Features: lightweight frame, narrow tires, dropped handlebars, and high gear ratios (i.e. the ratios are set to favor those that help you go really fast, if of course your legs and lungs are up to it).

Buy a road bike, if: you want to ride fast and efficiently on paved roads while commuting, competing, or playing.

Do not buy a road bike, if: you want to get off paved roads. Narrow tires mean you will not really be able to ride a road bike on anything other than asphalt. Also, icy roads can be a major obstacle for road bikes.

LeMond Racing Cycles is a bike manufacturer founded by Greg LeMond, an American Tour de France winner. LeMond offered geometry based on the race frames he used in competition, which featured a longer top tube and wheelbase in a traditional lightweight steel frame. From 1995 to February 2010, Trek licensed the LeMond name for use in its line of bicycles, believing that the prestige of the name, a diverse brand portfolio, and models offering a longer top tube than Trek’s frame geometry helped to expand bicycle sales opportunities for the Trek Corporation.