WALLET-FRIENDLY ROAD WARRIORS

Four road bikes with a top price under £700 - but which is our inflation-busting two-wheeled star?

- SIMON WITHERS

In these inflationary, potentially cash-strapped times, it's good to see that you can buy a quality road bike without bankrupting yourself. A grand? None of our four steeds reach even three-quarters of that price, but all promise to offer a much better riding experience than you'll get from the notorious 'bike-shaped object' (a low price, poor quality bicycle). Two come from brands that will be familiar to many of us, then there are two names that are less well known...

Wizard is one that you've likely not heard of before, but the brand behind it is Lancashire's long-established Merlin Cycles (ahh, Merlin the Wizard...). Merlin describes its Spark 2.7 as 'the perfect bike for the first-time road cyclist'. It has an aluminium frame, a steel fork, and a nine-speed setup that mixes Shimano Sora and MicroShift. The distinctive frame even comes with a teardrop-shaped 'aero' Seatpost, but with quite slim tyres is it going to be comfortable enough for the newbie?

Boardman's SLR 8.6 is the little brother of our award-winning 8.9 carbon bike, but it shares a lot of the DNA and looks like a lot of bikes for just £550. Its triple-butted aluminium frame has the same endurance geometry and its full range of fixtures and fittings makes it a great entry-level all-rounder. Triban's RC500 ups the all-rounder ante further by allowing 700c tyres up to 36mm wide. Tubeless-ready rims are good to see at this price, and Shimano Sora and Promax cable disc brakes look like a promising combination.

The other new name, Northern Ireland's Mango, manages a good-looking TIG-welded steel frame and fork, a Shimano Claris groupset, and a £220 Vision wheelset on a bike costing well under £700.