The Hottest New Bikes Right Now
Bike buying season is in full bloom. As you search for and test ride the latest road, mountain, commuter, and electric bikes, make sure to add these 17 new models to your list. Each of these bikes was revealed for the first time this spring, many at the annual Sea Otter bike race and festival in Monterey, California.
Our team of test editors saw hundreds of bike models at the show, but these 17 are the most exciting ones. We rode many of them on the roads and trails around Monterey; when we couldn’t try them ourselves, we interviewed the people who made the bikes to get the important details. Some of these bikes are available now, others are so new that they won’t be on sale for weeks or months yet, but they just may be worth the wait.
Pinarello Grevil Force 1x
The fiercest gravel bike
Price: $5,200 Buy Now
The Grevil’s angular shapes and aggressive lines make it a fierce looking bike-it’s a modern, speedy bike from a brand most known for its road racing machines. The Grevil features great tire clearance, up to 42mm in 700c and up to 47mm in 650b, and short chainstays for a lively ride. The frame has aerodynamic features and asymmetric tube shapes borrowed from Pinarello’s Tour de France winning F10 road racing bike. You won’t find suspension, or mounts for panniers. Instead you get a bike for going really fast on gravel roads.
Niner MCR
Next-gen gravel technology
Price: TBD
In the quest for a smoother and faster gravel experience, Niner takes the next logical leap with the MCR: full suspension. Niner engineers used the brand’s dual-link CVA suspension design to achieve 50mm of travel. The links and shock sit low in the frame behind the seat tube for a lower center of gravity and clearance for water bottles and frame bags in the main triangle. Up front is a 50mm travel Fox AX suspension fork. The bike is not yet available, but the company said it will be sold with a remote dropper post, and a remote rear suspension lockout.
Schwinn Paramount
Unbeatable value on a comfortable road bike
Price: $3,300
Schwinn is making a bid for relevancy in the $3,000+ road bike market with the new Paramount. The bike will be sold consumer-direct in mid-June, and it’s tough to argue with SRAM Force eTap AXS at the price. The carbon fiber frame delivers a ride that’s compliant but not very stiff, although the Paramounts’s 17-pound weight (in a size medium) make it quick enough for your next Gran Fondo.
Specialized S-Works Roubaix SRAM Red eTap AXS
A new adjustable damper highlights this cobble killer
Price: $11,500 Learn More
The “smoother is faster” mantra is omnipresent in this new, Paris-Roubaix-winning road bike. The S-Works versions have Specialized’s Future Shock 2.0 adjustable damper, with five damping settings that you can select from a top cap knob. (The non-S-Works models have an updated Future Shock 1.5, which has the same internals sans adjustment.) The carbon fiber seat post is designed to flex down and back under load, keeping your knee angle constant, and the whole bike is aero-optimized to be more slippery than a Tarmac SL6. And yes, it’s really quick.
Fezzari Empire Pro
Half endurance road bike, half speedster
Price: $4,199 BUY NOW
The Empire is a new road bike from consumer-direct brand Fezzari. The frame comes from a one-piece carbon fiber mold (rather than connecting two frame triangles), which makes the bike lighter and helps Fezzari to fine-tune the frame for compliance, says the company. In testing, the Empire had the vibration damping of an endurance road bike, but it felt more responsive under hard pedaling (the short 410mm chainstays probably contribute to the acceleration). Thoughtful details like full internal cable routing and 32mm tire clearance make the Empire a legit contender going into 2020.
Parlee RZ7
A tech and speed lover’s dream road bike
Price: $6,599 (Ultegra Di2) Buy Now
With the RZ7, Parlee combined two decades of carbon fiber frame-building experience with some new tricks to help you go as fast as possible without sacrificing much comfort. The bike is based loosely on Parlee’s do-it-all disc road bike, the Altum. The RZ7 aims to deliver the comfort of that bike, but in a speedier package, with aero tubes, more integrated design, and some tools the company rolled out on its TTiR Tri bike two years ago. The RZ7 gets cool-looking cowlings over the brake calipers that Parlee calls Speed Shields, and the tubes have been shaped (using some wind tunnel testing) to reduce drag. The bar, stem, spacers, and even steerer tube compression plug were designed together to allow internal routing of the brake hoses and Di2 wires. Parlee even designed custom thru axles that sit flush in the fork dropouts to reduce drag. It’s a fast bike for riders who don’t want to sacrifice comfort or ride quality. It even fits tires up to 32mm.
Canyon Lux CF SL 8.0 Pro Race
A potent XC racer that’s still fun if you don’t trail-ride in Lycra
Price: $4,750 BUY NOW
This XC-focused bike proves that sometimes it’s better to specialize than try to be good at everything. The sub-25-pound bike (claimed, size medium) has a 69.5 degree head tube angle and 100mm of frame travel, with go-fast touches like remote suspension lockout and a grip shifter. It pedals extremely efficiently and, amidst the slackening of mountain bike geometry, the sharp-turning Lux feels exhilarating. On the smooth California trails where we tested the Lux, the responsive suspension matched the terrain’s undulations and bumps to deliver an energetic riding experience that made the singletrack feel like a high-speed pump track.
Emery One
Silicon Valley’s 3D printing tech supplies the frame for this e-bike
Price: $5,500 LEARN MORE
If the Emery One looks like nothing you’ve ever seen, that’s because it’s set to be the world’s first 3D-printed e-bike. It’s been developed in partnership with Silicon Valley 3D printing firm Arevo and So-Cal bike brand Franco Bicycles. The made-in-California bikes will be printed from layers of carbon fiber and will have a Bosch Performance Line motor system, with 20- and 28-mph top speed options. The company is currently offering a $750 deposit to secure your bike and states that bikes will begin shipping in summer or fall 2019.
