What is a Road Bike?

The term road bicycle is used to describe bicycles built for traveling at speed on paved roads. Some sources use the term to mean racing bicycle. Other sources specifically exclude racing bicycles from the definition, using the term to mean a bicycle of a similar style but built more for endurance and less the fast bursts of speed desired in a racing bicycle; as such, they usually have more gear combinations and fewer hi-tech racing features. Certain of these bicycles have been referred to as ‘sportive’ bicycles to distinguish them from racing bicycles.

Compared to other styles of bicycle, road bicycles share common features:

• The tires are narrow, high-pressure (100 psi (700 kPa) or higher), and smooth to decrease rolling resistance
• The handlebars are bent (“dropped”) to allow the rider position to be leaned forward and downward, which reduces the forward vertical cross-sectional area and thus highly reduces the air resistance
• They usually use derailleur gears; however, single-speed and fixed-gear varieties exist (which often are used city-wide, due to simple maintenance from their simple designs).
• They either use disc brakes or rim brakes (although there might be technical differences, for example, road bike caliper brakes use shorter and wider pads than mountain bike cantilevers)
• The bicycle is of lightweight construction using materials such as aluminum alloys or carbon fiber.
• They use clipless pedals and special shoes in contrast to flat pedals, usually installed on mountain bikes.

This is an excerpt from Wikipedia. Please visit the wiki link to find out more about road bikes.