Why The Road Bike Is The Only Bike You'll Ever Need

As someone that lives in a very mountainous area, a gravel bike with two sets of wheels (gravel + road) checks all the boxes :)

exactly my thoughts!

How much , ? Price ? Total cost ?

Why do road cyclists always have to wear those ridiculous racing outfits? How about jeans and a shirt? You are not on Tour du France.

Haahahahahhahahahahahhahaha, NO.
A mtb can go on the road, a road bike can NOT go off road, at all.

here in our country in Philippines the only bike we need is, MTB with a rigid fork, slick tires and aero bars <3, because in our place in our county, the roads is so verry challenging, hahahahha

If you're not bothered about being fast I personally think a hard tail mtb is the only bike you need. I put road tyres on mine and cycled to London from Huddersfield, once back home I put the off road tyres back on and completed a muddy cycle o'cross race.

If you only have one bike : gravel bike
But a dedicated Roadbike and a mountain bike is better . Gravel bikes just do both things have assed.

Since i bought a road bike i just don't feel like riding my MTBs again. They seem just so slow and cranky. And i have been going loads more places. The thing is though, if you have an MTB and you are having fun riding it don't let anyone stop you.

If i spent 15,000$ on a bike it would be the only bike i have too.

Like the bike, smooth ride and only weighy a few pounds

Umm, as a transportation vehicle, like motorcycle and car, bike also had categories.
As for car analogy, MPV is all you need. You'll not take your baby and the stroller in a race car. And, the race car is the equivalent to road bike. So, road bike is not all you need.

I don't take my road bike on unpaved roads but it handles any uk road with ease with good wheels. Any bike will need an uplift in your weight for potholes.

She couldn’t wait to see the comments because she just trolled us for ten minutes!

Only bike? Gotta be the commuter, because commuting and getting groceries is what we really HAVE to do.

Also, the tires are big enough for gravel and light off-road, but smooth enough that they’re not too draggy on the road.

My choice: Aventon Level.2. Carry cargo, has fenders, is fast.

Hi, guys, You do great shows. However, this "test" was not a real test. You did not take the roadies (actually, you should not either) to the terrain, where a real MTB is at home: muddy roads, where your road tyre would just spin but have no grip, or real gravel, I mean somewhat deeper gravel or stoney surface. That is another world, where the roadies do not survive. Tried it, believe me.

So no actually, all your arguments point to a hybrid bike with a 50 mm shock fork , a 46/30-11/36 drivetrain and the streering of your preference flat ro drop with a 30-35 mm set of tyres. Geometry wise each to his liking, a more relaxed uphill roadie or a more agressive flatland racer.

I have 2 bikes and I think it is optimum. One bike just cant get you all the range of diferent roads. My first bike is mountain bike and second one is mountain bike.

A couple of weeks ago, I rode my son's mountain bike on mountain bike tracks and had a lot of fun. They are different from road or gravel riding.

You can't transport stuff on a road bike! Also the sadle is a torture device

A lot of people says „this is the one and only“ or this one…..„you only need this“……For the moment i m hearing this from the „Gravel“ only. There is a marketing-hype and i m tired of. I don t care about YT or Instagram is saying i have to drive. So many headlines like : „endurance is dead“ or „gravel is dead“…bla bla bla…..you re only true when you ride this category or this bike. We need more „sub -categories“ like „aero-gravel“, „adventure-gravel“ and so on…… For every category we need a special bike.

The only bad thing about the road bike is having to wear the get up. Not a deal breaker, but sometimes I'm just not into it.

Nah.. eMTB - the only one you need.

I have a road bike and a mountain bike and its all I need!! Road is so underrated these days!

I think my 10 year old road bike needs a new set of tyres. I was terrified on my commute on it, going around >90deg corners in the wet felt very risky, and of course it sits on 23mms. It is definitely time to retire the 2 speed Brompton, it doesn't go fast enough on long straight sections, even if it does excel in town.

My vintage Merckx Corsa Extra with 28 mm tires is the only bike I need, it gets me to the shops, does surf checks, laps around town while all the carbon fibre bikers give admiring nods of appreciation and does bunny hops over speed bumps.