Cannondale Synapse NEO SE
One of smoothest, most enjoyable road e-bikes we’ve tried
Price: $4,400 Learn More
If you’re a fan of e-bikes, your relationship with Cannondale’s Synapse NEO will be love at first sight. If you’ve already claimed your disapproval of these zippy machines, whatever you do, do not take this bike for a test ride-you may just change your mind. Bosch’s Active Line Plus motor delivers up to 250 watts of pedal assist, to a maximum speed of 20 mph. It does so in such a smooth, seamless way you can allow yourself to forget that you’re getting a little help. Of course, if you crank it up to turbo mode, the boost will be hard to ignore. But to cruise in eco mode is to get a sneak peak at what it feels like to be really, really fit. The motor kicks in nicely to provide a little extra boost, but has minimal drag so you can easily ride past the 20mph limit without feeling like you’ve hit a wall as soon as you cross that threshold.
Specialized Epic Expert EVO
An XC bike with trail-day chops
Price: $5,850 Buy Now
If you’ve ever wanted your XC bike to go just a little bigger, Specialized’s Epic Expert EVO can do that. This bike is a more robust version of the S-Works Epic-it gets a 120mm Fox Step Cast 34 fork while retaining the same 100mm of rear travel controlled by Specialized’s Brain suspension. Sitting somewhere between a cross-country bike and a trail bike, the Epic Expert EVO takes the quicker handling of a cross-country bike and melds it with a trail bike’s longer travel. The end result is a bike built for fast, long-haul rides on technical terrain.
Canyon Aeroad CF SL 7.0
A ridiculous blend of value and performance
Price: $2,999 Buy Now
This bike is Fast with a capital F. Deep-section Reynolds AR58 hoops add to that feeling, but the aero carbon frame stands out. It’s light, it’s strong, and its almost intuitive steering will have you Googling the nearest race. The only thing this Aeroroad lacks is disc brakes-this bike features direct-mount rim brakes. But unless you’re racing a lot of technical criteriums in the rain, or earning your paycheck by hurtling down alpine descents, rim brakes can be a reasonable tradeoff in order to save money or get better parts elsewhere.
Look 765 Gravel RS
A high-performance gravel bike for riders who want a little bit more
Price: $4,500 Learn More
Drawing on its strong road-racing heritage, Look made its first gravel bike unapologetically race-oriented. It has long, 420mm chainstays and four mounts for bottles and a bento box-and that’s where its touring aspects end. Everything else is designed for high-performance gravel riding. Carefully shaped seatstays provide a little give, while beefy chainstays keep your wheels from wandering off line. Although the bike is outfitted with 37mm tires, it can safely fit up to 40mm rubber on 700c wheels, and 2.1-inch tires on 650b hoops.
Look E-765 Gravel
A high-octane gravel with bike a sleek, Class-1 motor tucked into the downtube
Price: $6,399 Learn More
Look also developed an e-version of its new 765 Gravel bike. Like the standard version, this one is made more for speed than touring. Its Fazua battery and motor is housed entirely within a tube that clips into the bottom of the down tube, providing assist up to 20mph. If you wish to ride it as a standard bike, the battery can be removed and replaced with a hollow dummy tube that becomes a storage compartment. A Look representative claimed it can hold up to three 12-ounce cans and hinted that an insulated version might be coming.
Viathon G.1 Ultegra
Promising gravel bike from Walmart's new high-end brand.
Price: $3,300 Buy Now
Walmart's high-end Viathon bike brand debuted at Sea Otter, and we came away impressed. The G.1 gravel bike features a carbon frame with great tire clearance (51mm with 700c wheels, 53mm in 650b), front and rear fender and rack mounts, and three water bottle mounts. The Ultegra sits at the middle of the G.1’s good-better-best build kits, and features a 2x11 drivetrain with Hed wheels, Continental tires, Fizik saddle, and Zipp bar, stem, and seatpost.
Liv Intrigue E+
An e-mountain bike that can handle techy trails
Price: $4,830 BUY NOW
The Liv Intrigue E+ is an excellent electric mountain bike for mountain looking to go a little farther, or longer with an assist. The bike has a motor that cranks out the torque, and delivers it almost on demand. With 160mm of front travel and 140mm rear, there are few places you can’t take this (other than trails closed to e-bikes, of course). Compared to some other e-mountain bikes, this one feels a little lighter and easier to handle. Plus, Liv gives you great parts for the price, like the the 1x11-speed Shimano Deore Shadow+, which makes it easy to find the right level of assist.
Brompton Electric
A no-sweat commuter option that folds up small
Price: $3,499 Learn More
The Brompton Electric is all about speed. Quick commuting, fast folding, and maybe most importantly saving time at the office because the power assist means you won’t have to shower when you get to work. Its 16-inch wheels give it great off-the-line and uphill acceleration, and the e-assist is smooth and gradual. An internal torque sensor in the bottom bracket communicates with the front-hub motor to conserve battery power. When the motor tops out or senses low torque, the bike rolls along on your power and momentum of the freewheel hub inside the motor.
Diamondback Release 29 2
This 29er will let you conquer trails all day long
Price: $2,699 Learn More
Just like its 27.5-inch-wheel predecessor, Diamondback’s 29er version of the Release is a playful all-mountain bike. Designed for long weekend adventures, it gets a 140mm fork and 130mm of rear-wheel travel. Despite the lower cost, we found this bike able to handle almost everything we encountered, from long steep climbs to sandy descents. It climbs well, and has geometry that feels right in most situations-an impressive lower-cost mountain bike.
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