Although there are ever more disc brake-equipped race bikes out there in the shops, most disc brake road bikes produced at the moment are endurance/sportive bikes or all-rounders that are bought by people who simply want the reassurance of all-weather stopping power. The bikes below are a mixture of styles, frame materials and prices so check through and find out what takes your interest.
Check out the hottest disc brake-equipped race bikes
The lines between bike categories have never been more blurred, but we've tried to keep this selection to bikes that are intended entirely or primarily for use on Tarmac. Of course where you ride has as much to do with rider skill as with how fat a tyre your frame will take, but these are bikes for long days in the lanes in sportives, Audaxes, and big rides with friends rather than for exploring dirt roads and trails.
If you want something more versatile, take a look at our guide to the best gravel & adventure bikes, which covers this super-versatile and still-developing category.
Triban RC 520 Disc — £729
Ever since John took the B'Twin Triban 520 Disc road bike for a first ride in London in early October, we've been keen to see if it could stand up to his first impressions, as well as the great value legacy of previous Triban road bikes we've tested. It really does, although riders used to or wanting a racier geometry should look elsewhere.
The geometry thing is a really important point here. With the Triban 520, it's all about a functional position aimed right at tourers and regular commuters at one end of the spectrum, and endurance roadies at the other.
With a super-tall head tube and compact top tube, the bike sits you upright relative to your general entry-level race bike, or even a fair chunk of the endurance-specific market too. It fully justifies its do-it-all tag for everyone except budding racers.
What surprises most about the Triban 520 is just how accessible the ride is; how easy it is to pedal the bike at moderate speeds and feel like you're just cruising along. Cornering in any situation is confidence-inspiring, and it rolls incredibly smoothly too. It takes poor road surfaces in its stride, with a good amount of all-round compliance keeping things comfortable, and as long as you stay in the saddle it climbs moderately well too.
Read our review of the Triban RC 520 Disc
Boardman ASR 8.9 —£1,300
The Boardman ASR, or "all season road", is a really good value package that offers a relaxed ride with the classic looks and feel of steel, the modern convenience of hydraulic discs brakes, and clearance for wide tyres. It does fine duty as an all-weather commuter or as a bike for long day rides. Eating up long, steady miles in comfort is what the ASR does best.
The 8.9 arrives ready for winter, with mudguards fitted to the Reynolds 725 steel frame, 28mm Vittoria tyres, plus reflective frame details ticking all the boxes for commuting through the rough British weather. Remove the mudguards and the bike easily has clearance for wider tyres, so it also fits the bill for summer towpath pootling and brief gravel forays. There's a full Shimano 105 groupset here with hydraulic disc brakes, and Boardman's own bar and tubeless-ready wheels, so with, say, 28mm road tyres like Schwalbe Ones it's as capable an Audax or club-run bike as it is a commuter.
Read our review of the Boardman ASR 8.9
Find a Boardman dealer
Canyon Endurace — £1,349-£5,899
Canyon's wildly popular Endurace bikes went disc-equipped a couple of years ago, and are all the better for it. The models span one the biggest price ranges here, from £1,169 for the Shimano Tiagra-equipped Endurace Wmn 7.0 AL Disc up to the £6,249 Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 Ltd with SRAM eTap wireless shifting and DT Swiss carbon fibre wheels.
Read our review of the Canyon Endurace CF SLX 9.0
BMC Roadmachine — £1,700-£9,900
BMC’s Roadmachines are disc-braked fast endurance machines with room for at least 28mm tyres. The range includes aluminium and carbon fibre frames, with a range of equipment from Shimano Tiagra to SRAM Red eTap. The arrival of 2019 bikes such as the new top-model Roadmachine 01 ONE means there are some good deals available on 2018 bikes at the moment.
Find out more about BMC’s Roadmachine range here
Find a BMC dealer
Focus Paralane 2019 — £1,659-£4,099
The six-bike Paralane range starts with the £1,659 aluminium-framed Paralane 6.9 with Shimano 105 components and goes up to the £4,099 carbon-framed Paralane 9.9 with Shimano Ultegra Di2. Long-ride features include comfort-enhancing tube profiles and carbon layup, a skinny seatpost and 28mm tyres, that together provide a smooth ride that is up there with the best in this category. It isolates you from the worst road buzz but without completely detaching you from the road entirely. It's a really good balance for those who want some feedback from the surface without being shaken to pieces.
Read our review of the Focus Paralane Ultegra
Find a Focus dealer
Whyte Wessex — £1,999-£4,499
Fast and sporty, with all the practicality and dependability of hydraulic disc brakes, wide tyres and space for full-length mudguards, the Whyte Wessex is a bike that is up to the task of taking on the roughest roads and toughest weather.
