At some level, you can divide road bikes into two main categories—those built for speed, and those built for comfort. But not the carbon-fiber, race-ready Cronus. It has fender mounts. And that's essentially why the Cronus won this year. You can slap fenders on it and use it as your all-purpose, around-town-and fitness-riding bike, but it's also light and agile enough to race on. "Wow! Super-stiff front end," wrote one tester. "Really confident when cornering." Credit the tapered headtube and wider-than-average hubs, which combine to produce a beefy front end that simply doesn't get shoved off its line. Note: Our test bike was equipped with Shimano 105 components and a triple crankset, but the Cronus is also available for the same price with a compact crankset and, at a higher price, with a Tour de France–caliber build. 17.7 lbs (56 cm); fisherbikes.com
Handling: 4.2 (out of 5)
Responsiveness: 4.3
$2,630
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