Which road bike brand is better and less expensive?

We compared top road bikes of different brands with each other.

We wanted to see what road bikes are out there and how do they perform in a side-by-side comparison.

After hearing from a number of customers, “Wow, Bianchi has a $2600 carbon Ultegra bike?" I thought I'd take a look see at what else is out there from the other top brands.

Here is a quick summary of how the Bianchi Intenso Ultegra stacks up against the other top brands. Certainly, these are all good bikes and I chose them specifically so we could see how it compares with the other top brands. I think you will find that for a boutique Italian brand, Bianchi stacks up pretty darn well. So here you go... I hope you find this quick comparison helpful.

Bianchi Intenso Ultegra MSRP $2699

Fulcrum Sport wheelset/ FSA/ Gossamer Mega Exo crank, Selle Italia saddle...

At $2699, this is the second least expensive Ultegra bike in the bunch. It features a brand new and newly named version of Bianchi's original Infinito model. The bike is nicely fitted with name brand components – Fulcrum wheels, a new Selle Italia Era saddle (that is wider than the previous Ponza), plus Hutchinson brand tires. It is also made by the oldest bike maker in the world – established 1885 – with a long road cycling racing history!

Specialized Roubaix SL4 Ultegra Compact MSRP $2950

Fulcrum OEM wheel model, FSA Gossamer crank. Similiar parts, some slightly lower-end than the Intenso, but the bike costs $300 more!

Trek Domane 4.7 Ultegra $3149

Bontrager Wheels – Pretty similar to the Bianchi Intenso specs but with an Ultegra crank, at a premium price. Bontrager wheels and components, which are in house components and therefore saves Trek some money, which they did not pass on to the consumers.

Giant Avail Composite 1 Ultegra $2550

Giant hubs and rims Ultegra cranks. If you just look at specs, this bike fares well on price as they chose to put their money in the Ultegra crank and used less expensive in-house wheels instead of top brands.

Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 Ultegra MSRP $3250

Mavic Aksium Wheels, FSA SLK Crank - some nice upgrades but pushes the price point well above everything else to be the most expensive Ultegra bike on the list.