In this article we highlight some of the best road bikes to consider in 2021 below the $2,000 price range. These are great mid-level endurance bikes, which are ideal for commuting, long road riding, racing, and even in some cases gravel riding. The bikes are perfect for new cyclists or those who are looking for an upgrade. We also have a few other articles for different price ranges in case you would want to consider those as well:
Top Endurance Bikes Under $1000 to Consider in 2021
Introduction
Choosing a perfect bike is usually quite overwhelming since there are so many options and factors to consider. Even after days of researching and comparing you still will have some doubts. We try to reduce this anxiety and save your time by doing extensive research for you and shortlisting bikes that are, in our opinion, the best quality within your budget.
In this article we highlight 5 best options to consider for a perfect mid-level endurance road bike below $2,000. To shortlist these, we researched more than 50 road bikes of various brands. In our opinion, these are the best bikes to consider. We chose them based on price, frame and fork material, groupset quality, and brakes. In general great mid-level bikes are made of a carbon frame and fork, mid-level groupset, disc brakes, and would fall within a $2,000 price tag.
High-Level Comparison
If you don’t have time to go through the whole article please see a quick comparison of our TOP 4 choices below:
Cube Attain GTC Race 2021
$2,069
Carbon Frame
Carbon Fork
22 Speed Shimano 105 (upper mid-range) Groupset
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Vitus Zenium CR 2021
$1,699
Carbon Frame
Carbon Fork
22 Speed Shimano 105 (upper mid-range) Groupset
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Scott Addict 30 2021
$1,999
Carbon Frame
Carbon Fork
20 Speed Tiagra (mid-range) Groupset
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Orro Pyro 7020-Hydro R900 2020
$1,869
Carbon Frame
Carbon Fork
22 Speed Shimano 105 (upper mid-range) Groupset
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
Trek Domane AL 5 Disc 2021
$1,799
Aluminum Frame
Carbon Fork
22 Speed Shimano 105 (upper mid-range) Groupset
Hydraulic Disc Brakes
1. Cube Attain GTC Race 2021
- Price: $2,069
- Frame: Carbon
- Groupset: 22 Speed Shimano 105
- Brakes: Hydraulic Disc
Cube Attain GTC Race is a sleek looking and a fast endurance road bike. It is perfect for year-round training, group rides, and even occasional racing. If you are looking for a great first bike or looking to update a lower range current one then this is definitely a strong contender.
The bike comes with a carbon frame and fork, which ensures reduced shock and vibration and creates a more comfortable and easier ride. Like any endurance bike, the geometry is more relaxed in comparison to race bikes, so you can enjoy longer journeys with less pressure on your shoulders and neck.
The groupset is Shimano 105, which ranks in a higher mid-range category. The total number of gears is 22.
To add to the comfort, the bike comes with 28mm tires, which help to absorb more vibrations and give you more control in different weather conditions. Speaking about control, the Cube Attain GTC is equipped with hydraulic disc breaks, which work great in all weather conditions.
2. Vitus Zenium CR Road Bike 2021
- Price: $1,699
- Frame: Carbon
- Groupset: 22 Speed Shimano 105
- Brakes: Hydraulic Disc
One of the first obvious highlights of Vitus Zenium CR is the price. It is $300 shy of 2k, which means you are able to save a little and maybe spend the extra on bike accessories and clothes. However, make no mistake, a lower price than, for example, Cube Attain GTC Race does not mean lower quality.
Similar to Cube Attain, the bike comes with a full carbon frame and fork for more comfort and vibration absorption. Vitus highlights the lightness of their frame and fork, which definitely helps to reduce the overall weight. The frame comes with internal cable routing, which improves the overall look and increases the lifespan of the cables.
The Zenium CR comes with hydraulic disc brakes, 105 Shimano groupset, and 28mm tires with a possibility to change for a maximum of 32mm. All these features and, of course, the price ranked this bike so highly in our review.
3. Scott Addict 30 2021
- Price: $1,999
- Frame: Carbon
- Groupset: 20 Speed Shimano Tiagra
- Brakes: Hydraulic Disc
Like the first 2 bikes in our review, Scott Addict 30 also comes with a carbon frame and fork for better riding comfort and longer days in mind. The geometry is also built for comfort and long rides. Scott has internal cables routing for a better look and longer cable life.
