10 best low budget bike brands

Which brands are worth considering if you are bike shopping on a budget?

08:56, Tuesday 4th June 2024

James Spry

Staff Writer

Some of our budget bike brand picks

When buying a bike, most of us want to get something that offers good value. Internet marketplaces are full of cheap bikes from mysterious brands, but while they might look like a great deal, many of them are poor quality and worth avoiding.

The best way to guarantee you get a good bike is by sticking to a reputable brand. The question many new cyclists will have is: which brands are reputable, and which are not? That’s what this guide is for. This is a collection of brands that are known for quality and dependability, all of which offer bikes for the lower budget end of the market, starting with the brands that offer the lowest prices and progressing into brands that are a bit more mid-range.

You might be surprised to learn that these days, the cheapest bikes in most reputable brands’ catalogues cost around $/£/€1,000. That’s a lot of money, but for that price, you get a good quality aluminium frame, a carbon fibre fork, quality components, plus modern tech like disc brakes, internal cables, thru-axles and carbon fibre bits and pieces. The bikes that come in at less than that will all work fine, but they tend to come with a few compromises, such as low-quality gearing or outdated technology.

Triban

For European readers, Decathlon is a good start for low-budget bikes. It has two in-house bike brands, Triban and Van Rysel, and Triban is the cheaper of the two. Triban bikes are not particularly light, but they are sturdily built and well thought through. All Triban bikes are based around an aluminium frame. They all have Shimano gearing of differing spec depending on the model of the bike. Some have steel forks and some have carbon forks, again depending on which model you go for.

The cheapest adult bike is the Triban RC 100, currently on sale for £249.99 / €350. Although this would be a perfectly good bike for commuting or steady rides, we’d suggest stretching your budget a bit higher so you get a wider range of gears. That 1x6 drivetrain will hold you back on steep hills!

State Bicycle Co.

State Bicycle Co. made its name selling fixed gear and single-speed bikes, but its range now includes all sorts of bikes, including gravel bikes, road bikes, e-bikes and cruiser bikes.

Lovers of vintage aesthetics should be a fan of its 4130 road bikes. These vintage-style roadies cost a few hundred dollars or pounds and are a classy way to secure a budget road bike. The limited 8-speed gearing and heavy steel frame might not be appropriate for riders looking for all-day performance, but for a low-cost bike for town, commuting or weekend spins, these look like a good option.

Read more: How to buy your first road bike

Boardman

Boardman is a British bike manufacturer founded by legendary cyclist and Olympic champion Chris Boardman. The brand was launched in 2007 and has been owned by Halfords since 2014. It is Halfords’ ‘premium’ bike brand, with the cheapest Boardman starting at £650, and prices going up from there into the thousands. Compared to Halfords’ Carrera bikes, that’s very expensive. Even so, compared to most bike brands, it is still firmly among the budget end of the market.

The company’s SLR bike, available with disc brakes or rim brakes, is a really solid example of an entry-level road bike. This sub-£/$1,000 bike has an aluminium frame, full-carbon fork and 2x10 gearing. It will fit in on any group ride and won’t hold you back.

Carrera (UK)

Carrera is the in-house brand of Halfords, and they’re some of the most common bikes you’ll see on the roads in the UK. The brand only offers three road bikes, the Zelos, Virtuoso and Vanquish, all of which are essentially the same bike, but with different spec components. All three use Shimano gearing, with the level of spec depending on the price of the model. All three use cable-actuated disc brakes, which means all three bikes will have good braking performance.

Deciding between them is tricky given how similar the bikes appear at first glance. On a ride though, the quality difference between the components will be clear. The Zelos comes with bottom spec Shimano Tourney, whereas the other two models come with higher spec Shimano Claris. Claris has two extra gears, smoother changes and lighter overall weight.

Giant

Giant has been an innovative brand since it was founded in 1972. Notably, Giant created the first ‘compact’ frame geometry, which has since become the standard across the industry. Based in Taiwan, a country that has since become a manufacturing hub for bicycle manufacturers worldwide, it has always offered good value.

