Best women's road bikes 2025: Take to the tarmac with comfort and speed
The best women's road bikes don't necessarily need to be women's specific, but those that come with women's specific touchpoints and sizing options do the job brilliantly
There is a bewildering number of road bikes available on the market, which is a blessing and a curse as while choice is great, working out what is the best option for you might not be straightforward.
The good news is that if you're looking for the best road bike, there are plenty of options to go around. With women-specific options from Liv Cycling to unisex bikes with women-specific contact points from several other brands, like Specialized, Scott, Canyon, and more.
Ultimately, the best women's road bikes depend on the rider. Some women will benefit from women-specific geometry and the smaller sizes on offer, while others will be more comfortable on a unisex bike. Add in the ongoing debate on whether women-specific geometry is necessary, which we discussed at length in 'can women ride men's bikes?' and it can get rather complicated.
Women's specific road bike frames are built around average body dimensions data and tend to have a slightly shorter top tube and slightly higher stack at the front end (head tube).
As everybody is different, we recommend checking your current setup's measurements from a comfort and fit standpoint. Use our comprehensive bike size guide, or, if you're a first-time bike buyer, don't underestimate the value of popping into your local bike shop to be sized.
Quick list
A race-ready bike benefiting from Liv's women's specific geometry. It's lightweight and fast.
Offers a great road feel, with plenty of tyre clearance and comfortable fit.
Quality alloy road bike at affordable prices and a great first bike for new road riders.
Offers plenty of adjustability, which is ideal if you want a narrower bar fit.
A smooth ride and good value, with the durability and charm of steel
A great spec bike without a huge price tag.
Best women's road bikes
Best for racing
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want a performance road bike: A great option for those looking for a combination of speed, aero, and light weight.
✅ You want a women-specific geometry: All Liv's bikes are made just for women.
❌ You want an entry-level bike: This is a performance road bike.
❌ You are a tall rider: If you are 180cm or over, you likely will not find the M size ample enough and are better off going for a unisex bike.
The Liv Langma Advanced Pro 0 is an aggressive road racer which is made for speed. It was ridden by the Liv ALUla Jayco team at the Giro d'Italia Women last year, with a handful of top-ten finishes by Mavi Garcia helping to secure the overall team victory.
This is the third generation of the Liv Langma range. The bike features truncated ellipse tube shapes, a new internal cable routing design, and up to 33mm tyre clearance means it is versatile enough for UK road riding whatever the weather.
Built around Liv's women-specific geometry, the sizing comes up small in the same way as the Avail listed above, with XS, S and M frames on offer.
What makes the Langma Advanced Pro 0 a good choice is, it combines smaller geometry with top-class speed and performance. With exceptional handling, high responsiveness, despite being a performance bike, we reckon it would do well being ridden for hundreds of kilometres.
The Langma is a popular range, and we reviewed an older model a few years back, which got top marks. Read our Liv Langma Advanced 1+ Disc review.
Best for endurance
2. Liv Avail Advanced Pro 1
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want an endurance road bike: A great option for those looking for a combination of speed, comfort, and light weight.
✅ You want a women-specific geometry: All Liv's bikes are made just for women.
❌ You want an entry-level bike: This is a performance road bike with a price to match it.
If the Langma above is too aggressive and racy for you, then you might prefer the Avail range, which is Liv's endurance road bike. Featuring the same women's specific engineering, the Avail's geometry is relaxed and comfortable, making it a bike to be ridden all day long.
The Avail Advanced Pro 1 is built around Liv's Advanced-Grade Composite frame with OverDrive Aero steerer, it sports a Shimano 105 groupset and 32c tyres, with clearance for up to 38mm.
From her brief experience of riding the first version of the Avail Advanced Pro 1 in Provence back when it was launched, contributor Mildred Locke confirms that it rides like a dream, with super comfortable geometry, plush vibration damping from the thicker tyres, and smooth acceleration.
Another point to mention is that the Avail does come in a size L in the UK. unlike the Langma.
Best for budget
3. Specialized Allez
Our expert review:
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want a robust starter bike: The Allez is still the quintessential first road bike.
✅ You want modern specs: The latest iteration offers wide clearance and disc brakes.
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You want a racier position: The Allez geometry is quite upright.
The Specialised Allez is a favourite first 'proper' drop bar bike for new road riders for good reason, it offers modern specs for a good price.
Having evolved since its inception in 2023, the latest model features an alloy frameset with disc brakes and clearance to fit 35mm tyres. Along with mudguard mounts, which reduce to 32mm the space for tyres, and internal cable routing, it's a modern spec, although maintenance costs should be kept down by the straightforward design.
The Allez range stretches only to the entry-level bike fitted with Shimano Claris 8-speed and mechanical disc brakes and the Allez Sport which has 10-speed Shimano Tiagra and hydraulic disc brakes. The Allez Sprint is a more racy bike with a different frameset.
Despite not having women-specific geometry, the Allez comes in a wide range of sizes, which should suit all heights of riders. For a first road bike, you can't go far wrong with the Allez range.
