{"id":103217,"date":"2025-08-30T13:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/103217\/"},"modified":"2025-08-30T13:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T13:49:14","slug":"the-latest-endurance-bikes-will-kill-off-the-all-road-bike-and-i-couldnt-be-happier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/103217\/","title":{"rendered":"The latest endurance bikes will kill off the all-road bike, and I couldn’t be happier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Endurance bikes are finally rid of their troubled \u2018all-road\u2019 phase and I couldn\u2019t be happier about it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a stalwart fan of endurance bikes<\/a>, thanks to their practicality, comfort and versatility (without trying to be a gravel or race bike at the same time). When done properly, they can deliver the most fun you can have when riding a bike.<\/p>\n

Bikes such as our endurance Bike of the Year finalists, the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense and Boardman SLR 9.4 Ltd<\/a>, prove that the endurance bike isn\u2019t the species under threat \u2013 and that\u2019s a wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

More on Bike of the Year 2025<\/p>\n

Warren Rossiter, BikeRadar’s senior technical editor, headed up the endurance bike category for our Bike of the Year 2025<\/a> test.<\/p>\n

With the Cube Attain C:62 SLT, Parlee Ouray and Cerv\u00e9lo Caledonia 5 earning highly commended nominations, Warren selected the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense and Boardman SLR 9.4 Ltd as his finalists.<\/p>\n

Here, Warren reflects on what he’s learned from this year’s test of the latest endurance bikes \u2013 and where the category is heading.<\/p>\n

Endurance\u2019s midlife crisis
\n\"MaleIs it a road bike, an endurance bike, or a gravel bike? All three, perhaps. Russell Burton \/ Immediate Media<\/p>\n

Around the same time gravel riding<\/a> and gravel bikes<\/a> started to find their footing, we also saw race bikes finally embrace comfort as a factor contributing to performance.<\/p>\n

This meant the endurance bike was being squeezed from both sides. We all celebrated gravel bikes that were great fun and quick enough to hit the road and beyond, and race bikes that offered the essential comfort many needed.<\/p>\n

I admit I even championed a few: the original GT Grade<\/a> for one, and Rondo\u2019s transforming HVRT<\/a> that could go from 650b<\/a> gravel monster to pseudo-aero race bike with a swap of wheels and a tweak of the fork dropout.<\/p>\n

\"MaleRace bikes such as the Cannondale SuperSix Evo now carry some concessions to comfort, in the knowledge that comfort can result in more speed. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cannondale\u2019s SuperSix Evo<\/a>, Specialized\u2019s Tarmac<\/a>, the ENVE Melee<\/a>, and even aero race bikes such as the 2017 Trek Madone<\/a> brought a comforting smoothness to race bikes we hadn\u2019t experienced before.<\/p>\n

That meant we soon saw new bikes in the endurance space, such as Cerv\u00e9lo\u2019s C Series<\/a>; it was still a road bike, but Cerv\u00e9lo wouldn\u2019t have been offended if you called it a gravel bike. Focus\u2019s sharp Paralane<\/a> was the same (albeit much more affordable).<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Trek\u2019s endurance race classic, the Domane, got front and rear suspension solutions, and Specialized\u2019s Roubaix gained Future Shock. We\u2019d entered the all-road era.<\/p>\n

Endurance RIP?
\n\"3TCargo mounts belong on a dedicated gravel bike such as this, not an endurance bike. Scott Windsor \/ Our Media <\/p>\n

That, however, was only the start. We then started to see once classically elegant road-going endurance bikes sprout mounts for bikepacking bags<\/a>. Why?<\/p>\n

I\u2019d equate some of those bikes, with multiple mounts on forks, top tube bosses, rack mounts and more, as the cycling equivalent of the premium 4×4 SUV.<\/p>\n

The marketing spiel might claim that this vehicle could drive you across the Sahara, up to Everest Base Camp, or deep into the Arctic Circle. However, 99 per cent of these vehicles’ off-roading will likely amount to being driven onto a school playing field for the drivers to watch their kids play football, festival parking, or pulling up at the local car boot sale.<\/p>\n

\"PackI wondered if the Giant Defy would end up being one of the last of a dying breed. <\/p>\n

It seemed to me that the end was nigh for the endurance road bike. They were becoming bloated, unappealing and not true to the spirit of the original roadie endurance design.<\/p>\n

There were very few remaining \u2013 perhaps only Giant\u2019s Defy defied becoming all-road oriented, and stayed truly focused on the road. <\/p>\n

I fully expected that, beyond the Defy, custom bikes and a few other stalwarts, the endurance category would soon be dead as a mainstream option \u2013 much like the audax, clubman and tourer bike styles have been lost to \u2018progress\u2019.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, endurance hasn\u2019t died; in fact, for 2025, it’s in quite rude health.<\/p>\n

Saved from the dirt
\n\"\"Gravel bike design evolution has re-opened the space for endurance bikes. Scott Windsor \/ Ourmedia<\/p>\n

Firstly, this is partly down to gravel bike design, and in particular, gravel race bikes<\/a>. What I thought was going to be one of endurance\u2019s assassins has become one of its saviours.<\/p>\n

