What are the best high-end bicycle brands?

Published on December 14, 2023

Pinarello: the Italian racing machine

It can be said without betraying a secret that Pinarello bikes are among the most beautiful road models in the peloton, thanks in particular to the curves of their Onda fork. Equipping riders from Team Ineos with the Dogma F12, the Italian brand Pinarello has the particularity of designing slightly asymmetrical frames for even more performance.

There are several ranges of Pinarello road bikes. Behind the very high-end models of the Dogma range, there is also the F range (which is also focused on performance) and the X range (which is more oriented towards endurance than speed).

The road offer is completed with the Gan and Prince models. These bikes have not undergone recent updates, but they remain excellent models skillfully inspired by the Dogma and F models from a few years ago.

Although Pinarello also markets gravel bikes, mountain bikes, and even electric bikes, the brand is primarily known for its incredible road models that are undoubtedly among the best road bikes in the world. Fast and designed to deliver watts on flat terrain, they are also airy and powerful when the slope is steep.

Very comprehensive models... with a price! Among the best high-end bike brands, Pinarello ranks high in terms of prices. About 15,000 euros for a Dogma equipped with Dura-Ace... A bit prohibitive if you're not racing in the World Tour, right?

Fortunately, The Cyclist House offers refurbished used Pinarello bikes at much more affordable prices! By opting for one of our bikes, you can bring the bill below the 4000 euros mark for a Dogma, for example!

A great saving for a confident purchase since our used Pinarellos are fully inspected by our expert mechanics! And like all our refurbished bikes, they come with a 1-year warranty 😉

BMC: on all fronts

In our top 5 of the best high-end bike brands, it was unthinkable not to mention BMC. The Swiss brand's bikes shine on all terrains, from the roads of the World Tour circuit to the cross-country mountain bike world championship.

On the road, the star model is undoubtedly the Teammachine Road, a pure aero bike used in 2023 by the Ag2R-Citroën Team on fast races. However, a newly unveiled bike should replace it at the top of BMC's road bike hierarchy: the Teammachine R.

It had been used in the Tour de France 2023 by Benoît Cosnefroy and Ben O'Connor, while still in prototype status, under the code name "Masterpiece." To create this new gem, BMC collaborated with the greatest Swiss cyclist: Fabian Cancellara.

In the mountains, the Teammachine R should a priori not dethrone the Teammachine SLR01, which remains the best climbing bike from the BMC brand.

For fans of long rides and ultra-distance, it is better to opt for the Roadmachine, a more comfortable and lightweight model.

But BMC also positions itself as one of the best mountain bike brands with models like the Twostroke. This hardtail is clearly a machine designed to win cross-country races... or simply to speed through the forest.

Finally, gravel enthusiasts are not forgotten by BMC, thanks in particular to the URS: undoubtedly one of the best gravel bikes in the world right now!

We told you, BMC is really on all fronts!

👉 Discover all our great refurbished BMC bikes quickly!

Specialized: the most represented among the pros

Do we really need to introduce Specialized? The American brand is perhaps the most famous in the world... And it's not for nothing: these bikes are praised by professional cyclists for racing at the highest level.

Among the teams of the world elite on the road, there are no less than 3 teams that rode on Specialized bikes in 2023 (in 2024, Total Energies will ride on Enve models)! It was simply the most represented brand among the pros this year, with big names like Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe, and soon Primoz Roglic (future leader at Bora...).

Their star bike is the Tarmac, whose most recent version, the SL8, has been on the market since the end of summer 2023. It is an extremely versatile bike, capable of winning in the mountains as well as in mass sprints. It combines both remarkable aerodynamics and consistently impressive lightness!

Moreover, for this level of performance, it may be the best carbon road bike in terms of quality/price ratio: 9000 euros for a new pro version.

Specialized is also known for designing the best mountain bikes in the world: the Stumpjumper for trail riding, the Epic for cross-country, and the Turbo Levo for those who love sporty electric mountain biking.

On this terrain too, pros particularly appreciate Specialized. French rider Victor Koretzky, one of the great hopes for the 2024 Olympics, won the test event on a Specialized Epic World Cup 🥇

Whether on the road or on mountain trails, these are in any case very popular bikes that show a good resale value. By opting for a refurbished Specialized, you are undoubtedly making a very good financial investment.

Cannondale: the brand for demanding mountain bikers

Cannondale is primarily known for being one of the best high-end mountain bike brands. This reputation is due in particular to its full-suspension Scalpel model, available in several ranges.

More broadly, to rank among the best bike brands in the world in the off-road universe, Cannondale has also shown audacity. The most striking example is the Lefty single-arm fork, always surprising to see, which is now found on many models.

The American brand has also embraced electric bikes with powerful eMTBs like the Moterra.

Are you more into gravel riding? Then the Topstone range is for you! Equipped with attachment points everywhere (even on the fork!), Cannondale Topstones are perfect gravel bikes for bikepacking adventures. And if you're looking for something more sporty, the SuperSix Evo CX is an excellent cyclocross bike (we even have brand new ones in stock, almost 30% off 😉).

On the road, the star is the SuperSix Evo Lab 71 used by the EF Education-Easypost team in 2023, a bike equally at ease in the mountains as on fast stretches.

In any case, no matter your practice, you will undoubtedly find the bike that suits you at a very advantageous price among our refurbished Cannondale bikes.

Orbea: the legend of mountain biking

Last but not least in our top 5 of the best high-end bike brands: Orbea!

As with Cannondale, it is primarily for their off-road performance that we have chosen to include them in our selection (although the Orca is undoubtedly a very good road bike!).

In their mountain bike range, we clearly have plenty of choices. The Oiz is a pure competitor for attacking XC time trials. The Occam, on the other hand, is more for those who love very aggressive trail riding.

And if you want a little electric boost, Orbea also has an eMTB for that: the Wild! ⚡ This model is much more than an electric bike... It's a wonderful way to multiply your natural power to tackle very rugged trails for hours! Of course, such a level of performance comes with a price: expect to pay from 6000 to 13000 euros for the Wild...

Fortunately, you can find this model at a reduced price and thoroughly inspected (as well as many other refurbished used Orbea bikes!) in our Orbea stock.

This top 5 is obviously very subjective. These are brands that we particularly appreciate because they pay special attention to aesthetics, performance, technical innovation... and the pleasure of riding!

Other manufacturers would undoubtedly have deserved a place in our ranking of the best high-end bicycle brands. We think, in particular, of Cervélo, which dominates the global cycling scene with Jumbo-Visma, Trek for their perpetual quest for improvements, or Look to name just a few...

Like all the models you'll find on our site, bikes from the brands we presented to you lose very little value over time. Equipped with recent components and featuring a contemporary design, these bikes are highly sought after in the second-hand market. A good reason to treat yourself without hesitation!