Our annual Bike of the Year awards are now in their 17th year, and 2025 has been as tough a year as any to select our shortlist and arrive at winners for each of our road and gravel categories – as well as an overall victor.
Tough, but not impossible… and Cannondale’s five-star Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense has been crowned as our overall Road Bike of the Year for 2025, while also topping the endurance bike category.
We all have different needs from our bikes, but our annual Bike of the Year awards offer the opportunity to shine a light on those that stand out from the crowd, be it for their innovation, success on the podium or sheer ingenuity.
Bike of the Year is a long-term project that begins at the end of the previous year’s edition, and this year we’ve focused our attention on the three key categories we know you love to read about – race bikes, endurance bikes and gravel bikes.
Since 2024’s Bike of the Year, we’ve tested dozens of bikes across all categories, with road lead Ashley Quinlan and Bike of the Year stalwart Warren Rossiter taking the best of the bunch, and pitting them against one another to find a winner.
Across the three drop-bar categories – race, endurance and gravel – we whittled the selection down to five bikes worthy of a ‘Highly Commended’ accolade, before pulling out the standout pairs into a finalists’ shootout for each category and an overall winner debated.
The results?
2025 Road Bike of the Year winners
- Overall and Endurance Bike of the Year – Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense
- Race Bike of the Year – Cervélo S5 (Dura-Ace Di2)
- Gravel Bike of the Year – Parlee Taos Force AXS
Over the next week, we’ll be bringing you in-depth coverage of our finalists in each category, and analysis on the current state of play across the endurance, race and gravel bike sectors.
And on Tuesday 9 September, we’ll announce our Mountain Bike of the Year for 2025 – stay tuned for that.
Why the Cannondale Synapse is our Road Bike of the Year
Just as in 2023 (Vitus Venon Evo) and 2024 (Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2), our overall winner is an endurance bike – a category that has seen rapid change in recent years to make these bikes more versatile than ever, without losing any of the joy of a go-fast road machine.
This year’s winner, the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense, landed at BikeRadar HQ hot on the heels of the sterling performance of the flagship (and eye-wateringly expensive) Synapse Lab71, and had much to live up to.
However, it packed all the same integrated tech as the newly-launched flagship model into a machine that Warren described as setting “a new gold standard” for what we should expect of endurance bikes in 2025 and beyond.
While the Cube Attain, Parlee Ouray and Cervélo Caledonia 5 also earned ‘Highly Commended’ awards in the endurance category, the Cannondale Synapse and Boardman SLR 9.4 Ltd were selected by Warren to go head-to-head in the final.
The Boardman SLR 9.4 Ltd offered tough competition – in our eyes, it’s one of (if not the) standout value proposition of 2025, with an enviable spec list including a handlebar that would cost over a fifth of the bike’s total value if you bought it aftermarket, with no notable shortcomings elsewhere.
Both bikes scored a rare five-star rating in testing, owing to their respective strengths and dearth of weaknesses, but for its forward-thinking design, both Warren and Ashley agreed during final deliberations that the Synapse took the tape by a whisker.
Warren’s verdict
“The Synapse represents the new template for a non-racing road bike,” says Warren. “It has handling that’s swift and stable, and it delivers confidence in spades. It’s compliant but doesn’t lose the excitement that comes from a stiff bike, plus it features the most usable application of the SmartSense system to date.”
He concludes: “The Synapse Carbon 2 SmartSense is an exciting ride and a sensible choice – it’s a rare thing to draw both those conclusions about a single bike.”
Overall and Endurance Bike of the Year winner
Highly commended
Introducing our Race Bike of the Year
Turning to race bikes, the Cervélo S5 takes the title after going head-to-head with the Colnago Y1Rs in our category final.
Despite fierce competition from some outstanding contenders, with the Van Rysel RCR Pro, Scott Addict RC 20 and Trek Madone 7 SLR earning ‘Highly Commended’ nods, our two finalists here showcase cutting-edge aero designs.
Indeed, both bikes featured at the front of the 2025 Tour de France but while that fight ended up being decidedly one-sided in favour of the Colnago Y1Rs-riding Tadej Pogaçar, BikeRadar’s lead tester, Ashley Quinlan, looked past the Slovenian phenom and instead found that the S5 was the more worthy winner of our Race Bike of the Year category.
