NEXT-LEVEL PERFORMANCE

Up to £4,400 and you're talking serious bike upgrade territory. But can this trio justify your outlay?

-  Ashley Quinlan and Oscar Huckle

The bikes

Merida Scultura Limited £3,000

Basso Astra 105 Di2 £3,799

Ridley Helium Disc SRAM Rival eTap AXS £4,400

Words Ashley Quinlan and Oscar Huckle Photography Russell Burton

Need to know 

With rising costs affecting the world over, we sense-check what value looks like in 2023

THE DIFFICULT THING ABOUT value is it's subjective. You might consider an £8,000 bike as good value if you normally lust after the growing spread of superbikes commanding five figures. Or you might still hanker after the days when a race-ready road bike with Shimano 105 cost around £1,500.

Sadly, bike prices have been on the steady increase for a few years now, not helped by intervening global crises. We could probably dedicate a whole issue of Cycling Plus to dissect the causes, but here we explore what's currently on offer in the mid-price performance bracket, ranging from £3,000 up to £4,400.

01 What can I expect?

There's no doubt you can't expect your money to go as far as it used to. In this price range, you can expect pared-back frame materials and groupsets ranging from the venerable Shimano 105 R7000, up to the latest Shimano 105 Di2 R7100 (plus equivalent SRAM offerings, too). In time-honoured style, brands can scramble for value by trading off certain components. You might find a lower-spec groupset but a better wheelset, the touch points might be lower-spec than flagship bikes, and finishing kit like tyres is a common area brands might try to cut costs.

02 Budgeting for upgrades