About BikeSpec

BikeSpec is a UK site that records the specification of complete bicycles sold by British retailers and shows what each retailer charges for them. It is run as an independent project, not by a retailer or a manufacturer.

Why it is being built

Buying a bike involves two questions that existing sites answer separately. Specification sites explain what a bike is made of but do not tell you where to buy it. Price comparison sites list prices but flatten the specification into a product title, so a 2024 frame and its 2025 replacement appear as competing offers, and two builds of the same frame with different groupsets look interchangeable.

BikeSpec keeps both. Each bike has one record holding its components and geometry, and every retailer offer is attached to that record.

How listings are matched

Retailers describe the same bike in different ways. Words are reordered, descriptive terms are added, brand names are written several ways, and part numbers are frequently left blank in retailer data. Matching those listings to one product is the technical core of the site.

The process works in stages. Product titles are normalised, and the attributes buried inside them, such as model year, frame size, colour and groupset, are extracted into separate fields. Manufacturer part numbers and barcodes are used where retailers supply them. Remaining listings are compared on the cleaned name, with a mismatch in model year, build tier or model number blocking a match outright. Anything the process cannot settle with confidence is held back for manual review rather than merged on a guess.

The consequence matters to anyone using the site: a price shown against a bike is a price for that exact bike, in that model year and that build.

What is covered

The first release covers complete bicycles in three categories: gravel and adventure, road, and hardtail mountain bikes. Components, clothing and accessories are not included. Coverage will widen once the catalogue in these categories is complete.

Independence

Retailers cannot pay for placement or for a better position in any listing. The site earns commission through affiliate links, which is explained in the affiliate disclosure.

Contact

Retailer, affiliate network and data enquiries: hello@bikespec.co.uk.