cannondale Synapse is renowned for offering a comfortable ride, without cancelling out the quality handling and frame reactiveness that you want from a road bike.

It's been significantly updated for 2022 and we haven't yet had the opportunity to fully review the latest models, although you can read our first impressions of the Synapse Carbon 2 RL. 

The headline-grabbing new feature is the integration of SmartSense lighting and a radar to let you know what's coming up behind you. There's also a new carbon frame with clearance for 35mm tyres, better aerodynamics and mounts for mudguards and a top tube bag. 

The RRP for the top spec Synapse Carbon 1 RLE is £9,000 but some of this new tech is offered on cheaper models, such as the Synapse Carbon 3 L, which still boasts the SmartSense lights, and the frameset improvements but is specced with Shimano 105 to help lower the price significantly to £3,200.  The spec sheet above applies to this new version rather than the 105-equipped model we reviewed in 2020.

We have recently ridden this latest iteration of the Synapse, where we got to experience first hand the various updates including the SmartSense lights and radar.

The Boardman SLR 8.9 delivers a carbon frame and fork, which have been wind tunnel tested, for a price that's not much over £1000, where many brands will give you alloy. Although billed as an all-rounder, the SLR 8.9 is plenty comfortable for longer rides and sportives. 

To hit that price it's made a few compromises, so you get rim brakes rather than discs, although we found them as effective as the cable operated discs that you're likely to find at this price. 

You also don't get quite the full 11-speed Shimano 105 groupset, with an FSA chainset, but it's impressive for the price. Tyre clearance at 28mm is okay, but wider rubber would up the compliance.

Read our full review of the Boardman SLR 8.9 here.

The Trek Domane has evolved over the years into an extremely capable endurance road bike that can tackle long miles on surprisingly rough terrain. Part of its magic is the inclusion of the front and rear IsoSpeed decouplers; these pivot-based flex points take the square edge off big hits without sacrificing any efficiency or power transfer.

The other piece of the pie is the tyre clearance. There is room in the frame for up to 38c tyres (35c with fenders), which also makes it somewhat gravel-friendly. Trek has also integrated nifty down tube storage that comes with a tool roll and is big enough for a few spares and tools or heaps of snacks.

We reviewed the 2019 SL 6 but the 2022 version is offered with both Shimano's Ultegra groupset (as tested) or if you prefer electronic shifting, SRAM's Rival eTap AXS. There's a broad range of Domane models in the range, starting with the sub-£1000 alloy Domane and topped off by the Domane SLR 9 at over £11,000, so it's worth reading our Trek bike range overview for more context.

Read our full review of the Trek Domane SL 6 too.

The Roadmachine from Swiss brand BMC has the slightly more upright ride position, tubes shaped for compliance and space for tyres up to 33mm that mark it out for endurance riders. It's a bit faster handling than many endurance bikes though.

The Roadmachine 01 comes with BMC's top end carbon and an Ultegra Di2 groupset. There's a D-shaped seatpost, also designed to smooth the road and BMC's integrated cockpit for clean looks. There are no fittings for full mudguards, but BMC does make a rear clip-on that's mounted to the rear of the seatpost to help keep your rear end dry.

Read our full review of the BMC Roadmachine here.

Painted up in its trademark celeste green, the Bianchi Infinito XE sees a slightly more relaxed position than its racier cousins with a taller head tube and a slightly longer wheelbase — which also makes more room between the rear stays for bigger 32c tyres.

But hidden between the layers of carbon that make up the frame is Bianchi's Countervail vibration cancelling technology. The viscoelastic material which is incorporated into the layup was originally developed for NASA and does surprisingly well to eat up harsh road vibrations before they reach the touchpoints. The layup also sees the same Carbon Nano Technology used in the Oltre XR which reduces the gaps between the resin and carbon fibres vastly increasing the overall stretch and stiffness.

All of this adds up to a planted and confident frame that creates a plush ride, but with chunky tubing that is unyielding to twisting and flexing during big efforts and sprints.

The current model is offered across three builds: 11-speed Shimano 105, Ultegra and SRAM Rival eTap AXS. 

Read our full review of the Bianchi Infinito XE.

The Best Endurance Bikes Buyers Guide

There are a number of features of an endurance bike's geometry that should make it comfortable for riding long distances over rough terrain, normally including a more upright riding position that will place less stress on your back and neck.

The first thing to look for is a taller head tube, which will usually be more than 17cm for a 56cm frame, although on some bikes it will be approaching 20cm, which will mean that you don't have to lean over as far to reach the bars. Of course, this position can always be tweaked by the use of spacers underneath the stem and by using stems of different angles.

Endurance bikes will also usually come with a slightly shorter top tube, which will effectively bring the saddle and handlebars closer together. Again this will mean a more upright, less stretched out position to reduce the strain on your back and neck.

Other endurance bike geometry features are designed to improve the comfort of the frame and to alter the bike's handling. Most endurance bikes have a slightly slacker head tube angle and greater fork rake, which will create a more compliant front end and more stable handling, while a longer wheelbase (occasionally greater than a metre) also makes for a less twitchy ride.

Finally, the majority of endurance bikes come with disc brakes rather than rim brakes. These are by no means a deal breaker, but certainly offer a number of benefits over rim brakes. Most notably you get more consistent braking performance in wet and dry conditions, while they have more braking power and better modulation as you don't need to squeeze the brake lever as hard to apply the brakes. 

More expensive bikes are likely to have hydraulic rather than mechanical disc brakes. In general hydraulic systems are more powerful than mechanical disc brakes and they're a closed system so not subject to contamination and should be lower maintenance.