Why? While both bikes are undoubtedly expensive – the cream of the racing crop – the Cervélo S5 simply offered more for a keen racer’s money. The build is practically unimpeachable, and while the Y1Rs offers a little more customisability overall, this can be more than made up for with the money left over once the specs have been equalised.
Ashley also found the S5’s ride quality and handling to be a little more polished than the Y1Rs – a marginal win, but where the details really matter among two outstanding contenders, that’s where the devil lay.
- We will publish our final shootout between the Cervélo S5 and Colnago Y1Rs on Wednesday 3 September
Ash’s verdict
“The Cervélo S5 offers a well-balanced ride quality and excellent handling, underpinned by a devilish turn of speed,” says our road lead, Ashley Quinlan. “It’s also stable in changing wind conditions, though perhaps its biggest asset is how easy it is to ride quickly – it feels as fast as any aero road bike I’ve tested.”
Race Bike of the Year winner
Highly commended
And our Gravel Bike of the Year?
Rounding out our drop-bar awards, the Parlee Taos Force AXS is BikeRadar’s Gravel Bike of the Year for 2025.
Pitched against the mountain bike-inspired Mondraker Arid Carbon RR in our gravel final, Parlee’s Taos took the crown thanks to its mightily impressive versatility and progressive design.
If there was a gravel bike to rule them all, this might be it, leading Warren to believe that it’s the best all-round gravel bike he’s ever tested.
That said, the Arid’s chops when things get gnarly earn it high praise – if off-road fun on a gravel bike is what you’re after, then look no further.
Elsewhere, the Cannondale Topstone, Kinesis Tripster AT+ and Wilier Rave SLR all earn ‘Highly Commended’ awards in a hard-fought category.
- Find out how Parlee Taos and Mondraker Arid stacked up against one another soon, with our head-to-head review due to be published on Monday 1 September
Warren’s verdict
“Parlee has managed to combine the best elements of a gravel race bike – low weight, pedalling efficiency and fast handling – with the traits of more adventurous designs – large tyre capacity, smooth riding over rough ground, and stable handling and control on technical trails,” says Warren.
Highly commended
What we tested
We established three categories in our road and gravel Bike of the Year test this year, distilled from five in recent years to reflect what we know you (our audience) love to read about.
This saw us put every race, endurance and gravel bike that we’ve reviewed in 2025 in the pot for consideration, with the finest five examples for each category examined once more.
The two standout candidates from each group of five were then put forward for a dedicated head-to-head test, with back-to-back testing conducted to find a winner for each category, with Warren and Ashley then coming together to decide on an overall winner.
Everything from established market leaders to emerging newcomers have been represented throughout the past year, and there should be something to suit most budgets by checking out our reviews and buyer’s guides.
Bike of the Year is supported by Auto-Trail
Big thanks to sports campervan specialists Auto-Trail for supporting our Bike of the Year 2025 test. Head to auto-trail.co.uk for more details about their range, including the cycling-specific Auto-Trail Expedition 68, which features a purpose-built bike garage.
Previous Road Bike of the Year winners
Bike of the Year – the industry’s most prestigious annual bike test – has been running since 2009, with previous winners including some of the biggest names of the past two decades, as well as breakthrough brands earning their place at the top table.
2024
Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2
2023
Vitus Venon Evo RS Aero
2022
Giant Revolt Advanced Pro 0
2021
Boardman SLR 9.4 AXS
2020
Cannondale SuperSix EVO
2019
Rondo HVRT CF0
2018
Giant TCR Advanced 2
2017
Specialized Roubaix Comp
2016
Cannondale CAAD12 105
2015
BMC GF01 Disc 105
2014
Cannondale Synapse 5 105
2013
Giant Defy Advanced 2
2012
Focus Izalco Pro 3.0
2011
Storck Scenero
2010
Cannondale Six Carbon 105
2009
Giant TCR Advanced 3
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Our annual Bike of the Year test is an industry benchmark and the BikeRadar team consists of some of the most experienced riders and testers in the business, with road lead Ashley Quinlan and senior technical editor Warren Rossiter heading up this year’s test.