At the lower end of its price list is the Contend, a typical good quality entry-level road bike that comes in a range of spec options and prices. All bikes in the range feature an aluminium frame, fully carbon composite fork and Shimano or FSA gearing.

Scott

American brand Scott started in 1958 as a ski pole company, then started making mountain bike suspension in the early 1990s. Since then, it has become a respected ski and cycling company, with a couple of major innovations to its name, including making the first aero bar and the lightest production frame.

Alongside its high-performance bikes, Scott offers a road bike for the lower end of the market. Scott’s Speedster bike is the cheapest in the range and provides a really solid base for further upgrades. Both the rim brake and disc brake versions are based around an aluminium frame with carbon forks, but the disc brake version comes with nice touches like fully internal cables and thru axles — a good base for upgrading in the future.

Trek

Trek is one of the biggest bike brands in the world, and produces some of the most expensive bikes in the world too. The brand’s Madone SLR 9 costs an eye-watering £14,550 / $13,200 — that’s more than any other bike in the WorldTour peloton. Happily, Trek’s range also includes bikes for lower price points too.

The Domane AL 2 is Trek’s cheapest road bike, a capable, well-built aluminium bike equipped with Shimano Claris gearing and Bontrager components. The disc brake version is a fantastic base for upgrades in the future. It has internal cable routing, thru-axles and a carbon fibre fork.

Ribble

Ribble is a British direct-to-consumer bike brand that has earned its reputation for producing quality bikes at every performance level at a lower cost than the big players. The company don’t offer a rim brake bike, and subsequently, its lowest entry point is a little higher than the brands above.

Its cheapest bike is the Endurance AL Disc Sport, a well-equipped, modern road bike. It might seem like a premium compared to other options, but its bikes are future-proof, coming as standard with modern equipment, technology and geometry.

Cube

Like Trek and Scott, German brand Cube provides bikes to a WorldTour team. Intermarché-Wanty have been riding the German high-performance road bikes for a couple of years now, making use of Cube’s top-end carbon fibre aero and climbing bikes.

Alongside its performance road bikes, Cube produce bikes for the lower end of the market, with its cheapest bike coming in around the same as the equivalent from Trek or Scott. Its cheapest road bikes, the women’s Axial WS and men’s Attain, are well-designed bikes that bring an aluminium frame, carbon forks and disc brakes to a lower cost than most.

Canyon

GCN’s partner brand Canyon pioneered direct online sales in 2003. Instead of selling its bikes to bike shops, who then sold them on to customers, Canyon used online sales to sell directly to its customers. It meant it could cut the cost of its bikes and offer racing-quality bikes at a lower cost than everyone else. In the two decades since, countless other brands have done the same, and even legacy brands like Trek and Specialized have started offering their bikes direct to consumers. Even so, Canyon still represents good value compared to other bike brands.

Canyon’s bikes tend to be specced a little higher than other brands, even for low-budget bikes. Even on the cheapest Canyon bikes, you'll find Shimano Sora, Tiagra or 105 rather than the cheaper Tourney and Claris. Other parts like the saddle and wheels tend to be from name brands rather than OEM parts. It means that the cheapest Canyons are built well enough that you won’t feel compelled to upgrade later down the line.

Which brands have we missed? Let us know in the comments. And for more buying advice, visit our cycling buying advice section.

Canyon

Canyon Bicycles GmbH is a German manufacturer of road bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, triathlon bikes and e-bikes based in Koblenz, Germany.

Trek

Trek is a bicycle manufacturer based in Wisconsin, USA. The company produces a range of bikes, as well as clothing, equipment and tools.

Scott

Scott is a bicycle manufacturer based in Givisiez, Switzerland. The company produces a range of bikes across multiple disciplines, from road and gravel to off-road and kids-specific bikes, alongside equipment and clothing, too. Scott also has winter sports, motocross and running product ranges.

CUBE

CUBE is a German manufacturer of bikes and equipment, based in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria.

Giant

Giant is a bicycle manufacturer based in Taichung, Taiwan. The company produces a range of bikes, from road, gravel and electric to cyclo-cross and mountain bikes, as well as clothing, equipment and tools. Giant is seen as the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world.