If you put racing to one side, it's all the bike you really need for year-round riding in the UK, fast enough for sportives and pacy training runs, comfortable and reliable for grinding out winter miles, and at home on longer commutes. Only a British company could design a bike that is absolutely, perfectly, 100 per cent suited to the demands of year-round UK road cycling.
Read our review of the Whyte Wessex
Find a Whyte dealer
Giant Contend SL Disc — £999-£1,249
The Giant Contend SL Disc bikes feature an Aluxx SL frameset, D-Fuse seatpost that’s designed to add comfort and Giant Conduct hydraulic disc brakes. You get mechanical shifters with a cable to hydraulic converter at the front of the stem. It's a nifty solution to avoiding the (more expensive) Shimano shifters but the jury's out on the aesthetics of the converter.
Check out our first look at the Giant Contend SL range
Read our guide to Giant’s 2019 range
Find a Giant dealer
Wilier Cento10NDR 2019 — £7,999
Wilier’s Cento10NDR endurance road bike is designed to take either rim brakes or disc brakes – you get mount points for both. It also features what’s called an ‘Actiflex’ system on the rear triangle with stays that flex, a pivot at the top of the seatstays and an elastomer shock damper, the idea being to provide a few millimetres of rear wheel travel in order to isolate the rider from the ground and add comfort.
The chainstays are bonded to the bottom bracket shell in the usual way, the Actiflex system relying, as the name suggests, on flex in the stays in order to work.
The dropouts of both the frame and fork are replaceable so you can run the bike with standard quick release skewers or 142 x 12mm thru axles.
Find out more about the Wilier Cento10NDR here
Find a Wilier dealer
Trek Domane Disc — £1,120-£8,750
Trek’s Domane range includes different framesets in aluminium and carbon fibre, and all of the disc-equipped models feature an IsoSpeed decoupler that allows the seat tube to move relative to the top tube and seatstays, so the saddle can move downwards (and a little backwards), providing more give and adding comfort to the ride.
More expensive models get a front IsoSpeed system designed to increase comfort and control, along with adjustment to the rear IsoSpeed decoupler. A lot of technology goes into keeping you comfortable!
Read our guide to Trek’s 2018 road bike range here
Have a look at the Trek Domane here
Find a Trek dealer
Specialized Roubaix £2,100-£9,100
Specialized’s carbon-fibre Roubaix bikes feature a suspension damper housed in the top of the head tube that aims to isolate the handlebar from bumps and cobbles. It's called Future Shock, provides up to 20mm of suspension travel and can be adjusted to suit different rider weights.
The Roubaix is a disc-only bike these days, uses thru-axles front and rear, and has space for 32mm tyres.
Check out Specialized’s 2019 road bike range here
Find a Specialized dealer
Cannondale Synapse Disc — £800-£7,800
Cannondale offers both aluminium and carbon-fibre versions of its Synapse endurance bike. The cheapest of the aluminium models is just £849.99, built up with Shimano’s dependable Sora groupset and Promax mechanical disc brakes.
At the other end of the range, the Synapse Hi-Mod Disc with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 components is priced at £7,799.99.
Read our coverage of the Cannondale Synapse Disc launch
Read our review of the £2,699 2016 Cannondale Synapse Ultegra Disc
Find a Cannondale dealer
Scott Addict Disc — £1,649-£3,599
Scott’s carbon fibre Addict Disc bikes are built to an endurance geometry and they’re said to be both lighter and stiffer than the Solace models that they replace. They come with 32mm wide tyres for plenty of comfort. All six models — three men's and three women's — use Shimano hydraulic disc brakes.
Rose Team GF 4 Disc — from £1,995.74-£2,812.56
The Team GF 4 Disc takes over from the Xeon CDX in Rose’s lineup and is designed for long distances rides like sportives. The carbon frame comes with a claimed weight of just 990g, which is very light for a bike of this kind. You get to choose from four different Shimano and SRAM builds.
Lapierre Sensium Disc— £1,799-£2,749
The Sensium, available in both disc and rim brake models, comes with a carbon-fibre frame that’s built to an endurance geometry designed to be comfortable throughout long days in the saddle.
The more affordable of the two disc models, the Senium 500 Disc, features a Shimano 105 groupset while the Sensium 600 Disc makes the step up to Ultegra.
J. Laverack J.ACK Disc £3,650-£6,950
Yeah, you could have carbon, but in some people's eyes, it will never look as good as titanium.
There is also something fantastic about having a bike built just for you, your riding style and what you intend to use the bike for. With custom head badge options, eyelets and shot blasted graphics on top of that, the J.ACK becomes part bike, part work of art.
J.Laverack also works with the likes of Hope, Hunt and Brooks to make the bike brilliantly British.
Check out our review of the J.Laverack R J.ACK III
Check out 12 of 2018’s hottest disc brake-equipped race bikes
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