Read our full review of the Specialized Allez Sport for more on our ride impressions.
Best adjustability
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want to experiment with bar width: If you want to try a narrower bar width, changing is free with the Endurace.
✅ You want frame storage: Canyon's internal storage allows you to keep your pockets free of tools.
❌ You want mudguards: Canyon doesn't provide mudguard mounting points on the Endurace.
❌ You want more tyre clearance: The 35mm clearance isn't great for a modern endurance bike.
Hitting the top spec endurance mark with great adjustability is the Canyon CFR, the brand's endurance road bike.
It offers neat handling, low weight at 7.3kg, 32mm tyre clearance, and top spec components with Shimano Dura-Ace electronic shifting with a power meter.
But where it could really stand out for women is in its adjustability. The Endurace CFR shares the adjustable width handlebars with hidden hose routing of the Aeroad and Ultimate, allowing you to alter bar width by 40mm, allowing you to make the bike fit you, rather than the other way around. Handlebar width is a key area where women riders often have to make changes compared to men as, typically, our shoulders aren't as wide.
Also new is the tool roll packed into a cavity in the top tube, so you don't have to fill your jersey pockets with gear to fix a flat or mechanical, an added bonus.
Read our Canyon Endurace CFR Di2 review for more.
Best steel road bike
5. Fairlight Strael 3.0
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You are a taller rider: The Strael will confidently suit taller women.
✅ You want a durable bike: The steel frame is easy to maintain and upgrade.
❌ You are a shorter rider: The sizing does not cater to smaller riders.
❌ You want it now: Fairlight's build-to-order model means a wait for your bike.
A steel bike is a thing of beauty, not least because of its looks and ride quality, but it also should last forever and for me that is a huge plus point when investing in a bike.
In the case of the Fairlight Strael, which is made from Reynolds 853 steel, the bike offers classic road bike looks and geometry. There's a wide range of frame sizes and you can choose a Tall frame if your dimensions require, but I should say this is not a bike for smaller riders. I'm over 180cm, so selfishly I can glide along with glee on this bike.
Fairlight builds the Strael to order, which allows you to choose your spec, choices including four different Shimano groupsets, a wide range of wheels and tyres and different cockpit dimensions. This is particularly good for women so you don't get stuck with stock handlebars, which in my experience are regularly too wide.
With the demand for the Strael, this does mean a delay in getting your bike after ordering though.
Despite the fairly modest price, reviewer Will reckoned that the Strael was the best bike he'd ridden, with sublime handling, sharp cornering and stiffness that encourages long seated efforts. There's huge upgrade potential and the Strael should be easy to maintain for years to come.
Read our full Fairlight Strael 3.0 review for more details of why Will says it's a bike he would buy.
Best budget race
6. Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7 AXS
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want great value: Whether you're spending £2,500/$3,000 or four times that, the Ultimate range has great specs.
✅ You want versatility: With 32mm tyre clearance and aero features, the Ultimate can be an all-road or a race bike.
❌ You want more stable handling: The Ultimate isn't the easiest to pilot downhill.
❌ You want a dedicated aero bike: The Canyon Aeroad is also great value, has the same geometry but is more aero.
While Canyon is phasing out its WMN range, it is still putting a lot of effort into including huge size ranges and variable contact points on its unisex bikes so that there's something for everyone.
The Canyon Ultimate CF SL 7 is a classic carbon road race bike at a great price. It's highly specced, a great climber, thanks to the low weight and stiff frame, and rides nicely on the flat too.
The size range goes all the way down to XXS, and up to XXL, so anyone who sits on either extreme of the height spectrum should be able to get a model to fit them properly.
It's worth looking at the whole Ultimate range too as Canyon builds the Ultimate in three different frame grades: CF SL, CF SLX and the pro level CFR and a current range of 14 specs, so there's a depth of choice with prices that start at £2,500/$3,000 and top out at £9,750/$10,500.
You can read more in our review of the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 8.
Best for comfort
7. Cannondale Synapse
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want great value: The Synapse offers a great budget road bike in a neat package.
✅ You want versatility and comfort: With 32mm tyre clearance and aero features, the Synapse can work for plenty of terrains.
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You want a racier position: The Synapse geometry is quite upright.
The Cannondale aluminium Synapse is an impressively versatile bike with mudguard mounting points and 32mm tyre clearance.
Of note is the impressive range of sizes from 44-61cm which should cater for all sizes. This is the sort of bike you might start with and help you fall in love with cycling, as that's exactly what it did for a great friend of mine.
A nice touch is that the Synapse benefits from special endcaps to make it compatible with wheel-on turbo trainers. A well-thought-out feature to make this low-budget bike work with less expensive training accessories.
That said, this isn't a fancy performance bike as the spec is slightly limited with only the older mechanical Shimano option available, and overall weight is heavier. For better performance, you might want to look at the Synapse Carbon range but this comes in a limited size range of 51-58cm, so it might not fit all.
However, for a disc brake bike that comes in a huge range of sizes to fit any rider, this is a good value bike that is suitable for a lot of different riders and riding types.