No, what’s with the anti pannier rack sentiment these days, race/endurance bikes don’t seem to be capable of carrying panniers. My Cannondale road bike is great for cycling days out true, but my Giant Roam does it all with two panniers, to carry work books and laptop to work, a heavy D lock or two so I can leave it when shopping and fresh cloths etc when out for longer rides. Plus my Roam has a tow hitch for Murphy’s dog trailer so we can have cyclies-walkies adventures which he totally loves.

You cannot go bulky shopping with road bike))). The best is hardtail MTB with rear rack.

Manon: You could even get rid of the car and use it as a mode of transport.
Me: The wifey wouldn't agree with me on that.

I love my Orbea Orca, but still, I would have some motor inside to help me with uphills :-))

I have the Trek Madone for the road and the SWorks for XC and mountains. Both not the latest generations and let it be..

My go to is a cyclocross bike with 35c tires, I guess it's essentially a road bike that handles fat tires better. It's light, fast and gets way less punctures that I got when riding a road bike, back in skinny tires days.

The only road bike you'll ever need is Soma Grand Randoneur

I LOVE my road bike (Cervelo S3). But a 2nd trail bike ROCKS. Mine is an Evil The Following. I have no need for a midline bike like a gravel, cause there’s 2 bikes do it all.

Do you really think that the hunched over riding posture is good for my back when I'm commuting every day? And that stiff suspension or lack of any is going to make me ride over the potholes?😅😂

No, I don't think one bike can do it all. You need a cheap city beater. Too many bicycles are stolen and here in Boston the potholes are too big to risk your road bike or even gravel bike.

Road bike is one of the most useless types of bike. You can only enjoy asphalt rides, which is boring. Gravel bikes are only marginally better. The best do-it-all bikes are downcountry bikes. You can ride trails (the most fun part of cycling), jump spots, double tracks, single tracks, fire roads, gravel roads, asphalt of any quality, even ladders. Want more grip options? Get a touring handlebar. Want to go on a month-long adventure? Get bikepacking bags.

You need wheel, second wheel, chain, seat, connector to connect two wheels. pretty much I will love you does not matter if you slow, you on the road with my soul

What about gearing a gravel bike like a road bike?

The only bike you need is the Dutch "Grandma Bike" (Omafiet)

I ride 3000 km during a Canadian Summer and my friends with mountain bikes get them out like 4 times. And we are all normal dudes.

Will that thing work in Indian roads?

I have only recently got a road bike and I’ve been hugely surprised how capable they are on rough terrain. I assumed they would just break or at least buckle the wheels but actually they work quite well. Not as comfy as a gravel or MTB but can handle itself if I take a wrong turning down a dirt track, which I will inevitably do .

Soo road bike go fast 😏

I love my road bike and yes, it can do a lot, but I would be bad off without my Bullit Carco bike! And people with small children? I wouldn’t just strap a child seat on to the top tube of that fragile carbon thing…

No. Not agree

All my bikes are " vintage" according to some people. Why would I replace something JUST to get something newer?!

"Carbon frames are the most common" .....On which planet?

Sorry, but I disagree with pretty much everything you say in this video.

If I only want one single bike I want it to be something that is ready for everyday use, which means:

- I want to be able to use it wihtout having to wear special clothes/shoes
=> bike needs a saddle that is comfortable in an upright riding position without padded shorts
=> bike needs hybrid or flat pedals

- I want to be able to ride it without getting my clothes dirty, even if the streets aren't dry and clean
=> bike needs fenders

- I want to be able to ride without being sweaty when I arrive
=> bike needs low gear ratios unless I live in a perfectly flat area

- I need a certain transport capacity, e.g. for grocery shopping, picnics, stuff I need for work etc.
=> bike needs a rack (backpacks are not always an option if you don't want to sweat in summer)

- I never want to be out riding after dark and find out I forgot to charge my lights
=> bike must have a dynamo

There's more criteria I would like my one-bike-for-everything to meet, but these are the most important ones and a typical stock road bike meets NONE of them.

Two of the four advantages of a road bike you mention (speed and weight) are completely irrelevant for an everyday bike, the cost of a road bike is typically at least as high as that of a reasonable city or trekking bike and the gear ratio of most stock road bikes is not suitable for comfortably climbing hills without sweating on warmer days.

I'm also a bit confused why you compare road bikes to gravel and mountain bikes instead of bike categories that are specifically designed to be used in every day situations like city or trekking bikes.