The groupset consists of a 20 speed Shimano Tiagra, which is still a mid-range, but slightly lower than for the previous 2 bikes. The tires are slightly wider (30mm), which gives a bit more control on the road.
Last, but not least, Scott also comes with Shimano BR-4770 hydraulic disc brakes. Overall, it is a very high-quality endurance bike within the budget.
4. Orro Pyro Disc Evo 7020-Hydro R900 Road Bike 2020
- Price: $1,869
- Frame: Carbon
- Groupset: 22 Speed Shimano 105
- Brakes: Mechanical Disc
Orro is a relatively new British brand, however, they already have a great reputation for producing high-quality bikes. Not surprising that this bike made it on the list of endurance bike of the year by road.cc.
Orro Pyro EVO comes with a carbon frame and fork. Like with the previous bikes, it is also built for a more relaxed ride and absorbs bumps and vibration so you can enjoy longer and less tiring rides. The handling is extremely comfortable and the bike takes on any road bends easily. Similar to the previous ones, Orro Pyro EVO also comes with internal tubing for a longer cable lifespan and better look.
It has 22 speed Shimano 105 groupset, which is a higher mid-range category and mechanical disc brakes. They are slightly worse than the hydraulic ones, however, the overall bike quality is extremely high so we could not exclude this bike from the shortlist.
The tires are a 28mm width for better road grip and control and the rims are made of aluminum. Definitely a strong contender to consider for your 2021 bike.
5. Trek Domane AL 5 Disc 2021
- Price: $1,799
- Frame: Aluminum
- Groupset: 22 Speed Shimano 105
- Brakes: Hydraulic Disc
Trek Domane AL 5 is definitely the bike you can’t skip considering especially for this price! It is one of the coolest looking bikes out there in this category with high-performance premium features. Especially we want to highlight DuoTrap S compatibility, which allows you to track your riding performance. The frame is lightweight aluminum with a lot of mounts for carrying gear, 3 water bottles, and a bento box for keeping essentials. It consists of a carbon fork for vibration absorption and smoother rides. Overall, the bike is very adjustable to any rides – be it racing, long road rides, gravel, or even commuting.
It has a 22 speed Shimano 105 groupset, which falls into a higher mid-range category and comes with hydraulic disc brakes for more stopping power in any weather conditions.
The tires are 28mm width and aluminum built rims, however, the wider clearance allows you to install wider tires if you want to ride on gravel roads or trails. For this price, Trek Domane AL 5 is definitely a worthy competitor for all other bikes out there and the one you should consider.
Conclusion
We know that choosing a perfect bike is hard so we try to help by narrowing down your choice with our reviews and comparisons. This review focused on highlighting the best mid-level endurance bikes out there. Choosing a perfect one would depend on your personal preferences including color, look, and overall components quality for your needs. We would suggest going for a bike that comes with a carbon frame, hydraulic disc brakes, higher gear number, and better groupset so in this case, 2021 Cube Attain GTC Race and 2021 Vitus Zenium CR would be our suggestion. You also might have some specific preferences based on the look and your riding needs so in the end the choice is yours and we can only provide our opinion.
Thanks for reading our review. Stay active and healthy!
Why should you trust us?
In order to feature and review any products on our website we do extensive research, read user feedback, carefully review forum threads, look at search trends, brand popularity, try to actually use and test as many products as possible ourselves, and evaluate other factors depending on the product category. By doing extensive research and incorporating it with our own experience we are able to shortlist only a handful of products out of thousands of options.
We want to bring value to our readers and help them find answers to questions and buy the most appropriate cycling products. Brands and cycling professionals always try to innovate and improve to get the best possible outcome. Unfortunately, innovations and product improvements these days result only in marginal gains, but the price increase for these gains is not equally proportional. In economics, this behavior is defined as “diminishing returns”. Knowing this we focus on featuring the best value for the money products that are affordable, but at the same time have a lot to offer. We don’t want our visitors to overspend on something they will not benefit from.