Gravel bikes have evolved at an incredible pace; remember, it\u2019s not much more than a decade since \u2018gravel bike\u2019 became a coined term. <\/p>\n

Yes, we all rode drop bars on dirt before that, using cyclocross bikes<\/a> to explore, taking tourers off-road and more \u2013 it\u2019s just now we have an ever-improving tool to do so.<\/p>\n

That has meant serious gravel racers now have serious gravel race bikes. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll see many gravel races won again on an adapted road bike, which means road-going bikes are allowed to go back to being just that.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s racy gravel bikes, such as the Cerv\u00e9lo \u00c1spero 5<\/a>, Parlee’s Taos<\/a> and Wilier\u2019s Rave SLR ID2<\/a>, are fast everywhere. I guess that means you could have \u2018one bike for all\u2019, but why compromise?<\/p>\n

\"BMCThe BMC Kaius is a very fast bike on the road\u2026 but it’s supposed to be a gravel bike. Russell Burton \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

They\u2019re never quite as good as a pure endurance road bike on the road, just as all those endurance all-road bikes couldn\u2019t meet the standard set by a proper off-roader on dirt.<\/p>\n

More compliant road bikes, with better comfort from the components and carbon framesets that are better than ever, do tick lots of boxes, and the move towards larger tyres helps too. But the fact is, a race bike is still a race bike; the ride position is uncompromising, it’s low, long and stretched.<\/p>\n

This is great for a 20- or 30-something elite athlete who spends more time on a bike than off it. For the rest of us, the design with an uncompromising pursuit of speed isn\u2019t the best choice.<\/p>\n

As I always say, it’d be like owning a track-prepared Ferrari \u2013 amazing fun on a race circuit, horrendous for the arduous four-hour drive home in traffic.<\/p>\n

Road bikes like grand tourers
\n\"\"I want speed and comfort without compromise on the road. Russell Burton \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

The endurance bike is like the road bike version of a grand tourer car \u2013 fast, yet luxurious and certainly not boring. If we\u2019d continued down the all-road route, the endurance bike would be a bloated, lumbering SUV \u2013 and I don\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve loved recently witnessing Trek revise the Domane<\/a>, bringing it back towards the road, trimming some of the fat, bringing in more aero features, yet retaining the smooth ride that it made its name for.<\/p>\n

Specialized did a similar trick with the latest Roubaix<\/a>, streamlining the design and sharpening up the handling. We even saw Cerv\u00e9lo blur lines with the revival of the Soloist<\/a>, a bike that successfully kept its racing heritage yet pulled in endurance-bike sensibilities.<\/p>\n

Giant, the flag bearer keeping the pure endurance road bike alive, brought us the wonderful Defy last year (and won 2024\u2019s overall Road Bike of the Year title<\/a> in the process).<\/p>\n

Embrace endurance bikes \u2013 you won\u2019t regret it
\n\"cannondaleA long day out on a great endurance bike \u2013 a guaranteed way to put a smile on my face. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

I love a great race bike (I own both a Giant TCR and a Cannondale SuperSix Evo<\/a>), and gravel is the best thing to happen to drop-bar bikes since shifting moved from the down tube to the handlebar.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a die-hard racer, then keep competing on a race bike, of course, but for everything else on the road I\u2019d still recommend an endurance bike.<\/p>\n

The endurance bike is the one bike you should never be without; they are as fast as you\u2019ll need on the road, yet you\u2019re able to hold the ride position all day. You won\u2019t come unstuck if you need to take a shortcut or diversion onto unmetalled surfaces, and, with many sporting mudguard mounts, they have the practicality to be used all-year round.<\/p>\n

\"Boardman'sThe Boardman SLR 9.4 Ltd made the cut for our Bike of the Year final two in 2025. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

This has proven to be a golden year for endurance bikes; we\u2019ve seen Cerv\u00e9lo\u2019s best iteration of the Caledonia yet with the Caledonia 5<\/a>. Boardman has evolved the SLR <\/a>while keeping amazing value for money. Cube has done much the same with the Attain SLX<\/a>. Parlee created a classic with the Ouray<\/a>, and finally, Cannondale has knocked it out of the park with the latest Synapse<\/a> \u2013 earning our 2025 Road Bike of the Year title outright.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but think some of the legends of endurance are due a refresh; maybe 2026 will see an updated Roubaix, Domane, Merida Scultura Endurance, perhaps even a few more entrants to the endurance sector.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s never been a better time to embrace the endurance bike; there is nothing wrong with mixing road-bike excitement with practicality and comfort, as this latest generation of bikes has proved.<\/p>\n

Bike of the Year is supported by Auto-Trail
\n\"Auto-Trail<\/p>\n

Big thanks to sports campervan specialists Auto-Trail for supporting our Bike of the Year 2025 test. Head to auto-trail.co.uk<\/a> for more details about their range, including the cycling-specific Auto-Trail Expedition 68, which features a purpose-built bike garage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Endurance bikes are finally rid of their troubled \u2018all-road\u2019 phase and I couldn\u2019t be happier about it. I\u2019m…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-103217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}