Best aero
8. Trek Madone SLR 9 Gen 8
Specifications
Reasons to buy
Reasons to avoid
✅ You want a racy and aero bike: The Madone prioritises speed.
✅ You want top performance: This is a highly specced, top-level bike for serious riders.
❌ You want women-specific geometry: While the bike comes in a wide array of sizing, you may be more suited to a Liv.
❌ You are new to cycling: You'd be better off with the entry-level bikes listed in this guide.
A seriously impressive aero bike, the Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS Gen 8 is Trek's top spec bike in its Madone range. Ridden by WorldTour Lidl-Trek team riders, including top sprinter Elisa Balsame, the Madone Gen 8 is made for riding fast.
With a hefty price tag, it's certainly an investment, but when it comes to a beautiful combination of lightweight and aerodynamic speed, this is a bike which has really nailed it.
At 7kg, it's just above UCI weight limit, and features a ton of aero features including a Trek Aero RSL one-piece carbon bar/stem, and RSL Aero Bottles and Cages for more drag reduction.
The bike also comes fitted with a top-level SRAM RED AXS drivetrain with a power meter and Bontrager Aeolus RSL 50 carbon wheels, aimed at keeping weight down and speed up.
A downside is it only comes in sizes XS to XL which means if you sit outside of those brackets, it may not work for you.
If you are after a lightning-fast descent-crushing bike, this could be a great option.
How to choose the best women's road bike
There are a few things to think about when choosing the best women's road bike for your needs. Here, we'll run through some key considerations.
Do you need a women's specific road bike?
We've answered this in detail in Can women ride men's bikes? but to summarise, you can ride whatever bike fits you best.
Many brands have moved away from gendered frames, and are instead offering more size ranges and multiple options for contact points, like adding one of the best women's road bike saddles.
Cycling is, at a performance level, a power to weight game, and for petite riders the bike makes up a greater proportion of system weight than it does for a larger rider. For a 50kg rider for instance the difference between having a 10kg bike over an 8kg bike is an increase of 3 per cent - not insignificant, but also not the be all and end all. Unless every ounce of performance needs to be wrung out we'd go for comfort over lightweignt.
For taller women, some of the women's specific frames will simply be too small, as many come in limited size runs, and recommend the men's or unisex version for taller women. If you are buying in person at a shop and fall into this category, work with the shop staff to swap out the finishing kit (handlebars, stem, saddle) for women's versions, and don't be scared to barter.
What size bike do I need?
Much like when you buy clothes, when it comes to sizing, it can be a minefield navigating the differences between bike brands. A 49cm in one brand can be the equivalent of a 51cm or a 47cm in another.
This is because the measurement is based on the size of the seat tube, and the angle is not homogeneous across the brands. So a 50cm seat tube which is truly vertical on one bike is not the same as a 50cm seat tube at a five-degree angle.
Some brands provide height recommendations and customer service departments are always there to help with size queries. If you have a bike already, check the stack and reach figures of your current model and use these as the all-important reference point on the geometry chart of your next bike.
If you're not sure, check out our comprehensive bike size guide.
How can I make sure a unisex bike fits me properly?
If you're buying a unisex bike, you can make tweaks to suit your individual body dimensions. When it comes to opting for the finishing touchpoints, you want your bars to roughly be your shoulder width and your saddle should be matched to the width of your sit bones - which can be measured in most bike shops.
When looking at different saddle pricing, often the prices go up based on weight (carbon elements, etc.) over the fit, so we recommend if you are trying a new saddle it might be wise to go entry-level first, to make sure it's comfortable before you invest in the more expensive model.
Another less discussed finishing point is the crank arm length. Generally, cranks come in 165, 170, 172.5 and 175mm lengths, and a shorter crank arm means the circumference of the circle of the pedal stroke is smaller. If you are on an XS or S sized frame, a 165mm crank is probably best, and likewise, for a 58cm frame or larger you probably want a 175mm crank.
How we test
You'll see from the above and from our detailed reviews that we'll call in bikes and expect to ride them over a variety of terrain and in all weather, usually over several months, to get a clear understanding of their capabilities and limits.
We'll keep a detailed score sheet for each bike across a number of factors, as documented in more detail in our guide to how we test.
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Mildred joined as Reviews Writer for Cyclingnews and BikePerfect in December 2020. She loves all forms of cycling from long-distance audax to daily errand-running by bike, and does almost everything on two wheels, including moving house, and started out her cycling career working in a bike shop. For the past five years she's volunteered at The Bristol Bike Project as a mechanic and session coordinator, and now sits on its board of directors.
Since then she's gone on to write for a multitude of cycling publications, including Bikeradar, Cycling Plus, Singletrack, Red Bull, Cycling UK and Total Women's Cycling. She's dedicated to providing more coverage of women's specific cycling tech, elevating under-represented voices in the sport, and making cycling more accessible overall.
Height: 156cm (5'2")
Weight: 75kg
Rides: Stayer Groadinger UG, Triban RC520 Women's Disc, Genesis Flyer, Marin Larkspur, Cotic BFe 26, Clandestine custom bike